Brokers fee on small boat am I reading this right

[thesaintlyone]

Contacted a broker to sell Josam my little Jouster as I am not having a great deal of luck online and was hoping a sale might be generated by visitors looking locally for a small boat seen a few people wandering round the marina looking at some small boats opposite with an interest to buy.

I recieved back the following


"I confirm that in the event of ************************* introducing a purchaser for your boat our commission will be 8% plus VAT on the final selling price, minimum £1,000 inc VAT, on the understanding that ************************* are the sole brokers in the sale of your boat. Please note that if you sell the vessel to a Private Purchaser, then a Brokerage listing fee equal to 2% plus VAT of the agreed selling price, with a minimum fee of £500 plus VAT, is payable immediately."

If I am reading this right if they sell Josam for the £2000 I'm after me they will earn 50% commission

Might just open a boat brokerage if that's the case

 

[l'escargot]

It's not unusual to have a minimum brokerage fee.

 

[Murv]

Sounds about right.
When I sold my small boat through a broker, that was on a percentage fee with a £500 minimum charge.
Financially, it wasn't worth it but I'd had enough by that stage and just wanted it gone.

Assume you've tried a classified ad on ebay? Massive exposure for £19.00, just means you have to put up with the daft questions and fender kickers but you can put a few of them off with a carefully written ad.

 

[thesaintlyone]

It's not unusual to have a minimum brokerage fee.

The Minimum Brokerage fee I get. 50% I definitely do not!!!!!

 

[thesaintlyone]

Sounds about right.
When I sold my small boat through a broker, that was on a percentage fee with a £500 minimum charge.
Financially, it wasn't worth it but I'd had enough by that stage and just wanted it gone.

Assume you've tried a classified ad on ebay? Massive exposure for £19.00, just means you have to put up with the daft questions and fender kickers but you can put a few of them off with a carefully written ad.

I am in the same area as you Hint Hint did have her listed on Ebay but not classified only had one interested party and the usual "ship my boat by courier scam"

Is classified any better

 

[sailorman]

Freeads
Gumtree
Boats & Outboards
Ebay buy it now with auto relist

 

[Trop Cher]

The Minimum Brokerage fee I get. 50% I definitely do not!!!!!

But they have told you up front that the minimum fee is £1000, the fact that that equates to 50% of the value of the boat isn't really relevant, the minimum commission is £1000.
Sell it yourself = no commission

 

[Ceirwan]

It would take a pretty amazing broker to make me actually use them.

Whenever I go searching through brokers sites, I'm amazed at the absolute lack of effort made by the broker to sell the clients vessel.
Awful photos, poor lighting, low resolution, boat unclean with mold on the decks, 2 line descriptions, all show a complete lack of professionalism IMO.

For a minimum brokerage fee of £1000 you can quickly run a hose pipe over the deck and make sure that you have a decent description with some good photos.
The whole point of a brokerage is that they make it easier to sell your boat.

The last 2 boats I've sold have been through Apollo Duck. Bite the bullet and pay for an advert, take lots of pics, and write a good but honest description and you'll be better off than with most the brokers you could use.

 

[DrSpock]

Fairly typical of a broker who has sole marina rights like Ancasta for example.

Try WHY boats for a flat fee brokerage - though to be honest a free ad on BoatsAndOutboards, ApolloDuck, Gumtree etc is probably your best bet given it's only £2k.

 

[pvb]

I really don't think you can expect a broker to clean the boat!

 

[Murv]

I am in the same area as you Hint Hint did have her listed on Ebay but not classified only had one interested party and the usual "ship my boat by courier scam"

Is classified any better

Gotcha!

Yes, classifieds is better in my opinion. You can edit the ad at any time because people can't bid on it, it also runs for 28 days and beats boats and outboards hands down on viewing figures. You also get to keep that extra £1K in your pocket!!
I've sold three boats now through ebay classifieds (one was for a friend) so it's worked very well in my experience.
For the money, I think it's well worth a shot. You're limited to 12 pictures, but if you take and edit them carefully enough it's enough to sell a small boat.
Another thing you can do is to ad a youtube link, I added a walkthrough video on the last boat I sold (as well as a caravan) so that people can get a really good idea of what they're looking at before committing to travel.

You'll still get the time wasters, but far fewer of them although I do make it very clear in the ad that time wasters won't be responded to (whilst staying friendly and upbeat to avoid putting people off!)

As long as your boat is sensibly priced, I think it would be well worth a punt (IMO)

 

[lw395]

I really don't think you can expect a broker to clean the boat!

But for a fee, a good broker will arrange it for you.
I was once in the bizarre position of seriously considering cleaning a boat that was for sale with a broker, to see how it would clean up and hence if it was worth making an offer.
As it happened, something better cropped up.

Clearly the op's broker in question does not really want to be selling boats for £2k.
As well as boats and outboards and apollo duck, some of the 'used boat show' deals might be worth looking at?
Also postcard ads in suitable places?
If relevant, class association website is often best.

 

[l'escargot]

The Minimum Brokerage fee I get. 50% I definitely do not!!!!!

But it isn't 50%, it's a £1000 for any boat sold for less than £12500...

 

[pvb]

But it isn't 50%, it's a £1000 for any boat sold for less than £12500...

Close, its actually £10417.

 

[prv]

Clearly the op's broker in question does not really want to be selling boats for £2k.

Not surprising really.

Pete

 

[fredrussell]

Another vote here for ebay. Put my Jag 23 on there for 7 days, it sold at fixed price on second day.

Brokers want to sell big expensive boats I guess. Just had a look at Jousters - nice little boats, have you tried ebay yet?

 

[PaulRainbow]

Grab some free webspace. Make a quick website (only needs to be one long page), detailing the boat and all of the work you have done to her. Include lots of good quality pictures. Don't take a load of those stupid BoatShed type pics of assorted nuts, bolts and cleats. Good pictures that show the boat and the important bits. Make sure the boat is clean and tidy, inside and out and that everything works as it should, no flat batteries etc.

Put an ad on all of the free/cheap websites, Ebay, Gumtree etc etc and put a link in each advert to your webpage.

 

[steveeasy]

Contacted a broker to sell Josam my little Jouster as I am not having a great deal of luck online and was hoping a sale might be generated by visitors looking locally for a small boat seen a few people wandering round the marina looking at some small boats opposite with an interest to buy.

I recieved back the following


"I confirm that in the event of ************************* introducing a purchaser for your boat our commission will be 8% plus VAT on the final selling price, minimum £1,000 inc VAT, on the understanding that ************************* are the sole brokers in the sale of your boat. Please note that if you sell the vessel to a Private Purchaser, then a Brokerage listing fee equal to 2% plus VAT of the agreed selling price, with a minimum fee of £500 plus VAT, is payable immediately."

If I am reading this right if they sell Josam for the £2000 I'm after me they will earn 50% commission

Might just open a boat brokerage if that's the case

 

[l'escargot]

Close, its actually £10417.

Want to check that?

 

[pvb]

Want to check that?

You should know better than that! Get yourself a calculator and try again.