Well I wonder just what value they are adding, given that they sold the boat to me less than three years ago... but in all seriousness, I am not sure, so maybe it's even worse.
Well I wonder just what value they are adding, given that they sold the boat to me less than three years ago... but in all seriousness, I am not sure, so maybe it's even worse.
Walk away! Post the sale on the Internet specialized site Publish an announcement on one of the specialized magazines. Even put it on eBay, as an advert.
All the above together is more than what a broker would ever do. You will get a lot more interest.
The only case when a broker might be useful is for taking care of visits in your absence. But if that is not a problem ...
Location: 'ang on a mo, I'll just take some bearings
Posts: 17,178
Steep? More like alpine.
__________________
There are three kinds of people:
Those who learn by reading.
Those who learn by observation.
Those who have to pee on an electric fence for themselves.
In the end of course it depends on how good they are - If they get you 5% more selling price than the outfit next door then paying them an extra 3% of it doesn't seem a bad deal.
As ever though - see what others think - also try them out - ring a few up asking for details of boats you know they have but don't mention seeing the ad. If it's similar value to yours even better.
See if they send you details, follow it up etc, send you similar info - you know - basic selling stuff.
If they don't answer the phone or can't find any details or send you nothing then how will potential buyers of your boat get to genuinely hear of it. Some will walk past of course but only if they come to look. I suspect many will ring round or spot on internet first before visiting so if your potential broker can't do the basics then don't touch!!
11% is not an unreasonable request. I'll sell it to you for 50% if you like...
Whether you choose to agree is entirely up to you. You know the best bet...
Boatsandoutboards
Apolloduck
Very good pix, good write up - realistic asking price. With these three clearly given (especially the last one), most things that float will find a buyer
you will find that the broker also has to pay the boat yard for the space the your boat is taking up even if the yard own the site. all depts will be self accounting, so they charge each other for services. it all adds to the o/all cost + the broker will have a minimum commission because of the above
11%
Very good pix, good write up - realistic asking price. With these three clearly given (especially the last one), most things that float will find a buyer
We went through this minefield a few months ago, my 2p worth, dont get caught in neccesarily going with the really cheap % for a broker that just lists it on the internet. A good broker will have a list of clients to match with boats and will earn his %.
Too often when we viewed boats we were just given the keys, and one broker sat in the cockpit looking bored, no follow up phone calls at all, still is shortened our list of brokers we considered for selling our boat.
With our broker we agreed a %, got the price we wanted and sold the boat in 2 months, always got a phone call when viewings were arranged and a follow up call.
But yes 11% is too much if the boats worth 50k but if its only worth 5k !!
With our broker we agreed a %, got the price we wanted and sold the boat in 2 months, always got a phone call when viewings were arranged and a follow up call.
Which brokerage provided you with this good service?
Never in a million years, to say it depends how good he is is rubish, even the best will not charge you that amount.
Think about it! If the sale price is £5k the gross commission is £550. At normal 8% it is £400. Often a small low priced boat takes just as much effort to sell as a substantial boat. How often do you see brokers listing such boats? And have you ever wondered why?
If the sale price is £5k the gross commission is £550. At normal 8% it is £400. Often a small low priced boat takes just as much effort to sell as a substantial boat.
That is why most brokers operate on a percentage of sale price but subject to a minimum fee - nomrally mentioned in there T's & C's
Yacht brokers are just like estate agents.................they only survive because people are too lazy or ignorant to do their own selling/buying. And with todays internet access to even bigger audiences than ever before, I fail to understand why anyone would user a broker.......
especially when they want ELEVEN percent. Sod that for a game of sailors.
Yacht brokers are just like estate agents.................they only survive because people are too lazy or ignorant to do their own selling/buying. And with todays internet access to even bigger audiences than ever before, I fail to understand why anyone would user a broker.......
especially when they want ELEVEN percent. Sod that for a game of sailors.
What a sweeping statement! Many people do not have the time and skills to sell their own boat. If brokers did not fulfil an economic function they would not exist.
Individuals are quite capable of making their own decisions as to the way they sell their boats. If you think you can get a better net price and have the time to handle it all yourself then fine, but don't knock people for making a different decision.
Yes, 6% + is common with a minimum charge of c£700.
Yachtsnet seem to do a good job and their site is one of my favourites - 4% with a minimum of £500 is their stated charge.
Yachtsnet seem to do a good job and their site is one of my favourites.
Mine too
And a demonstration that if you have a fundamentaly sound idea your website does not need to be all singing and dancing.......and indeed is all the better for not being so.
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Posted by downthecreek:
You are a prolific producer of offensive and gratuitous drivel
Yachtsnet seem to do a good job and their site is one of my favourites
Mine too: I have them bookmarked under YM and visit them regularly, if nothing else to look at REALLY GOOD pics of boats (informative, above all) with an excellent SUMMARY of inventory and specs.
But has anyone here ever used them as brokers - or bought through them? Do their services as brokers match their skill as web designers?
Early this year I decided to sell my own boat. My plan was to start advertising on the Web and if no repsonse then consider using a broker nearer end of the year. I was actually considering buying this winter or early 2010 so wasn't in a rush to sell.
I registered with quite a few sites advertising for free. Don't think they generated many responses and in fact a couple were almost impossible to find via search engines. If people can't find your advert then not much point having it. Often you had to visit the site and search there to find a boat. Pretty useless.
