Using a Broker on YachtWorld

[Finditsurfit]

So been trying to sell my boat for while now and wanted to put it on yachtworld but I guess you have to be a broker to post. Are there any brokers that you pay a set fee to post your boat for you?

Thanks, David

[Pblais]

Are there any brokers that you pay a set fee to post your boat for you?

Yes, only brokers that pay the fees and sign the contracts can post to Yachtworld. I'm not aware of any brokers that will handle this without a brokerage listing agreement. That may also be part of the Yachtworld agreement too.

[David M]

There are other internet websites that list boats for sale by the owner.

[teneicm]

Originally Posted by David M

There are other internet websites that list boats for sale by the owner.

David, could you share the links and list some of the good ones? Most of the ones I've stumbled across have only a handful of boats or are very poorly designed. Maybe this is a business niche that needs to be exploited....

[David M]

It looks like you discovered that none of the boats for sale websites are as good as YachtWorld.

The ones that come to mind are Ebay, CraigsList, boattrader and iboats.

I too wish there was a more comprehensive and better designed website for people who do not want to go through a yacht broker.

Perhaps some members know of some decent websites that I did not list?

[teneicm]

Thanks- I hadn't seen boattrader or iboats before. Boattrader and iboats allow private listings but also have lots of dealer ads (38 of the 39 boats returned by my search were dealer represented).

Craigslist would be a great resource if you could aggregate a search function across all of their local areas. But, as it is, it takes too much time to search all of the various communities where a boat cold be located. I sometimes look at ebay, but most of the boats they list are either small or very old and tired. It just doesn't seem to be the place to put a 200-400k boat.

[KGP]

Originally Posted by teneicm

Craigslist would be a great resource if you could aggregate a search function across all of their local areas. But, as it is, it takes too much time to search all of the various communities where a boat cold be located.

allofcraigs.com - Search ALL of Craigslist
and there are even iphone apps that allow region searches and the recall of saved searches.

[Atlantic42]

Having sold a boat back in February 2008 on my own I observed:

YachtWorld is the best for a yacht (i.e. sailboat over $50K) as this is where everyone looks.
For a small day sailor, fishing or ski boat Ebay, CraigsList or Boattrader could work well. I really like Craigslist, but you can only post a advert in one location (i.e. Miami) making Craigslist essentially local only and not suited well for higher priced yachts as the market is too narrow.

Other boat specific websites generate very little traffic... even those that are fee based. I can tell you this for a fact as I've used all most all of them and had a web service that measured traffic to my boat specific website. The web service showed referring websites... very little if any traffic from these sites. At the end of the day Yachtworld owns the market and is the gold standard.

However, you can sell a boat yourself if you have the time and motivation.

One approach that has worked for me is to build a website dedicated to your boat. Title the site something like "Beneteau First 405 for sale by owner" and every one looking specifically for a "Beneteau First 405" will likely find you if they look outside the box called Yachtworld. The problem is that you severely limit your market to those looking for a specific model of boat.

Personally, when I look for boats and buy them I use Yachtworld to help figure out what I want then use Google to help me find those boats that are for sale by owner.

For sale by owner boats can be great deals as no brokers fees pad the price. But, a good broker can put together a deal and keep it together and provides insulation between the buyer and seller that can be helpful during negotiations as this can be an emotional time of the deal.

I've bought and sold three out of the four boats I've owned without a broker over the past ten years without any issues.

[teneicm]

Originally Posted by KGP

allofcraigs.com - Search ALL of Craigslist
and there are even iphone apps that allow region searches and the recall of saved searches.

Nice! You learn something everyday....

I was also reading about setting up RSS feeds from Craigslists and using google's reader app to aggregate all the new ads in one place. Somewhat of a pain to add all of the feeds from each local Craigslist community, but you only have to do it once and then the ads come to you as soon as they are published.

[Finditsurfit]

Thanks, I actually used a broker in the begining but he never researched the boat and didn't put in any leg work to sell a wharram. Wharram people love wharrams and most don't really want to give up the deck saloon. I have put it on craigs a few times just scams. I have it on my website and an other.

[xxuxx]

Originally Posted by Finditsurfit

So been trying to sell my boat for while now and wanted to put it on yachtworld but I guess you have to be a broker to post. Are there any brokers that you pay a set fee to post your boat for you?

Thanks, David

To list yourself try: SailboatListings.com

also for yachtworld cheap listing, you can use Mike Gordon Yacht sales in Florida. He will give you a very cheap comission.listing rate. Tell him Christine sent you. Hope this helps.

