Boat shopping -Private Listings - Opinion's needed

[LuckyLady]

I do not get it, its pretty obvious what I do. In my recent search for a boat for a customer, I emailed a private listing by mistake. I look for particular brand and size, go thru the pictures and options and ask additional questions where needed. I do not look who is selling what I will work with almost anyone. I work with both the buyer and seller as to what is fair for all parties involved.

The response that I got back from this private listing was with the additional information and items that I was looking for flex in price etc

With the response of I am too a broker and I am not interested in paying a commission.

I have found a few boats by mistake looking for other brands/models, and I have found boats where most people/consumers don't look. Every website out there has different levels of exposure. I have done the research on who has what exposure. I am not talking forum's.

So what is the right thing to do in this situation.

There are choices out there and its not the only one on the market. By no means am I holding this particular boat out of question for my buyer. Out of my top ten boats I found that I would buy personally, this boat falls probably at 8 as far as my favorite, # 1 being the best for what this customers intentions are. Its more like plan C

I am pretty flex to people and thier specific proven situation. I understand some if not most people are upside down in boat some worse then others and some people actual will end up taking a loss due to a bad purchase or finance decision. I have seen some take a 20k hit on thier boat loan. Am I going to be a total ass and take 10% from someone like that not a fat chance in hell, but working for free don't keep the lights on. Please understand I don't refer a boat just to make a sale, if it don't look right or something strikes me odd, then it gets excluded or sent for opinion only and my thoughts. It has to look right from the start and then it goes to the next level of inspection.

So with all this said, I am going to ask you as a consumer as the buyers & sellers market.

Should I not contact private listings from the start? Is it not worth a couple bucks to you to possibly sell your boat quicker and move on for what ever reason you have?

Would you prefer that dealers and brokers did not contact you at all with a potential buyer if you are listing the boat yourself and not thru a broker?

I don't want to upset anyone and look like a spammer looking for boats to list.

Remember I am not asking for you to list the boat with me, just because I think I can sell it. I have a "qualified" buyer that has the money and is ready to go!

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

[sportfishingusa]

Mary,

I do not think you are off the wall at all!! if you came ot me with a buyer i would take it and run!!

The way to market is today peple are way to stringent on what they need or want to get... I dont think that 10% is a fair price.. kind of the same as a realtors referral.. if i sell my house for 300k and the buyer has a buyers agents they are not going to come in at 6%...

I AM NOT BY ANY means saying they do not deserve it for what they do but if you came in and said i have a buyer for your boat but i take 5% instead of the usual ten it is worth it.. I would take it..

I dont know if that i what may turn some people away or what.. I know that 10% is a legitimate comission for a boat sales company who is doing storage and everything else.. But me as a consumer feel that if my boat is behind my house and i am taking care of it then i am not going to pay 10% to a broker or agent to sell it.. maybe 5% expecially on a high priced boat depending of course on the kind of boat and the market and the Speciality of the agent.

If i had a damn contender.. your my girl mary.. you know that and you know where to market them.. Same goes with most boats for you.

The problem some people have is that the brokers they are using are not like you mary.. they are not go getters and they are all scheming guys and like a car salesman!!

You have the knowledge, and experience and also the personability!!

I would pay you 10% but no one else! lol

[capemaychef]

I will chime in....you know our situation last year....we were up sheets creek without a paddle....and if ANYONE would have come to us and said "I have someone who wants to buy your boat" regardless of who is sending them our way we would have jumped on it in a heart beat.

Last year we had about 10 different brokerage agents asking us to list it with them...but that was different...they just wanted to list it, but most of them were shhhhmoooozing azzholes who just wanted to list our boat for the sake of listing it..but if for instance this type of thing came along...and it made sense we would have jumped all over it...

Some people are more desperate than others I believe...

Me as the private seller...would be happy to hear someone wants to buy the boat(especially if I have had it for sale for some time...and my methods were not working)

[joeksr]

I will chime in....you know our situation last year....we were up sheets creek without a paddle....and if ANYONE would have come to us and said "I have someone who wants to buy your boat" regardless of who is sending them our way we would have jumped on it in a heart beat.

Last year we had about 10 different brokerage agents asking us to list it with them...but that was different...they just wanted to list it, but most of them were shhhhmoooozing azzholes who just wanted to list our boat for the sake of listing it..but if for instance this type of thing came along...and it made sense we would have jumped all over it...

Some people are more desperate than others I believe...

