Just as a generalization, IMHO, Broker = Working for the Seller or a
Dealership.. Seldom, if ever is he going to consider the buyers true needs
or expectations unless it coincides with what the Seller is offering..

I guess broker with a consience would steer you away from anything that was
beyond your need or where you might later have buyers regret.

I've purchased two boats through brokers and sold one.. This is of ~ dozen
boats I have owned. In, either case, I felt that I got screwed.. (long
story)..

I walk the docks and talk to sellers and other boater to find what I want
not what the broker thinks he can sell me.. If it's broker listing then try
to maintain control over the situation and let the broker be a gofer.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

I guess broker with a consience would steer you away from anything that was
beyond your need or where you might later have buyers regret.

Heck yes. Sellers are a dime a dozen, genuine buyers are extremely rare. One
sure way to sell a lot of boats is to build up
an honorable relationship with the buyers.
When a lot of boats are sold, a lot of sellers are happy.

Remember that most brokers have access to hundreds and hundreds of boats. Yes,
they are getting paid by the seller- but they are under no compulsion to
represent one seller's offering to the exclusion of all others. The broker
doesn't make a dime unless the buyer finds *something*, and a smart broker will
help a buyer make a wise decision from a broad inventory rather than try to
"stuff" the buyer into a wrong boat.

I always chuckle when I hear the old chestnut, "Always deal with the private
sellers, avoid brokers like the plague!"
If there's anybody with a definite agenda to shoehorn a buyer into a single,
specific, boat it's the private seller. He only has *one* boat for sale, not
hundreds. Most private sellers, like most brokers, are generally honest- but a
crooked private seller (and yes, Elizabeth, they do indeed exist) can get a way
with a lot more on a single isolated transaction that a crooked broker could
ever hope to pull off as a regular course of business. Most states have some
sort of consumer protection laws in place that would eventually shut down the
crooked broker- but nobody bothers to go after the crooked private seller
because the crime is an "isolated incident."

I guess broker with a consience would steer you away from anything that was
beyond your need or where you might later have buyers regret.

Heck yes. Sellers are a dime a dozen, genuine buyers are extremely rare. One
sure way to sell a lot of boats is to build up
an honorable relationship with the buyers.
When a lot of boats are sold, a lot of sellers are happy.

Remember that most brokers have access to hundreds and hundreds of boats. Yes,
they are getting paid by the seller- but they are under no compulsion to
represent one seller's offering to the exclusion of all others. The broker
doesn't make a dime unless the buyer finds *something*, and a smart broker will
help a buyer make a wise decision from a broad inventory rather than try to
"stuff" the buyer into a wrong boat.

I always chuckle when I hear the old chestnut, "Always deal with the private
sellers, avoid brokers like the plague!"
If there's anybody with a definite agenda to shoehorn a buyer into a single,
specific, boat it's the private seller. He only has *one* boat for sale, not
hundreds. Most private sellers, like most brokers, are generally honest- but a
crooked private seller (and yes, Elizabeth, they do indeed exist) can get a way
with a lot more on a single isolated transaction that a crooked broker could
ever hope to pull off as a regular course of business. Most states have some
sort of consumer protection laws in place that would eventually shut down the
crooked broker- but nobody bothers to go after the crooked private seller
because the crime is an "isolated incident."