Broker Not Selling Boat-Help

[smcmann]

All:

Great forum. Just stumbled in here. I have a question y'all might
help with.

I put my 2003 Maxum2900SCR up for sale with a broker on March
30th. It's now nearly July, and apparently there's been NO ONE
interested enough to talk about purchasing. This puzzles me.
It's a beautiful boat with low hours and all options, has been in
fresh water since birth and is an incredible value when compared
to other boats of the same size/feature makeup. And it sips gas.

The broker DOES have it advertised all over the place. boatraderonline,
his own web site and a few more on the web. Multi-photo ads...very nice
description of the boat etc...

Here's my question. How long do you continue paying for a boat you
can't use while it sits on blocks in front of a dealership before you change
something? I'm a career salesman. In my line of work, a full quarter of
no interest tells me either no one knows about it...or the price is too high.
Well, since heavy promotion is going on...I have to assume the price is too
high. Problem is...it's really not. I have priced it under most every other
boat of this kind in the Southeast that I could find.

Frankly, I'm thinking of moving it to another dealer. But dealers have these
rediculous contracts that basically say they make a commission even if you
take it to another dealer and THEY sell your boat. Well, that's not gonna
happen. I'm just asking enough to pay off the boat...and purchased it
well under blue book in late 2003.

I'm rambling now. If you have any ideas, thoughts, suggestions...I'd appreciate
the feedback.

Thank you.

Sean

[steveyacht]

Does your broker have it listed on Yacht World? (this is the largest Multiple Listing Site available) Is the boat available for co-brokerage? Many boats are sold by other brokers, not just the one it is listed with. If yours is not listed on Yacht World and/or is not available for co-brokering you are limiting the market. If it is and if your broker is advertising, displaying and making your boat available and you still are not getting any offers, then it is the price. There are currently two 2003 Maxum 2900SCR showing as available on Yacht World, one in Calif and the other in NY. Asking prices are $69,900 and $69,000 respectively.

If your broker is doing everthing that I mentioned it will not help by taking it to another broker/dealer. However, based upon your comment that you are in the South East and I did not see ANY 2003 Maxum 2900 SCR's on yacht World from the South Eastern states, I would suggest you tell your broker you want it listed on Yacht World as well as making sure he will co-broker the boat if need be.

[alice]

Four years ago my fishing vessel was in drydock for six months, while I did repairs to the hull and superstructure. I missed part of the fishing season and that income. All that time I was paying down the note and trying to sell it at the same time. After relaunching, I finally listed it with a well known commercial agent and it was sold the following month. A woman from the Tennesse bought after seeing it listed on Yachtworld.

I got my asking price, paid off my note, bought another vessel for cash within a month and was able to finish out the season. I subsequently listed that boat last year with same agent and have an offer on it now. The internet is a wonderful place to have your boat listed with a hundred or more hits every day on every boat. Insist that the dealer list the boat on the internet, if they haven't already done so.

[gtfish]

Asking just enough to pay off may still be too much. Its not what you owe its what someone is willing to pay. Your dealer should be able to pull info showing what your model has Sold for recently not just what others are asking. I agree on Yacht world being a great marketing tool with broad appeal. Other threads on THT about the used market. Is it listed here?

[B-Faithful]

Used boat market appears to be very soft. It may be a function of price.

[whitehall]

What are you asking for the boat?

[Dick_Formula233]

The price of fuel might have something to do with slow sales, too.

The Corpus Christi Big Game Fishing Club had 189 members last year, and 200 members in 2004.* This year we are only up to 164 so far.* We attribute a lot of it to fuel prices.

[fishie1]

Since you asked . . . I am assuming that the one boat that is on boattrader is yours. If so, your boat is priced $5000 - $6000 higher than the other two mentioned above. The boat in New York has twins, as you do, and it may very well be that point that is scaring potential buyers away. If there are some other options or accessories that your boat has that distinguishes itself from those others you may want to make that information more prominent. Post performance numbers and get more pictures up on the sites. The picture of the cabin appears to be from a brochure, buyers want to see what it really is.

Good luck.

[Reel-Magic]

I am sorry to hear about the challenges you are having selling the boat. It sounds like a great boat. I can't tell from your note if you are dictating the price or the broker is recommending the price. Probably somewhere in the middle. The used market is saturated right now by nice boats so you may want to expand your pricing comparison. What else would your potential buyers be considering if there are not an abundance of boats on the market that match your make/options. Having just gone through this on a lower end boat, I had to look myself in the mirror and decide what the absolute minumum I was willing to take and give the broker the space to make it happen. For example, I tried to sell the boat last year online and whatnot and couldn't make it happen. I figured what another 6-12 months of carrying costs would run and took about 50% of that off the asking price to make sure it moved.

Jon

[yachtjim]

Maxums are notoriously hard to sell. I think you are going about it the right way but you are in drastic need of a price reduction. A site like Boat Trader Online is the best place to have your boat advertised. Yachtworld is another good source but the sold records from the site only show 3 '03 29 Maxum SCR's sold by broker members ever, and the last was 12/05, so you are not missing much by not being on there. Plus the two that are on there as "available" were put on in 10/05 and 2/06, so your current broker's performance isn't out of the ordinary. With your current price I would be surprised if you even get a phone call on it, let alone a showing. I would move it to $65K to be competitive, and if still no bites drop it down again after a month. When your price gets to the right point it will sell almost overnight. Good Luck.

[firemedc1560]

Others have said it but I'll be brief. The only reason people are not looking is price. Drop the price, people will buy. If not you can hang onto the boat for an awfully long time waiting for your buyer.

[rotordriver]

At least your boat has the right name on it. Jim is right thiugh, it's all about price. If you dropped your price to $40,000 I'm sure it would sell today. You just have to find what someone is willing to give for it.

[tiburonenelmar]

You are asking too much for the boat. If the phone's not ringing, there's a reason...

[AC]

My real estate agent has a saying..."Do you want to sell it,or advertise it"

[ifishlbj]

Reduce the price. Also, negotiate with the broker to reduce his fee. Just sold a smaller boat for about 3500.00 more than dealer was willing to put in it It works.