New to the Forum and iboats

[bstone81]

Re: New to the Forum and iboats

hmmm.....avid boater........grew up on a water ski but now finding the joints are a little stiff to do it as much as you want........bilge liner 20 footer.......pwc's.....and a 75 house boat......

a sucker for punishment eh?..... you will fit right in here !



it was really hard to find iboats when i first started searching.....i actually found it via another boating forum. however...this was a few years ago, and now that my puter has figgured out that i like boats....every add that comes up is a boating add.....iboats included.



e-gads, not again ! you guys just about killed us with the last change....lol




IMHO.....the fourms are a real draw to iboats store. i would increase the size of link to the forums and add a few more words.....like " want to fix your boat your self" or another hook to draw the person to the forum. here....we use positioning statements like....."boat university".....or "everything boating" (iboats main positioning statement)

as far as call to action on a purchase.....of course price counts.....some of the deals on dead stock are fantastic....but i dont need infant lifejackets....lol
however having the stock i needed or was looking for was paramount. you guys in the states, seem to love ordering off the puter......in canada....we still pick up the phone.....(iboats has FANTASTIC SERVICE......did i say fantastic?...i ment TOTALLY OUTSTANDING).
because the forum has given so much to me, i order some items here (even tho i can order right thru seirra or western) but i am an exception to the rule. The attention to canadian purchasers over the past two years has really been great....

however....may i say.....the actual written discription of some of the items is very lacking....these are important details that MUST BE INCLUDED.

the thing that caught me to the forums....was the "friendlyness" and every day joe type of people here. other forums had pros that were so far over my head that i was afraid to ask.
i attribute this success to JB and the mod squad.

the reason i stayed glued to the forum as an epic thread called sold a boat and it busted. from then on in.....after seemingly getting to know some of the posters....i started my own thread here, in the restoration section.

if i had one suggestion for attracting the masses.....it would be to pay more attention to the iboats facebook page. it seems that the i love boating page has taken over. keep up the two of them. with constant posting of new topics every couple of hours.....iboats will remain on peoples feeds......and with the online games like farmville.....these status up dates will be seen by thousands more people if we become friends to iboats........so, in short.....much more attention to the social networking areas to keep the repetition in new client advertising.

any how.......hope this helps a little

cheers
oops

oops. Good stuff. I like your ideas. I've copied it and will be sharing these ideas with the owners. Thanks again...and keeping 'em coming.

Brad

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: New to the Forum and iboats

Brad,

Welcome to iboats.

I'm in the category of those who found iboats via the forum. I really like the wealth of information available here, but I have never purchased through the website because I've found better info/pricing elsewhere. Most of the items I've needed recently are either not available or I couldn't find them easily if they are. I'm not likely to pick up the phone to ask a question if the item description isn't clear, I keep looking on-line. I used to have an 1968 Starcraft I/O but got rid of it and purchased a 1980 Century Inboard in July of 2010. Last fall I determined that my prop shaft was bent by the previous owner and it needed replacing along with the prop. I couldn't find any inboard replacement shafts here, and the props were too expensive to consider. I ended up buying the shaft and a new prop from another site that is tailored more specifically to Inboards. There are two specific reasons for my decision to buy the prop from the other place. 1.) The iboats prop warranty states "Once the propeller touches the water it is considered used and is non-returnable. Returned propellers are subject to a 15% restock fee." The exact replacement prop wasn't available (Michigan Wheel 14 x 15 x 1" bore RH 3 blade) and I wasn't willing to roll the dice on something different if I couldn't try it first. 2.) Price. I purchased an OJ 4 blade 13 x 16 x 1 RH (iboats p/n 1252B-OJ) for $393.00. The iboats price is $444.99.

The place I purchased from recommended, and allowed me to try, a 14 X 16 X 1 (4 blade) first and it didn't allow the motor to get into the proper rpm range and I lost performance on the bottom end. It was too much prop for my boat. I shipped it back and they sent me a 13 x 16 at no charge. I could not have done this with the iboats prop policy. The place I purchased from has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on props. If they recommend a prop, and you are not satisfied with the performance, they will take it back and ship you a different prop.

I will soon be in the market for steering parts. I need to replace my cable and rack and pinion. I have not removed the old one yet to measure the cable. I have visited the iboats store, but the descriptions are confusing. It is impossible to tell by reading the descriptions if it will work on my 21'-10" inboard or not. I have never replaced the steering cable in a boat, so I will wait until I have it removed to decide what parts I need and find where they are available.

I hope this gives you some specific examples of the description/price issue being discussed.

 

[bstone81]

Re: New to the Forum and iboats

Brad,

Welcome to iboats.

I'm in the category of those who found iboats via the forum. I really like the wealth of information available here, but I have never purchased through the website because I've found better info/pricing elsewhere. Most of the items I've needed recently are either not available or I couldn't find them easily if they are. I'm not likely to pick up the phone to ask a question if the item description isn't clear, I keep looking on-line. I used to have an 1968 Starcraft I/O but got rid of it and purchased a 1980 Century Inboard in July of 2010. Last fall I determined that my prop shaft was bent by the previous owner and it needed replacing along with the prop. I couldn't find any inboard replacement shafts here, and the props were too expensive to consider. I ended up buying the shaft and a new prop from another site that is tailored more specifically to Inboards. There are two specific reasons for my decision to buy the prop from the other place. 1.) The iboats prop warranty states "Once the propeller touches the water it is considered used and is non-returnable. Returned propellers are subject to a 15% restock fee." The exact replacement prop wasn't available (Michigan Wheel 14 x 15 x 1" bore RH 3 blade) and I wasn't willing to roll the dice on something different if I couldn't try it first. 2.) Price. I purchased an OJ 4 blade 13 x 16 x 1 RH (iboats p/n 1252B-OJ) for $393.00. The iboats price is $444.99.

The place I purchased from recommended, and allowed me to try, a 14 X 16 X 1 (4 blade) first and it didn't allow the motor to get into the proper rpm range and I lost performance on the bottom end. It was too much prop for my boat. I shipped it back and they sent me a 13 x 16 at no charge. I could not have done this with the iboats prop policy. The place I purchased from has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on props. If they recommend a prop, and you are not satisfied with the performance, they will take it back and ship you a different prop.

I will soon be in the market for steering parts. I need to replace my cable and rack and pinion. I have not removed the old one yet to measure the cable. I have visited the iboats store, but the descriptions are confusing. It is impossible to tell by reading the descriptions if it will work on my 21'-10" inboard or not. I have never replaced the steering cable in a boat, so I will wait until I have it removed to decide what parts I need and find where they are available.

I hope this gives you some specific examples of the description/price issue being discussed.

Thanks Mark. This is good information. I agree with you on the descriptions. We have an initiative on adding a lot more to our descriptions. We'll also consider your other suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to provide us with this feedback!

Brad