Spent 4 hours showing the boat yesterday

mrsrobinson said:
A little more info....he called, made an offer. I called back the next day and tried to meet him half way. He said no with no counter. So I came down a little more, he said no with no counter (Yeah, negotiating w/myself, wrong thing to do I know). So I finally agreed to his price.

He calls back and tells me he forgot about taxes and that he needs to reduce his price to include the taxes since XX.XX is all the bank will give him. I was not happy about but I agreed. He then tells me he is not leaving a deposit. I resist, he says he will walk, so I agree. Two days later he calls and drops his price 20%. I asked him for a deadline to counter, which we agreed to, this Friday. He calls me yesterday to tell me his bank will not give him a loan for his last offer. All the while he told me he had been approved and was ready to go.

So I ask you, where did I make a mistake here? The man made the first offer with money he did not have. He reduced his offer by 20%, still with money. he did not have. I should have taken what money and run?
Click to expand...

Greg, I'm sorry your deal did not work. In my opinion, your emotions got in your way. On day one, you spent 4+ hours with a guy who was not qualified. From that moment on, he knew you were 'invested' in the deal. You further proved it by bending to whatever offer (or lack of offer) he concocted. In the end, you are out time and some emotions. Hopefully, you can learn from the mistakes you made in this process.

1. Spent time with an unqualified prospect.

If that prospect is willing to walk/balk at your polite inquiries about their ability to purchase, then they aren't your buyer and they aren't worth your time. This guy sounds like he lied to you and may have passed this test, but you still don't spend 4+ hours until you have more concrete indication of interest and ability.

2. You began accepting very non-conventional terms in offers and structure.

Accept offers in written contract form. They are accompanied by a 10% deposit. Anything less is not worth looking at. If your prospect balks at that process, they are not your buyer. If they are not your buyer, you need to let them walk away and quit wasting your time. A qualified prospect who is genuinely interested in your boat will not take offense to putting their money where their mouth is to write a contract and put down a deposit that they would have to do to purchase any boat.

By using the above methods, you would have weeded this guy out long ago without the time or emotions. Don't be afraid to let the wrong guys walk. In the end, it saves you a lot of time and frustration.

Again, I'm sorry your deal did not work.

Good luck.

Matt
 
Sea Gull said:
I guess - at least at this juncture - Gary was right.

Greg, you had way way way too much emotional investment in this deal. Step back and look at it as a business transaction. If it is priced correctly, the right buyer will come along.
Click to expand...

Ahhh...yes, this is how I was beginning to look at it.
 
mrsrobinson said:
He calls back and tells me he forgot about taxes and that he needs to reduce his price to include the taxes since XX.XX is all the bank will give him. I was not happy about but I agreed. He then tells me he is not leaving a deposit. I resist, he says he will walk, so I agree.

<<snip>>

So I ask you, where did I make a mistake here?

<<snip>>
Click to expand...

I don't think you made any big "mistakes", since the deal didn't go through and all you invested was a few hours of time.

This is my personal opinion only, but the point I think you went too far with the negotiation was when he "forgot" the taxes. This is the first "I met his price, then he lowered it".

Counter offers are a standard and expected negotiation tool. . .but not required by either party. By not accepting your initial counter offers, it was merely hardball firesale negotiating, and you blinked. Which is perfectly fine if your goal is to *sell the boat*. A buyer not being talked up from an initial offer is perfectly acceptable and honorable.

The next step *should have been* a signed contract along with a reasonable (10% is not out of line) deposit.

Lowering his offer significantly instead of presenting a deposit is a different matter. That signified two things: (1) Serious bad faith negotiating and (2) Possibly no money. Afterall. . if he didn't have money for taxes, he probably didn't have money for fuel. Or maintenance. Or insurance. Was the next request going to be for you to pay for the first season of fuel? And insurance?

Not presenting a deposit when a price is agreed to can ONLY mean one thing: The buyer isn't going to give you any money. Ever. Is there any other possibility? Afterall. . .if the deal is going to happen, the BALANCE would be payable in a matter of days, right? What would the point be in delaying the deposit? Afterall. . .you have already demonstrated that you have a BOAT. This is the point to demonstrate the buyer has the MONEY. Simple as that.

But lessons learned. . . hopefully the next buyer won't jerk you around.
 
