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Random Quote: Front, bow. Back, stern. If ya don't get it right, squirt, I throw your ass out the little round window on the side.
I have two boats listed with a local broker. I made it clear up front that my expectations for a quick sale were low with as bad as the market is, but also made it clear that I wanted good communications with calls from the broker every few weeks and updates on how they were marketing my boats. I'm not really upset about the boats not selling, it's the communications problem. The first few months were fine with plenty of action, maybe ten showings. I even had one low offer but never heard back from this broker on my counteroffer and have only been told of one ad other than the Yachtworld listings. I listed both boats at lower than what the broker recommended and have also lowered both prices since the original listing. I haven't heard from this broker for about two months, so they aren't even close to meeting my expectations. They have a 60 day notice policy to cancel but I would prefer to cancel immediately if I make the decision. I really don't think I should have to call them and explain that they need to regularly contact me.
Anyone know of a good broker in the Port Canaveral area?
__________________ 30' Chris Craft Tournament Sportfish
Checked her out on YW. The price is right, but the ad needs more detail. Your website is very informative, maybe have them take some of those details and add them to the YW ad. Also needs more detail on the repower. Good Luck
Well two months may appear to be a long time and I understand your concern but let me play devils advocate for a moment.
If he has 100 boats listed and 75 owners to deal with, should he spend his time talking to all of you? I would think the sales
are accomplished by talking to prospective buyers, this should be his primary focus.
I would be more interested in what he is doing to drum up business and sales, if he is aggressively pursueing sales then I
would be inclined to leave him alone. If he just sits and plays a passive role then I would find someone who tries harder
to find a buyer.
More and more people are listing their boats on the internet while the buyers are looking for the new boat there also this
will reduce the need for brokers in general. Have you considered listing the boat on a few sites yourself?
I would get rid of those repower bilge pictures. It's kind of like making sausage, some people just want to enjoy the end result without seeing how it was made. If someone wants to know the good, the bad, and the ugly, show them everything.
parkersal, I am curious how $199 got you 10 times the exposure broker would have had? Although no one wants to pay a brokerage fee, one of the reasons you do it is for the exposure. Another reason is that some brokers, the good ones, have a network of clients and other brokers that they use to move boats.
BigosS, please do not mistake what I am about to say because there is absolutely nothing wrong with your boat. The point I will make is that it is probably unfair to expect the same service on a potential $2900 commission as one would get on a $80,000 commission. Small inboard boats are just not selling. They are selling more 50' $800K boats than 28 foot $29K boats. An unfortunate fact of life right now. My guess is that the broker is doing it as much for the courtesy as for the commission. $2900 is nothing to sniff at but the broker will get probably less than half that as his commission, the brokerage takes the rest. So, let's say the boat goes to $25000 to sell which nets a $2500 commission and the broker gets maybe $750-$1000 of that. You probably see my point. On the other hand, if the broker didn't intend to do what you asked, he shouldn't have accepted the boat. Good luck, I hope it moves for you sooner than later.
Worked well for me. $199 and I had ten times the exposure that a broker would have had.
Do you have to call them to get the process started or can you do it online? I have a boat for sale and read the site over and it looked like a good deal, but I couldn't find a link to actually begin the process online.
I also checked out that $199 site. You don't get 10 times the exposure. I am heavily into boating and routinely search boat sales sites and out of the 21 sites mentioned, I have heard of 2 or 3 of them and I suspect it is the same for most buyers. You do not get Yachtworld or BucNet. Both of those sites are huge with brokers so without them, you eliminate all(or most) brokers in the US. So, it might be worth $199 arguably but in no way gives you 10 times more exposure. Actually, where you need the exposure, you don't get it. I bet if I went to most of those sites, they are regional and if your boat isn't in that region, really no reason to advertise there. You can advertise on BoatTrader for less than $199. I am not a broker nor do I work in the marine business but it isn't realistic to say you are getting 10 times the exposure vs a broker because I don't think that is the case. I think you are actually getting alot less exposure for alot less price. Maybe a good option, I would have to check each site mentioned to see if that is the case.
Should I fire my boat broker? 
