B O A T = Break Out Another Thousand

Some of you guys are missing the point. I'm only stating that Fountain and other builders continue to way over charge for items that can be purchased aftermarket. I'm of the understanding that some profit is better than none at all. I would love to Support my boat builder after the sale but not when they continue to try and GOUGE ME!!!!

I understand perfectly what you're going through. I just had all new upholstery skins installed in my Progression 22. Skipping way ahead, I ended up buying the skins directly from Progression, but then having a local upholsterly shop do the actual installation work. Did I pay more? Oh yea. I figure there was almost an extra $800 or so when the dust had settled.

Why did I go that route instead of having the whole job done locally by the shop that installed them? Well, for one thing I could absolutely count on Progression matching everything (colors, textures, stitching, piping, etc.) perfectly. Nobody who buys my boat someday will ever be able to say, "Nice boat, except for the upholstery."

Why does it cost more to go with the manufacturer? If you looked at the overhead in the shop that installed the skins, he basically had a 2 car garage with some fancy sewing machines and tables. Pretty low overhead in other words. Although this guy probably could have matched the factory quality, I didn't want to take a chance. It's a choice I decided to live with because I could afford it at the time. You have the same choice.

I really wouldn't consider that to be a gouge. He is a little higher, but it is not like he is double the price....

Almost twice the PRICE is not a GOUGE then what is? Once again some profit is better than NONE. Also don't you think that Fountain would have more buing power than a 1 man band working out of his GARAGE.

He has to pay for his 5th wife

I think Fountain is being made to look greedy here as if thery are the only ones doing this. When I need parts for my Ford truck I go to my local auto parts store for aftermarket versus going to the Ford dealer and paying about 40% more. How is that any different?

I'm not singling out Fountain, it just so happens that I own a Fountain. If the item that a customer wants is for that particular Mfg. Boat, Auto, or Plane then I totally understand the higher Oem Price. When a part is a generic part that can be bought anywhere then you would think the Mfg. would want to be more competitive. Why loose a sale to a Customer that already owns your product? It is good business to keep a customer happy after the sale. Not too continuously Over charge for GENERIC parts!!!

The 6 pieces are not that large. I did inquire about the Logo on the pads. Customer service said $2100.00 for 6 pieces of vinyl. I check here in town and had estimates from $1200.00 to $1500.00 to do the whole job.

I could be wrong but I read this as the local guy's price included the installation labor, from Fountain it was just the pieces, then on top of that he would have to pay for local installation, that could make it more than double.

I am not sure if Fountain does their own upholstery or if they farm it out, if they do send it out that could account for the higher price. OEM's, dealers, etc always charge more, that's nothing new. However in hard times when not as many new boats are being sold, or in my case equipment what often keeps an OEM going is selling service and replacement parts so you would think margins would be relaxed a bit, who knows maybe this was their lower price