Do brokers want trade ?

Actually I just looked at their site and you can enter a price range. I entered £60-69k and it came up with a list of 5 boats, of which only 2 were about the right size. A Fairline Corniche 32 feet and a Doral 31 feet. Both brokerage, and both with a dozen or more good photos.

Their business model is that that's all they can sensibly say about the boats, and if you're interested you have to go to Essex. I'm there for 10 days around and about Christmas-New Year so if there's anything you want an extra photo of, or if you want me to take a quick look and report back to you of "nice" or "tatty" etc I'll happily do that, before you make a trip from N. Ireland. Feel free to PM with details of any boat you want me to survey :-)
 
Derekh,
The more I read and hear of the UK brokers, the more pleased I am that I gave up on them and was able to buy in the US.Their boats have often been "dry stored" and in better condition than a similar aged UK boat It may be worth an evening on the internet looking at what is available on the east coast of America, then phoning a few brokers there. Evening calls to the US are cheaper than calls to a mobile here.
Regards mikej
 
jfm

I haven't bought a boat since 2002, but back then aswell as the website, the broker in question compiled a sales sheet for walk-in punters, just like estate agents. If I requested boats from a price range or length etc, would I be asking too much for them to go to their filing cabinet and pick out the bunch I wanted and stick them in the post with a covering letter?

No matter how small/big your company is, this is what I would call customer service - every customer is worth their weight in gold - is a fee of £6K better than a 'perhaps maybe' fee of £60K?
 
Sure, you're entitled to that view, and you're entitled to run a business that way. But EBY are equally entitled to take a different view and expect/tell/ask customers to use the web to compile a list of boats from £x to £y. In so doing, they suffer fewer overheads of their own. That's their choice, and if you don't like it you don't have to deal with them.

Actually I'd support them and would (and, in a different contect, do) do the same. Honestly, I think in 2009 it is unreasonable to expect a piece of paper, stamp, covering letter, etc in the mail. It's 2009 ffs!

I object to your last sentence though becuase you're twisting the facts. The £6k is not at all definite. For the broker/yacht dealer this isn't a contest between a definite £6k and a maybe £60k. It's a contest between (at worst) a maybe £6k from someone on the phone and a maybe £60k where they've seen the whites of Mr £60k's eyes, or (at best, and using the scenario suggested above by another poster) a contest between responding to Mr Maybe £6k and dealing with someone who has paid £60k deposit and signed up for £800k.
 
Fair Enough,

But EBY have one of the best websites which they update. There are at least 5 photos of every boat and the specs are always accurate. If you call them about a specific boat, Brokerage or Owned, they will get back to you...though it may take a day!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I wasn't directing my thoughts to EBY in any way but generalising about the industry in general.

Unfortunately not everyone has full access to a computer to mull over the many pics on the various sites.

I think IMHO that both Mr Maybe and Mr Deposit-given should be treated equally, as that Mr Maybe may be your next Mr 800K in the future. It is all about probability and I know for a fact that sales people look down at you when you are dressed in say jeans etc and I have also seen the grins turn to despair as a salesman who did not give the time of day to Mr jeans misses the chance of a big commission chq as his colleague, who does give good customer service, picks up the sale.

Any sale is not a sale until a signature on the dotted line, whether £6K or £60K, perhaps I'm just old fashioned in my thinking.....
 
I agree wholeheartedly! I walked into a new site sales office wearing my scruff and got told to 'GET OUT' as work men were not allowed. I walked out to the next builder on the site and promptly bought the biggest house they had. To be honest that happens less and less these days...especially as I am broke!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Really.... Well I enquired about a boat at >£125k on their website that only had two exterior photos asking for more photos and info. I have received precisely nothing. The boat is on brokerage rather than stock, and I suspect it's not on site, so as they've not seen the whites of my eyes I suppose I've been dropped into the bin. This is even though I got as far as them valuing my boat for a p/x back in September against summat else.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I know for a fact that sales people look down at you when you are dressed in say jeans etc and I have also seen the grins turn to despair as a salesman who did not give the time of day to Mr jeans misses the chance of a big commission chq as his colleague, who does give good customer service, picks up the sale.

[/ QUOTE ]

What utter rot! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

What do you suppose your average brokerage punter wears, full morning suit and a top hat? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Never experienced that whether with a broker, estate agent or car sales (the other supposed Judges of attire)

Obviously I wouldn't go in wearing my decorating outfit (I wouldn't get in my car wearing that for a start), but I think it has got a lot more to do with attitude than attire. If you're friendly, direct, and not a messer you'll get dealt with in a similarly friendly and professional manner, at least that's always been my experience.
 
