What to Expect in Negotiations When Purchasing

[bg9208]

Originally Posted by dacust

Many, many sailboaters keep a unicycle on board. For some reason, the accepted practice is to mount it upside-down by the seatpost in the cockpit sole. While they are driving, they seem to derive great pleasure from spinning the wheel back and forth, back and forth.

Dunno why, but there ya are...

Dohh! Thank you for enlightening me. As usual, the answer is always the one which should have been blindingly obvious to anyone with half of a brain. I must have been having a senior moment! Must remember to add this to my buying checklist alongside , bow thruster and remote control windlass in the "must have" section.
Does any one by any chance have a spare user manual?

[Pelagic]

When I found the boat I wanted after days of crawling all over it I thought long and hard over what number would make me feel good about the purchase…. Made it my final offer….and then stuck to it!

For weeks the broker tried to negotiate a better price for the Seller. I refused to consider and just stuck to the number which I viewed as a karma sort of thing. It would be Fate if I got the boat!

It worked for me, as it prevented my love of the boat to get in the way of making the deal

[Greenman]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Made it my final offer….and then stuck to it!

That is an awesome attitude. I am all for fair and equal deals, but I loathe the negotiation game. Sellers bumping up a few thousand because they know offers will come low, and buyers offering lower then they are willing to pay because they know the seller will come back with a counter........bah it all drives me nuts.

If you want to sell something price it where it will sell. The owners I talked to already had tacked about a 25% "emotional" value onto their boat because it was there boat.

It may take more time, but when I do buy, it will be with the above mentality. Here is what I am comfortable paying......and thats it.

[dacust]

Originally Posted by bg9208

Does any one by any chance have a spare user manual?

I could send you my owner's manual, but since it's really short, I'll just copy it in here verbatim.

• Position yourself between two poles.
• Holding on to the poles, balance yourself on the unicycle.
• Let go.
• Fall.
• Repeat.

OK, sorry for the thread drift. Back to our originally scheduled discussion on "Negotiations"...

I think Pelagic's approach was a very mature one. DON'T let your love of a particular boat make you adjust your budget. There are always more out there. Especially in today's market.

-dan

[Lancerbye]

Originally Posted by Greenman

That is an awesome attitude. I am all for fair and equal deals, but I loathe the negotiation game. Sellers bumping up a few thousand because they know offers will come low, and buyers offering lower then they are willing to pay because they know the seller will come back with a counter........bah it all drives me nuts.

If you want to sell something price it where it will sell. The owners I talked to already had tacked about a 25% "emotional" value onto their boat because it was there boat.

It may take more time, but when I do buy, it will be with the above mentality. Here is what I am comfortable paying......and thats it.

You would not like the standard bargaining process that goes on between vendor and purchaser in many parts of the world. This is an acceptable and social way of doing business.

[Greenman]

I have traveled extensively and I am a pretty good negotiator (LOL I think), but I hate it in North America. In most places around the world it is more like a sport and kinda fun. In North America it feels cheezy and annoying, like everyone is out to rip you off. No fun, no sport.

[Pblais]

It may take more time, but when I do buy, it will be with the above mentality. Here is what I am comfortable paying......and thats it.

All boiled down that is how it works. Do the research! Getting a feel for what other boats in the area are selling for and what comparable alternative boats you could buy makes it easy to say "This is my offer!".

Negotiations can be on price or terms. There are often terms after the price that make the sale more attractive to the seller or buyer. Offering a lower price with a promise to close in short order with cash can make a lower price more acceptable. Bargaining to a low price and then not closing for a month and asking for lots of nit picking details means you are the buyer from hell. Paying a higher price with the seller agreeing to a lot of extra terms may make it work too. The general rule on trading is there is price and there are terms. If you want rock bottom prices then expect terms in favor of the seller. If you want entertainment and exceptional service then you will be paying more. If you expect both then get a friend to buy the boat and sail on their new boat.

It is possible to pay asking price under the right terms such as do everything I ask and I will pay your price. Looking for terms can be the best way to make the seller and buyer meet on a price.

[Cheechako]

My experience is that most sellers want you to give a little. That way they feel like they won something in the negotiation and feel better about it. It shouldn't be an emotional thing. Once you get past being emotional about it it's fun.

[Ex-Calif]

Know what you are buying. Get as much info as possible. Have the inspection/survey complete before final negotiations. Know what you are willing to spend.

Don't insult the boat or the seller. Be factual, be pragmatic.

There is a lot of emotion on the part of the seller. You have to be emotionless other than making the seller comfortable that you will take care of his "baby." I have found this to be one of the weirdest emotions and is usually worth some money off.

If the seller believes you are the "one" to take care of his girl he will come your way.

Weird. It's just a boat.

[dacust]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Know what you are buying. Get as much info as possible. Have the inspection/survey complete before final negotiations. Know what you are willing to spend.

Don't insult the boat or the seller. Be factual, be pragmatic.

There is a lot of emotion on the part of the seller. You have to be emotionless other than making the seller comfortable that you will take care of his "baby." I have found this to be one of the weirdest emotions and is usually worth some money off.

If the seller believes you are the "one" to take care of his girl he will come your way.

Weird. It's just a boat.

Very true, Ex-Calif.

But be sure to read the seller. When looking at boats I generally to find what you said to be true. But when buying the boat I currently have, I found the seller to totally not be that way. He was done with the boat and just wanted to sell it. Not done with it as in tired of it. He was selling the house and just had no more use for the boat. And it was just a tool to him. If I had hinted that I would take good care of it, he would have interpreted it as a point in his favor that I was emotionally attracted to it. With him, I was very friendly on a personal level, but all business about the boat. He was a great guy and very nice to deal with (he suggested that my buddy and i spend the night at his house while we were getting the boat ready). It was just that I adjusted my negotiating style with him. He is one of the few owners that I felt it was a good move to be brutally honest about the faults I found. Normally I reserve that talk for the broker. Not that I pointed out everything I noticed, even then: I DID refrain from pointing out the flaws in some of the work he had personally done to the boat.

Which is another point. In general, if you have negative comments to make about the boat, say it to the broker (if you have a buyers broker, yours). The broker will find the right way to present it to the owner. Negative comments to the current owner should be made very carefully or not at all.

-dan

[Pblais]

If the seller believes you are the "one" to take care of his girl he will come your way.

It is very important. It was when I sold our last boat. You'll give a little for someone you like. You can't get it for free but the good will can be valuable after the sale. You really will want that ability to call and ask a few questions. It could save you a lot of money.