Last edited:
"1. Spent time with an unqualified prospect."

So back to my earlier question, how does one qualify a buyer? I am hearing you can't.

"2. You began accepting very non-conventional terms in offers and structure."

In this market, where boats are not selling, I have been told you need to get creative and be prepared to get creative and you have to be flexible.

I hear you guys, and, in a normal market would agree. However, I kept hearing over and over and over how crappy this market is, take his money and run...so I gave in, bent if you will. I never said sure right away when he came back with another reason to drop the price, I challenged his thinking. I saw the red flags, calling to reduce the price for taxes, calling to tell me this and that, but in this market I thought it was best to continue thinking this may work out.

So, I am hearing folks now say "stick to your guns and principles" even in this market. I am also hearing some still say take his money and run.

I agree to a point, but this market is a mess and I think stuff like this is to be expected.
 
I think stuff like this is expected because "buyers" are expecting every boat to be a fire sale. Also, even in good markets, I think you can expect people who are not serious. Cost of doing buisness.

I think you can be creative to a point. You did all the right things. . . but at some point, the buyer must to act like a buyer. When a buyer's offer is accepted, that is the end (not a step) in the negotiations. It is then time to lay out the cash! Simple as that.
 
holy Crap, 13 pages of critque and beatings:smt021.

Greg, if you made a mistake it was not sharing every single detail of EVERYTHING that happened, including every convestation verbatim. Many of your critics are making false assumptions and then responding based on them. Uggggh.

The guy is just doing his best to sell his boat. Give him a break.:grin:

Okay, now you can flame me. I'm sure Greg could use a break.
 
Last edited:
highslice said:
holy Crap, 13 pages of critque and beatings:smt021.

Greg, if you made a mistake it was not sharing every single detail of EVERYTHING that happened, including every convestation verbatim. Many of your critics are making false assumptions and then responding based on them. Uggggh.

The guy is just doing his best to sell his boat. Give him a break.:grin:

Okay, now you can flame me. I'm sure Greg could use a break.
Click to expand...
damn...I cant give you bad rep anymore :smt013























:grin:
 
Greg,

You sound way too critical and not very confident about your ability to sell your boat. What’s the biggest ticket item you have sold before? Showing a boat is one thing, asking for the sale is another, and then closing the deal is what it is all about. You seem to be a master shower, a beginner when it comes to asking for the sale, and clueless in the Chesapeake when it comes to closing.

But, hey so what?........ the biggest room in all of our lives is for improvement and there is no doubt that you are getting some great advice from the guys here that bloodied their noses on a few sales or two. Surely, the CSR team will get you ed-u-ma-cated shortly and get that baby sold soon.

So my two cents……selling isn’t telling, it’s ASKING the right questions……..so listen and learn and sell your way to a bigger boat.

PS –hope to get going this Sunday and if the ocean settles down, Beaufort the first night, then the ditch to somewhere north, and then Norfolk Tuesday night and hopefully, DC on Wednesday. Will keep you posted.

Good luck to you---soon to be Master Shower/Seller/Closer..

Uncle Buck
 
Greg,
The best advice I can give you is lose the idea of your next boat until you sell this one AND make sure you set your price, quit negotiating yourself down and stand firm. They either want the boat or not at the price you ask. If the counter with a REASONABLE offer fine, but don't keep negotiating yourself down accepting adjustments for taxes, hauling fees, "oh it needs to be winterized now", blah, blah, blah.

Best of luck but hold your guns man. Once She's sold then go boat hunting. It's too easy to justify losing your shorts if you're more focused on the next boat.
 
Nehalennia said:
Greg,
The best advice I can give you is lose the idea of your next boat until you sell this one AND make sure you set your price, quit negotiating yourself down and stand firm. They either want the boat or not at the price you ask. If the counter with a REASONABLE offer fine, but don't keep negotiating yourself down accepting adjustments for taxes, hauling fees, "oh it needs to be winterized now", blah, blah, blah.

Best of luck but hold your guns man. Once She's sold then go boat hunting. It's too easy to justify losing your shorts if you're more focused on the next boat.
Click to expand...

That's the best advice in this thread and given respectfully and without criticism. I'd give you some balls, but...........you know............
 
ImpulseIII:
List it with a broker and be done with it.
Click to expand...

