What's the deal with Boat Brokers?

[Atraxia]

I only trust one yacht broker and he has always proven to be straight, honest and reliable.
Just give him a call and see for yourself:
Kirk Muter - Edwards Yacht Sales
+1 (954) 649-4679

Good luck finding the right boat!

Ron
__/)__

[LeeV]

How about new boat sales people?! Just to vent:

We’ve attended the last 4 big shows in Miami and Annapolis trying to narrow down what cat we like, what size is best for us, and what we’ll be able to afford. I understand why major manufacturers (FP, Lagoon, Leopard...) want us to buy from the dealer in our “zone,” and we’d like to for service/warranty, but what if you’re put off by the sales person you keep getting referred to?

This person took my original call 2 years ago, and emailed us a cost spreadsheet. He was going to send more info on the 2 boats we discussed, but after 3 return calls he told me he’d sent materials each time but my server (Comcast) was at fault for me not getting them. Finally we agreed to just wait and meet in Annapolis to go over the boats. We arrived and when he joined us at the tent, he brought a sub sandwich and proceeded to eat while talking. In between bites he asked if we were ready to put down a deposit that day, “...and I’ll get out the paperwork. What kind of boat are you buying?” [burp]

So he didn’t recall who we were even after I reminded him, why we were there or which boats we wanted him to go over with us. In between bites. We aren’t uptight, but he could have handled this differently so we found the entire episode unprofessional.

We responded that we weren’t buying that day and we’d just go look by ourselves. He said, “ok; let me know which one you want and I’ll take it from there.”

Sad commentary on sales, and I hear this fellow makes lots of sales.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by shadow

Hi All,

Am I the only one that keeps getting coupled with lazy, uninformed, don't give a crap yacht brokers?

I've purchased many boats in my life and I literally have an 80% ratio of the brokers being just useless.. I know more about the boat then they do. Getting information out of them seems like a root canal. They constantly give incomplete information and I have to keep begging them to give me more..

Am I the only one that keeps experiencing this?

Love to hear other people's stories..

I believe you can tell a lot from write-ups. There seems to be brokers and then used car salesmen that thought boats might be more lucrative. Nomenclature tells.

[Divevac]

Time is money - IMHO that deplorable attitude is endemic to the majority (60-70%) of brokers I have inquired with. Having been a 'frog' for a year, we are now 'princes' - highly motivated cash buyers zeroed in on what we want. This is a service industry that requires 'kissing frogs to eventually meet the prince'. Not unlike real estate agents (who kiss dozens of frogs at open houses looking for the Prince), boat brokers are plentiful. Rejected frogs like me will never call a mediocre broker a second time.


Over the past year, we have not just been looking for a boat. Brokerage is a service industry wherein many seem to forget what that means. Having said that, we have come across real gems in this industry who are honest, forthright and available. I have a (relatively) short list of exceptional brokers I will engage now that we are ready to purchase.


Last month one broker showed great initiative offering to Skype-preview a boat I called about-not his listing. After 25 minutes showing me the boat from afar, he insisted I deal directly with him and his brokerage. When I openly questioned his motives, he got very pissy and terminated the call. As soon as he realized there was no nothing in it for him, he was gone, The listing broker (brokerage owner and his boss) may yet get the sale.


Our worst experience was a 3 hour drive to Jacksonville to see a catamaran. We made an appointment two days prior and we called the broker thirty minutes out to confirm. This 50-something former teenage surfing champion advised he couldn't make it because 'he had another more expensive boat to show'. I emailed the owner (out of country) about our experience with his broker. His response was effectively 'oh well'. For buyers, this was a match made in hell: The broker was about as motivated as the seller.


When we encounter a negative experience, as considerate Canadians we make an effort to provide honest feedback about our experience. On occasion I have been known to openly question the inclusion of the word "PROFESSIONAL' in a poorly service oriented broker's CPYB designation...

[Cheechako]

"lazy, uninformed, don't give a crap yacht brokers?"
That has got to be the Webster Dictionary definition for sure.
Brokers have misled me, cost me legal money with potential buyers when selling, misinformed me when buying, etc etc. I've had to close a deal myself with a buyer whom the broker said he couldn't close the deal with at my minimum price.

[RSB333]

I've HAD THE SAME BROKER FOR 20 YEARS. HE'S HONEST, HARD WORKING, KNOWLEDGABLE AND HAS ACCESS TO SALES DATA THAT I DON'T HAVE. (LISTING OF ALL THE SALES OF THE MAKE AND MODEL I'M LOOKING AT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS) WHEN PLANNING OUR DREAM LIVEABOARD, HE PUT TOGETHER A TOUR TO SEE 9 BOATS IN A WEEKEND SO WE COULD COMPARE FEATURES, ETC. Like any other venture, you just have to find the right guy.rsb

[Peregrine1983]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This is the issue with lower-end boats; the fact is, most brokers get paid based a set commission, usually around 10%. Ten percent of a cheap boat is a pretty poor payout. Selling a boat can take many, many hours of work. Low end boats bring out a lot of tire-kickers. I found this out while selling my own boat. So I can see why brokers become jaded and rather cautious in their responses. It also explains why these brokers likely invest less time learning much about these boats they list.

