A word about yacht brokers

In my last blog post I discussed that we are looking for a new Calypso to upgrade over the current 310 Sundancer. To that end we will be listing our current boat for sale and shopping broker listings to see what is available. Now I should say that I have no previous exposure to yacht brokers. The current Calypso was purchased off of Craigslist and we handled the deal between ourselves and the prior owner.

This time around we think it is easiest to use a broker to sell our boat as she is kept a good distance away from where we live and we are not available to for showings. Similarly, boats we are interested in are generally listed through yacht brokers.

As I understand the industry, yacht brokers work on commission, similar to many other sales roles, and the more they sell, the greater their income. Since we first started thinking about making a boat upgrade, I have contacted four brokers regarding boats for sale and one regarding listing our boat. The responses have ranged from no response at all after leaving multiple phone messages or e-mails to brief telephone conversations with a promise by them to follow up and then nothing, poof. What am I missing? I am an active shopper with income potential from a sale and purchase transaction. Yet, the response rate has been rather disappointing.

Please comment below if your experience has been different or similar and what I am doing wrong. Should I have to repeatedly contact these folks just to spend money through them? I don’t think so. Let me know.