YachtX.com looks to eliminate the broker in yacht sales
August 14, 2012
Filed under Features, Top Stories
After years as a brokerage services provider, Fraser Seymour decided to develop a system that would directly connect sellers with buyers by creating YachtX.com, a broker-free online yacht exchange facilitating commission-free sales.
Launched in July, YachtX customers gain access to a private dashboard that guides the seller through the transaction process, including advertising options, a process manager to guide the process and direct connections to other involved parties, like surveyors.
Those interested in buying a yacht sold through YachtX are also given access to a private dashboard that guides them through their responsibilities.
Devoid of a commission fee, sellers do pay a subscription fee of $75 for four weeks. Prospective buyers who register with the website do not pay a fee.
Seymour said the seller is most knowledgeable about his or her yacht, so the direct connection allows for a more candid negotiation.
“We help them when they need help and get out of the way when they really do not need us to be there,” Seymour said.
YachtX’s guidance is through a process manager that informs both the buyer and the seller of the next step to complete, streamlining the necessary paperwork along the way, according to Seymour. Appropriate parties, like those involved in the title transfer and documentation, are forwarded the information they need when it is time for them to step in.
YachtX cannot advertise listings on brokerage-only websites like YachtWorld.com, but Seymour said sellers are provided a number of classified sites where they can market their listing.
Seymour said he also bought approximately 100 manufacturer-related domains that bring traffic to YachtX listings when prospects search for a model on Google.
“When people search for a 53-foot Hatteras, for example, we have websites out there that pull traffic from [these searches],” Seymour said. “More and more people are doing these searches directly with search engines as opposed to dedicated classified sites, so we support both.”
Sellers are able to analyze where online traffic originates through their dashboard, as well as the state location of prospects.
For print advertising, Seymour said sellers can print off specially formatted brochures, including a brochure made to place on the yacht for sale, which features a QR code that brings people to the boat’s listing.
Seymour’s brokerage company was also called YachtX, but he closed the operation in 2010 in order to develop his current broker-free system. Seymour said he understands the resistance from those involved in brokerage, but his past experience in the industry was pivotal to his current company’s development.
“I developed the system around what I would want as a boater,” he said.
Interesting concept but the customer-broker relationship, especially in the larger boat segment, is way too important to be replaced by an app. I also disagree with the idea that 100 OEM -related domains will provide nearly enough traffic to replace Yachtworld. Yachtworld is by far the dominant website out there and it will be extremely difficult to conduct a brokerage sale without it. Not to mention the fact that many OEMs may not like the fact that YachtX has purchased a domain related to their brand. May confuse customers and take potential prospects from looking at new boats online to brokerage.
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I agree that it’s an intriguing concept. It will take a lot of work to replace Yachtworld though, as you’re right, it is by far the most dominant website out there. Any competitor, especially a newly formed one, will struggle to compete initially and 100 domains will not be enough due to the popularity of Yachtworld.
However, having said that Seymour is well experienced in the industry and will know what he is doing. It will be interesting to see how this turns out!
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Fraser Seymour Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 10:53 am
I’d like to respond to the posts by Mr. Osborne and FL Boater. First of all, thank you for your thoughts on YachtX.com and the new concept of boater-controlled Internet yacht exchange it represents.
Regarding the online marketing component of our services, YachtX performs the important functions of web-based lead generation/ management, traffic accounting and web-integration of marketing materials.
In addition to YachtX.com’s growing web presence and its brand-specific sites, we work with (rather than compete against) ad-only web sites. Boaters also find boats on YachtX through Google searches, which is an increasingly popular way to find boats. Our traffic accounting provides real-time intelligence as to how much and from which location (web site and geography) the web traffic their boat is attracting, so they can make informed marketing decisions.
A few thoughts regarding Yachtworld. Since YachtX was originally a brokerage using that site, we noticed boaters increasingly bypassing vertical-specific aggregators like Yachtworld, opting instead for using Google and other search engines to find what they’re after. Boaters are also becoming acutely aware that when they buy through Yachtworld they’re paying more than they need to (since it is limited to brokerage exclusively). And lastly, like everyone else boaters are becoming Internet savvy, and are expecting improvements in convenience that are not possible with Yachtworld’s business model.
So we developed YachtX.com to walk boat sellers and buyers alike through the entire purchase process. It is a very sophisticated service enabling boaters to “self-broker” their boats and is, we believe, an important alternative to traditional yacht brokerage at any scale.
As an update, we are running a Fall boat show special of $49.95/4 weeks.
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