buying and selling

Seastoke

Seastoke

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so what is the norm in percentages ,that you would offer to buy off the asking price ,or what percent would you accept off your asking price ,thanks for replies or pm,s roy
 
Piece of string. If you've got a sticky boat that's been hanging around for years then you're more likely to get a cheeky bid. If however you've got a well priced in-demand boat then you might very well sell at asking.
 
seastoke said:
so what is the norm in percentages ,that you would offer to buy off the asking price ,or what percent would you accept off your asking price ,thanks for replies or pm,s roy
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When I bought recently I offered -15% with a view to paying 10% below asking and that’s where we agreed. Selling I wanted a fast sale at a realistic price so I advertised 10% above what I’d accept but told the first serious buyer I didn’t want to bargain and told him my bottom line price and we shook hands. He knew the price was right and I wasn’t going to budge.
 
Same boat - which would sir prefer - £80K and get 2% off or £100K and get 15% off? :)

The second one is the 'better deal', the first is the cheaper boat.
 
A topic that crops up every now and then. As has already been said no percentage can be applied accross the board -it depends on a variety factors including state of the market, condition of the boat, availability/desirability of that particular make/model, how motivated/realistic the seller is, how long it has been on the market etc, etc....

When selling our last boat we were pragmatic about what had happened to asking prices since we bought her but were also cognisant of the fact that she was a very good example. Did a deal we were happy to go with in the end.

When buying we negotiate robustly but with the aforementioned factors in mind. We also tend to buy with our heads and not our hearts, which can be tricky when you love boats! :)

Only real tip I would give is that you can increase an offer but it is not so easy to reduce it :)
 
As already explained the Asking Price rarely has any relevance to the worth of a boat, the worth being what someone else will actually pay for it. Popular marques, well maintained and presented might easily achieve the AP or within a few %.

Those presented for sale looking like a corporation toilet, languishing for sale for many months or even years might find the sale price way way below the AP. I acquired my current boat for AP - 42%, but at such a level the AP becomes a complete irrelevance. I have seen boats with (IMHO) a negative value, despite asking prices of many £10k s.

Vendors do not appreciate reality being explained, so do be gentle.

If you are buying do not get misled with nonsense about not costing boats like a business transaction - why not ? Brokers fly kites routinely and some kites fly higher than others, after all they are on a %, so the higher price they achieve the more they make. Some are realists, some are chancers. In my experience of brokers more chancers than realists.

If used car salesmen acted like brokers they would not be in employment for too long.
 
superheat6k said:
If used car salesmen acted like brokers they would not be in employment for too long.
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That is because brokers and dealers are not the same. The first does not own the boat but is the agent for the seller and it is the seller who decides whether to accept a price or not. A dealer owns the boat so makes his own decision.
 
Tranona said:
That is because brokers and dealers are not the same. The first does not own the boat but is the agent for the seller and it is the seller who decides whether to accept a price or not. A dealer owns the boat so makes his own decision.
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I do not disagree with you, I am just amazed that brokers will take on and try to sell a boat, for instance, with turds still laying in the toilet. They may be agent for a seller, but they are not forced to take boats on, and would be fully entitled to insist a boat was at least cleaned prior to presentation.
 
superheat6k said:
I do not disagree with you, I am just amazed that brokers will take on and try to sell a boat, for instance, with turds still laying in the toilet. They may be agent for a seller, but they are not forced to take boats on, and would be fully entitled to insist a boat was at least cleaned prior to presentation.
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If only it were as easy as that. There is a market for all kinds of boats and while a broker may prefer to have only boats that are clean and well presented, some cannot be that choosy.
 
superheat6k said:
I do not disagree with you, I am just amazed that brokers will take on and try to sell a boat, for instance, with turds still laying in the toilet. They may be agent for a seller, but they are not forced to take boats on, and would be fully entitled to insist a boat was at least cleaned prior to presentation.
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Never ceases to amaze me that many sellers make no effort to present their boat properly and once the have decided to sell won’t spend another penny on maintenance or upkeep. We took entirely the opposite view and continued to look after our Broom as if we were keeping it forever and it was presented in as good a condition as it could be. We will never know if we would have sold and for a similar price if we hadn’t done any of that but as a benchmark an identical model still sits on the market some two years on. Worth saying that we also listed it with an excellent brokerage (NYA) and their proactive approach and preparedness to make the deal work was undoubtedly a contributory factor.

On the original question from the OP it should be borne in mind that there is significant variance in the quality of brokers. We have experienced very poor standards when trying to negotiate and we have also experienced some top notch people. The point is that when making an offer make sure you have got the measure of the Broker and his/her ability to facilitate negotiations. A poor Broker can be fatal to a deal.
 
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superheat6k said:
As already explained the Asking Price rarely has any relevance to the worth of a boat,
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I wouldn't agree with this, based on my experiences in the past both buying and selling. Sure there are unrealistic sellers especially at the lower end of the market but my experience in general would be that asking prices are generally in or close to the ballpark having regard to the asking prices of other similar boats on the market. Most buyers and sellers will have done a fair amount of research online or by visiting marinas before they get to the stage of putting a price on a boat or making an offer. It's rare that a prospective buyer will offer the asking price straight off and we all like to feel we're getting the most out of a deal and for that reason I think asking 10%+ and offering 10% minus is not a bad rule of thumb. I personally wouldn't even consider making an offer on a boat presented in in a dirty or neglected condition but, having said that, such boats are often the best bargains around for a canny buyer and a few days elbow grease post purchase could enhance the value considerably.
Brokers fly kites routinely and some kites fly higher than others, after all they are on a %, so the higher price they achieve the more they make. Some are realists, some are chancers. In my experience of brokers more chancers than realists. If used car salesmen acted like brokers they would not be in employment for too long.[/QUOTE]
I've posted my opinion of brokers on other threads and it's not very complimentary but the above does not always hold true. Brokers survive on volume and, as a buyer, you may very often find that the selling broker is your pal. He will want to sell the boat and get paid as soon as possible and if he thinks your somewhat low offer is serious he may well persuade the owner to sell especially if the boat has been on his books for a while. It's not profit or loss for the broker. It's just the size of the profit and when he gets it.
 
Or you could simply go to boats.co.uk as I did, gave me a fair price px & likewise on new boat, couple of snags unseen by BCU when they took new one in,(such as an ips drive in need of some serious surgery) sorted in a pleasant & reasonable manner, I highly recommend.
 
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I don't think I've ever paid more than 75% of the asking price - whether they were overpriced or not is open for discussion of course but I've not lost money when selling.
 
To pay a percentage of the asking price and then not lose money when selling would be pretty hard without owning them!

I made a profit on the last boat I sold compared to what I paid for it. But only if I ignore the amount I spent getting it into shape once I'd bought it! :D
 
DiscoVolante said:
Between 12 months and 3 years each. All but one were under 26’ and all cost under £32k.
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Well done but not grounbreaking and you didn't mention age of boat but then I didn't ask. I'd be more concerned what u spent on doing up boat and maintaining before the quick sales. % off 32k max is also less relevant to higher sales boats
 
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