doug748
Well-Known Member
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.
A broker wanting over 11%
- Thread starter Judders
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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.
David_Jersey
Well-Known Member
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.
TiggerToo
Well-Known Member
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?
Mistroma
Well-Known Member
Is 11% too much to pay a broker? It depends...
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.
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.
David_Jersey
Well-Known Member
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.
doug748
Well-Known Member
No, but I notice that the boat next to me in the yard last year has just sold through them. No feedback yet though.
Ubergeekian
Well-Known Member
I'm buying a boat through Boatshed Wales at the moment, and I have been very impressed with every bit of the service.
longjohnsilver
Well-Known Member
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.
David_Jersey
Well-Known Member
It's a Franchise operation, so each office will vary.
Sandyman
Well-Known Member
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 ? )
Sandyman
Well-Known Member
Tranona, I take onboard your comments, but do you have a vested interested in supporting Brokers ??
Tranona
Well-Known Member
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.
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photodog
Lord High Commander of Upper Broughton and Gunthor
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.
Coaster
Well-Known Member
So the fee might be more than 11%. For example a minimum fee of £500 for selling a boat at £4000 equates to 12.5%.
Using a broker to sell is surely a matter of personal choice and circumstances.
csharpatsea
Well-Known Member
8% is standard for a traditional UK broker.
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.
jbweston
Well-Known Member
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.
