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How do I choose a yacht broker to sell my yacht? How do I come across the right yacht broker to sell my vessel? These are questions that you as a boat owner might ask when it is time to sell your boat. In my dealings with sellers, I find that the majority, if not all of them had no plan when selecting the brokerage to represent them. Their option was made arbitrarily it appears. When you are prepared, you need to find a good yacht brokerage that you can trust. Some of the points that you should consider are honesty, value and expertise. A yacht is a huge expenditure and a lot of people decide to buy one from a yacht brokerage. A brokerage sells boats to interested parties for a commission. Obviously, before you reflect on which one to go with when selling, you will want to know the commission fee that they charge; it is a customary 10% in the trade. Naturally, you need to look for honesty in a yacht broker. No one desires to trade with a dishonest person in any way, but some people are incredibly dishonest without appearing to be. Check out the reputation of the brokerage before making a commitment, and make certain that there are no complaints filed against them. The broker should be intelligent when it comes to knowing how to price your yacht. Your yacht brokerage should have a good feel of the market and how much to value your yacht. Always look for skill in a yacht brokerage. They should have been in the trade for a while. The longer, the better, obviously as this demonstrates they're able to stay in business. They will not only have the opportunity to sell your vessel at a decent price, but also have the ability to acquire the ideal yacht if you are seeking to purchase another one from a broker. In order to find the right yacht brokerage, you must shop around. Talk to some people until you get at ease with one. Request and call references. Never deal with a brokerage that is aggressive or insists that you put your signature on a contract that you do not comprehend. These legal documents are binding. If you do not understand the listing contract, you should consult an attorney. Also keep in mind that purchasing a vessel is similar to buying a house. You will want to screen the firm as you would a home brokerage business. Here are some inquiries to raise while looking for the best yacht brokerage. Utilize this list to determine what Broker is best for you. I have also included my own responses to each. Will you co-broke with other Brokers that might have a buyer that could buy my yacht? Am I able to get it in writing? It is in our listing agreement; we always co-broke with other Brokers. If you cannot get it in writing the broker is more concerned about his commission; you could potentially lose out on a sale. How available are you going to be to me, buyers and other Brokers? We make calls regularly to other Brokers and wait for days to hear back from them. My Blackberry and PC are constantly on; you can access me if you need to; buyers can too! Does your company sell boats full time or is brokerage just a hobby? Numerous Brokers do it in their spare time like a hobby. If your Broker will not act for you full-time, 7 days per week, and holidays if necessary, you should pick another firm. What is the duration of your listing agreement? Can I get out of it if I wish to? Our listing agreement lasts an initial 6 months. Our policy is that if you are not happy with our services, we will release you at any time at your request following that initial period. A good number of brokerage listing agreements have a notification clause in small print that claims you are obligated to give them a 90-120 day written notification before you can be released. How do you go about marketing my yacht? Promoting yachts is all related to exposure. It's a known fact that today's boat buyers shop the web almost exclusively for their boats. In fact, statistics illustrate that about ninety-eight percent of all vessel sales occur as a result of Internet exposure. Inquire about the websites the brokerage makes use of to advertise boats and yachts. Having your yacht on ten unknown web sites no one can find is ineffective. Ask how the brokerage has done search engine marketing and what percentage of visitors come to their sites monthly by way of search engines. About sixty-three percent of our visitors contact us because of a search engine. It has been indexed by all of the key search engines including Google, Yahoo, Bing, Dogpile, and others. Inquire what terminology the internet site is ranked for; our web site can be Googled and found on page 1 for "used trawlers", "used motor yachts", "used cruisers", and many other search terms. Can your selected brokerage promise that your yacht will be seen on Google page one? At our brokerage, we will certify it with each yacht listed. What number of guests come to your web site viewing boats? We often experience over 18,000 visits to our website monthly, many more than the Yachtworld website. Inquire if the brokerage uses the Yachtworld internet website, the international multiple listing service website. This web site is the multiple listing internet website where we share listings with other Brokers. And yes, every one of our vessels is on there. Worldwide marketing is a large issue to us; it produces customers. Do you know that we have had visitors from as many as 78 nations in 2010 from countries such as Australia, Norway, Canada, France, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, and Germany on this website, just to mention a couple? We sold about 6 yachts to foreign clients in 2010. Request how a brokerage markets worldwide. Does the brokerage utilize direct email advertising and marketing? We maintain an email marketing list of several thousand boaters, many of whom are purchasers. On a bi-monthly basis we email these buyers with a publication about new boats on the market, price changes, boating headlines and other subjects of marine relevance. Your boat will be advertised here. It sends potential customers to the internet website. Does the brokerage keep up a blog? We maintain a blog to help educate new customers to the boating community; your boat will be featured there as well. It is also indexed by Google every day and produces hundreds of visitors each day. We write on the blog two times per week. We also continue a Paradise Yachts existence on Face Book, the social media internet website where we interact with other boaters; a lot of our followers are boat purchasers looking to locate the right yacht. We are one of several brokerages that make use of You Tube to advertise your boat by the use of narrated videos recounting her features. Your yacht will be featured here also. Additionally, we also take part in 61 additional social bookmarking internet sites with the single intention of bringing the buying public to your boat. How will you keep me informed of the progress of your advertising and marketing? At Paradise Yachts we often are told how other Brokers get a listing and never let customers know how things are progressing. You will hear from us often; about every 6 weeks. I like writing you an email outlining how I understand the broad market, how many boats like yours have been sold and at what value, what the prices are with yachts similar to yours on the market, if any yachts reminiscent of yours have entered the market and what if any recommendations I have to improve our advertising and marketing. How many boats do you keep in stock? I prefer to keep from 25-35 vessels in my listing inventory. With this number, I am able to keep track of each boat's monthly progress, examine the traffic each vessel receives, study what other vessels like yours are selling for and keep you informed on her progress. More boats and you could become just another number. What do you in fact understand about yachts; have you ever owned one? I have sold in excess of one vessel since the buyer did his investigation and found me because he knew I myself own a trawler. The buyer found me due to my boat ownership and knowledge. I could talk the talk with him. And lastly, ask your broker for a list of vessels that have sold in the last year. Has he sold any vessels similar to yours? In summary, don't just decide on the Broker that happens to be down by the local marina. He may spend more time on the golf course than you do. Do some Internet investigation and ask some questions to recognize you are getting the Broker that has your best interests in mind. Mike Dickens, the author, is a live aboard boat owner and owner/Broker of Paradise Yachts in Florida USA. Paradise Yachts offers used quality yachts to customers worldwide. 904/556-9431 Visit the Paradise Yachts website to view our selection of Used Trawlers, Used Motor Yachts, and Used Sailboats for Sale
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