Me as the private seller...would be happy to hear someone wants to buy the boat(especially if I have had it for sale for some time...and my methods were not working)

I wouldn't have a problem with someone bringing me a qualified buyer. As for Commission. I had a real estate agent come into an office I had up for sale with a client. We negotiated his commission and sold the property. No problem.
He didnt get 6%, negotiated 3% and he did all the paperwork but he also did not list or advertise the property. Worked out good for all. I would think most are willing to take less than asking price. If a commission is involved just set you price to cover it.

[LuckyLady]

Mary,

I do not think you are off the wall at all!! if you came ot me with a buyer i would take it and run!!

The way to market is today peple are way to stringent on what they need or want to get... I dont think that 10% is a fair price.. kind of the same as a realtors referral.. if i sell my house for 300k and the buyer has a buyers agents they are not going to come in at 6%...

I AM NOT BY ANY means saying they do not deserve it for what they do but if you came in and said i have a buyer for your boat but i take 5% instead of the usual ten it is worth it.. I would take it..

I dont know if that i what may turn some people away or what.. I know that 10% is a legitimate comission for a boat sales company who is doing storage and everything else.. But me as a consumer feel that if my boat is behind my house and i am taking care of it then i am not going to pay 10% to a broker or agent to sell it.. maybe 5% expecially on a high priced boat depending of course on the kind of boat and the market and the Speciality of the agent.

If i had a damn contender.. your my girl mary.. you know that and you know where to market them.. Same goes with most boats for you.

The problem some people have is that the brokers they are using are not like you mary.. they are not go getters and they are all scheming guys and like a car salesman!!

You have the knowledge, and experience and also the personability!!

I would pay you 10% but no one else! lol

I was not asking to debate commissions rates etc but it went there so I will go there...

Honestly you would be surprised what a good brokers advertising costs add's up too when your boat is target marketed above and out there beyond the normal.

All my life I have been taught, to do it once and do it right! One mistake can cost you time or money we all know it and it appears in many different fields. If someone came to me with an off the wall listing or absurd asking price or ridiculous offer to purchase. I would most likely choose not to list or deal with it for many reasons.

I am a fair person and I always put the shoe on the other foot! " If it was me how would I feel if this was to happen"

I thought of offering a lesser commission just to be cut throat but with my reputation and network and know how. My costs are actually greater than what the average broker does for you.

In my business plan I have gone thru the costs involved. It adds up quickly to be fair. 400, 300 ,200, 100 bucks adds up real quickly when you factor it all in.

Then add up the additional specific market advertising costs. Example downeaster boats are popular in certain areas and not in others.

Then annual membership fees and dues to associations and sites etc.

Listing management software from my quote this morning is $720.00 annually or $60.00 per month per broker, with a onetime set up and training fee of $250.00. This price is based on a per license basis and discounts are available through some associations and for the purchase of multiple licenses. Now with my excellent response thus far I feel pretty comfortable to say once I hit X #'s of listing/clients additional staff/brokers will be required. Then multiply that cost times brokers. This software aids me to handle multiple clients and thier status more efficiently allowing me more time to work with people rather than playing with a mess of papers.

Then add the boats out of state or town. Once a deposit has landed or a good sense of trust between you and your buyer. Here is a true example buyer is in NY, boat is MD and buyer flys in to seatrial. I know I can't drive in every situation but drive down for seatrial, pick them up from the airport, bring them to the site, return them to the airport and then drive back home. 8 hour drive round trip forget seatrial and contract time. Would I hop on a plane to show a boat? 98% of the time I would the other 2% would be conflict of schedules or appt's and the buyer is in a absolute hurry.

Multiply that times how ever many people it takes to sell you rig, then add the months up. With some listings I would anticipate a quick sell and others that are less desired at the present market.

Then the aftermath, surveyors, follow up phone calls suggestions and questions from the buyer. 3 calls a day till the boat is safe at his/her port.

There is a reason why my phone has 291 hrs on it, and its not because I have a life outside of work it all revolves around work for the most part! It adds up quickly and not every broker operates the same.

I am not claiming to be a know it all to boats and anyone that tells you they are needs to rethink that statement because I learn new stuff everyday and have been in the industry for quite a while now. Its just like a stock market its always changing.

[sportfishingusa]

I was not asking to debate commissions rates etc but it went there so I will go there...

Honestly you would be surprised what a good brokers advertising costs add's up too when your boat is target marketed above and out there beyond the normal.

All my life I have been taught, to do it once and do it right! One mistake can cost you time or money we all know it and it appears in many different fields. If someone came to me with an off the wall listing or absurd asking price or ridiculous offer to purchase. I would most likely choose not to list or deal with it for many reasons.

