Amazed (and not in a good way) by Great Haywood Boat Sales

[bmp]

Not sure it is appropriate of me to add this or not for a bit of balance ....

I have only bought one boat so can not profess to be an expert but I bought my boat from Great Haywood in August and I couldn’t fault them. 

The marina staff were also very helpful too. 

 

BMP

[Movin' on]

18 hours ago, geehils said:

Having owned two previous boats, I'm now in the market to buy a third.

 

I've identified three boats on GHBS's books that I would like to see; they are all within 20 miles of each other, but also nearly 120 miles from where I live.

 

Despite highlighting this with the agent I spoke to, they refused point blank to arrange for three viewings on the same day - I had to choose my favourite boat and then if that didn't suit, come back on a different day to see the second and then a further different day to see the third. Apparently this is company policy.

 

The sales particulars are very average too, with no layouts or much detail in the description, but on the basis of this I was happy to accept the time and fuel to view three boats on one day, but not one. So, the outcome was my declining to see any of them (which is a shame as they all looked lovely boats).

 

I wonder if the owners of boats on brokerage with GHBS are aware of this policy?

 

 

Pretty well discussed on here GHBS are one of the worst brokers on the system - their service is second to none for its lack of interest in buyers needs and logistics - they often list boats as sold when they aren't and all the good stuff is sold before it even hits their website often to friends and or staff - this is NOT anecdotal but based on my own experiences.

They are car dealers applying the same tactics - BUT somehow they stay in business but I suppose don't have much local competition. 

AVOID

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, Halsey said:

Pretty well discussed on here GHBS are one of the worst brokers on the system - their service is second to none for its lack of interest in buyers needs and logistics - they often list boats as sold when they aren't and all the good stuff is sold before it even hits their website often to friends and or staff - this is NOT anecdotal but based on my own experiences.

They are car dealers applying the same tactics - BUT somehow they stay in business but I suppose don't have much local competition. 

AVOID

Its also true to say that " Some " marinas if you wish to sell your boat whilst on its mooring have as part of the contract that you can only sell through a particular brokerage.

[frahkn]

41 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

That sounds very odd to me, Paul is very proffessional and will not usually allow anyone to look at boats without accompanying them,  I can only assume that he was not available on that day and the person in the office was trying to be helpful. Your experience was more than five years ago so maybe things were different then. I could name another broker often recommended on the forum who we used less than three years ago who was absolutely dreadful, but ownership has changed since then so is irrelevant.  After more than six months of inactivity, we took our boat away and placed it with Braunston Marina, who found a buyer within a few weeks.

 

.

 

This was my only visit to Braunston marina so I have no idea who I saw, perhaps things have changed. Nothing which occurred that afternoon suggested that anything out of the ordinary was occurring - it all seemed very routine. I remember it well because when I got home I made an offer on my current boat.

[Nightwatch]

43 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

That same broker who you consider dreadful sold two boats for me very very quickly with zero fuss or bother, or should I say marketed them for me because as a liveaboard I sell my own boats in reality but I used a broker on those two occasions because I couldnt be arsed marketing the boats. I sold a boat for a friend on apollo duck last month within a week as he is too busy to mess about and I am not. Perhaps I should start in the brokerage business!! err maybe not that sounds like work!!!!!!

You name it, Piggery Brokery. Just saying like.

43 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

That same broker who you consider dreadful sold two boats for me very very quickly with zero fuss or bother, or should I say marketed them for me because as a liveaboard I sell my own boats in reality but I used a broker on those two occasions because I couldnt be arsed marketing the boats. I sold a boat for a friend on apollo duck last month within a week as he is too busy to mess about and I am not. Perhaps I should start in the brokerage business!! err maybe not that sounds like work!!!!!!

You name it, Piggery Brokery. Just saying like.

43 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

That same broker who you consider dreadful sold two boats for me very very quickly with zero fuss or bother, or should I say marketed them for me because as a liveaboard I sell my own boats in reality but I used a broker on those two occasions because I couldnt be arsed marketing the boats. I sold a boat for a friend on apollo duck last month within a week as he is too busy to mess about and I am not. Perhaps I should start in the brokerage business!! err maybe not that sounds like work!!!!!!

You could name it, Piggery Brokery. Just saying like.

What's going on 'ere then.

 

[mrsmelly]

13 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

You name it, Piggery Brokery. Just saying like.

You name it, Piggery Brokery. Just saying like.

You could name it, Piggery Brokery. Just saying like.

What's going on 'ere then.

 

Poor signal then eh mate? ?

[David Schweizer]

 

2 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

That same broker who you consider dreadful sold two boats for me very very quickly with zero fuss or bother, or should I say marketed them for me because as a liveaboard I sell my own boats in reality but I used a broker on those two occasions because I couldnt be arsed marketing the boats. I sold a boat for a friend on apollo duck last month within a week as he is too busy to mess about and I am not. Perhaps I should start in the brokerage business!! err maybe not that sounds like work!!!!!!