I think IMHO that both Mr Maybe and Mr Deposit-given should be treated equally, as that Mr Maybe may be your next Mr 800K in the future.
*******
But this isnt 2005/2007 any more..I dont know EBYs financial situation, but offloading debt and boats must be a bloody high priority in this market. As JFM suggested, even the chance of getting maybe £800k into the bank is going to take a massive priority over a smaller enquiry. One deal may change the company; the other only almost certainly wont.
I think the idea that todays small buyer maybe tomorrow's big spender is pretty irrelevent these days. Surviving at all maybe the issue (not a comment on EBY itself)
 
reading all the above, what's wrong with looking to get the business of BOTH customers.....?

A simple 30 second phone call to say "thanks... got your message/e-mail... with another customer in the office, and i'll get back to you later/this evening"

That way, two happy potential customers... yes a bit of work later in the day.... but that'll be the difference between businesses that survive and those that don't.... not just focusing upon a few bigger spending potential customers...

Well thats what i'd do anyway.
 
I don't think we're disagreeing much. It's just that some businesses choose to run a certain way and others choose differently. For example, the "not everyone has internet" complaint could be made to Ryanair and Easyjet. The answer is "tough - we don't want your custom if you don't have internet". Non internet customers have no right and shouldn't have any right to be served by internet-only businesses

I'd go nuts with my team if they pursued a blanket policy of treating Mr Maybe "equally" to Mr About To Gives Us £740k And Already Paid £60k, on the grounds Mr Maybe might be the next £800k. Yeah he might But he might not. And if by treating him equally, as if he had already given us £60k and was soon to hand over the other £740, we pissed off Mr 800k, I'd be very unhappy with the team. It is perfectly ok in business, esp in these times, to prioritise the Mr Committeds over the Mr Mights. As for the Mr Mights, the skill is sorting wheat from chaff, which is very difficult and you wont always get it right!

All imho!
 
My experience of EBY is that they have a good website - used to be let down by rubbish resolution on photos but this has been addressed.

Their approach is that anyone serious enough to part with money for one of their boats - and let's face it they have a disproportionately high ratio of stock vs brokerage boats - is going to turn up on site.

So they divert energy into dealing with punters who turn up rather than those who are phoning round a list of dealers/brokers.
 
A customer is a customer in my book......
One day I'm happy to take a £500k order the next I'm happy to take a 1k order....
Its what keeps our business ticking over and in this climate any order is a bloody good order.
I treat all our customers the exact same way and it pays.
 
Why not have a look at such web sites as Rightboat

You can put in a price and then compile a list. That's the great thing about the web - it can save you time and gives the opportunity to select boats at leisure and then go and see the ones that may suit your needs.
 
Yup I'd agree with you. I was exaggerating for effect. Of course you're right on that. Note, what I actually said was there shouldn't be a blanket policy to treat all Mr Maybes the same as Mr Committed. What is required is skill in keeping all the Mr Maybes at the right temperature, warm or otherwise. I don't think we're disagreeing! :-)
 
"If I requested boats from a price range or length etc, would I be asking too much for them to go to their ..........."

__________________________________________________________________

What we have are seperate lists which we display in the window so all can read at any time. The list makes it easier than scanning the whole of our window displays for a specific boat.

We have a list of Power vessels over 12m in order of length so it is easy to see the vessel of your required length / price.

We then have a lsit of power under 12m a list of sailing over 12m etc. Oh and then a list of small fishing vessels.

If someone emailed us for a list of vessels of a certain length and/or price we can send the appropriate list, they can see the ref number of the vessel they require which will be on our web site, or we can then email a full spec & piccies in PDF.

Clearly the debate above and the point jfm is making is perhaps more appropraite to "dealers" who have a lot of money tied up in stock and therefore a lot of profit also. It is very much in their interests to keep "Mr deposit in new big boat happy" over a general enquiry.

We have only brokerage boats, however broker or dealer should respond promptly to ANY enquiry, lest the enquirer goes elsewhere. Especially now with the current lack of boat sales
 
I'm only asking for a bit of fun Clive, but dont you hate it when people ask for detials of boats "about 12m", which means you have to send both lists! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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