[theunfurledlife]

I would strongly suggest that you find a broker. It may seem like you can save a buck or two but in the end, it can cost you more to sell the boat yourself.

For most people, a boat is the second most expensive asset they own (besides a home). Most people are willing to use a real estate agent for their home and the same goes for boats. When your spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, the professionalism of a broker is essential. The Yacht Brokers Association of America assures that brokers that are certified by them adhere to a code of ethics. For buyers, finding a person they trust to buy a boat from makes the process so much easier. Especially when the association uses escrow accounts and offers arbitration in the unlikely and unfortunate event that conflict arises. The costs that an owner would incur, should that situation arise would be far more detrimental. Time, money, paperwork, and even attorney fees can easily negate the money saved by a broker's commission.

Additionally, when you look to buy a home you find a real estate agent who has access to mls listings. Thus those that are serious about buying a boat turn to brokers. Yacht brokers have access to their own mls (like yachtworld) listings, which allows the seller's boat a greater national (and even international) exposure to other brokers and individuals, through websites, sailing publications (Sail mag, Cruising World), foot traffic, etc. Now if your boat isn't fully paid off or just in upkeep costs (insurance, slip, etc) the cost due to the lack of marketing exposure by selling the boat individually adds up.

Its a shame because i have seen countless individuals get less for their boat (not to mention sit on the market for a really long time) when that same boat could have been sold much quicker and for a better price.

But as a buyer, brokers serve to protect both parties. They serve to assure that the title and money transfer goes smoothly. This is especially true because the reputation of the broker him/herself is ultimately tied to their ability to facilitate a smooth transaction.

So if you feel that the commission isn't worth the convenience, security, and time you would save then by all means sell the boat yourself. However, selling a boat is not like selling a used car, these are very expensive toys. I just hope that people aren't to cavalier to consider the benefits of a professional YBAA certified broker.

Anyhow best of luck with the sale of your boat.

[jpemb7]

You should think about listing your boat overseas. It really is a global market now, and if you choose the right country you could get a better price. Nothing to lose really.
For example, the market in Australia is fairly active but quality stock is at a premium. Check out these two sites.
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/

http://www.yachthub.com/

These are the two major websites…..Stop…..

Pause for station identification: Please note I am not a yacht broker and have no commercial interest in this whatsoever.

If you want to find out more about this and related issues take a look at the thread

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f48/importing-a-boat-to-australia-3346.html

Goodluck
Jim

[theunfurledlife]

Those websites are interesting... not many listings relatively speaking only about 12k listings on yachthub, which means it might get lost in the hundreds of small boat listing sites. You might be better off creating your own individual website listing your boat for sale.

Yachtworld automatically places its listings internationally so anyone, anywhere can see your boat for sale and the Canadian market is very strong in the last few years. However, importing a boat can be tricky and once shipping, tariffs and other fees... they really end up being a part of the negotiation during the sale. Unless you have experience in this its really uncharted waters for the average person. Not to mention exchange rates come into play. You need to be prepared to keep that in mind.

BUT you never know where a buyer may come from.

I really don't think that anyone here has a vested interest in your boat (except yourself ). However, like jpemb7 is saying you really need to consider your options; if your boat has been on the market for quite some time perhaps you should weigh your options and consider how important selling your boat is ( i know it sounds a bit harsh, but i am trying to help you out here). If you feel that you are doing all the right things, then its just a matter of patience, flexibility, and time. Some boats just take several years to sell and we all have encounted that boat in one place or another. The right boat has to find the right person.

Place yourself in the eyes of the buyer. Where do you think your buyer will come from?
-Will it be internationally or locally?
-From the internet or perhaps someone walking the docks?
-How would you look for a used boat? Where would you search?
-What price do you think you will settle for vs your asking price?
-Will letting your boat sit on the market for an extended period hurt your ability to negotiate price?

You ought to ask yourself what you think it will take to get your boat sold. It seems that your want to get out from under your boat, since you made the effort of posting on this site. Judging by your curiosity in finding additional ways to sell your boat, it appears that you feel you need to be doing more to make your boat visible on the market.
There is no magic to this. It boils down to connecting a buyer with the boat they want. Traditionally when you cast a larger net, you more likely to get some action.

Ultimately your going to have to think about what moves you believe will make your boat sell.

Hope this helps.

[smj]

In my opinion the Yacht Brokers Association of America are worthless. We fought for 3 months to get a $17,000 deposit back from a broker who was a member of the YBAA. All the YBAA's concern was whether the broker had payed his dues that year. It took a call from a lawyer and a letter from the attorney general to get our money back in installments, they never put the check into an escrow account, they cashed it.