Brokers

[alex_sauvage]

I see you point: this broker seems to be very busy selling SOME boats. But if he has no time to answer emails (and probably phone calls too) for other boats, then it looks like he signed up to do more than he can handle. It is not fair for him to list the boat, but not put enough efforts into selling because he is too busy. If I would be the owner of tgat boat, I won't be very happy. I guess it is a note to myself: if I am to list a boat with the broker, it might be a good idea to check first how willing he is to reply to buyers emails/phone calls

Originally Posted by ranger42c

The broker we've been working with recently showed a boat in the morning one day last week, then drove 100 miles up here to take pics of another boat he was getting ready to list, then drove another 20 miles north to be here on our boat the next day for the buyer's survey and sea trial... then returned home, finished listing the new boat, swamped me and our buyer with paperwork...

Wash/rinse/almost repeat the next week: finish paperwork here, off to show a different boat another 10 miles further north, then back to his home area to swamp somebody else with paperwork...

And in between all that, working the phone on some of the candidates we're looking at... and presumably doing that for his other customers too...

I understand those are maybe not normal days, but OTOH it wasn't like he had any spare time... Wasn't like he was sittin gon his thumbs...

-Chris

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by alex_sauvage

I see you point: this broker seems to be very busy selling SOME boats. But if he has no time to answer emails (and probably phone calls too) for other boats, then it looks like he signed up to do more than he can handle. It is not fair for him to list the boat, but not put enough efforts into selling because he is too busy. If I would be the owner of tgat boat, I won't be very happy. I guess it is a note to myself: if I am to list a boat with the broker, it might be a good idea to check first how willing he is to reply to buyers emails/phone calls

I dunno what this particular broker's overall workload might have been; he may well be keeping up properly with existing and new customer, new prospective buyers, etc...

I just meant to illustrate that a "day in the life of" might not be hanging around at the bar telling war stories and ignoring business...

And I expect there are as many different stories as there are brokers... so condemning all, or praising all, probably isn't very accurate...

-Chris

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

...I just meant to illustrate that a "day in the life of" might not be hanging around at the bar telling war stories and ignoring business...

And I expect there are as many different stories as there are brokers... so condemning all, or praising all, probably isn't very accurate...

-Chris

I don't doubt that most professional brokers do work hard. My view is not that they are lazy or lackadaisical. My point is that brokers are running businesses. And as with all businesses, they must allocate their time appropriately to each project so that they can pay their bills and keep their business thriving.

Since brokers are paid (largely) through commissions on sales, the time they can afford to spend on lower-end boats is severely limited. And time spent selling a lower-end boat is time not spent selling a higher end one.

Since it can take as much, or even more time selling at the lower end, I completely understand why too many brokers provide lax service to these sales. It's basic economics.

This is why I wish brokers would simply choose NOT to take on boats they know they cannot fully service. This does no one any good. Yet many do, and the outcomes can easily be read here in the plethora of complaints and bad feelings.

[MicHughV]

a very life situation here...

I have a broker here that is very busy with a $500,000 deal he was glad to tell me, and he does not want to deal with me and my rinky dink fishing boat at this time....but will be glad to help me " when he finds time"...so scratch that relationship....

[kick1212]

Hello Magic1st

Glad to help. What are you inquiring about? What is your urgency for the purchase?
What criteria are important in your next vessel? Are you a present vessel owner?

Captain Kick
gustavo@unitedyacht.com

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

a very life situation here...

I have a broker here that is very busy with a $500,000 deal he was glad to tell me, and he does not want to deal with me and my rinky dink fishing boat at this time....but will be glad to help me " when he finds time"...so scratch that relationship....

Good on him/her. They're being honest. This would raise this person's estimation in my view.

[MicHughV]

yes, honesty is a good thing...but honesty with a bit of diplomacy a bit better...." I'm busy with a big client now, but I promise to get back to you by tomorrow"...or something along those lines..

I have little room to talk as my " diplomacy" is not exactly anything to shout
about..

..but sometimes I get a bit (read: a lot) peeved when a big money client jumps to the front of the row, because of a bulging wallet...off course, if I had deep pockets I would expect similar prompt attention......

Yers,

Miffed poor guy

[flyingfin]

My beef w Brokers is that some of them will list anything at anyprice. Yes, I know the Owner loves his 1968 sailboat w/ tiller and original engine,,,,,,,,,but it is fully depreciated and not worth more than it originally retailed for! I see lots of that in SW Florida, people buy a house on the canal, move their boat down here from up north, then get to old to sail and put it on the market. Sits at their dock for another 15 years at a ridiculous price, until the estate unloads it in 5 days for a few hundred dollars

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

yes, honesty is a good thing...but honesty with a bit of diplomacy a bit better...." I'm busy with a big client now, but I promise to get back to you by tomorrow"...or something along those lines..

I have little room to talk as my " diplomacy" is not exactly anything to shout
about..

..but sometimes I get a bit (read: a lot) peeved when a big money client jumps to the front of the row, because of a bulging wallet...off course, if I had deep pockets I would expect similar prompt attention......

Yers,

Miffed poor guy

Too true. The rich always go to the front of the line. It's just business.

But as the great poet writes: "Money talks, but it don't sing and dance."

[Endurance1]

FWIW, I've owned 13 boats over 50 years. Most of them have been bought, and sold, through brokers. My experiences are the same as those of many posters here - most of the time most brokers don't bother responding to my inquiries as a buyer.

