[mikehoyt]

Sorry! I really can''t help myself ... but here goes.

Yes I absolutely agree that a Broker can save a lot of problems. I also believe Brokers know the value of boats more than do most owners. From a Buyer''s perspective it is very advantageous to use a broker.

Now here is my first experience with a broker... it went something like this:

"Hi I am looking for a 23 foot boat. I was thinking PY23 or similar"
"We do not normally sell boats that small but I have this Viking 28 that is listed for 11,000 that you can probably buy for 8,000"

Every time I inquired on a boat the brokers were quick to tell me how low I could probably bid. As a buyer that is great. But what about the seller? Why was the first boat listed at 11,000 if it was only worth 8,000? It seems in this instance the broker convinced the owner that he would get one amount and then eventually sold it for far less. If I was asking for 11,000 I would typically expect to have it sell for 10,000 and as the owner get 90% of that ... $9000. If the broker quickly lowers the price to $8000 I am only getting $7200. The broker only loses $200 by reducing the price but the owner loses $1800!

I would think a realistic owner would check around to see what similar models sell for and then could sell it for 95% of what the brokers are asking to save himself and the buyer each 5%. Now this would be an honest seller who wants to sell the boat in a reasonable amount of time.

Is it really any different than real estate? And in real estate does not the Lawyer do all the important work and the real estate agent simply show the property to the marketplace? When buying a boat does the broker actually check for clear title, etc ... or do you still need a lawyer? (talking more expensive boats here).

This is a very interesting topic and can be viewed from many perspectives. I think like a car when selling you probably do better on private sale if you can advertise it to enough people ...