Cactus Navigation & Communication Reviews 

Written by the company

Cactus is a privately owned business operating with an office and warehouse in Plymouth in the UK. Cactus MD Andrew Smythe says: ‘I started the business after many years in the marine industry first as an electronics installation engineer and later as a sales and marketing manager for one of the manufacturers, working the UK and overseas. Before I started Cactus, marine electronics were either sold from mail order chandlers who sold at low prices but lacked the specialist knowledge or the local technical dealers who had the knowledge but were on the whole expensive. My idea was to offer good technical expertise and low prices, hence our slogan and guiding principle Strong on Price and Advice!’ The Cactus price promise guarantees you the best price, even in the event you have seen a price cheaper elsewhere. We try to keep our promise as simple as possible and not have lots of exceptions or caveats, so in a nutshell, we will always match or better a price providing the product is from an official source, like for like and it’s not a discontinued product or promotion we can no longer source. Cactus is a brick and mortar business with premises and a warehouse in Plymouth full of stock. Next time you are looking at online chandlers and retailers look carefully at their address (if they put it on their site, many don’t) thanks to Google maps you can even take a look at their premises. You will see many of the retailers on the net are just one man bands working from home. But why does that matter? Well without premises they can’t hold decent levels of stock, in fact, most of these companies don’t hold stock, and instead they source from distributors who ship the goods for on their behalf. Many have no idea what they are selling and most importantly have no infrastructure in place to deal with returning goods or service work. Unlike many web retailers our sales team are marine engineers, so as well as being able to guide you through all the options they can talk intelligently about all aspects of the installation. They can tell you the kit and tools you need, positioning antennas and display even how best to run cables. Our advice makes sure you get the right kit and you get the most out of it. If you don’t want to install the equipment yourself, we can recommend a reliable company who will be able to deal with the project. If you have a problem we don’t hide behind an email address or restrict the times you can call us. If something you have bought from us isn’t working to your satisfaction, let us know and we will get it sorted. Cactus is now in its 3rd decade of trading, we know the solutions and products that work and ones that don’t. If you have an idea for a unique application or installation let us know, chances are we’ve already been there and done it with another customer. Over the years we have supplied equipment to tens of thousands of customers with boats ranging from day sailors to superyachts. Nearly all become repeat customers because they like our pricing, customer service and business approach. We like to a build a rapport with our customers and get feedback on how their kit has performed; consequently, we are able to give great advice. This advice doesn’t just save money, in one case recently it actually saved the life of a customer and his family in the Southern Ocean. Cactus is one of only a few internet retailers / chandlers that is a dealer and service agent for ALL the major brands. We are not tied to a few suppliers which mean we can offer genuine unbiased advice. Unlike many online stores, we are happy to talk you through a problem.See more