I don't understand it. Boat brokers make some of the highest sales commissions of any, often 10%. You'd think they'd be motivated to be somewhat responsive when there's that much money on the table. I'm in the market for our 14th (and probably last) boat, priced in the low to mid six figures, which would seem to represent a tasty potential commission for a broker. But I guess not.

I completely agree with the comments that anyone who disregards email is living in the past. Email is simply the fastest, most efficient way of communicating (especially initial contacts), asking questions, and getting answers. I prefer responses via email and not verbally, because then there's no confusion about what is said - there's a written record. Maybe some brokers are reluctant to 'go on record' and say things in email for that reason.

Especially nowadays during the COVID-19 pandemic, travel is much riskier and more difficult. I'm not willing to just casually hop on a plane or take a multi-day drive just to go see a boat, when in my experiences most of them turn out to be misrepresented and need a lot more work than claimed. I want to do as much research and due diligence as possible before traveling to see something.

I haven't had much better luck with phone calls. There's a boat I've been very interested in that requires either flying or an overnight drive to see. I won't make that kind of trip casually these days (living is more important than buying a boat). I've repeatedly asked the broker a few salient questions about it. He's ignored my emails. I've called and spoken with him several times by phone, he's been friendly and always promised to get back to me with the information 'tomorrow or the next day'. When he doesn't, I call back and eventually get a hold of him, and he's apologetic and once again promises to get back to me with the information. And then doesn't. At this point, even though the boat would have been my first choice, I'm going to pass on it because of the unresponsive and unhelpful broker. It's not worth the COVID-19 risk to make a long trip to see it unless I get some more information first.

Just my 2 cents, and certainly worth much less than that. But the experiences don't seem to be unique. Given all the frustrations so many people have had, I'm surprised a better model hasn't emerged for buying and selling boats. Maybe something like a nautical version of RedFin?

[MicHughV]

there is a misconception that the broker makes 10% commission.

yes, this is the general " fee" associated with selling a boat thru' a broker...but the broker sees only a small percentage of that 10%...the " house" takes the big slice.

even worse, if there are two brokers involved....then the small slice is made even smaller, as the brokers must share that slice..

[Endurance1]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

there is a misconception that the broker makes 10% commission.

yes, this is the general " fee" associated with selling a boat thru' a broker...but the broker sees only a small percentage of that 10%...the " house" takes the big slice.

even worse, if there are two brokers involved....then the small slice is made even smaller, as the brokers must share that slice..

Yes, but compared to the 5% or 6% commissions that real estate agents charge, who also face the same issues of sharing, fees, etc., a boat broker's fee can still be twice as much as their land-based colleagues.

[merrydolphin]

On the whole, Ive had good experience with brokers. I do usually phone first. Or sometime email too. To me, if I am using the broker to sell, an in person meeting is essential to make decisions. I recently sold a 38 foot sail boat. Went to the brokerage. It had two brokers that traded off having the duty. The first one didn’t “click” with me and my needs. He also seemed lacking in knowledge eg. Even though he was suppose to be an experienced cruiser, he didn’t know what a Spade brand nor Fortress anchor was. Red flag. Came back and met with the other broker. Bingo! Right guy. Perfect attitude, great knowledge. Can do attitude. Gave him the listing and at the wrong time of year for NC (end of summer), he had the boat sold in less than a month. Great follow through. I was very pleased. The two biggest yachts ( a 44 and 46 sail). that I sold I did myself, no broker. But to do that I had the ultimate sales tool. IF you are on the west coast, Latitude 38 magazine. In both cases, ONE $130 classified ad each, sold the boats. I tried it on the east cost, no response. It is a west coast publication that is highly respected and widely read. Barring that, I have used a broker to sell two other boats, the 38 sail and a 34 ft trawler. I can’t say enough good about both the brokers that I used. If you want to sell a boat in Carolinas through Chesapeake, message me. Glad to pass on info. On the buying end, have had a mixed bag of experience with brokers. Lots of ho-hum attitudes but some real good ones too. It is not an easy way to make a living. And I think some just get tired of the long dry spans that can go between sales. And some are just flakes. You have to shop and you have to use multiple methods of communications if you are serious.
PS. I have worked in sales a lot including marine in the past. Now retired.

[Boat Guy]

The emotions are showing on both sides of the table...


I don't have a lot of experience as I've on;y gone through this process a few times. But, I'm pretty self sufficient and prefer to do a deal without a middleman / gatekeeper...



I'm in the market for another boat and I saw a boat on YW and I reached out to the seller agent and asked "is it still for sale"? I guess the kiss of death ...It took five days to do a reply that it was sold awhile ago...So I replied, "you might want to take it off YW"....


My point is, it's a valid question and I really don't want to engage via phone, etc. until I know some key things. IMO, many brokers don't provide full info to illicit a call and try and become your broker, and then get frustrated when you have to ask questions and are "wasting their time"....In the previous posters reply above about "gophers", if you simply posted the price then people wouldn't have to ask. Some people have no idea about pricing.

[aeronautic1]

Like real estate, vessels may appear on multiple brokerage websites. You need to ask more wuestions that, “is the boat still available.” The broker answered the question you asked. Try being more than vague in you inquiry. If you want the broker to consider you a serious buyer, and not a tire-kicker, then get in there and research.