I am a fair person and I always put the shoe on the other foot! " If it was me how would I feel if this was to happen"

I thought of offering a lesser commission just to be cut throat but with my reputation and network and know how. My costs are actually greater than what the average broker does for you.

In my business plan I have gone thru the costs involved. It adds up quickly to be fair. 400, 300 ,200, 100 bucks adds up real quickly when you factor it all in.

Then add up the additional specific market advertising costs. Example downeaster boats are popular in certain areas and not in others.

Then annual membership fees and dues to associations and sites etc.

Listing management software from my quote this morning is $720.00 annually or $60.00 per month per broker, with a onetime set up and training fee of $250.00. This price is based on a per license basis and discounts are available through some associations and for the purchase of multiple licenses. Now with my excellent response thus far I feel pretty comfortable to say once I hit X #'s of listing/clients additional staff/brokers will be required. Then multiply that cost times brokers. This software aids me to handle multiple clients and thier status more efficiently allowing me more time to work with people rather than playing with a mess of papers.

Then add the boats out of state or town. Once a deposit has landed or a good sense of trust between you and your buyer. Here is a true example buyer is in NY, boat is MD and buyer flys in to seatrial. I know I can't drive in every situation but drive down for seatrial, pick them up from the airport, bring them to the site, return them to the airport and then drive back home. 8 hour drive round trip forget seatrial and contract time. Would I hop on a plane to show a boat? 98% of the time I would the other 2% would be conflict of schedules or appt's and the buyer is in a absolute hurry.

Multiply that times how ever many people it takes to sell you rig, then add the months up. With some listings I would anticipate a quick sell and others that are less desired at the present market.

Then the aftermath, surveyors, follow up phone calls suggestions and questions from the buyer. 3 calls a day till the boat is safe at his/her port.

There is a reason why my phone has 291 hrs on it, and its not because I have a life outside of work it all revolves around work for the most part! It adds up quickly and not every broker operates the same.

I am not claiming to be a know it all to boats and anyone that tells you they are needs to rethink that statement because I learn new stuff everyday and have been in the industry for quite a while now. Its just like a stock market its always changing.

No you did ask that.. re read your intial.. you want to know why when you contacted a private seller by mistake he was not willing to spend the extra money on commision as a real buyer..

And i said many nice things about you mary and then i explained it is the same as the REAL ESTATE game..

If you come in and say i will sell your boat to a buyer for 10% commision and i said how about 5% are you going to walk away from a 300k sale for 15k? NO! no one in their right mind would.

If i am interpreting your stuff correctly that is what you have been asking. Should you bother contacting private sellers to sell boats..

If you have a buyer names Joe Schmoe.. and you are his buying agent.. Now you find the right 40ft sportfish for joe and it is for sale by owner by a guy names John.. you call john and say hey john, my name is mary from fishing center yacht sales and i have a gentlemen who would like to buy your boat.. john says great how much commision.. you say 10%! he says no i would not pay 10% and that is why i am selling it myself. sorry. Now if joe comes back and says well i really like this boat and i want to buy it bad...

Now you tell joe you can not help him because john didnt want to pay commision? no! as your job you go back and handle the commision and maybe instead of percentage you make a flat one time fee of say 5k instead of 30k.. And you dont have to handle anything but the referral and such..

I dont know what the costs are that are involved but i know that is why most brokers that sell out of the state have their sellers sign up with the intent of showing their own boats..

If i was going to buy a boat from you in Fl i would not expect you to be there for the sea trial.. that is just unreal to me..

That is just my take and that was the beginning of your question and the answer i have given.. if i am totally off base with what you intentions were of the given question i apologize but thats how i read it mary!

Good luck with the endeavor.

Vinnir

[LuckyLady]

I wouldn't have a problem with someone bringing me a qualified buyer. As for Commission. I had a real estate agent come into an office I had up for sale with a client. We negotiated his commission and sold the property. No problem.
He didnt get 6%, negotiated 3% and he did all the paperwork but he also did not list or advertise the property. Worked out good for all. I would think most are willing to take less than asking price. If a commission is involved just set you price to cover it.

I thought about that too set a price.

I would love to say just add on a couple bucks but that is a no no in my book, because if its not arranged or discussed prior to it can be a disaster and a major major trust issue across the board.

For example The way I look at it is customer wants 10k and you think that you can sell it for 15k. If you do not discuss where that 5k is going prior to the sale. It leaves your door open for a legal nightmare. I look at it as being shady and not truthful and leaves room for your actions to be questioned or discussed.

