BROKERS!!

[ct]

Found a boat on yachtworld that looked good but when I looked at the "Full Specs" there weren''t any. Instead, the listing stated that there was "too much equipment to list here" and invited anyone interested to e-mail them for a detailed list of equipment.

Needless to say I''ve done that. 5 times now! I never received an equipment list. Heck, I''ve nevr received any response at all- not even an acknowlegement of receiving the e-mail.

Finally, I sent a 6th e-mail aasking if they reply to e-mails. I put a read receipt on it. Well they opened it but still no one responds!

I wish there was a way to contact the owner/seller to advise him that his broker isn''t doing the job!!

This isn''t my first experience with this problem. I guess I shouldn''t be surprised.

[Stede]

flatfooted,

Your complaint sounds very similar to mine when I was trying to deal on a C&C 33. The bank loan agent called me wanting an update on the purchase status,and I told him I couldn''t get any response from the broker. His comment was "usually if you don''t receive any response within a day, it typically means the boat is under contract, there''s problems in the boats paperwork,etc., and the broker just hasn''t bothered to take it off the internet yet." I guess there''s two types of people in this world. Those that return calls, and those that don''t.Good luck!

[DuaneIsing]

Stede writes:

...I guess there''s two types of people in this world. Those that return calls, and those that don''t...


Yes, and there are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those that understand binary, and those that don''t. :-)

Duane

[Stede]

Duane,

Yes, your statement is true. I had one broker representing a seller agree to knock 12 thousand dollars off the initial list price of a boat,with my first offer. I had to wonder what kind of "binary" system they were working off of? ;^)

[Sailmale]

Two recent experiences.

I made an appointment to see a boat 45 minutes south of Annapolis with a man from a highly reputable local brokerage. (FYI...the boat was listed at $69,000, so his cut would have been significant.) He never showed. The boatowner kept me cooling my heels away from the boat until I told him that it was just about too dark to see...and then he let me look.

I then followed-up with the same broker asking to see the boat two days later on a Sunday morning when the owner was to be away. The broker this time showed-up...for about 30 minutes, then split saying he had another appointment...and for me to close the boat when I left.

Called another Annapolis broker -- a man whose name is sometimes touted on this forum as being good -- and set up a time to see a sistership of the first boat. He called me just shortly before I was to leave work and asked if we could postpone it for two days because of dinner party him and his wife were staging. No problem, I said. Then, on the day of the rescheduled appointment, he told me that he could only spend a few minutes at the boat and that if I were late, he was going to leave, saying he had to drive to the Richmond area. (I work in DC and my commute to Annapolis is usually an hour or more and can vary greatly.) I arrived less than 5 minutes late, and had to call him because 10 minutes later he still had not arrived. He came...grudgingly...and spent less than 15 minutes showing me the boat. It was clear that he wanted to leave.

Three days later I agreed to buy a similar model and year...but this was being sold without a broker...the owner was more than happy to spend as much time as I wanted showing me his boat.

It''s pretty clear to me why brokers often have truly earned the reputations that they have.

[mdougan]

Well, I guess someone should post an opposing view

I was out in Port Townsend Washington on vacation and was walking around the docks and spotted a beautiful boat for sale. I called the broker (even though it was maybe 8:00 PM) and left a message asking if I could see it the next morning (as I was leaving for Seattle later in the day). He called back that night and set up a time early in the morning. He showed me that boat and one or two other boats in the Port Townsend Marina, knew all about the history of each boat, explained some of the features I wasn''t familiar with.

Then, when he heard I was going down to Bainbridge Island that day, he offered to show me a few boats there, as he was planning a trip to that office later in the day anyway.

We met up again later in Bainbridge and he showed me another couple of boats, all nearly exactly what I was looking for, let me look as long as I wanted to and never pressed me to plunk down any deposits.

One of the nicest "salesperson" I''ve ever met.

Blue and Gold Yachts in Daytona Beach went out of their way to help me through the purchase of the boat I finally settled on.

I''m sure like in any business, you have the good and the bad. Luckily, I''ve run into a lot of the good ones!

[russ325]

My experience has been really good with brokers. In the past three years I have met with at least 10 brokers and only had *one* that I considered poor. I finally found my perfect boat and the broker is/was EXCELLENT - including service after the sale.

Russ

[cgha33]

Arrrrrr. Hang the bastards from the yardarms. Or make ''em walk the plank!!!!

They be thieves, aren''t they?????

[flicker]

A broker can''t make me buy a boat, but he can sure keep me from buying one. I''ve had similar experiences with brokers in Annapolis and the Caribbean.

I even bought tickets for two to Grenada because the broker acted sure he could bring the seller''s price not too far down to my offer. Then he went on vacation, didn''t follow through on telling his partner about the deal, and the seller didn''t meet my bid.

My wife and I had a great vacation in Trinidad instead.

Chas

[pblais]

As in every profession boat brokers are no different. Like realtors 90% of sales are done by 10% of the brokers. Some brokers only sell a few boats a year. The ones that really make a living return phone calls in a heart beat. They make the deal happen. You don''t need to cheat people to sell boats. Returning a phone call is an easy thing to do.

The good news is that most of the best brokers sell most of the boats.