A work related question

[Suicidalalpackas]

Hi all, I am thinking about starting a 'boat finder' job (for weekends). I have had 100's of people recommend this to me (I have been finding friends, family boats etc.) but the main point is, I'm not sure what percentage of a sale I would take. I know brokerages' take about 10%, but I'm unsure on what I would take. I don't want to be seen as 'greedy' when it comes to stuff like this because it would give me a bad representation.

Thanks

 

[superheat6k]

Who would pay - Buyer or Seller, or both ?

I can't see many folk wanting to pay too much for this service, and you would have to make sure you were not in any way liable for any defects a new buyer might find post purchase. Brokers already get a tough time for this, I am sure some of this would stick on a finder too.

I would be skeptical that a market actually exists for this, after all this is a part of many brokerages stock services, who after all have many would be punters (and even more fender kickers !) contacting them. If I were a broker and had an obviously keen buyer I would be bending over backwards to help him and I am sure many private deals do go on between established brokers arranging mutually beneficial introductions.

 

[petem]

A broker has premises, insurance, advertising, a lady on reception, etc that has to be paid out of his 8% + VAT.

When you say "I have had 100's of people recommend this to me (I have been finding friends, family boats etc.)" what do you mean? Recommend what?

If you're doing this as a hobby, I would think you'd be better off advertising an hourly rate plus your expenses. Offer your services as someone who can save people time by doing an initial inspection of the boat and providing a high level assessment of condition along with decent photos. But, I'm not sure how far you'll get if you have no qualifications to tell a good boat from a bad one.

 

[Nick_H]

Google can find every boat available, so I assume you're talking about something more? Viewings? Negotiation? Sea trials? Documentation checks? Importing?

I think you'd have to detail what service you're offering to get any opinions on rates. Fwiw, I also doubt there's much of a market for it.