some thoughts on buyers' brokers
[...] He won't make money unless you are happy! It's great motivation to do a good job. [...]
I have limited experience (having purchased one boat only, so far), alas I'd like to propose some parallels with the real estate industry, that may be applicable here:
1. a broker - any broker - makes money only when a deal is closed. No deal - no money. Any deal is better than no deal.
2. a broker gets X% of the total deal value. Absent some custom 'tipping' arrangement, what exactly is a broker's motivation to try hard to depress the value of a deal (= lower the price), possibly risking the deal falling apart?
3. Time is money. Ten deals per month are better than two deals per month. Higher-value deals are better than lower-value deals. For a sales professional optimizing revenue, what exactly is the motivation to chase your perfect boat over potentially many months, over a 'just good enough' boat quickly?
(#1 - #3 above combine to drive deal volume/time over buyer's quality/value)
4. If the boat market has any similarity to real estate, the listing (seller's) broker has little interest to work with a buyer's broker. Much better to work with a buyer directly, and avoid having to split the commission in half. (read: listing brokers will likely be more responsive to a buyer than to a buyer's broker).
5. A seller's broker is also motivated to 'close the deal' quickly, if possible, so s/he may be open to answer good questions and give you more background (within reason, of course), in the interest of driving the deal. I don't see why a broker-to-broker conversation would be vastly superior to a knowledgeable future owner armed with thorough research and tough questions? It's the buyer's money, after all ...
6. Unless one is looking for a boat in the <$10k price range, the vast majority of yachts will be listed online. It's simple, and buyers can use it without going through brokers. With only a little work on one's laptop, one can quickly narrow the search down to a single digit number of targets.
And, finally ...
7. For most of us, there likely is no 'perfect boat' in the used boat market ... buying a boat is an emotional decision, with some level of (usually rather biased?) due diligence. What is the value of a 87% perfect boat right now, versus a 92% perfect boat next year?
8. Beyond the 'motivation' discussion above, people are people, and there will be all sorts of brokers ... some who love helping people, some who love boats, and others who just love the greenbacks ... Caveat emptor!