As I did not name the broker, how can you be confident that you used the same one?

 

 

Edited January 3, 2019 by David Schweizer

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

As I did not name the broker, how can you be confident that you used the same one?

 

 

Because you have mentioned it before on another thread some time ago ?

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

As I did not name the broker, how can you be confident that you used the same one?

 

 

It is likely that you named the brokerage at the time that your boat was for sale? 

[nicknorman]

2 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

As I did not name the broker, how can you be confident that you used the same one?

 

 

Because even if we didn’t remember your boat-selling thread, (which we do) the “broker with an allegedly good reputation that changed hands recently” is a giveaway.

[Nightwatch]

17 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

As I did not name the broker, how can you be confident that you used the same one?

 

 

David. I also know which broker you tried before Braunston. Glad Braunston came up trumps for you.

 

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Poor signal then eh mate? ?

Stuttering forefinger perhaps.

[BWM]

2 hours ago, Halsey said:

Pretty well discussed on here GHBS are one of the worst brokers on the system - their service is second to none for its lack of interest in buyers needs and logistics - they often list boats as sold when they aren't and all the good stuff is sold before it even hits their website often to friends and or staff - this is NOT anecdotal but based on my own experiences.

They are car dealers applying the same tactics - BUT somehow they stay in business but I suppose don't have much local competition. 

AVOID

We came across a similar situation with another broker some years ago, receiving vague information and no effort to show us the boat (an ex working boat). Some time afterwards we found out it was being sold on behalf of an estate, and without a living owner it appeared that it had been sold off cheap to an acquaintance of the broker!

[David Schweizer]

30 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Because you have mentioned it before on another thread some time ago ?

 

30 minutes ago, Athy said:

It is likely that you named the brokerage at the time that your boat was for sale? 

 

29 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Because even if we didn’t remember your boat-selling thread, (which we do) the “broker with an allegedly good reputation that changed hands recently” is a giveaway.

 

15 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

David. I also know which broker you tried before Braunston. Glad Braunston came up trumps for you.

 

Yes fair enough, I overlooked people's long memories. had I known at the time that the owner was trying to dispose of the business, I may have thought twice about using him. It took a while for me to recogcognise it, but he had certainly lost enthusiasm, and had no interest in even being there most of the time.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2019 by David Schweizer

[David Schweizer]

2 hours ago, frahkn said:

 

This was my only visit to Braunston marina so I have no idea who I saw, perhaps things have changed. Nothing which occurred that afternoon suggested that anything out of the ordinary was occurring - it all seemed very routine. I remember it well because when I got home I made an offer on my current boat.

If the person you saw was female, or was a male wearing a boiler suit, they were not part of the Marina or Sales Management.

[alan_fincher]

Rugby Boat Sales, which so many people except David enthuse about, has developed a policy of continuing to show some boats on Apollo Duck for many, many months after they have been sold, (I'm thinking as much as a year in some cases).

We have been told on here by someone in the know of that company that this is a planned move, and certainly this is not just a case of the adverts not being taken down when a sale is finalised, as the three I have just checked have all been re-listed in November or December.

I find this a bizarre thing for them to do, and simply point out that if every broker that had successfully sold boats left them listed on the Duck for an indefinite period it would make it far harder to locate boats that genuinely are still for sale.

[frahkn]

41 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

If the person you saw was female, or was a male wearing a boiler suit, they were not part of the Marina or Sales Management.

 

We walked in from the car park and saw a building marked as a boat brokerage and with details of boats in the windows. The building was closed and we stood about for a few minutes (it was just after 2pm) to see if anyone came back from lunch.

After a while we walked over to the shop/chandlery where we explained that we were looking for trad sterned boats of about 57'. A chap (can't remember what he was wearing) gave us 3 sets of keys and named 3 boats, one of which could be seen from the doorway. There were 3 of us, my wife, adult daughter and myself.

We looked at two of the boats, one of which I still remember largely because of its immaculate modern fit-out - this was just too neat and fancy for our taste but looked to be really a quality job.

After about 30 minutes (remember we were already thinking about making an offer on another boat) we locked up and came back to the shop. There was no-one there so, after waiting for a few moments, I left the keys by the till and left. I particularly thought that the owner of the impressive boat probably would not have wanted us onboard unaccompanied - there was just something about the fanatical neatness of the boat which said so.

Make what you want of it - that's what occurred.

[Nightwatch]

40 minutes ago, frahkn said:

 

We walked in from the car park and saw a building marked as a boat brokerage and with details of boats in the windows. The building was closed and we stood about for a few minutes (it was just after 2pm) to see if anyone came back from lunch.

