So, you’re thinking of selling your boat. You might be interested in upgrading to a bigger, more powerful vessel. You might be tired of making repairs on your old boat. Or you might even be moving to an area where you’re not going to use your boat as frequently.
In any case, you’ll likely have a combination of different goals when selling your boat. You’ll want to fetch the highest possible price, sell your boat quickly, and make sure the paperwork processes smoothly and headache-free.
How can you accomplish this? One option is to work with a broker. But how exactly do boat brokers work, and what’s the best way to use one?
The Process of Selling a Boat with a Broker
Boat brokers work somewhat like real estate agents. When you enter a contract with a boat broker, they’ll take over most of the responsibilities of preparing, listing, and selling your boat. They’ll work with you to evaluate your vessel, make recommendations for how to improve it, take photos, list it in multiple marketplaces, and even help you negotiate the best price.
Brokers will also help you manage the paperwork and ensure a smooth title transfer – so you don’t have to worry about the logistics. Your broker will also attend delivery, finalizing the deal alongside the buyer and the seller.
In exchange, you’ll pay a fixed fee to your broker for their services. Often, this is a set percentage of the final sale price of the boat – but some brokers charge a flat fee.
What Are the Benefits of Selling a Boat with a Broker?
Why would you work with a boat broker?
- Experience. Boat brokers typically have significant experience selling boats on others’ behalf. At minimum, they should have ample experience using and reviewing boats. This can help you in many different ways throughout the process; you’ll get advice, guidance, and important tips that can help you achieve your boat selling goals.
- Objective, neutral reasoning. Because of the endowment effect, people tend to overvalue things they’ve possessed, especially if they’ve owned them for a long period of time. By contrast, buyers often attempt to undervalue boats for sale. With a broker, you’ll have a neutral third party who uses objective, neutral reasoning to help you make more logical decisions.
- Pricing strategy. One of the most important aspects of working with a broker is getting their insights on pricing strategy. Setting a higher sale price may increase your profitability, but it’s going to make it harder to sell your vessel. Setting a lower price will facilitate a faster sale but hurt your profitability. Your broker will help you find the perfect middle point for your needs.
- Preparation. There’s a lot of preparation that goes into readying a boat for sale. It’s important to fix any major issues you can, clean it, and make it presentable. Your broker can provide you with advice for all these items.
- Physical display. Often, brokers have highly visible locations where they can put your boat on display to fellow boaters.
- Marketing and advertising. Brokers are also responsible for marketing and advertising your boat – which means you won’t have to lift a finger. You also won’t have to spend your own money on these campaigns, since it’s built into the broker fee.
- Private viewing opportunities. Brokers typically have wide networks of connections and good personal relationships in the boating world. That means they can host more private viewing opportunities, helping to close the sale faster.
- Paperwork assurance. Newcomers to the boating world often have difficulty filling out the paperwork and handling the legal and practical logistics. Your broker will be with you throughout this process, making it easier.
- Smooth title transferring. Since your broker will serve as both an advisor and a mediator, they’ll make sure the transfer of the title goes as smoothly as possible.
- Protection if something goes wrong. If something does go wrong during the sale, like if your buyer doesn’t show up or if there’s a last-minute conflict preventing the sale from going through, your broker will be there to help you. They’ll do everything possible to make sure the transaction is completed and that all parties are responsible.
Alternative Options
Working with a broker does have a lot of advantages, but it also has some disadvantages. For starters, you’ll be trusting the sale of your vessel to someone else – which means you won’t have as much control or transparency in negotiating the best deal. You’ll also have to pay a fee for the privilege of working with a broker (even if the higher sales price negates this somewhat).
If a broker doesn’t seem like the best choice, you do have some alternative options:
- Selling to a dealer. You could choose to sell your boat to a dealer. If you do this, you’ll likely benefit from a fast, convenient exchange – but you probably won’t fetch as high a price as you could get with a broker.
- Selling privately. You can also sell your vessel privately to a willing buyer. Thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to list your boat for sale and market it yourself – and it doesn’t take much time, money, or effort. However, if you’re unfamiliar with title transfers, or if you’re not equipped to manage the logistics of boat delivery, this can be an intimidating option.
How to Find a Broker
If you’re interested in selling your yacht with a qualified broker, the best place to start is right here. Check out our selection of brokers online to find the best fit for you!
There are also many other ways to find and vet potential brokers for the sale of your boat. For example, you could network locally to find boat brokers in your area or research potential brokers online or on social media.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer to sell your boat privately, you can do that too. Sell your boat with TheYachtMarket today!