Needed a few parts for the Cummins Engine in the Mainship

Needed a few parts for my 30 Mainship. The engine is a 4TBA3.9M Cummins.
I had worked on Yanmars and even taught Yanmars as an instructor.
I started Diesel service in the Marines on Hercules Diesels.
 I was buying parts online and saw that Cummins had a dealer Network so
I located the local Cummins parts dealer (I always try to develop a sustainable local resource
for my parts) and looked at the website and couldn't find any way to get a parts price other
than phoning so assuming and that's my mistake for trusting and assuming the parts prices
would be the same across the board if they were anything like  Yanmar or Yamaha,
their dealer Network that I had accounts with before when I was an active technician.
Cummins dealers online kept coming up with
a Seaboard dealer
(https://www.sbmar.com/product-category/maintenance/aftercooler-heat-exchanger-maintenance-kits/)
 in California and they had some interesting videos and a lot of information.
I asked them a few questions online and they answered them promptly.
I could not get the local dealer’s website to do anything but revert back to the same old page so
placed an order on the Seaboard website, at $150 they have free shipping and the parts
I needed were less than $200 including shipping or right at $200.
I'll put the order receipt in this message and receipt from the place here local in Cape Coral.
I called Randy at the local Cummins dealer and spoke with him about my parts.
I don't recall asking for a price or him volunteering one as I mistakenly assumed
in a trusting manner that the parts prices would be similar to those quoted to me online
by the other Cummings dealer in California. After 50 years working on machines and dealing with
parts people I understand service and parts, profit and expenses of running a business.
I never sold parts or labour cheaply knowing I had people working for me and that a workman is

worthy of his hire. I know the overhead can be high to keep parts in stock and I am willing to

pay for that service, but not when the market is below the asking price. That is stupid!  

This assuming was my first mistake and my second mistake was when I went to pick up the parts

I became so flustered and upset I could not think straight and went ahead and paid the $516.86 dollars

for the parts on my MasterCard. Tyler was the young man at the desk and he was very helpful and

he kept his cool while I was very upset and I asked him if he thought those prices were fair and

I spoke with him about this in a professional manner I thought but I imagined he could tell I was upset.
A young lady behind me and another gentleman that I did not hear speak, said that they wouldn't
try to cheat me and I thought to myself “Yeah, but you would gouge me wouldn't you?”
I walked out with the parts and the bill paid. I had ordered a hose and Tyler said it was not in
but would be special order. Tyler called me on Friday and said the hose is here so I asked him
at that time what was the policy of the store on returns? Tyler said no problem if they were returned
n 30 days and it would be a 20% stocking fee for the special order. I did the math and it was not a
problem to see that I could save $300. For the same Cummin’s genuine parts delivered free.
 I don't know who that $300 would have supported but I can think of homeless Vets that could
really use it. I will donate the funds to http://ammilvets.org/# at the local Cape Coral location.
I returned the parts unused and unopened. Tyler was professional and treated me with respect.
I placed the order with Seaboard and have the exact same parts with extra maintenance items.
 Use the links here to price out the parts.

Here are the parts ordered:

Order # 13XXX/ Order Date: June 29, 2018

• #1 Kit
• 4BTA Seawater Side Aftercooler & Heat Exchanger Maintenance Kit
• #5 (HS-7789)
• Coolant to Manifold Return 1 in. ID Hose
• SMX Super 15 Impeller – Cummins 4BTA, 6BTA (JWAC Only)
• 1/2 in. Pencil Zinc

Product	Quantity	Price
#1 Kit4BTA Seawater Side Aftercooler & Heat Exchanger Maintenance Kit - Single Engine (#HXAC-1KIT)	1	$110.00
#5 (HS-7789) Coolant to Manifold Return 1 in. ID Hose (#HS-7789-1)	1	$29.00
SMX Super 15 Impeller - Cummins 4BTA, 6BTA (JWAC Only) (#Super 15)	1	$45.00
1/2 in. Pencil Zinc (#ZC-05)	3	$25.50
Subtotal:		$209.50
Shipping:		$0.00 via FREE UPS Ground Shipping
Payment method:		Credit Card
Total:		$209.50

Two things to be more accurate. The impeller does not come with an O Ring making it a “Kit”.
The Heat Exchanger and Aftercooler Kit come with 3 Zincs. I went ahead and ordered the 3 zincs
and did not see the difference until now. Old age I assume or I drank too much Agent Orange in Viet Nam.

Here are the parts bought at the local Cape Coral Cummins dealer:

2 seals 5331931 @ $63.61 = $127.22

2 seals 5331932 @ $39.76 = $79.52

3 Zinc plugs 68241 @ $26.84 = $80.52

1 kit sea water pump ( impeller and one O ring) @ $146.72

Special Order Hose 3349106     @ $53.62

Fl sales tax                  $29.26

Total for all parts and sales tax  $516.86

I am a retired mechanic, a combat disabled veteran and at 70 on a fixed income.
If I did not work on my boat myself I could not afford to have one.
I have owned an auto dealership, operated a NAPA Auto Care Center,
I understand profit and running a small business.

I do not understand price gouging. Can someone explain why this happened?  
Was it just me or is everyone treated to the same prices?
If you do not want the business of walk-ins or DIY mechanics/owners then why not say so?
Does Cummins rip you off on parts and you just pass that on? Maybe your business is in bad shape
and the walk in is fair game for gouging? I would be happy to consult with you about improvements
. I did this for several major auto companies in the past to improve their bottom line without resorting
to such practices as price gouging. You could just have Seaboard drop ship to your customers
and still, make 20% without stiffing customers. I would hire Tyler tomorrow if I were in business.
If I had asked Randy or Tyler the prices before I foolishly went through the purchase I
would never darken your door.

What do you think about these facts as I see them?

Here are the pictures of the coolers and some of the work I am doing this month.

Deposits from seawater calcium. 

After cooler was a mess and the zincs were almost gone. 

Transmission cooler was stopped up.

Heat exchanger was clean! 

Fuel cooler was almost stopped up. 

Sea water pump. I removed the cooler for fuel return and went at replacement from above. 

Old impeller. 3 blades are going in wrong direction

New impeller ready to install.

Bracket a local shop made me to mount the new filter on.

added another Racor 1000. This is a knock off design.