Boat Pricing - Yet Another Thread

[skibug]

I think I may have found this link here in another thread; but, I can't remember. Just curious if anyone can confirm or contradict the accuracy of this sites information.

 

http://www.seedealercost.com/

 

2014 Malibu TXi - MSRP ~$57K versus Invoice ~$40K

2014 Mastercraft Prostar - MSRP ~$69K versus Invoice ~$58K

2014 Ski Nautique 200 OB - MSRP ~$69K versus Invoice ~$52K

[ForrestGump]

Those numbers are off. Some by a considerable margin.

[ntx]

My guess is that the Malibu invoice number is way off. I bet it is in the 49/51 range. I think the other two are close.

 

[dtm8119]

It would be nice if they would include pricing in their "build a boat" spots on the websites. I guess they want you to walk into the dealer to talk about that, so that's how they get you in the door.

 

But it seems like other recreational type vehicles have this on their sites (snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc...)??

[oldjeep]

@dtm8119 that is the one thing I noticed when I was shopping - Moomba was the only one who showed any sort of pricing when you built a boat. I suppose the argument is that nobody pays list so why scare the customer? I got the sheet with my 2012 VTX and the price the original owner paid was a full 14K under MSRP, so the MSRP wouldn't have told me much. And this was a custom ordered boat, not one off the floor. Should mention though that it was effectively a promo/sponsered boat, so that may also help explain the price.

[swc5150]

A boat's MSRP reminds of those on musical instruments. If you're not in "the know" you can get burned hard and fast. I've always got 18-20% off of retail on a new boat. With an instrument, if you didn't get at least 40% off retail, you got ripped off. It's most definitely not the auto industry, and can also cause pretty big price swings in the used market. I've seen numerous used 200's with higher asking prices than what my brother paid new. I suppose if someone paid $70k for their 200, the high $50's seems about right when re-selling a season or two later.

[ForrestGump]

If you were building 300 widgets a year(which is about the number of 3 event boats each mfr builds) would you want your customers knowing what your cost was? I think not, because then they have the ability to dictate to you what they think your margin should be based on their desires and not your business needs. It's a bit different when you're talking a car mnfr selling 3 million cars a year as opposed to a boat manufacturer selling 3000 total.

 

Hewlett Packard doesn't publish what their cost is on a DL380 G7 rack server. Cisco doesn't publish what their cost is on an ethernet switch. Panasonic doesn't publish their cost on a LED tv. Why should we expect boat manufacturers to publish their cost?

[danbirch]

Even that, the "invoice prices" are somewhat shady. Often, in the automobile industry, the MFG. offers other rebates/incentives/(kick-backs) for the dealers. It's just a game.

[uflbret]

@scotchipman, dealer invoice doesn't mean squat anymore, why do you think the dealers want to show you? There is so much hidden money and back end rebates, dealer incentives, etc etc that nobody but the dealership owner and GM really know what the true cost of a vehicle is. It's all magic beans, smoke and mirrors.

[klindy]

Correct @danbirch which is why the auto makers don't mind revealing their "invoice" (too much) price. Even if a dealer sold the car "for invoice" the advertizing credits, rebates and other incentives are the dealers profit. Selling at invoice (and the buyer knowing it) is sort of a loyalty program. It certainly helps the buyer come back in the future because they "got a good deal". Certainly also helps with service, etc.

[Skoot1123]

I do believe @scotchipman has a point though - I want to know the cost I'm paying - and would certainly like to know the profit. In fact - I WANT the boat company to make a profit - I want everyone to make a profit. WHY? Because if none of the boat companies made a profit then what would we be skiing on? A raft? We all have to keep in mind: none of the costs we see today are going to be gone tomorrow - costs typically increase.

 

Negotiations that I have been a part of ALWAYS include profit/overhead details. If we don't agree with it we either move on to someone else or try further negotiations. Further negotiations typically work - then everyone is happy.

[ForrestGump]

I sell to some of the world's largest company's. If one of them called and said "we want a unified communications system for 10,000 users, but you need to tell me your cost and then I'll tell you what I'm willing to pay."....... The laughter would be deafening.

[GOODESkier]

just ski @Horton‌ 's place and forget about the boat.........

[ForrestGump]

But in a dealer selling business model, what I said isn't apples to oranges. Do you know what the cost is on a TV that Best Buy sells?

[oldjeep]

@ShaneH still not apples to apples. In the case of the TV, you can go to 30 different places in a 10 mile radius and buy the exact same TV, not to mention the online options - competition keeps the price in line and you can price shop.

 

In the case of a boat some if not all manufacturers won't let a dealer sell a boat out of their territory - no competition at all for a specific new boat so the consumer is the only one who can attempt to keep the pricing in line.

[Siouxcitysmitty]

I wouldn't get too caught up in dealer cost. The goal, of course, is to get the best price you can out of the dealer, and, that's going to be based on market demand, as much as anything else. Auto dealers mark their price above MSRP if they can get away with it on a hot item (add pin strips and running boards to hot truck and mark it up $5K). And, they take a bath if they have too much inventory of the wrong thing. There's no substitute for a little market research, word of mouth research with fellow boaters, and shopping a few different sellers.