Brokers, Middlemen, and the whole ugly mess!

[427king]

The Issue is this. When someone is a middleman for the seller he is paid for his services,and some buyers have a problem with paying "two" people for the car and dont like that hes involved. But when a buyer hires a middleman to inspect a car or find a car for him, that person also makes a profit, yet hes looked upon as being helpful and not unethical .. why the double standard???????

[Rainer]

[ QUOTE ]
The Issue is this. When someone is a middleman for the seller he is paid for his services,and some buyers have a problem with paying "two" people for the car and dont like that hes involved. But when a buyer hires a middleman to inspect a car or find a car for him, that person also makes a profit, yet hes looked upon as being helpful and not unethical .. why the double standard???????

[/ QUOTE ]

Simple - in one scenario the buyer is voluntarily paying for something he asked for (information), in the other he's not.

How about this for a better "apples to apples" comparison - would you as a seller want to pay the middleman's fee to bring a buyer to you? Probably not, but since the buyer is paying for the middleman inspector there really is no drawback for the seller, is there?

Trust me, I don't like dealing with tire kickers and all the people who are going to "call you first thing tomorrow" or "on their way over" and never come through either.

[427king]

[ QUOTE ]
would you as a seller want to pay the middleman's fee to bring a buyer to you? Probably not,

[/ QUOTE ] ABSOLUTELY. I pay finders fees to people that point me in the direction of a car or part. On the other side if anyone has a buyer for my part or car and is upfront about it i would welcome them to sell the item. I would only ask they are clear as to what they want to make and who is to pay it, and dont muck up the sale by getting too greedy by asking both parties involved for a commission . ABSOLUTELY

[joey]

Thanks for the post I guess you saw where I got hammered for posting my finders or sellers fee not only do we have to deal with tire kickers or truely interested parties we end up baby sitting the seller,I my self gladly pay finders fee ,however there is one (well known) on this site that say's he will but does not ,I keep regular watch on his post and hes digging a deep hole more on this latter when the time is right, sellers buyers it dosent matter we all want to make as much as we can and buy as cheep as we can but we cant find all the deals so its only fair to pay just as barrette jackson or ebay gets paid so should we I bet I have spent at least $300 on the chevelle I put on here gas cell phone my web hosting etc and all everyone wanted was the sellers price which I gave I wasnt trying to make a dime but would have appreciated a finders fee but after the hammering I took I wasnt asking besides I dont need the money it just common decency

[1969z280]

Hey Chris, how have you been. Since you started this, I thought I'd add my two cents. In my experience, most broker's are guys that are trying to get in on the Muscle Car Madness ($$$) without having any skin ($$$) in the game. That's just not the cost of the car. That's cost of the building/property, taxes, insurance, alarm systems, etc. When I sell a car (and I'm not a dealer), I'm lucky to break even or make a couple bucks for the next project.

Someone who assists in verifying a car, whether they are paid (Govier) or simply helping the hobby, is not in the same business as a broker. The broker isn't adding any value to the transaction. They're simply trying to make a buck without incurring any of the risk (or potential risk) associated with owning and caring for collector cars.

Strip away the hype and the Auction Houses are simply brokers. BJ, with their "all cars at no reserve philosophy" has even eliminated the potential downside of not selling every single car. Twenty Percent Commissions (both sides) and collecting $500 - $5,000 per spot on a 50% sell through wasn't enough. Like "Rinse and Repeat" shampoo marketing, they have found a way to collect Twenty Percent Commissions on a 100% sell through plus the $500 - $5,000 entry fees.

That being said, then there is Dana Mecum. He is one of the most honest straight forward people that I have met in this hobby. I have bought/sold several cars through Dana Mecum, (including some of his own) and I've never had anything but great experiences.

So, I guess the bottom line is there are good and bad people (read honest/dishonest) in everything and I guess that would include Brokers. Just be careful and count your fingers.

Ed

[Rick H]

I'm not a broker...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Sorry, had to say it.

Rick H.

[olredalert]

------There are good guys out there brokering cars and, much the same as everywhere else in the hobby and beyond, there are bad guys brokering cars. Its up to us as rational people to figure out which is which!!! Bad guys wont stay in the hobby long if there is no demand for thier services. New bad guys will fill in but they will drop out if there is a lack of interest in what they offer as well. Even an uneducated buyer ought to be able to narrow down good from bad. If Im in doubt Ill ask my wife about a guy as she has a really good antenna for weeding out bad guys.......Bill S