Marketing 101

In order to sell something for less it has to either contain less material, cheaper material, or manufactured using less labor.
The marine marine market is an area where you are pretty much assured of getting what you pay for.

Ok, Cabela's has their AGM batteries on sale for $50 off, so you could get the group 27 for $170. Reviews say they are good batteries anyone have experience or thoughts on these? I like the maintenance free aspect and they are comparable spec wise to the Interstate SRM-27's I currently run.

I had two of them fail under warranty. BassCat no longer recommends them for a starting battery. I used mine for a starting battery, electronics and third trolling motor battery (36V motor). Finally bit the bullet and bought a Sears PM1. Had two years on the battery and still going strong when I sold the boat. Bought a new (to me) boat and planning on buying a Sears PM1 for it soon.

Mr.Landry hit the nail on the head. It is less of and cheaper material, this I learned first hand working in retail years ago. We compared two drills, one bought from a big box store (where I worked) and one from the name brand store on the drill itself. Opened them up, same identical drills but one had plastic gears and the other had metal gears. Marketing 101

Haulballinbass, I had a new Excede battery and it did not hold a charge after sitting in the boat disconnected for 1 winter. I took it back to Tractor supply who did nothing for me. So I left it there and wrote a letter to the main company and of course never heard back. Told them every chance I got I would tell people not to buy their batteries. So I am keeping my word.

Another example is Abu Garcia conventional reels that look identical but contain plastic gears(China) or metal gears(Sweden).

Can you really afford to buy cheap stuff?

Agreed! Thanks for all the input.

Are the Optima D31M batteries worth buying since they are made in Mexico? I see where local retailers can sell them as new up to 2 years old by replacing manufactory date. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

I decided to try the Cabelas Advanced Angler AGM's group 27 for my 36v trolling motor since they were $50 off on sale. Comparing them to the Optima battery they seemed to have better specs and for $80/a piece cheaper. Reviews I read were good so I will see and let y'all know. Thanks for all the input.

Very good to know. I am actually going to get a conditioner and see if I can't rejuvenate the Continentals that are in the boat. They are about a year old and were overcharged, dryed out. I put distilled water in them and tried to bring them back with a standard charger but I need a conditioner to blow the sulfation off. If not I think I'm going to buy the Cabela's AGM batteries.

I've used the Cabelas AGM batts in 2 tournaments now with some pretty good wind and they held up all day. Couldn't tell that they had lost any power by the end of the day. Hopefully they will continue.