Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Brother busted my new one Friday, started looking, got a price from cumberlandwatersports.com. for 200 bucks, got to be kidding me, I paid 80 for the first one, can't cost more than five bucks to make, if that much, breaks to easy to pay 200 bucks for .

I wrote prop guard, I would put my old one back on and when it breaks go back bareback for that price

HandymanHerb wrote:Brother busted my new one Friday, started looking, got a price from cumberlandwatersports.com. for 200 bucks, got to be kidding me, I paid 80 for the first one, can't cost more than five bucks to make, if that much, breaks to easy to pay 200 bucks for .

I wrote prop guard, I would put my old one back on and when it breaks go back bareback for that price

Jack up the price, send the bill to Brother for the cost of tooning on your toon. Your final cost $+

We both own it, he has as much, maybe a little more than I do in it now and he will pay because the SIL likes to use the hell of out it, right now, and I hope she always does, she the one with the money.

I'm trying to getting the price it should be, no way it should have went from 80 bucks to 200 for a plastic injected parts with five dollars worth of plastic and six SS bolts, I see they do have one made for over 100 hp now, but the price is going to have to come down and I'm working on them.

Why should boaters pay a 1000 percent mark up, what is it diamonds, but no sweat off my ass, I'll miss it, but then at my age, I miss a lot

Cant see where they are willing to work with us yet, I guess we are to stupid to know what stuff is supposed to cost.

Answering to his comment below, If you want more, I can send you a few hundred more asking, right now they are
seeing if I can get us a good price, or you won't sell none, boaters are not
stupid, , we buy lots of stuff and can make you lots of money, or not.

Have a Great day


Herb Bates








Thanks for sharing your personal opinion about our product, Mr. Bates. Have a great day!

Christy Rodgers

-----Original Message----- From: hbates1@cfl.rr.com [hbates1@cfl.rr.com] Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 8:52 AM To: Christy Rodgers Subject: RE: Broke my prop guard

The ten year old one is not broke, I can use it, the new one I just bought is the one broke, I refuse to spend 200 for parts that cause less than five bucks to make and I will stop talking about how good they are now and I'll repaint the old one and use it till it breaks and then use them no more.

I went from selling them for you to stopping all sales as they are not worth it, hope someone gets a brain and sees the manufacturing cost is in your head, can't be proven on paper






---- Christy Rodgers <crodgers@propguardmarine.com> wrote: Mister Bates,



Your email was forwarded to me by Mr. Morrell, President/CEO of Prop Guard Marine. Mr. Morrell asked me to respond in hopes that I can help you better understand our pricing, etc. While your unit may have cost $80.00 ten years ago, certainly you can understand that manufacturing costs have (like everything else) risen considerably since then. While it would be lovely if we were able to manufacture a Prop Guard for $5.00, the reality is that it's not that simple. Our product isn't made of "simple plastic." It is a propriety and patented process using numerous materials. Those products alone have risen in cost considerably just in the last two years. The cost of coloration for each individual unit has risen, too. Then we factor employee's to run our injection molding machines, overhead for our manufacturing facility, packaging, and stainless steel, marine grade hardware which is included with each unit. Printing costs, freight cost and maintenance/repair to molds and injection molding machinery are also a factor. Our products and our manufacturing materials are regularly tested so that we ensure we are using the best available technology. Although our cost has increased, we have kept our price to our dealers and distributors the same. We have not increased our prices so much as one cent in since 2010. We strive to make Prop Guards as affordable as we canProp Guard is manufactured completely in the USA, as is all hardware and packaging components. We refuse to manufacture overseas or use inferior, overseas made products in our process. Not only because this keeps jobs in the USA, but we firmly believe US made products are superior. All of these things are factors in our pricing.



As for having to replace your unit after ten years of use..I truly believe you got a great return on your expense. Ten years is a great "life expectancy" for any after market accessory, especially considering that you purchased it used. Prop Guard is designed to break under certain impact conditions. I'm not clear on what conditions yours broke under, but you imply the breakage was the fault of your brother. After ten years of use, one could not very well consider the breakage to be manufacturer defect. Prop Guard has a long history of excellent customer service. When there is any question that there is breakage due to defective parts, we analyze the broken Prop Guard to determine what may have caused breakage. In 14 years, we have only had to replace two units due to defective manufacturing process. Our product is used by military personal all over the world, including 12+ years of use by the US Coast Guard and US Navy. They use our product because it's the best available. . Are there less expensive guards available? Certainly. However, we believe in the old adage, "You get what you pay for." A metal guard of any kind creates a situation where you knock into something, the guard is then bent inward and you're going to sheer a pin, damage the gear box or destroy it as well as bend your prop beyond repair.



If you'd like to purchase a replacement Prop Guard, you will need to contact one of our dealers. As the manufacturer, we do not sell to the general public. I am happy to assist you in locating a dealer near you. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like assistance in that regard.



