When is a deal not a deal?
 

... and a contract not a contract,

When you deal with Offshore Performance in Grasonville, MD.

My friend has been skunked twice by these shylocks. He drove over three hours each way with his wife in a single day to look at the boat, sea trial it, and put a 2 grand deposit down to pick up the following week. He gets a call from H.P. who says that the boat was sold out from under him "by his boss".

The first time involved a trade, no trade, price change, just kidding manuever.

I have never, ever, flamed anyone or any business on this board before, but this is sheister-like and this is the area to help and advise people of boating good and bad. It's really too bad for the reputable dealers to have these bozos making most of us distrust all of you.

I'd be interested in anybody else's dealings with them. I almost bought a Sonic from them earlier this year...

Oh yeah, beware the 95 28 Sonic they have there, it was in complete ****-shape when I looked at it with the owner who treated it like a punk. Dirty, broken skegs, etc. They're asking 15 grand more than the owner was...

Re: When is a deal not a deal?
 

When your backside hurts from the nonuse of lubricants, then you know it was't a deal and if it hurts for long well you get the picture.....Sean

I try to stay neutral to these situations but in this situation I must step in as I was born and raised in the MD area and have dealt with a lot of the employees that work there when they worked at other dealerships and businesses in the past before OP even opened.

They are not advertisers on this board so no hidden agenda but I can say everyone I know there is a stand-up guy and after attending their Poker Run this summer (which happened to be the classiest PR I have ever been to) I would entertain hearing the other side of the story.

Being a boat broker for a short period of time I know what it is like to have a misunderstanding and a boat sold from under you is not unheard of. The real question is, was there a formal written contract and if so what were the terms and conditions? Was there a trade? Was your friend within the contract and any contingency period? Was the deposit returned?

Just my .02

OSO

I have to go along with Steve here also....I have been in this game far too long to not say it doesn't have its gracious moments but for the most part it can be vicious at times.

But anyway was the boat a brokered boat through OP but had a private owner. Those are the deals that screw us all up in sales transactions. God don't let an owner be around final negotiations to get a final price to go to contract. It sounds like that's where the problem May ultimately show up. Sorry but that is the way it usually ends up being. On the other hand there are times when brokers are cynical asses. OP is a stand up Operation though and their guy's always strive to be the top dogs.

I visited the shop and I have to agree that that was not my intial impression. I never entered into a financial transaction - so this talk is cheap.

The deal was that someone came in and offred more for the boat. It was not a brokered boat.

Quote from my friend, was signed sales agreement with a deposit of 2 grand. Premise of Offshore Perfromance was that it was an "offer" because a trailer was asked to be thrown in.

My opinoin, just because you can do something does not mean it's right. This is what defines integrity.

Phone call went something like this, Hi, this is H.P., bad news, we sold your boat to someone else. No apoloigy offered, no option to counter offer, nothing.

Wordsmith it any way they want... they wanted a buck, so they got it. There are emails to back this transaction up also.

If the deal was in writing and all terms were set forth in the written document (contract), then that document will contain the answer to your questions. You need to look specifically at any contingencies in the contract that would allow either you OR the seller to cancel. If, pursuant to the contract, your deposit entitled you the exclusive right to the boat for a certain period of time, then you may have a legal remedy. On the other hand, if there were certain contingencies and they had not been satisfied at the time that they sold the boat out from under you, they may have acted well within their rights. This is not to say that this is a proper business practice; however, money talks and contingencies allow for walks.

Just my $.02 at the rate of $200/hr. :D

Premise of Offshore Perfromance was that it was an "offer" because a trailer was asked to be thrown in.

Shooter,

Unfortunately, your request for a trailer legally amounts to a counteroffer. The upshot of making a counteroffer is that it nullifies the original contract extended to you by the seller. The seller has the legal right to either accept your counteroffer, reject your counteroffer and agree to the deal as originally offered, or, as they did here, reject your counteroffer, consider their original offer dead and sell to someone else. True, this may stink, but they appear to have acted according to established laws of contracting.

Just to be clear, it wasn't me involved in the transaction. I just get irked at stinky business practices being hidden by the cloak of contracts. I think that if that was the case, they should not of had a document drafted and taken a deposit. Flip-side, my friend stopped his boat search while OP continued to sell the same. Trailer was discussed and agreed to before the paperwork. I don't see the earth stopping over this, just another issue with a boat dealer that seems to be a disease of our sport. I would much rather buy a boat from an individual. Why, they are less adept at the art of deception...

I don't know the contract fine print, and I agree that this is what stands... still stick by my premise - just because you can do something, does not make it right. It leaves an impression in any case.

Not all boat brokers are bad and based on what I have read I don't believe OP needs to be slammed or their integrity questioned based on these facts. If you want a list of scumbag boat brokers I can provide them for you.

Based on the fact that this happened to your friend, let your friend register and post the experience. And there will still be three sides to the story.

Nothing against you Shooter, I know you normally are not a trouble maker on the Board.

Let's move on.

OSO

SOUR SALES !!!
 

First thing is first. Shooter, this deal didnt even involve you and you are publicly trashing our business in a public forum, especially when you dont even know both sides of the story. So, beings that you were no part of the original sales agreement nor the offerings on this deal we would appreciate your standing asides and letting the involved parties work this matter out.

As quoted by Phknlwyr, the buyer tendered a counter offer that was different from the proffered offer from OP. As a counter offer it was subject to acceptance by the owner of the business and was noted as such on the sales agreement, with full refund of deposit monies noted as well.

We strive to EARN our customers business with each and every deal. Unfortunately, sometimes things dont go the way either party would prefer them to. This is one of the toughest parts of this or any business.

This situation is certainly not an example of our daily business practices, and we have many, many satisfied customers that would agree with that.



Pwrbt33