Amen to that! You've had a valuable experience in showing the boat, but it wasn't all pleasant and could very likely have cost you much more than the 10% commission a good broker will charge.

There ARE good brokers out there, and they earn their keep (and then some).
 
Last edited:
Well I was originally going to be a buyer of a 2001 Sea Ray 340 Sundancer. I had offered the buyer $85K, he owed $92K and had another new boat he had purchased and was paying dual slip fees. I paid for the survey and survey haul out and also stupidly paid $1,000.00 deposit.

I was also going to have to pay around $2,000.00 to have the boat hauled by truck to Jacksonville, so the owner said if I would pay him 87K he would bring the boat up. Then something came up and he could not deliver/bring the boat up, so now he wanted $86.5K. Mind you I had already paid for a survey and the deposit. The survey showed it needed manifolds/risers and one transmission cooler replaced. The owner then started with a hymn-haw dialog about it not being a new boat and he was not going to fix this or that.

So I told him to just keep his boat.. So I lost some money about $2,000.00, but one thing I have learned in life to pretty much hold true is that what goes around comes around.

As things sometime happen, all turned out alright in the long run. Someone here on CSR informed me to submit a number of low ball offers and a seller would show an interest. They did and I now have my 2002 Sea Ray 380 Sundancer


:thumbsup:
 
If you do not want to list it with the broker (which I think is kind of like selling a house.. I'd rather have the pros do it )...then to me it's a matter of knowing what you WANT for the boat.. and at the other end of the spectrum is what you will TAKE... something in between is great.

Best of luck! (how much is shipping to Oklahoma....??) :)
 
Pseudomind said:
I paid for the survey and survey haul out and also stupidly paid $1,000.00 deposit.

<<snip>> The survey showed it needed manifolds/risers and one transmission cooler replaced. The owner then started with a hymn-haw dialog about it not being a new boat and he was not going to fix this or that.

So I told him to just keep his boat..

<<snip>>
Click to expand...

Dumb question: Who got the deposit?

And if you didn't get the deposit back. . .why not? Wouldn't "failed to pass survey" been a legitmate reason to get the money returned?

- - - - -

Is a deposit under 1.5% of purchase price typical?
 
comsnark said:
Dumb question: Who got the deposit? He did

And if you didn't get the deposit back. . .why not? Long story, owner went on vacation and upon his return claimed he had two mechanics working overtime to fix survey faults while he was on vacation. Failed however to inform me of this fact. I also had not agreed on $86.5 k. I had originally offered $85k. I got tired of attempting to deal with individual, and I did not feel like continuing to drive 5 hours one way to pursue in smalls claims court ...Wouldn't "failed to pass survey" been a legitmate reason to get the money returned? Probably?

- - - - -

Is a deposit under 1.5% of purchase price typical? No, private seller, not a broker
Click to expand...

:huh:

I never claimed I did not make some mistakes.

I could probably take it to small claims court today, I just do not have the time nor do I want to spend even more money or time on the matter. For me just to go to the location involves a ten hour round trip alone.
 
Pseudomind said:
:huh:

I never claimed I did not make some mistakes.

I could probably take it to small claims court today, I just do not have the time nor do I want to spend even more money or time on the matter. For me just to go to the location involves a ten hour round trip alone.
Click to expand...

If you didn't ask, then ask. I he denies, just submit a letter of intent to take it to small claims court with a copy of the form filled out (available on line). Hey, it's a cool grand, and it sounds like it should be yours.
 
highslice said:
holy Crap, 13 pages of critque and beatings:smt021.

Greg, if you made a mistake it was not sharing every single detail of EVERYTHING that happened, including every convestation verbatim. Many of your critics are making false assumptions and then responding based on them. Uggggh.

The guy is just doing his best to sell his boat. Give him a break.:grin:

Okay, now you can flame me. I'm sure Greg could use a break.
Click to expand...

"Okay, now you can flame me. I'm sure Greg could use a break."

I am good with all this feedback and don't take it personally. My wife and I feel good with how we handled this process and feel we gave him every opportunity to buy the boat. The man reduced his offer twice, I had not countered the 2nd one, he calls to announce he does not have any money...Game over in my opinion.

I did just notice though I lost my 5+ green balls, so maybe I upset someone with a reply. Here we go again.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,120
Messages
1,426,612
Members
61,037
Latest member
wojozobl
Back
Top