BROKERS!!

[RobGallagher]

I purchased my boat from a broker. They treated me like I was spending a million bucks, actually I spent about 11k on a trade in. They still treat me like a valued customer 2 yrs later. They let me use a slip a couple of weeks ago (free) and the saleman who sold me my boat met me on the dock and helped me tie up at 6pm on a Saturday evening. Rene at Hellier Yacht Sales in New London, CT

[JHodor]

I am a part time broker and have actually sold some used boats and some new boats, so I am not a "part time virgin" as some are. I am in Annapolis. I get to see this industry from an interesting point of view because I make my living in another industry. Here is one observation I''ve had. I never thought this to be true before I was in it but a brokers "office" or dealership is very very busy. They have to go through so many many leads and unqualified people (not saying you all are) they get so busy sometimes they just have to go with their gut. My advice is that if a person is serious about owning a boat, used or new, is to call the broker, don''t email as non-serious prospedcts tend to hide behind email. Talk to them and meet in their office right away. Talk about how you plan to pay for the boat as well. I know it isn''t always posssible to jump in the car but email is a hiding place but is great after you know the person. and if they are blasted with leads it''s hard to get to all emails timely. Also usually an underqualified person is distributing your name around the office and this gets messed up. I am not making excues but in our office every one is great and really spends time with their customers. email me. jhodor@bayacht.com for questions.

I know that i have limited clients since I am not doing this full time but the ones I do have I spend tons and tons of time with. I was in West Marine helping my customer shop last week. So if anyone wants me to track down a used boat or buy a new one please pass my name along. I can pull any listing and get a response.

[mcain]

Interesting thought about email in the previous post, and how some unqualified or not-serious buyers may "hide behind email. I believe as time has gone on, and people are more comfortable with the internet and email, that more and larger transactions are being conducted primarily electronically. We last sold & bought boats 5 years ago, and even then it was all via internet searches and email--to do the search, to contact the broker, schedule the visit, etc. Obviously boat inspection, survey, and purchase must be in person. But all preliminaries can be done electronically. We picked a specific model of boat we wanted, of which there were perhaps two dozen available in this hemisphere. We did all our research and contacts, including sending photos, via email. Some brokers did not respond well, but most did. Ones that did not, we assumed were not serious brokers or the boat had already been sold, which was usually the case.
I believe that brokers need to be electronically savant to function in today''s world. I would never try to chase a broker via phone--they are almost never in, return calls when it is inconvenient for me, and there is almost no way to record what they say--verbal communication is prone to error, bad memories, and inaccuracies. Ideally the owner and/or broker would make up an electronic packet to send out via email, or even a web site, to include a data sheet, photos, etc, which is the electronic version of mailing a sheet on the boat.
This is all pretty standard stuff now, but I find it interesting that brokers still seem to neglect email in the selling process.

[DonFoley]

I agree. I bought my last two boats (one $50,000 and another $100,000) by finding them on the internet and contacting the broker by e-mail, and using e-mail pretty much through the whole process. It worked great for both of us. If they never responded, the sales for those boats most likely wouldn''t have gone through.

Come to think of it, that''s how I bought my last house, too. The realtor got right back to me, and never seemed concerned that I was shopping around on the internet to find a house (and that was over 5 years ago).

[mabwjm]

We''ve recently had a very positive experience with an Annapolis area broker. We were just wandering the docks--dropped in unannounced. The broker made us feel very welcome, even after my sort of pre-emptory "we''re just looking, not ready to buy" comment. Gave us access to her boats, and then came back to talk to us again. She contacted us several days later (via email! with some suggestions for a purchase, tied to our timing, including how to best pursue financing.

Long story short, we''re scheduled to close on a new boat in March--a very positive experience all around. I''ll be happy to refer if anyone wants to email me.

Fair winds, Bill

[JHodor]

I totally agree that email is the way to go. My most important reason is that it documents conversations and it''s convenient. Email is probablly 80% of my time in correspondence (it even copies my cell). A phone call doesn''t hurt though, just one to show strong seriousness if you are going for a boat that is a popular one. I was just trying to "reach" for some reason for the poor responsiveness but it''s no excuse. My only comment was they get very very busy and I wouldn''t believe it unless I saw it myself. For what it''s worth, I eat sleep and breath this stuff or I wouldn''t be here in the forums. So if anyone needs to look at a boat used or new, in Annapolis area I am here to help.