so what should a dealer make (parker dealer networ)

[DeeGeelbk]

So with all the comments on the parker dealer issue and commnents in other threads the question arises
What do you think a dealer should make? answer either money amont or percentage of sale price for each price
indicated.
Then answer how many boats do you think the dealer sells in a year?

then answer how many boats does parker sell in a year?

here ae some examples

so for a
1) 20k boat - 25%
2) 40k boat - 25%
3) 60k boat - $3000
4) 80k boat - 20%
5) 100k boat - 20%

dealer sells 25 boats company sells250


so wat do you think is fair for dealers and manufaturers this could be very interestin

[Bruce W]

[scott-hydra24]

Long ago in the auto industry and many others SERVICE and sale of used vehicles became the profit center...and far exceeded profit ever made on sales of new vehicles.

The marine industry has had their head up there as**** for so long they sit around trying to keep margins up instead of working as an industry to improve woeful service. Most of us can't even pay a premium to get work done in a reasonable amount of time. I don't feel bad for any dealer because up here in MA it's painfully clear they are selling far more boats as an industry then they could ever service.

[glacierbaze]

Parker should make as many boats as they can maintain the quality on, and the dealers should sell them for as much as the buying public will pay.
If you think they're making too much money, start your own boat company.

[danielb]

From what I have heard dealers (motors and boats) get a incentive check at the end of the year based on sales from the manufacturers. So whatever they make off us is increased at the end of the year.
On the down side (for the dealer) they have to buy a large amount of stock (motors/boats) from the manufacturers and sell them but rewards I am told are handsome at the end of the years if they sell their stock on hand.

[hblac]

I think I've noticed a trend. Most of the crybabies who complain about what dealers make have never run a business. They're not in business to barely make ends meet just so you can get a steal of a deal on a major 'Luxury Item'. They are there to make a good profit while providing you a good product and good service. They have a lot of folks to feed on the way to doing this including their landlord, their employees, the electric company and their banker because stocking inventory, some of which they might not sell or have to sit on for a long time, costs a lot of money in interest charges. If a company makes a 30% (imaginary, I suspect) margin that's gross margin. After cost of doing business and taxes he doesn't get to keet much of that. He also had to risk a lot of his own capital to start the business. There's a reward for that. And that system my friends is called capitalism. Like someone else said, if you think all boat dealers are rip offs start you own boat dealership and get rich. Just don't look at all the bankruptcies that have happened in the boating industry the past several years. This industry is in a decline. 1988 was the peak year! Good luck in your new venture !

[reelgator]

What hblac said. Consider this - you have a GREAT Yamaha tech which you pay $30 an hour, and he is busy 10 hours a day all season. But in the offseason he twiddles his thumbs but you still have to pay him - OR - loose him. And the rent keeps going and the electric bill keeps coming and on and on and there are no sales to offset these expenses.

[DeeGeelbk]

wow!
with all the comments in the parker thread I was expecting people to actuall come up with numbers. There is a large group of people that talk ripping the throat out of dealers.
well this is interesting

It is my understanding also that dealers may get some additional funding at end of year but the question still remains how much should they make.

Just think if you had a bad year you would not get any money at the end of the yr plus you didn't do grat on sales that looks like a duoble wammy.

[mymojo]

What do you mean how much should a dealer make? As a business owner myself, not in the marine trade, I should be able to earn whatever I am able to earn - that's why I own my own business. If I hussle, provide good service and a high quality product there should not be any arbirtrary amount of money that I should earn. Agree?
Regards,
Greg J.

[reelgator]

Hard to set a percentage when there are sooo many variables from one dealership to another. One guy may have inherited property on the most expensive corner in town and only have to pay taxes - while the guy down the road had to pay 250.000.00 for his spot. One dealer may only require small volume and small staff to be satisfied while another may want big volume/staff/sales to stoke his ego or pay for the lifestyle to which I am accustomed. Too many variables.

[broncobirdy]

They will make whatever the market will bear, end of story. Dude buy used if you are worried that the dealer will make too much from your sale.