I as a small business person can't afford the liability or litigation costs involved, forget the $$ part my reputation is very very important asset!

We all know fishermen and boat owners talk and some are true and some are not. There are also customers that are just flat out terrible to deal with across the board and its a wonder they have made it thru life being so grumpy! You hear bad quicker than you hear the good. Its a very small world out there, just think of how many people you know world wide that fishes or fished one point in thier life.

I really appreciate peoples thoughts on this subject! Thanks again! I hate spam and spammers and don't want to be classified as one

[LuckyLady]

I do not get it, its pretty obvious what I do. In my recent search for a boat for a customer, I emailed a private listing by mistake. I look for particular brand and size, go thru the pictures and options and ask additional questions where needed. I do not look who is selling what I will work with almost anyone. I work with both the buyer and seller as to what is fair for all parties involved.

The response that I got back from this private listing was with the additional information and items that I was looking for flex in price etc

With the response of I am too a broker and I am not interested in paying a commission.

I have found a few boats by mistake looking for other brands/models, and I have found boats where most people/consumers don't look. Every website out there has different levels of exposure. I have done the research on who has what exposure. I am not talking forum's.

So what is the right thing to do in this situation.

There are choices out there and its not the only one on the market. By no means am I holding this particular boat out of question for my buyer. Out of my top ten boats I found that I would buy personally, this boat falls probably at 8 as far as my favorite, # 1 being the best for what this customers intentions are. Its more like plan C

I am pretty flex to people and thier specific proven situation. I understand some if not most people are upside down in boat some worse then others and some people actual will end up taking a loss due to a bad purchase or finance decision. I have seen some take a 20k hit on thier boat loan. Am I going to be a total ass and take 10% from someone like that not a fat chance in hell, but working for free don't keep the lights on. Please understand I don't refer a boat just to make a sale, if it don't look right or something strikes me odd, then it gets excluded or sent for opinion only and my thoughts. It has to look right from the start and then it goes to the next level of inspection.

So with all this said, I am going to ask you as a consumer as the buyers & sellers market.

Should I not contact private listings from the start? Is it not worth a couple bucks to you to possibly sell your boat quicker and move on for what ever reason you have?

Would you prefer that dealers and brokers did not contact you at all with a potential buyer if you are listing the boat yourself and not thru a broker?

I don't want to upset anyone and look like a spammer looking for boats to list.

Remember I am not asking for you to list the boat with me, just because I think I can sell it. I have a "qualified" buyer that has the money and is ready to go!

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Here is my question in case it was missed. I wrote the rest so my position was understood

To summarize it would it be fair to exclude all private listing from my future searches and presentations? Its dumb on my part but again the spam spammers that I do not want to be

At my previous job I was told to go thru the salty dog and call people to get them to list the boat with said company. So in my mind there are other firms out there contacting people with quality listings that are attempting to sell the boat on thier own and have the time and patience to deal with it. To me that is a form of spam and it would be old and annoying if it was my boat!

[sportfishingusa]

Here is my question in case it was missed. I wrote the rest so my position was understood

To summarize it would it be fair to exclude all private listing from my future searches and presentations? Its dumb on my part but again the spam spammers that I do not want to be

At my previous job I was told to go thru the salty dog and call people to get them to list the boat with said company. So in my mind there are other firms out there contacting people with quality listings that are attempting to sell the boat on thier own and have the time and patience to deal with it. To me that is a form of spam and it would be old and annoying if it was my boat!

Guess i am stupid. lol there are two ways to read it and threw me off!

I wouldnt call anything that is not worth listing! call what you know you can sell quickly and be done with... that would be my opinion.. show your track record and people will list with you!

If you sell alot of sportfishes then you can prove you know the market and the guy/girl would be crazy to not list with you..

You can call me and come list my boat!!
anytime you want to!

[LuckyLady]

Guess i am stupid. lol there are two ways to read it and threw me off!

I wouldnt call anything that is not worth listing! call what you know you can sell quickly and be done with... that would be my opinion.. show your track record and people will list with you!

If you sell alot of sportfishes then you can prove you know the market and the guy/girl would be crazy to not list with you..

You can call me and come list my boat!!
anytime you want to!

Not stupid, I always give all the circumstances around what I am talking about so there are no assumptions that the person reading it knows what I am talking about and makes no assumptions without all the facts

I always have been told to write so people will understand where and what you are talking about and coming from! Sometimes I ramble on a bit, out of frustration