Struggling to sell....

[mwelliott]

I have a Welsh broker selling my sports boat. Is genuinely is in immaculate condition but it has attracted little interest in the 9 months he has had it. He says that this is because the weather has been so bad that people aren't coming up at the weekend to look at it but I think it's too expensive. It on for only a shade less than I bought it for 3 or 4 years ago. I'd be happy with a lot less but he insists its the right price for the boat/condition etc.

Should I leave the boat with him? Force him to change the price? Move it to a wealthier area - perhaps the Solent or south east? Should I expect any interest over the winter?

Be grateful for any thoughts.

Thanks

Matt

 

[P4Paul]

I think you have answered your own question.

If your broker is correct and the price is bang on, then you wouldn't still be the owner 9 months down the line!

Hope you find a buyer soon.

 

[Whitelighter]

What is the boat?

Is it a popular UK boat (Sealine, Fairline etc), a popular european boat here (jeanneau, Beneteau, bavaria) or something a bit oddball?

In my experience a lot of brokers are desperately clinging onto the past when it comes to values. If you've had no interest then the price is almost certainly too high. Location isn't an issue as most search on the Internet. People will go to Spain france italy Greece for the right boat so going up the M4 to Wales isnt the issue

 

[mlines]

Well, based on feedback from a broker I know, they cannot get enough good condition, right priced used sportsboats. They have sold a few straight off the transporter as they arrive. However, where the owners idea of good condition and right price differs from the buyer then they hang around a long time.

 

[petem]

Can you post a link to the ad so that we can ascertain if there are any issues with it or the price?

 

[Richard10002]

We bought our narrow boat 3 days after the price was dropped to £18,000.

The broker told us it was too cheap and his fee wasnt wirth the work he had done. He had started it a couple of years previously at £34k, and it hadn't sold. He dropped it to £29,950, and it didn't sell. The owner kept asking him to drop it further, but he resisted. In the end, the owner told him to drop it to £18k, or he would be sacked.

When the deal was agreed, the broker moaned again about his tiny fee - I thought it was a bit better than the fee he got when asking over £10k more.

Tell the broker what you want him to ask. If he tries to resist, or won't do it, use a different broker - there are plenty in Wales, and lots of people visit Wales, irrespective of the weather.

I don't know why the broker told me all this, it certainly wouldn't make me want to sell a boat with him, and he went bust a couple of years later.

 

[wakeup]

I have a Welsh broker selling my sports boat. Is genuinely is in immaculate condition but it has attracted little interest in the 9 months he has had it. He says that this is because the weather has been so bad that people aren't coming up at the weekend to look at it but I think it's too expensive. It on for only a shade less than I bought it for 3 or 4 years ago. I'd be happy with a lot less but he insists its the right price for the boat/condition etc.

Should I leave the boat with him? Force him to change the price? Move it to a wealthier area - perhaps the Solent or south east? Should I expect any interest over the winter?

Be grateful for any thoughts.

Thanks

Matt

I sold my boat in 8 weeks through a welsh broker. Price is everything even if the condition of your boat is a1. I got a fair price for my boat but certainly wouldn't have sold it if I had tried to hold out for prices circa 2 years ago.

I think you need to be realistic on price. If you move to South Coast there will be costs associated with that and realistically you won't get highest price until next season plus you will have had to have paid moving costs and mooring costs. Discount those from your current asking price and you'll probably find a buyer, although arguably the buying season is just about over.

Good luck. PM me if you want to know who sold my boat and I'll give them a recommendation.

 

[Blackfeather]

The broker sounds like an idiot.

If it hasn't sold in 9 months and there's nothing wrong with the boat then it down to one of two things. Either the broker isn't doing his job or the boat is overpriced.

He's responsible for both so sack him.

 

[wakeup]

The broker sounds like an idiot.

If it hasn't sold in 9 months and there's nothing wrong with the boat then it down to one of two things. Either the broker isn't doing his job or the boat is overpriced.

He's responsible for both so sack him.

Wow there Tonto, how do you know that the broker hasn't been given a lower limit by the OP which just isn't attractive to the market.? Seems there are more unrealistic owners out there than brokers. The broker will go bust if he doesn't shift some boats so he has a greater incentive to price the thing right. I am sure there is more than meets the eye on this one. Perhaps the OP could comment of price or offers made or simply give us a link to the advert and I am sure we'll all give him our opinions.

 

[epervier]

The right boat at the right price doesn't hang around for nine weeks, so nine months there's got to be a problem with the boat or the price, has the boat got an optional extra cloaking device fitted so no one can see it?

or is it too expensive?

or, forgive me for saying, is your idea of A1 condition the same as most buyers?

 

[ontheplane]

I doubt this has anything to do with condition - by the OP's own opening, its just way way too dear.

Assuming it's a newer boat rather than something forty years old (in which case another 3 or 4 years old makes no difference at all) then the boat is worth less than when it was bought through depreciation. The market isn't great at the moment (but the right things at the right price are selling) so it would be worth a bit less because of that too.....

If we accept most (not all) owners think their boat is worth a fraction more than a buyer does, and assuming this owner thinks the boat is overpriced I expect most potential buyers think it's WAY overpriced.

As said before - perhaps a link to the boat's advert will allow us to all have a look for you?

 

[henryf]

As has been said, without a link it's impossible to know what the outside world is being offered.

If there is no link and the broker merely relies on local foot fall then it isn't really for sale. From what's been posted price sounds an issue but I reserve judgement at this stage. It wouldn't be the first time the assembled masses on here have said a boat is only worth beans for it to go on and sell for close to the asking price when marketed properly.

As for brokers and their fees. I have never really understood why they should be percentage based. It takes exactly the same amount of effort to sell a £100k 40 foot boat as it does a £500k 40 foot boat. In fact possibly more because you might have to do a bit of tidying up prior to marketing.

The combination of a broker trying to maximise their wages and the typically unrealistic owner (not necessarily applicable here), don't make happy bedfellows when trying to sell something. If I was a broker I'd be working for a fixed fee. I'd also be charging a decent chunk of non refundable change up front to cover my marketing costs and to focus the sellers mind. I would however make jolly sure their boat looked as good as it possibly could.

In reality I can't see myself ever getting into boat brokerage because I'm not sure I would ever be able to fathom out used boat values

Henry