Quality Bimini Tops Quality Price

There are very few companies that have the ability to mass produce bimini tops here in the United States. There is only a handful of manufacturers that supply the majority of all aftermarket bimini top distributors with the bimini tops you, the consumer, can purchase. I've heard many complain about the price. There is a reason for it.

Lets start at the manufacturer. They have to buy supplies, employ a workforce, and mark it up a bit to turn a profit. With that profit the hope is some of the money goes into research and development to continuously improve the product. I can tell you that does not always happen.

The manufacturer sells it to a distributor who will list them on their website. The distributor has to be able to make a little money (or a lot depending on the size of the distributor). Websites aren't cheap and they have a workforce to employ as well. The temptation for many distributors is to buy bimini tops from a foreign country (China) and sell them at what they would sell American made bimini tops for. You end up paying 500-600 dollars for a bimini top that may have been made in chine for about 125.00. There is no doubt imported products can be much cheaper than American made products. I mean cheap in every sense of the word. Poor quality, poor performance. Good luck going back to that website and getting service after the sale.

There are other avenues to go down to get a quality bimini top. You could contact the manufacturer of your boat. That could be expensive as well. You may not be able to deal with the manufacturer directly. Many have to purchase replacement canvas through a boat dealer. They mark it up when they buy it from the boat manufacturer to sell to you. The boat manufacturer marks it up when the buy it from the bimini top manufacturer. This can be much more costly than a distributor...so I guess that is no good either.

You could always go to a local canvas shop. Here you will get a custom built bimini top, maybe even the framework. American labor force and engineering are a bonus. So is the price. The materials that a local canvas shop has to buy come from you guessed it a distributor. That can prettye expensive also.

What to do? Find a company that can mass produce bimini tops but be willing to sell you only one. Find a company that uses an American workforce that uses American products to build the bimini top and frame. Find a company that is willing to listen to your needs before and after the sale. Find a company that will go the extra distance to ensure your complete satisfaction. Find a company that will stand behind it's products. Find Northstar Products Inc. Find them at www.northstarproductsinc.com