Best Regards,



Christy Rodgers, Vice President

719-783-2639

crodgers@propguardmarine.com



_____

From: Greg Morrell [gmorrell@propguardmarine.com] Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2014 9:02 PM To: Christy Rodgers Subject: Fwd: Broke my prop guard





---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <hbates1@cfl.rr.com> Date: Thu, Sep 18, 2014 at 12:13 PM Subject: Re: Broke my prop guard To: Greg Morrell <gmorrell@propguardmarine.com>


If you can't find a better price than 200 hundred you won't be selling anymore, come on they can't cost five bucks to make, I paid 80 and that was high for a piece of plastic that breaks easy, you better get us a good price quick or the word prop guard will never be said in the same good manor it use to be.

It all on you, but I have used one for 10 years but ready to quit you for good














---- Greg Morrell <gmorrell@propguardmarine.com> wrote: Herb: Contact Richman Marine in Ft Lauderdale. 954-462-0050

On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 10:08 PM, <hbates1@cfl.rr.com> wrote:

First one was 10 years ago, and can't remember, and the last one I bought off a Pontoonforums.com member when I was bragging on mine, he bought a bigger engine, so I bought his.

I'm in Orlando Fla, didn't think that mattered with internet and UPS anymore, but if you set me up with contact info on dealers, i could pass it on to my members, most have to big of an engine to use one, but we still have a bunch that use them and it's a pain finding them quick.







---- Greg Morrell <gmorrell@propguardmarine.com> wrote: Again..................What company do you buy them under, and where are you located?

On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Greg Morrell < gmorrell@propguardmarine.com> wrote:

Herb:

What company do you buy them under, and where are you located?

On Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 10:23 PM, HandymanHerb <hbates1@cfl.rr.com> wrote:

Need a new one for my Merc 90, and since this is the third one I'm buying and I sell a few of them for you a year, as Admin of Pontoonforums.com, we have 4000 members, also on the facebook 800 members, that's where the lastest one I sold for you came from, he sent you an email already, Dan Scovill.

But anyway I need a new one as my brother broke mine

Thank you

Herb Bates

Herb, I don't know how many you'd have to order, but if like everything else made in China they're bound to be cheaper (In more ways than one I should add). Outboard PP Propeller Guard Marine Boat Accessories

That make them in the USA, in UNION shops judging by the price

If you got ten years out of it, I would say you got a good product. How many props would you brother needed to replace in that 10 years? You have indicated he hit something pretty hard. A $200 prop guard is a lot cheaper than a new lower unit. A prop company gives you no breaks if you hit something.

I would say you really do not have a beef with the product.

I do not know how much it costs to manufacture their product. I sure can't cost $100 to make an aluminum prop.
I know our insurance and other costs have gone thru the roof I nth last 10 years.

Was $80 the new cost 10 years ago, or is that what you paid for the used one?

Watch ebay and you might save a few bucks if you want replacement.

The one he busted was brand new, not ten years old, and I paid 40 bucks for that one from a member who had it for sale, the high price part of making them is the mold, one you have the mold a machine could make them all day with one person removing parts.


Take about five minutes to make one, if it took that long.

If it going to cost 200 bucks, I still want a discount for all members, and that shouldn't be hard and will pay off for them on sales, I have the dealer list being sent to me and I will contact them all and see what kind of a deal I can set up for us.


And sorry I'm still making less than I did 20 years ago, but I'm supposed to happy to pay for a jump in price from 80 bucks to 200 in a very short time, they were still selling for 80 a few years back, unless they made them new and improved, unbreakable, they are not by the way, and they never had to replace one because of a manufacture defect because they are so easy to make

If they coat it with this product it might last longer. I wonder if it will keep pontoons from denting.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bW0GQHpFgy8

Soooo. Did you make any progress with the prop guard folks giving a discount.... I'm shopping right now.been looking at the ones at getaprop for 199

I'm still fighting to get my emails and phone numbers back from my email, I have been using hbates1 for six months and now they tell me I'm using the wrong email, I said you gave it to me , I didn't make up the address, so all my emails to a lot of people get went away yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,, I hate computers

Your the first one I've heard from, so we need three more people, he said he would make a deal even shipping to different addresses, so if you know anyone else wanting one let me know

Are we talking plastic/synthetic prop guards? The manatees may like them but my prop chewed right through one. They are not rigid. They are not steel. When you hit something they flex/bend/contort right into your prop which will cut it to pieces. Unless of course you have a synthetic Piranha prop in which case both your prop and guard disintegrate. I bought a guard on this site from a guy in N.C. about 10 years ago. Name brand manufacturer, great price. Unfortunately it was toast after the first thing it hit and my prop went from a 13" diameter to an 11"! Also I could not believe how hard steering became. It was like trying to turn a Peterbilt without power steering.