Joe,
The situation varies based on if a client wants to sell or buy. A seller will personally contract a broker to sell their car, just as in real estate. A buyer will hire a broker to locate a certain make, model, etc, in that case the success of a broker is based upon his knowledge of the collections, collectors, and even owners of a sole individual car, such as the Hemi Dart on the list which belongs to a friend who has owned it since 1970. A good broker will also be knowledgable in the industry to make certain his buyer is getting a legitimite car that has been restored or repaired correctly, some such as myself will even go as far as to accept liability for the authenticity of the car, and also do exhaustive research on owner history, accident history, etc, etc. The brokerage fee is always discussed and agreed upon in advance, as to who will be paying the fee, the buyer, seller, or both. On most occasions a retainer is paid in advance unless the broker feels comfortable enough with the clients not to require the advance fee. Dennis, as with any service industry their are no guarantees that a particular car will be sold by the broker, or a particular car located by the broker, in which case there will normally be no charge. However, if the broker fullfills the request of the client, such as the sale of a high end car, or the location and negotiations of one or more sought after cars, the broker should certainly be paid. You buy stock, you use a broker, you buy real estate, you use an agent, and on and on. If you choose not to do so and light out on your own to buy or sell, then you find out you were cheated on price or sold a fake car....well shame on you for not using a professional that could and would have handled all the details, search, research, etc. The problem with the current situation is the so called buyer never had any intention of buying, on good faith I did not require a retainer, and six weeks of lies, games, and BS ensued which was costly to me in time and money. I have recently discovered the same individual is about three weeks into the same exact lies and games with another broker at this very moment. I have no problem with not being paid for my services should I fail in providing what may be required, but I do have a problem with wasting six weeks on someone who is merely playing games. More Food For Thought.........
MadMan
