PDA

View Full Version : What is it with boat brokers?????



John C in PA
10-01-2010, 12:15 PM
John C

VetteLT193
10-01-2010, 01:05 PM
I have noticed they are mainly gone, out of biz.

A place near my Dad used to have a sales staff of 10. There is literally one guy in there now. Seeing as there is only one guy and a lot of tire kickers vs. buyers he just prioritizes.

Phil S
10-01-2010, 02:05 PM
Not sure about boat brokers, but I found this to be interesting.

I stopped by a local marine supply / boat dealer this week....probably first time since early spring. He's not a big dealer by any means, but has always had a full showroom and lots of pontoons and fishing boats on his yard.

When I first pulled in, I thought they were out of business their lot was so empty.

Anyway, I got my supplies and was talking to the counter-man and he said that nearly every boat they had sold was at least 2k to 5k below their cost.

We talked a bit more and he stated that, not this past June, but in June 2009, GE Finance became the largest boat "dealer" in the US. (due to repos) I don't know how true that actually is, but he claimed it was a fact.

HOWARD O
10-01-2010, 08:44 PM
Got to be a tough business to be in right now, can't imagine a BOAT guy not breathing down your neck?

Opposite at the car dealer. I had the family with me today in my wife's car and we picked up some wiper refills at the BMW dealer. This thread reminded me of it. Anyway, as we were leaving, I drove over and did a slow roll past the new Superduty trucks at the Ford dealer next door. I was going maybe 5-8 mph past this truck, gawking at it when I hear a loud rap on my window. Thought I hit something! The salesman was chasing after the car in a slow run, yelling stop, stop! I did stop and rolled down the window. Out comes his hand, asking if I was interested in a new truck. I said not now, you almost gave me a heart attack! I said I have a 2003 F250 and I can't even afford to slow down anymore to look at them. "But you're driving a BMW, you can afford it, come on in and we'll work something out". I politely told him that this BMW is over 10 years old and has well over 100k miles on it, I ain't RICH. I did tell him if and when we get something new, it WILL be a FORD and he's working for the right folks. I also told him to take a chill pill and the heck outta there!

But man oh, while I do somewhat admire a young, eager salesman, give me a break already. Do they really think that kind of tactic is going to make me get out of my car and have a look around? :boggled:

zelatore
10-01-2010, 10:02 PM
It's very simple - brokers don't mess with $10K boats. It's pointless.

Typically a brokerage charges 10%. Of that, 5 or 6% goes to the house, 1% to the listing agent, and 3 or 4% to the selling agent.

So, on that $10,000 boat, the salesman stands to make $300. That's if you don't beat the seller up and talk them down a couple thousand. And before you and the seller each get to within $500 then each expect the broker to take the difference out of his commission to make the deal work.

It's pretty much the same amount of work to sell a $10,000 boat as it is a $500,000 boat (assuming you have the listings and clients).

Which would you put you time into?

That said, if as a broker you've listed a boat, you need to make every effort to sell it, regardless of price. However, that also explains why you rarely see boats in this price range listed with a broker.

Just last week I had a couple who were clearly interested in buying a boat. They had made an offer on a boat previously (not through me) but it fell through during survey. I only had one boat they were remotely interested in, which I showed them (a mid $30K bayliner) but they thought it needed too much work. After it became apparent that I wasn't going to make any deal with them, I told them flat-out that they would have a better shot at finding a boat of that price range through a private party such as craigslist or a local magazine. This week they have an offer on another boat. Would I have liked to make a sale? Sure. Even though something like that would only net me a few hundred dollars for what would likely be 3 or 4 days work, it's better than nothing. But I just don't have listings in that price range.

zelatore
10-01-2010, 10:04 PM
We talked a bit more and he stated that, not this past June, but in June 2009, GE Finance became the largest boat "dealer" in the US. (due to repos) I don't know how true that actually is, but he claimed it was a fact.


Very likely true, though I have not statistics to back it up.