What is a fair brokerage percentage?

[gjgm]

ok, if we are talking about a boat abroad, travel etc.. sure the commission should be higher. But may brokers have the boats outside their shed/office. A standard contract is available off the net, and I cant say that in my experience, even registered brokers always seem to have the paperwork to hand, and in order.
No, 8pct as a standard figure is too much. I dont see that selling a £100k boat is twice as hard as selling a £50k boat, but the fee seems to be double. Neither do I see why the seller has to pay 8pct, essentially bcz the broker doesnt sell enough boats.

 

[Tranona]

Suggest you read CTM's post more carefully as he says it is almost impossible to actually get 8%. This is precisely what markets are about. Sure, there are lots of brokers all trying to earn a living, and there are distortions such as captive markets in the big marinas, but to get a sale often all parties have to be flexible. This includes the broker adjusting his commission to help the deal.

I always remember my mother in law bitching when the estate agent sold her house the day it went on the market - for more than she expected. However she resented the fact that he "had not worked for his commission" -even though he found her a buyer.

All intermediaries have to fulfil an economic purpose or they don't survive. Imagine what the boat buying and selling scene would be like if we could only deal with individuals!

If you don't like brokers, don't deal with them and do it all yourself!

 

[gjgm]

yes,I am aware of what he said, but we dont share the same experience it seems. Lets not split hairs.. 8pct 6pct.. its still an aweful lot of commission.
And its not I dont like brokers, and yes. I have sold all my boats privately.
I dare say CTM is capable and professional, and I assume sellers are happy to pay his commission, otherwise I guess he wouldnt be in business.
As for "finding a buyer".. well, my reasoning is that it is the buyer who wants, and looks for, a boat. I m not sure how many people have bought a boat they are not looking for due to the brokers skills. Where do you look for a boat? Probably the magazines and the internet. OK, some internet sites are clearly protecting themselves and their commission by only allowing brokerage boats. But otherwise, it isnt exactly hard for a buyer to find a boat, is it? Maybe there is a market for people too busy to look themselves, though maybe given the economic scene, maybe many will find they do now have the time. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[rwoofer]

Thanks for explaining what you do.

I think you just highlight how there are good brokers who earn their keep and bad ones who don't. The problem is that there are far too many bad ones from my experience. One example I can think of was when I spent £350 to fly to a boat that a broker had clearly mis-described. Not only that, it was the owner who showed me around the boat and first thing he said was "Did the broker explain it had hit rocks and been repaired?" - you guessed it, the answer was no. On confronting the broker, they just shrugged there shoulders....

 

[Bajansailor]

A pal of mine recently bought a boat through a Broker in the Caribbean, and the Broker cheerfully told me that they charge a 10% commission - we did make him work hard for that commission though, and I think he deserved it in the end!

 

[christianmoore]

Interesting reading...
A quick update: Went and did the viewing last night and eventually finished negotiating on the phone at 20.30. Got home and was straight on the computer to write the amendments to the agreement and sent it of to the buyer as he is away and wants to get everything tied up immediately otherwise he could loose interest and not go through with the deal. (Finished work at 23.30).

Had a meeting first thing this morning and then had to make some more amendments to the agreement to keep both parties happy... Not the easiest of boats to sell as it is American and has been imported, so need to make sure the paperwork is properly in order and sort out any problems (Which there always are, as most people have no idea that there title paperwork is important and don't know what they should have, that’s assuming they haven't lost it, which believe it or not is quite a common occurrence….).

I am now going to help another client pick up a boat from Lymington which has been stuck in a yard for two years as the owner and Marine engineers have had a disagreement on the work done. They have both dug their heels in and got nowhere (Neither has the boat). Have spent the last 3 months negotiating between them to get their differences sorted out and get the boat moved. Will help them bring it back to Poole and hopefully will sell it if they don't sell it privately. If I’m lucky I might earn £1500 out of it and hope that I might sell the owner another boat in the future to make a bit more. I have probably spent half of that already on phone calls, running around and time spent. I have also managed to help the owner find a suitable berth that is not going to cost him too much money, arrange his insurance for him and put him in contact with suitable trades to help sort the boat out and get it prepared for sale. The ironic thing is that the company that sold him the boat in the first place (Who I used to work for) probably made 10 times the amount of commission that I will earn and they didn’t have to do anywhere near as much work to get the deal through.

Going back to the thread, commission is a point that will never be agreed on as everyone has different views. I agree that there is a massive difference between good experienced brokers and not so good brokers, but it is always worth considering that a decent broker can be worth his weight in gold. It may be worth having a look at your title paperwork? Can you prove that you own your boat? Is everything in order? What is the tax status? Could you be liable for VAT that you didn’t realise? Have you ever been given the correct paperwork from the dealer that you purchased the boat from when it was new ? (Some hold onto it).
When you buy your boat privately a receipt isn’t proof of title!!!!!!! Would you buy a house without a solicitor?

There’s a lot more to it than most people think…… Good luck.......................