How does Pop Yachts work?

[Katapult Mike]

I am looking ot buy a cheap boat off of Craiglist or similar. I have heard that Pop Yachts cruises those type of websites, and hits up owners to list with them with the propisiton that Pop Yachts will charge a commission if they find the buyer, but no commission if the seller finds the buyer themselves. I have also heard that there are a lot disputes between sellers and Pop Yachts about who found the buyer.

Does anyone have experience with Pop Yachts or know how they work? It seems like the seller would be more likely to accept a lower offer if they don't have to pay a commission to Pop Yachts, so one should try to track down the webiste where the boat was originally listed, deal with the owner directly, and avoid Pop Yacht entaglement.

[Ballsnall]

All the details are on their website. But you are right, the seller is under contract to Pop and I would imagine it would be difficult for the seller to prove the buyer did not see a Pop ad. Seller beware.

[CSY Man]

I sold a boat with Pop Yachts: No complaints, got top dollar and they took care of everything.

[FrankC_OR]

I bought a boat with Pop Yachts. My buyer's agent worked with the seller's agent, both Pop Yachts, and they split the commission. It was a smooth transaction, and Pop Yachts handled all the paperwork. This being my first boat, I took up the company's offer to transfer the USCG documentation for a modest fee. Now that I've seen what was needed for the paperwork, I will do that myself in the future, but I feel there was value in the service at the time.

[Kd9truck]

I sold a boat that was listed solo by me and with pop yachts, I sold my boat to a buyer that I found and showed the vessel too. I do not think it was a good situation, I would not use pop yachts to sell again. I gave the pop yacht broker 1/2 of the suggested minimum at the time as he did show the vessel about 5 times. I have had great success with sailboatlistings.com but sometimes it’s a broker that lists and sometimes they leave sold vessels posted. The later of which is a negligent sell problem.

[Katapult Mike]

Originally Posted by Kd9truck

I sold a boat that was listed solo by me and with pop yachts, I sold my boat to a buyer that I found and showed the vessel too. I do not think it was a good situation, I would not use pop yachts to sell again. I gave the pop yacht broker 1/2 of the suggested minimum at the time as he did show the vessel about 5 times. I have had great success with sailboatlistings.com but sometimes it’s a broker that lists and sometimes they leave sold vessels posted. The later of which is a negligent sell problem.

This is the scenario I am worried about. If I give my info to Pop Yachts in connection with one boat, do I go into some data base as "their buyer?" Pop Yachts website says they are due a commission if they "secure" the buyer. But I am reluctant to give them my contact info for fear that they claim a commission from the seller even for boats that I don't find through Pop Yachts. Does that make sense?

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Katapult Mike

I am looking ot buy a cheap boat off of Craiglist or similar. I have heard that Pop Yachts cruises those type of websites, and hits up owners to list with them with the propisiton that Pop Yachts will charge a commission if they find the buyer, but no commission if the seller finds the buyer themselves. I have also heard that there are a lot disputes between sellers and Pop Yachts about who found the buyer.

Does anyone have experience with Pop Yachts or know how they work? It seems like the seller would be more likely to accept a lower offer if they don't have to pay a commission to Pop Yachts, so one should try to track down the webiste where the boat was originally listed, deal with the owner directly, and avoid Pop Yacht entaglement.

They be not very straight.

[Kd9truck]

Originally Posted by Katapult Mike

This is the scenario I am worried about. If I give my info to Pop Yachts in connection with one boat, do I go into some data base as "their buyer?" Pop Yachts website says they are due a commission if they "secure" the buyer. But I am reluctant to give them my contact info for fear that they claim a commission from the seller even for boats that I don't find through Pop Yachts. Does that make sense?

Yes, I get it, imho, the owners that sell on pop yachts are selling “as is” and with pop to give themselves distance. cheap boats cost a lot. I would stay away, there is a minimum broker fee also so they may look to shake you down for more than the standard % of the total sale. The broker fees at 10% are ridiculous but that’s a little bit of a drift off thread. If you know what you want set out and search, if it happens it’s double listed that the owner’s problem they pay the commission.

Sailboatlistings is a good place to vet a price also provided you are looking for a sailboat. If you have a question about a boat post a thread, everyone here has an opinion and some are actually thoughtful and on topic 😁. I like SailboatData also you can see the build specs and corasponding definitions that give you a general idea of what the vessel is best suited for. Cheers