My experience exactly. Not much incentive on the cheap boats.

[leont]

I, personally, had very good experience with the whole team at Sail Away Catamarans, MD. All of the people I dealt with (Tommy Smith, Amy Michaud, and Gordie Cummings) were helpful and knowledgeable.

Actually, most of brokers I talked to in the past to were quite professional. Having said that, I feel that 10% is a little excessive, but this is for another thread.

[P3sailor]

Your Broker reminds me of many of the Realtors I've dealt with...only interested in the commission! As far as batteries, I would mainly be interested in how old the batteries are, if 5 years or older they would most likely be needing replacing in the near future, of course that would also depend on your sailing needs/requirements.

[Dave22q]

Originally Posted by Thalas

Boats with any kinds of electric devices draw power. Say a fridge draws 3 amps per hour... lights another 2 amps per hour. Say you calculate that on average you use 10 amps per hour just living on the boat. If you have a 200 amp hour battery bank (a series of batteries of a certain size, which you can really only use half of to keep the batteries in good condition so 100 amp hours usable), you can use your devices for 10 hours before you will either need shore power, run the generator or engine (with an alternator), or have regen like solar or wind adding juice to the bank.

I don't know your life so you may very well enjoy sailing without electronics on board, but if a broker is selling a boat, they need to know these things. It's like a real estate agent not knowing square footage on a house.

In general a broker knows what a seller tells him. Asking him to calculate current draw is absurd. At best he will ask the owner at worst he will dismiss you as a lookey loo.

[Scaramanga F25]

There ARE real good brokers out there.

Of the 10% commission, the salesman that nails it down shares this commission with the listing broker, then the house and then gets as little as 2.5%, minus expenses, of the final sale once the money has changed hands.

So, on a $50K boat where the surveyor is more or less competent,or a friend of ?, ( I have dealt with a few,) knocks the final price to $ 44K the salesman you dealt with who is not the listing broker winds up with with 1,000$ after his/her expenses.

So a boat less than $ 50,000 is not worth the tire kickers.

Easier to sell a boat in the multiple hundreds of thousands.

I am not a broker nor a salesman. It is a dirty, dog eat dog, steal your commission business.

I have family in this business. A leading in sales person.

[Scaramanga F25]

LeeV,

Instead of talking to the Guy you should have talked to the Gal who is the most competent as her sales record proves.

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

LeeV,

Instead of talking to the Guy you should have talked to the Gal who is the most competent as her sales record proves.

I have no bias as far as sex goes; he was just the person everybody referred me to. I"m not even sure there's a female sales person on hand. From Fl to Md this person seems to be it.

[wordsmithereen]

Wow, you guys are pretty harsh, but I understand if you have had a bad experience with a broker (especially if it has happened multiple times). As a former boat salesman, I can tell you a few things.

I worked hard because I had to. Commision work is a do or die situation. When the bottom dropped out some years back I couldn't sell a dinghy to a drowning man. The ones that bought boats wanted them for practically nothing, and I was reduced to selling boats to overseas brokers.

There was so little money in it I lost my wife in a divorce because I could barely support myself. I went into debt and finally gave up the business.

Please keep this in mind. I had to work hard because it was my living, such as it was. I had to put up with people that knew little about boats but just wanted one as a status symbol in some cases, and others that were just starting out. I have been on boats all my life as boat captain delivering to the West Indies and Bahamas. I know boats and any listing I had I went through thoroughly. I have found most did the same. We knew our products pretty well.

But bear this in mind. Think of how many types and brands there are out there. We had to know each and every listing to the best of our abilities. Sometimes when one became a listing we got hits on it before the pixels were set on the screen of the listing. In some cases, in other words, we didn't have time to learn the boat.

Additionally, we can tell about the aspects of the boat as we know it, but there is a reason surveying is a big business. If the salesman doesn't help you, then go to the brokerage and complain. If the the brokerage doesn't help you go to the BBB. Any brokerage worth his salt will be a local member. If they aren't then ask them why. Check their rating and complaints.

Selling boats is a really tough business. Sometimes you run across those people that really don't have the knowledge or the drive, but I assure you they get drummed out pretty quickly. Sure there are those we used to call ROAD'ies in the Air Force...Retired On Active Duty. When you get those, go to the brokerage and ask for another person.

Good luck.

Bear

[Thalas]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

In general a broker knows what a seller tells him. Asking him to calculate current draw is absurd. At best he will ask the owner at worst he will dismiss you as a lookey loo.

I mentioned how to calcualate draw to inform Jd1’s question and give him context. He said he didnt know what a bank was. Never said a broker should calculate draw. I mentioned battery bank amp hours as something any broker should absolutely know. And if the broker didn’t get such basic info before listing then yes... that’s a bad/lazy broker.

“What’s the amp hours on the battery bank?”
“Uh.... lemme check with the owner on that.”

Please...