After a while we walked over to the shop/chandlery where we explained that we were looking for trad sterned boats of about 57'. A chap (can't remember what he was wearing) gave us 3 sets of keys and named 3 boats, one of which could be seen from the doorway. There were 3 of us, my wife, adult daughter and myself.

We looked at two of the boats, one of which I still remember largely because of its immaculate modern fit-out - this was just too neat and fancy for our taste but looked to be really a quality job.

After about 30 minutes (remember we were already thinking about making an offer on another boat) we locked up and came back to the shop. There was no-one there so, after waiting for a few moments, I left the keys by the till and left. I particularly thought that the owner of the impressive boat probably would not have wanted us onboard unaccompanied - there was just something about the fanatical neatness of the boat which said so.

Make what you want of it - that's what occurred.

The office there, if you are referring to Braunston, is at the. Very rear through the chandlers. I have found, over many years, that you have to be in the premises for at least ten minutes before you earn attention. I walk straight to the office straight away now, and am rewarded by looks of shock when I appear. Once you make contact I have found them to be very helpful if they consider you serious. Just my own thoughts and findings.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Nightwatch

[Athy]

13 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

 I walk straight to the office straight away now, and am rewarded by loons 

That's rather unfair on King Tim and his staff.

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Because you have mentioned it many times before on another threads some time ago ?

corrected that for you?

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

Rugby Boat Sales, which so many people except David enthuse about, has developed a policy of continuing to show some boats on Apollo Duck for many, many months after they have been sold, (I'm thinking as much as a year in some cases).
We have been told on here by someone in the know of that company that this is a planned move, and certainly this is not just a case of the adverts not being taken down when a sale is finalised, as the three I have just checked have all been re-listed in November or December.
I find this a bizarre thing for them to do, and simply point out that if every broker that had successfully sold boats left them listed on the Duck for an indefinite period it would make it far harder to locate boats that genuinely are still for sale.

Rugby Boats leaves listings live for up 12 months I think, to give some kind of market guidance. The only 2 times boats get relisted is if the status changes - such as sale agreed/sold/under offer - sometimes there can be months between sale agreed and sold due top the nature of the particular transaction (waiting for house sale proceeds , waiting for survey works to be completed etc.  The other time relisting takes place if boats come back for a 2nd sale, one has been sold there 3 times this year!!

[Alan de Enfield]

13 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

The office there, if you are referring to Braunston, is at the. Very rear through the chandlers. I have found, over many years, that you have to be in the premises for at least ten minutes before you earn attention.

We decided that were going to go out for the day and buy a boat, and not go home until we had bought one - cash was in the car - no surveys required just pay cash,

I take the boat back and SWMBO drives the car home.

 

We found Braunston the most 'snooty' brokers on the whole of the system we were looking at £50k boats, and were cash buyers when we eventually managed to get some attention form someone who was prepared to throw some printed details at us the tone they used was that we could not afford them and were just time wasters. "wouldn't you rather look at these boats ?" (manky old cheap 'scrap heaps')

Told to go and wander around and if we saw anything of interest come back and if they weren't busy they may come and show us the boat.

 

We left, went to Burton On Trent and bought a Reeves 45 footer that was better laid out than many 57 footers which we had thought was what we wanted.

[Stilllearning]

I think that buying with actual cash (folding money), is almost impossible now, particularly if through a brokerage.

This is because of money laundering  and tax avoidance.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Stilllearning
For greater clarity

[mrsmelly]

Just now, Stilllearning said:

I think that buying with actual cash (folding money), is almost impossible now, particularly if through a brokerage.

Ive done it more than once but you are right that doing it through a brokerage can be more difficult, stupid, stupid legislation to stop all us drug dealing gun runners dont you know!!

[stegra]

39 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

I think that buying with actual cash (folding money), is almost impossible now, particularly if through a brokerage.

This is because of money laundering  and tax avoidance.

I was told cash was unacceptable for a £6.5k car purchase about 10 years ago from a main dealer. They found it quite laughable that I should suggest it. I was surprised that debit card was their preferred method. 

[matty40s]

3 minutes ago, stegra said:

I was told cash was unacceptable for a £6.5k car purchase about 10 years ago from a main dealer. They found it quite laughable that I should suggest it. I was surprised that debit card was their preferred method. 

as MikeTheBoilerman(remember him) used to say - it costs far more for a business to process cash received into a bank than it does to accept card payments - especially debit cards.

[Jim Riley]

2 minutes ago, matty40s said:

as MikeTheBoilerman(remember him) used to say - it costs far more for a business to process cash received into a bank than it does to accept card payments - especially debit cards.

Although many a self employed plumber (or other trade) won't take cash any further than the back pocket. Of course, that wouldn't be said on a public forum, one of you may be a revenue man.