Looking to contact a Wilderness Systems employee regarding buying a boat that has cosmetic imperfections (seconds) mmetzbower@triad.rr.com
isn’t that a customer service issue?
Me Thinks
Me thinks he wants to buy a factory second boat which would make it a sales issue as opposed to customer service issue.
My first thought is good luck, I don’t think you will have much luck on this. I general, Manufacturers don’t want factory rejects sold at all. Can you go to a Ford delaer and say give me a new truck with a few minor imperfections?
However, you might want to contact a dealer. Or try this from the wildsys.com webs site:
Wilderness Systems
111 Kayaker Way
Easley, South Carolina 29642
Tel: (864) 859-7518 Fax: (864) 855-5995
Dealers often “demo” boats available. These are either boats that were actually used for test paddles, or warranty replacements that they don’t want resold as “new in box” so to speak.
dealer
find a wilderness systems dealer, ask if they have any in stock or can get you one…I have a friend who sells another brand of kayak and they do sell their “blems”.
That’s right.
– Last Updated: Mar-08-06 4:08 PM EST –
I worked for a Major Boat Manufacturer for years, (although they weren't kayaks) and if a blemished, or imperfect boat was ever caught before going out it was quickly caught and either fixed, or chopped.
A dealer, as the above poster suggested is good because boats often come in with a scratch, nick, chip, etc...or I would consider buying a good used boat if it's a model that's already on the market. Many people buy boats with the intention of paddling them frequently, but for one reason or another they either can't find the time, or they just simply lose interest. There are various reasons why this happens. But the result many times is an almost like new boat for a very good price. Many times you will also get some paddling gear with it to boot. If this is not a brand new model that you're looking for then I'd suggest doing a search, or asking around. You might try posting what you're looking for. Rumor has it that this site gets over a million hits a day. If it's out there, chances are, you might find out where you can get one on here. Good luck!
Some mfr. sell “blems” as demo
boats to dealers.I bought one for a good price and it had “Blem” etched where the serial # would be. I never found the blem(ish).
yup, contact a dealer
– Last Updated: Mar-08-06 6:58 PM EST –
they can call their factory rep and see what's available in blems. Don't expect a huge savings - 5 to 10% less than regualr retail is pretty typical for blem pricing.
Keep in mind that if a dealer has to special order it on a small boat order, you're also looking at higher freight costs, which would further eat into whatever you might save on the blem discount (freight is increasingly becoming a big factor in planning dealer inventories, since the difference in per boat freight cost between a group of 20 boats shipped and a 3-boat shipment can be as much as $30 per boat, depending on the brand. Some shops automatically eat freight costs for in-stock boats,, but aren't willing or able to do so for special order boats.
seconds
are sold, at great savings, as demos or for rental (as stated above)to dealers, but the dealers can’t sell the for at least one year after they bought it.
At least that is what I have been told.
oh
that makes sense,from the recent production of WS plastic rec boats I saw a few wobbles and weebles like they were pulled out of the mold too soon.
Where I taught kayaking there were some VERY cheap blems from Perception,but not for sale.
blems
They were in the rental/instruction fleet,and sold at not a great discount compared to the regular rental boats.
clarification on ‘demos’ v "blems’
Dealers order discounted demo boats to be used for sales purposes when they do the fall pre-season order. The agreement on those boats is that they MAY be blems (but not always), and that the dealer will agree to use the boats AS demos or teaching boats until the end of the season (and won’t try to sell them beforehand). These usually have BLEM or DEMO stamped on the hull near the HIN.
But in addition to those boats, manufacturers usually have some blems that are around at a discount outside of the “demo” program. Depending on the brand and the amount of the damage/defect, the discount on a blem may be minimal, it may max out at 20%. My experience is that cosmetic blems (a few scratches, a logo on upside-down - my favourite…) are minimally discounted, and the ones that are discounted deeply can be pretty scary (keels way out of line, hooked noses, deep gouges/bubbles in the finish, etc).
yep,yep and yep
’generally’ new blems are available only to industry people and then thru a dealer.
old blems make it to the free market after a ‘year’ in service by the above industry people.
‘generally’.
all blems ‘should be’ structurally sound and seaworthy. cosmetic defines blem.
a wildy employee will do you no good.
steve
Business & Ethics
I just set up a show. The guy in a booth just down from us bought a trailer load of blems from the factory. He has them priced at $100-$200 under our price. He doesn’t have them marked as “blems” he just calls them G2 series!! Our shop will sell A)- blem at $30-50 off price boats do come in scratched or with a none structural blemish. and we screw them up once in a while taking them to a show. Any major blems go back to the factory. Screwing the customer with a bad boat is never good business. Even if you tell them.
Shawn
A new Ford
IS A FACTORY SECOND…
Seconds and Blems used to be sold thru
– Last Updated: Mar-13-06 11:52 AM EST –
that canoe and kayak store in Greensboro, NC. They had some kind of direct link with the manufactures thru the owners I think I was told(no other dealers had that with the company(s)).
I used to buy a lot of clearance, end of season, and blem boats thru them, take them to MI and resell them. That helped to pay for me and all the neighboehood kids to keem on paddling!
Do not know if they are still an "underground outlet" or not.
They became more of a yuppie store years back, stopped the better deals, so I stopped going there. They have also more recently changed their name. Don't remember what it is. If it comes to me I will add in in here.
Mick
Ford…
LOL, I own one of those factory seconds. Never again.