However, I had also decided to use my own web-site to advertise the boat. That went really well and I was flooded with emails. People seemed keen to travel hundreds of miles to see her and she was sold very quickly. I did manage to delay a little so that I could have a couple of weeks for summer hols. before selling.
I think that there were 4 main reasons for success:
1) The design was a relatively rare one on 2nd hand market and obviously in demand
2) I'd owned her for 23 years so she was in very good condition
3) I put quite a lot of detail on Web-site (more than any broker would provide)
4) My web-site was very highly rated by search engines so potential buyers found her quickly (not an accident)
Searching for "Southerly 95 for sale" (and a few other key phrases) will still find my boat very easily. She was listed 1st in Google,
Yahoo, AltaVista etc. but I haven't actively promoted the site for 2-3 months.
So it seems sensible to avoid a broker if following are all true:
Boat is likely to sell easily (due to make/condition)
You know what she is worth
It isn't a rushed sale
Lot of buyers as future doesn't promise imminent economic meltdown
Oops, we've just been there so perhaps opposite it true and people want to rush out and buy an asset.
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Culture shock: Slowly getting used to >2m draft after owning a Southerly for 23 years.
But has anyone here ever used them as brokers - or bought through them? Do their services as brokers match their skill as web designers?
No, but I did send them an e-mail once (not about buying a boat, just after I had noticed them copyrighting pictures and I wanted to make sure they were ok with me having "borrowed" a couple for my own website ) and I got a very quick and freindly response..........IMO bodes well for listing enquiries.
From what I see their stock does move through to sale at a decent pace.
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Posted by downthecreek:
You are a prolific producer of offensive and gratuitous drivel
Boatshed Portsmouth, no connection just a satisfied customer
Boatshed do appear to be a very mixed bunch. When we were seriously looking for another boat 2 years ago we had very poor service ie nothing at all, when we contacted boatshed about a boat we were interested in. They couldn't even be bothered to call back to arrange a viewing.
What a sweeping statement! Many people do not have the time and skills to sell their own boat. If brokers did not fulfil an economic function they would not exist.
Individuals are quite capable of making their own decisions as to the way they sell their boats. If you think you can get a better net price and have the time to handle it all yourself then fine, but don't knock people for making a different decision.
Of course it was a sweeping statement.....................it was intended to be.
With the internet now what it is, and with a little application anyone can sell their own boat at a fraction of the cost of employing a broker. Brokers, like Estate Agents, exist because people think selling a boat/house is a highly complicated legal process which needs vast experience and skills and is therefore beyond them.
But in reality it is just not true, but is, what the Broker wants everyone to believe for the continued existence of his business and survival.
Of course everyone is entitled to sell their boats as they see fit. But with just a little bit more thought, application and input they could save themselves a small fortune.
To my mind a Broker (Agent etc etc) is little more than a parasite making a very good living out of peoples ignorance/stupidity. ( What say you Deeps ? )
Tranona, I take onboard your comments, but do you have a vested interested in supporting Brokers ??
No, absolutely not. Just an aversion to people who think what is good for them is good for others!
Of course you can sell your boat yourself and the internet has made it easier to reach a larger number of potential buyers. However the key issue is getting the best net price and not to get worked up about somebody earning money to help you achieve that. I remember my mother in law complaining because the estate agent sold her cottage the day it went on the market. The fact that he got a higher price than she wanted escaped her - she just felt he had "not worked hard enough" for his cut!
So you may think you "save a small fortune" but selling a boat yourself is not costless. No boat has a fixed price and you may well be denying yourself an opportunity to obtain a higher price by "saving" money on the sale process, never mind taking on all the costs of advertising and dealing with enquiries yourself.
Back to brokers. There are many other reasons for using a broker. Many buyers perceive greater security buying this way, particularly in higher value boats. They don't have to traipse all over the place meeting up with private sellers, they might prefer not to meet the owner as they can get sucked into to discussions they don't want etc. Brokers offer other services as well as selling boats and often are able to offer a buyer much greater choice. I could go on, but the point is that there is a place for brokers in the market and their continued existence suggests that their services ar valued by many - both buyers and sellers.
I agree with Tranona... not all of us are in a position to sell a boat privately.. as we live 250 miles away! My dealings with brokers have always been pretty good... but I think that 11% is a pretty steep fee... for low priced boats I would think a Flat fee more appropriate.
If you can offer sole agency to an agent conveniently close to your boat and who has an established clientele in your yacht design, then 6% or 7% is obtainable.
If you can offer sole agency to an agent conveniently close to your boat and who has an established clientele in your yacht design, then 6% or 7% is obtainable.
Premier do a 5% fee for their bertholders. No haggling, that's just standrd price.
As there is a shortage in the market of some types of boat (reasonably priced sensible cruising boats), I'm sure it's worth haggling on fees if the broker you want to instruct asks for too much. For many of us there is a choice of convenient brokers and every reason to expect them to be competitive on service and price.
But I do think you should choose the broker you want, then look at the fee. It's stupid to use a lazy incompetent just because he's cheap. Better to find an energetic competent and then agree a fair fee.
A broker wanting over 11%
Is 11% too much to pay a broker? It depends...
) and I got a very quick and freindly response..........IMO bodes well for listing enquiries.
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