# Boats.net review.



## B.Lee (Apr 29, 2008)

That experience is not uncommon. 

Most dealers (and they are a dealer, Central Florida Yamaha) don't stock a lot of parts. They offer low part prices by keeping their overhead lower by using the manufacturer warehouses as their own. They might place one or two large orders each week. Once all their orders come in, they repackage and ship to you. That takes 7-10 business days in most cases (2+ weeks real time).

For a couple dollars more, have the local dealer order you parts for you, or ask them to match boats.net's price if it's substantial.


----------



## genewilder (Jun 17, 2010)

Don't buy from boats.net. 
I ordered a few parts for a Honda outboard from them.
I get an email from them saying that the parts should go out in about a week and on couple of parts the date of arrival is uncertain. So I cancel the order the same day. Now they want to charge me the restocking fee. Restocking fee for what?? For parts they didn't have or the parts that might go out in a week. Went to my local Honda dealer and they had everything in stock. So in a nut shell Boats.net SUCKS.


----------



## drewrossi (Jan 30, 2010)

Wow, I was just about to put an order to them when I read this review. Anyone know where to get older Evinrude (1985) parts in the Orlando Area.... or should I just order them from Evinrude.com?


----------



## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I have pretty good "luck" with them ...LOL


----------



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> Wow, I was just about to put an order to them when I read this review.  Anyone know where to get older Evinrude (1985) parts in the Orlando Area.... or should I just order them from Evinrude.com?


Try ishopmarine.com. I've had very good experiences with them thus far.


----------



## franklink2 (Aug 22, 2010)

Worst shopping experience of my life. One month has passed and they still haven't shipped a supposedly in-stock fuel filter assembly. You call and they have no clue what is going on. They placate you by offering to check with the shipping manager which never happens. I really wanted to deal with them because of the great price and got burned just like so many. It is simply false advertising to sell something you don't have, but hope to get soon (if everything works out). Just be honest and upfront with your customers and explain that it's a crap shoot -- you might get it, you might not depending on what they can work out with their suppliers over a couple of weeks. Yesterday they finally admitted that they do not have the part and sent me a backorder notice. They won't even give you a refund option. I gave up, disputed it with my credit card company and will look elsewhere.


----------



## richg99 (Nov 28, 2009)

One of the best parts of a forum/site like this one...is that we get to find out which dealers we should avoid.  Thanks for posting. 

I am going to try to remember to do a "search" on any new dealer's names before I do business ..from now on.

  Rich


----------



## Gramps (Nov 1, 2007)

I have nothing but good to say from my experiences with Boats.net.... Sorry to hear you guys had/are having such a bad time!


----------



## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

> I have nothing but good to say from my experiences with Boats.net.... Sorry to hear you guys had/are having such a bad time!


X2


----------



## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

Maybe there's a key employee on summer vacation or something and a few things are slipping through the cracks.  :-?

I've used boats.net several times, zero issues, very helpful, returning calls and emails, prompt deliveries, etc. I ordered the wrong throttle cable once and they had another one at my door step two days later and credited my CC when they received the wrong one back from me. Nothing but good things to say about them from my experience.

On a couple of these items I called two local dealers first thinking I'd go get the parts from them, but neither had the stuff in house and needed to order it from Yamaha anyway. Since I'm doing the work myself the dealer isn't adding much value. I'm also between two dealers, probably 50 minutes or so drive to either one. Not exactly convenient, so online is a plus in the that regard.


----------



## richg99 (Nov 28, 2009)

Thanks, guys, for adding the positive comments, too. This is the sort of discussion I want to read before I order anything. 

When I order from Amazon (-- often--), they usually have a bunch of customer reviews about the product. Now, we are getting, both positive and negative, reviews about the dealer. 

Great site, here. Rich


----------



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

The problem is with how they run the business. They never will tell a customer if something is out of stock or back ordered.
If the part is sitting on there shelf then you will have a good experience, but if it isn't (and they won't tell you that until you start yelling at them) then it can take weeks for them to get it in, process it and reship it to you.
Their business model is basically to play russian roulette with there customers. Sorry I'd rater pay more and get honesty.


----------



## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

If you have not received your order and you are not satisified with them - cancel your order and move on.


----------



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

> If you have not received your order and you are not satisified with them - cancel your order and move on.