[Zingpow]

Surprise! Im a boat dealer. I must say this is great entertainment. I have not read a post yet from anyone who has anything better than a guess as to how our operations run internally.
I do wish I had more time to surf web sites from other industries to figure ways to minimize their profit. Come on , this site is very useful in so many ways. Getting good value in your investment is better than a good deal. Do your home work on things like build quality, resale value, dealer service and reputation, not on how much money he may or may not make at the end of a long hot sweaty day.

[Birdman]

Parker makes boats? I thought they were an outboard manufacturer?

[Zingpow]

Surprise! Im a boat dealer. I must say this is great entertainment. I have not read a post yet from anyone who has anything better than a guess as to how our operations run internally.
I do wish I had more time to surf web sites from other industries to figure ways to minimize their profit. Come on , this site is very useful in so many ways. Getting good value in your investment is better than a good deal. Do your home work on things like build quality, resale value, dealer service and reputation, not on how much money he may or may not make at the end of a long hot sweaty day.

[horseradish]

You repeated yourself twice already and still didn't make any sense!

[Barryrod]

When I bought my boat my dealer gave me the low down for him. He gets his boats 30% off of the Manufacturers retail price and sells em for 20% off manufacturers price so he gets 10% of Manufacturers retail price. That goes for options as well. However, they do a lot of after the sale service and additional electronics rigging to help make up the difference.

[A Few Dollars]

Business / Economics 101 - supply and demand and fair market value. The dealer can charge as much as the market will bare. It makes no difference if it's 10% or 1000%. The market sets the price. I didn't know Parker dealers are in the charity business! If they are, where does the line start for my new $9,999.00 25' Walkaround???

[scott-hydra24]

reelgator look back at the article I posted regarding year round work here in Massachusetts. Every dealer the Boston Globe went to for the article, including a Parker dealer indicated not only can they not find help at any hourly rate, but that anyone they do hire works year round. One of the big dealers commented that it is a huge misconception that techs are seasonal and that with the number of boats on the water increasing at a huge clip each year, there will almost assuredly be year round work for every new technician.

The starting salary was indicated to be 50k-80k a year depending on the experience. I've also heard around the water cooler that they are offering signing bonuses for good techs.

I really believe Yamaha, Mercury and Evinrude need to start going to the voc/tech high schools and making kids understand there is a GOOD career potential in this industry. The dealers are getting the short end IMO from the manufacturers....

Zingpow, pretty much right on the nose. The original thread with Parker though had nothing to do with people deciding on dealer margins. When it started it came down to a guy being told by his relative he'd have to charge him more money so that he could get "service' from the local dealer. Basically he had to collect a service tax and then pass that to the dealer in his relatives region. People here get off on rants about "big brother" and loss off freedom, what difference does it make where I live when I'm buying a boat? Talk about loss of freedom, what if Parker bought out Mobil..would we all start paying a 50 cent a gallon gas tax if we didn't buy from our local dealer so that Parker/Mobil could "protect" the local dealer. Answer is no, and that is why we have laws against such things. The discussion went off in many directions, most were not questioning the right of a dealer to charge whatever they can, but some questioned a dealer telling a customer he had to charge him a "service tax" (my words) so that the local dealer would be happy.

hblac, re: the people not agreeing with you must not own a business...BS. I think some of those that disagreed stated pretty clearly they disagreed because they've got direct or indirect experience and understand that the behavior being described was anti-competitve aka, not legal. I know in my industry a very large, internationally known supplier tried to influence or "suggest" (their words) the correct pricing levels and punished dealers that did not follow by minimizing supply etc. After some of the larger dealers banded together they quickly dropped the policy. This was post MSoft getting slammed.

If I walk into a Parker dealer with 75k in cash, they have absolutely NO RIGHT under US Law to ask me a gosh darn thing about where I live so that they can charge me more. This all started when we were told as readers that basically in the scenario above I would get hit with a $7500 "upcharge" to pay off the local dealer. Well, that's BS, it's discriminatory, and it is illegal.

[pinzino1]

It's really none of your business.

[BruceD]

WOW!!!!! Scott-Hydra24 you mest really be a lawyer, because you can talk and talk but have yet say anything useful.

Why do we care what the dealer make if we are happy with the del we got and if we are no happy with the deal just walk.

This form is very useful, but post like this are useless and seem to be a result of crybabies trying to get something for nothing.


One question for all of you crybabies out there. If you were a dealer how much would you charge? I guess you would give the boats away.