New & Better Classifieds Site

[satdiver]

As my search for a new vessel continues I have noticed that sites like yachtworld, boats.com, boattrader etc... are all awful from searching by location to photographs to old expired listings the list goes on. Rather than complaining I've decided to link up with a web developer (formerly a facebook engineer) friend of mine and build something better and brand new without advertisements, product and loan pitches slowing down the site and other crap that makes these sites so frustrating.

Open for suggestions to ideas to making the best boat/yacht classified site possible. Please also feel free to include anything you hate.

[billyrodg]

more search fields...i.e. draft

[David_Old_Jersey]

I actually think Yachtworld is quite good.

IMO the main problem with any of these sites are the people doing the listings - garbage in, garbage out.....and will never be able to control that, especially if accepting Owner listings - some people really are clueless on how to sell a boat!

From what I recall the key to Yachtworld was them enabling Brokers to host listings under own Website, so no need to transfer / input the same data again and therefore no delays.

Personally I don't mind Adverts (within reason!), especially on stuff that I get for free. The key for me being "is it any good?".

FWIW, I have been having a play with Google with the intention of creating my own Search Engine that sits over a number of Broker sites, and possibly including the main listing sites like Yachtworld......results were a bit rough and ready (and I haven't really progressed it much!)....would no doubt be a bit better using own software (beyond my scope!), but probably comes down to how each listing is "tagged" (or whatever) as searches are limited to Google Style results......but possibly scope to create the equivalent of Google Boat Search as the basic (on top of existing listings so you start off with something that has content to avoid the chicken and egg situation!) and then monetise the site by offering the ability to tag listings so they appear in your advanced search (Length / Draft etc etc), for both owners and Brokers - old listings zapped by monthly payment per listing, nonsense listings can then be managed manually (and also by having the basics for boats pre-loaded?).

A boats wanted section would also be useful - including with wide parameters.

[terminalcitygrl]

Have an equipment checklist with prompts (like material, year, make), maybe even make it compulsory, to make it easier to compare.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Oh, and would be nice to have a boat porn section!

kinda like the archive on Yachtsnet, based on a number of boats and with some good general info (and lots of pics!) - not a review as such (although could add the capacity to add some). Would also be useful to have links to both any Owners Groups and Owner personal websites (I appreciate that website owners don't like giving links away - but they are cheap, and if your product is good the Punters will be back, and if not they will FO anyway).....could also add half a dozen listings of same model for sale automatically fed in to the page.

Effectively being a resource centre as well as simply a(nother) listings website, it's about laying out cheese...........

Archive boat data from Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

[Jolly Roger]

Okay—here’s beauty!
I traveled the world looking at boats and was sometimes tempted to sue the broker or owner for pure misrepresentation. I flew to the Bahamas to look at a 50’ x 14’ schooner, which in fact measured 40’ x 12’ (It was called Woo Ha and the “broker” was in Malta! ).
So let’s have a “buyers comments” link with every listings, so people who have seen the darn things can make comments, good and bad. That will sort the brokers out, who haven’t even seen the boat they are listing, and owners trying to farm off a wreck with five year old photos.

[satdiver]

I liked the Boat Porn Idea, and I've had the same experience Jolly Roger. The comments section will be added without a doubt. David Ole Jersey the homepage you'll first land on will actually look a lot like google. I plan on having that type of search to an extent. What extent that will be we'll only find out in a alpha test.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by satdiver

As my search for a new vessel continues I have noticed that sites like yachtworld, boats.com, boattrader etc... are all awful from searching by location to photographs to old expired listings the list goes on. Rather than complaining I've decided to link up with a web developer (formerly a facebook engineer) friend of mine and build something better and brand new without advertisements, product and loan pitches slowing down the site and other crap that makes these sites so frustrating.

Open for suggestions to ideas to making the best boat/yacht classified site possible. Please also feel free to include anything you hate.

I'll second that! Those sites are terrible. Hard to refine your search, and when you try to do so, you seem to jump back to some differnt inputs etc. Boats that sold years ago are still there too....

[S/V Alchemy]

If you run AdBlocker and NoScript and a few other little utilities, you don't see 90% of the ads and pop-ups in the first place, I've found.

Nonetheless, these sites probably do not make enough to hire an editor or team of proofers able to a) correct the information given, and b) make sure all the standard questions potential buyers want to know is provided.

The same skill set is found in a good real estate ad.

[bobconnie]

When you get right down to it the yachtworld site will let ya put in almost all the stuff your talking about now in there advanced search area ! at least a lot of them anyway ! not to much you can do about bad pics and bad discriptions, but at least you can narrow it down a bunch !! Thats just what Ive seen, the most trouble is brokers or there agents not really being honest over the phone! Ive went to see boats that anyone could see would never stand a survey, after being told they were blue water ready !! Im now working with a buyers broker, and he has really cut down on my bad trips !! just a thought

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Okay—here’s beauty!
I traveled the world looking at boats and was sometimes tempted to sue the broker or owner for pure misrepresentation. I flew to the Bahamas to look at a 50’ x 14’ schooner, which in fact measured 40’ x 12’ (It was called Woo Ha and the “broker” was in Malta! ).
So let’s have a “buyers comments” link with every listings, so people who have seen the darn things can make comments, good and bad. That will sort the brokers out, who haven’t even seen the boat they are listing, and owners trying to farm off a wreck with five year old photos.

Whilst I an understand why that would be attractive - I think it would be commercial suicide! Ain't no one gonna list a boat when it / the Vendor / the Broker risks getting slagged, whether fairly or unfairly. Plus add in the risk of getting butt sued, when your defence is based around a clueless idjut .

The "challenge" that every listing site has is that all the content is written by other people, and the accuracy cannot be verified and especially with boats is often a matter of interpretation......plus add in that many Vendors, Brokers and Buyers are halfwits / deluded / liars / wildly optimistic / lazy.....or a bit of everything . and to be fair , approaches and expectations of folks do simply differ. IMO you have to live with all that, and work around or with it - trying to correct that lies the road to madness .

How about anonymising feedback (whether from Buyer, Broker or Vendor) by redacting names and specific vessels and possibly including a 3 month(?) delay in posting details - which are not linked to any listing (current or past).....you just build up a library of "funny" stuff (it's always funny when it's not you ) - even if you wrap up the purpose as a learning excercise ....IME folk with boats love gossiping , and could make quite a good marketing vehicle by attracting punters into the site from dumb stories being spread by links. Could even add a Dear Abby style response .

[AllezCat]

It should have comments - same as real estate brokers.
why not?
Ebay does it.
Let people sort out whether the complaint is credible.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by billyrodg

more search fields...i.e. draft

YES!

I think yachtworld.com is actually pretty good, but I would LOVE to be able to limit my search to sailboats that meet my draft requirements.

[Gelfling]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

Okay—here’s beauty!
I traveled the world looking at boats and was sometimes tempted to sue the broker or owner for pure misrepresentation. I flew to the Bahamas to look at a 50’ x 14’ schooner, which in fact measured 40’ x 12’ (It was called Woo Ha and the “broker” was in Malta! ).
So let’s have a “buyers comments” link with every listings, so people who have seen the darn things can make comments, good and bad. That will sort the brokers out, who haven’t even seen the boat they are listing, and owners trying to farm off a wreck with five year old photos.

I like this idea!

I would also have *required fields. So many listings appear to trying to 'hide' basics like engine HP and hours...... so frustrating!

[justwaiting]

Maybe we should get our own house in oder. Look at some the boats advertised in this forum. No price, no location ......

Draft and LWL would be a great help to me