Using a dealer cost website to buy a boat?

Brian D. · Post by **Brian D.** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:10 pm

Could it happen? Seems some industry execs are busy making it a reality. Kramer has the story here...

http://kramergonefishing.com/2011/01/09 ... t-pricing/

Steve Reed · Post by **Steve Reed** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:59 pm

It all comes down to the argument of having dealers (Middle Man) of any item...

I know there is heavy regulation in many industries and without researching I would guess that the Boating industry has some as well, perhaps not, again just an educated guess. The move to online retailer and direct manufacturer shopping has started to put even the most secure brick and mortar retailers in a panic, one example being Best Buy which is going under within the next 18 months if it even lasts that long.

Again, as Mr. Grover mentioned in the article, the service of vehicles is a huge business for dealers and even more so in California, a state that has unique emission laws that require dealer direct service and parts. Boat service and maintenance seems to be more focused on providing a convenience for the customers who purchased boats at the dealership.

The pricing site seems a bit unrealistic.

Hipster · Post by **Hipster** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:45 pm

Kinda makes me yawn and say crap my electric bill went up again this month!!!
Every freaking thing is structured to make money some how isn't it?

Andrew Jackson · Post by **Andrew Jackson** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:50 pm

...uhm...electrical contracting in Las Vegas (right now) is not structured to be profitable! My fishing hasn't been profitable in years....what else????

Sugar70 · Post by **Sugar70** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:23 pm

Boat service and maintenance seems to be more focused on providing a convenience for the customers who purchased boats at the dealership.

kane-o · Post by **kane-o** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:01 pm

i really can not compare boat to cars, but i know the mark up has to be huge for boats..for instance, look at the eyeglass industry, there is over a 300% mark up on frames alone.... some frames are $200 to $500, just for the frames... hell its only a plastic extrusion.... but it seems like the market has driven a lot of prospective buyers to go with used boats.... i mean really, is a new ranger worth $60,000 ? i guess if your financially able thats great, but im afraid its out of my price range.... im aware that a marine motor is different than a car, but compare prices to a new 350 chevy engine to a new 250 merc. ..... why is a boat motor $10,000 to $15,000.... but you can get a auto engine, $3500.... and how much money is involved in making a fiberglass hull, seem like a lot less labor to build a boat than a car. i.m.o. boats are way too over priced for the economy. i realize you can get cheaper boats, but even those are pretty expensive. they wonder why not a lot of new boats are being sold

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:31 pm

I, for one, will always support local boat dealerships.
I know Rick makes a profit. So do I, when I do a const. job for someone.
I want an Anglers Marine, or Stanton Marine, to be there for me when something goes wrong.
The only way boat dealers can stay in business is by making a markup on their sales. They have brick and mortar costs that online stores don't, but you can't take your boat to an online dealer if you have a problem.
Imagine trying to deal with a boat ordered online that arrives wrong.
And who will arrange the shipping and receiving, install all the upgrades, and do the dealer prep?
No one in their right mind wants a fully rigged boat that was shipped like that all the way from Arkansas to Ca. I'm sure anyone who has ever had to ship their boat cross country can add their own horror stories.
Can you imagine what kind of shape the tm, electronics, and all the there stuff that's normally installed locally would be in after being shipped already installed. There's a reason it's not done that way now, and I'm pretty sure it isn't because the dealer wants to make money off all the extras. The pounding that the electronics alone would take, and the number of warranty issues that all the component manufacturers would face, would be astronomical.
Even the online tire sales store uses local tire stores to mount and balance the tires they sell.
The only way there will be boat dealers who can do the same for boat manufs. is if they can make enough to keep the doors open.
And I don't think comparing cars to boats is comparing apples to apples.
There is a lot more hand work in boat manufacturing nowadays than in cars, which are built by robots.
And the volume of cars manufactured is huge compared to boats, so the economy of scale applies to automobiles, but not to bass boats.
They are two completely different industries at this point in time.
I don't know if this new website will be of any real "service" to boat buyers. It will probably let people compare dealer markups. But I don't think we buy a boat from a dealer based on how much he marks up his products.
People who want to haggle will love having the info, but there are a lot of people who choose a dealer on more than pricing.

Hipster · Post by **Hipster** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 5:04 am

Mark Poulson wrote:

but there are a lot of people who choose a dealer on more that pricing.

Hence I go to C&C Marine.........Service Period.............

Sorry some folks are not making money right now, it's everywhere. I guarantee you though when you write your business a plan and write your annual, bi annual or quarterly budget you are not writing it to loose money if you are than shame on you!!

mrobinett · Post by **mrobinett** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 5:21 am

This is why I like to use our local companies and try as much as possible to stay away from the big box stores. Sometimes you can't. Unfortunately, Anglers Marine is only 3 miles from where I work. I drive by there 3 or 4 times a day. I support them as much as I can. I would like to think that other people that can support their own local shops do the same. We all need to help each other through these times.

Jason_33 · Post by **Jason_33** » Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:32 am

60k for a boat. 60k for a truck,gas or diesel.automakers and boat dealers go bankrupt
and out of business.how much does it cost to make?15k...20k? maybe make some really nice stuff around 30k and sell more?you cant tell me it cost and extra 30k to make a boat 2ft longer and 12mph faster.