Not saying it was good business, just saying it was legal. If the sales person really wanted to make a good impression, then they should have tendered the offer to the seller, gotten the yea or nay and communicated back. If they had another offer and hadn't decided on the first one yet, "I" would have said, "look we have your offer, we can't accept your counter for a trailer and we have another offer, if you want to match the price since you placed a deposit we will write it up, if not I am returning your deposit. The other party should have been told " look we have a deposit and an offer on the boat, I need to counter and see if they accept, if you would like to place a back up offer and a deposit, if this person backs out we well finish your deal, if not, we will return your deposit and we will not take more than 3 days to let you know" Something to that effect.

If the dealer owned the boat, then the offer should have been accepted or rejected on the spot, I mean can you immagine a car dealership letting you walk off the lot when you have a deposit down, even if they have to upsell you.

And what does the word is mean --- Wasn't this said in a recent trial???
I agree he should have been given the chance to match the new offer.

i have been to OP to look at used boats myself. I have talked to H.P. every time i have been there. he has treated me great every time. the guy i bought my checkmate from has bought several boats from H.P. in the past and spoke of him highly! your friend may have gotten a bad deal this time but this must not be standard practice for H.P. or OP because i hear WAY too many good stories about them locally and on this board.

Rob

Here Here Too Old! Well stated!

Phknlwyr makes a good legal argument but I am sure he also knows that an upset customer can get a better lawyer and twist any contract to shreds. He may not win, but then again he may, so if I were the business owner I believe I would be more civil and make the potential customer feel good so that I did not have to spend my profits on legal fees. Oh, and who knows he might find another boat to buy from me.

We are still hearing second or third hand quotes about the phone call to say "your " boat was sold. I doubt the phone call went that way. Until we hear the actual call from the person who took it, we will never know. Knowing H.P., I find it hard to believe it wasn't at least a sincere call. But even so, If your so concerned about your friend, call O.P., I am sure they will give you their side with no problem.
Too many people use the forum hear to "bash without knowledge". Call em, and then maybe you can explain to your friend what happened in this mis-understanding.

I sent my email to h.p. last night looking for a boat before I even knew this post exhisted. If he finds a boat, it will be a 7 hour ride"BOTH WAYS" for me. Cant wait to do it so Hugh can buy me a Martini. Cause thats how he is.
Just get the facts.

.02

I think all dealers are crooks, but H.P. has got to be the nicest and most professional sales person I have ever dealt with.

Offshore Performance is a stand-up operation and H.P. is one of the hardest working, nicest salesman around. He bent over backwords to sell my boat and the people bailed when the market took a dive.

In short, don't hesitate to deal with OP, they run a respectable and honest business.

Enough Said

I've made business decisions that might have not been the most profitable at that point in time, but the good will generated, the repeat business and referrals far out weighed that opportunity cost. A great reputation is difficult to maintain and can nip the bottom line and ego at times, a poor reputation is easily achieved. If you have to start getting into the "nitty-gritty" legal contract language, it's more than likely that good-will on either or both sides has been lost. It's best not to get to that point.

That said, there is obviously great support for OP from the OSO community. I'm sure it's a well deserved reputation. We haven't heard the details from either party directly in detail so I'm sure there is some information that's not on the table. Since OP is within a reasonable distance from where I live, and my family is within 1/2 hour of their location, I'll look to them along with some other shops when that time comes.