I had a nice lady call me recently — and she sounded… fed up.  She wasn’t angry or upset.  Just tired of the waiting process.

She said:  “I’ve had my boat with a broker for over a year.”

Now when someone says that, you already know how the story goes.

So I asked:  “How’s it been going?”

She said:  “Well… at the start, it was great.  They took photos, listed it and advertised it online. She said there were enquiries, a couple of viewings…Everything felt like it was happening.

Then I asked:  “And now?”

She paused and said:  “Now I can’t get hold of them.”

I always try to be fair to brokers.  It’s not easy.  They’ve got dozens of boats, dozens of sellers, constant enquiries…

But here’s the reality.  They prioritise the boats that will sell.  So what happens to the rest?  They don’t get pushed, don’t get chased, they just… sit.

And her boat had become one of those.

It wasn’t a bad boat, it just wasn’t an easy one.  So over time:

  • fewer updates

  • fewer calls

  • fewer viewings

Until eventually…The owner felt like the boat had just been… parked.

She said to me: “I don’t even know if they’re doing anything with it anymore.”

And that’s the moment, because now it’s not about price.  It’s not even about the boat.  It’s about confidence.

She no longer trusted the process and once that happens, something interesting changes.

The owner stops thinking:  “What’s the best price I can get?” and starts thinking:  “Can someone just deal with this properly?”

That’s when she called me.  Not because I was offering more money, but because I was offering certainty.

And in this market, certainty is incredibly valuable.