Gee why didn't I think of that :
As mentioned above they don't really have a refund option. after I told the rep I was going to reorder my parts from a local dealer because they couldn't even give me a timeline it might come in she actually told me "well I guess when this one comes in you will have a spare." 
The part actually arrived 2 days after this conversation while I was away working a 48hr shift or else I would have called Visa and disputed the charge.

If you want to take a chance with them go ahead, I'm not telling a fish story here, just my experience.


----------



## beyondhelp (Nov 6, 2008)

These folks are local to me but I ordered and had them ship the parts anyway as it was easier. They were extremely nice on the phone and knowledgeable as well. They helped me get all the carb rebuild parts for my merc 25 the first time and all in one shot. 


http://marinepartsoutlet.com/
(866)538-6846
careful there are a couple of lookalike domain names out there..


----------



## Lappy_16 (Nov 5, 2007)

Pro Marine in Palmetto Fla sells parts both wholesale and retail. They offer aftermarket and OE parts for all makes and models as well as technical advice. We have had excellent service. Check out the web promarineusa.com or call 941-721-3000


----------



## flyfshrmn82 (Oct 12, 2007)

I have made several orders through iboats.com. They seem to do a good job... Maybe give them a try.


----------



## nate. (Nov 12, 2009)

> Pro Marine in Palmetto Fla sells parts both wholesale and retail. They offer aftermarket and OE parts for all makes and models as well as technical advice. We have had excellent service. Check out the web promarineusa.com or call 941-721-3000


my wife delivers mail there on occasion. she says they are all nice people there.


----------



## JHammond53 (Jul 21, 2010)

I figured I would add my experience with boats.net as well.

I must say I was hesitant do to the reviews on here, but I took a chance anyway. I ordered 9 different parts for my motor on the 16th right before I left for a 7 day cruise. I had to have the parts this week so I can get my motor fixed before a tournament on Oct. 2nd so I made sure I ordered the parts before I left. I checked my order status on Saturday the 18th right before we set sail and everything was set to ship on the 21st due to a couple parts were on order and not in stock. This made me extra nervous because of others' experience. 

After a fun week away I came back yesterday to a box (sister-in-law was house sitting and put the box inside). I opened the box just certain that there were missing parts or even incorrect parts. After doing a rundown of everything I ordered against everything in the box I must say I am very satisfied with my purchase as everything was correct and nothing was missing. I saved about $20-$30 from ordering from other sites and I got everything I needed in time. Everything shipped out on the date they claimed and I was provided a tracking number via email.

I say 2 Thumbs Up on my experience!!!


----------



## capslock (Apr 4, 2011)

I know this thread is a bit old and I may be out of turn to bring it back out from the woods.

However this thread is the first result in google when I search for 'boats.net review' so I felt I should post my experience.

*In short, my experience was great.*

I have a 1990 mecury 2-stroke outboard V135. Most of the fuel lines inside the engine that connect the fuel pump to the carbs, oil line to fuel pump, carbs to carbs, etc. have become hard and cracking over the years. I wanted to replace all of the internal fuel lines and boats.net was the only online store that I could find that had the exact part #s for my engine. I could have went to my local mercury dealer and had them get the parts for me but I usually do not like hassling them unless I am going to have them do some work for me as they sell parts at cost with free shipment to their dock 5 min. down the road to me.

Now, keep in mind that mercury has changed part #s and superseded one part for another since my engine was built; and I do not have the cross-walk that shows what part was replaced by what. I am not sure if maybe this is also what other folks here were experiencing without knowing but I won't speculate on that.

Anywyas so I ordered all the fuel lines with the part #s I knew of, cheaper than the OEM price from mercurypartsexpress.com too. After placing the order after about a day the order was updated to show that they cancelled some of the parts and said they were superseded by other parts; they then added those newer parts to my invoice without a change to cost. Had I not been checking on the status of my shipment this would have been completely transparent to me. 

About a week went by since I placed my order to the time the fuel lines came in; all sealed in their own quicksilver packaging as I would expect.

The fact that I am able to type in the original OEM part numbers for my engine and boats.net will take care of figuring out if and what they were superceded by; at a reduced cost from the manufacture price is a sale and satisfaction to me.

I cannot attest to boats.net from the past; perhaps they were as bad as the folks here have pointed out. As of today in 2011 however, I wouldn't be able to agree.

I am not a mechanic, I am a simple boat owner/lover who does his own engine repair/maintenance at home.


----------

