If you’re ready to sell your boat or yacht, a key decision you’ll need to make is whether to sell it yourself or through a yacht broker. Fundamentally, if you sell the boat yourself, you won’t need to pay a broker’s commission, but without assistance, it will often take you longer to sell the boat and you may have to settle for a lower price. Generally, sellers work with brokers more often when the boats are newer, larger, and/or more expensive, but there are many other reasons to list boats of all sizes and conditions with a broker.

Here at YachtWorld, listing with a broker is required for your boat to be shown for sale on our site, so we’d like to describe what the broker does to help you understand why using a broker is often the best way to sell your boat. We’ll also discuss how you can find the right broker to sell your boat.

Why use a yacht broker?

Selling a boat is similar to a real estate transaction—it’s usually too complex and involves too much value to risk doing it on your own. Yacht brokers work hard to facilitate the sale of their listings and to protect and promote the interest of their clients, just as a real estate agent will do when you sell your house.

Some countries (and US states like California and Florida) require licensing of their yacht sales professionals. Most brokers in the US and Canada prefer to sign a “Central Agency Listing” with the owner/seller, which is similar to a multiple listing in real estate transactions. Essentially, this means your broker will manage all of the communications and information flow about the listing between you, other brokers, and potential buyers.