Cars are built on a PRODUCTION line. There are a few boat builders that also build in this fashion. You buy truck loads of materials and parts, and you build as many as you can with a standard pricing program. The DEALER pays a set price for the vehicle, and you negotiate with the DEALER for a better price. Also, dealer prices vary as well. A 30 units a month dealer does not pay the same price as a 300 units a month dealer. This dealer price may be reflected in the original purchase, or with 'hold-backs' that are done after the sale to the consumer. You don't call up Mr. GM for a better price on your Chevy Silverado. You talk to the Dealership Sales Manager; and the buck stops there. You Dealership Sales Manager has no insight into the cost of the leather on your new truck due to Mad Cow disease or freezing weather in Iowa.

Active Thunder and several other boats are built CUSTOM.
The boat builder buys materials and parts on an AS NEEDED basis, and each boat has so many different options, that its BEST to start with a blank sheet of paper. With Active Thunder, you deal directly with the factory on price. There is no dealer, or middle man mark-up.

Options for parts/accessories/materials bought from other manufacturers vary greatly, and can change on a daily basis. Lamborghini Orange, House of Kolors Orange, and Dupont Orange also have a VERY different price per OUNCE. It also depends on how things are built and installed. AC, Heat, and a hot water system can be packaged together for a better price, rather than priced individually based on HOW and WHEN they get installed.

That being said, a Boat Show Season ONLY price for the
28 Savage w/ 525EFI
and the
33 Evolution w/496HOs
has been established which will give you a starting price for the boat before you start talking about paint and options. Again, the paint and options are priced individually as they are CUSTOM chosen, and material pricing can change on a daily basis.

I am not posting these prices on OSO, but I would happy to discuss them with someone who has genuine interest in purchasing a new AT. Once we agree on what you want on the boat; the pricing can be fine tuned.

I understand that building a custom boat is different than building a production car, but are a lot of similarities. You can buy a base model car, then you can add options. Options from the factory and then there are more options you can add from the dealer. You can also order your car from the factory (through the dealer) and have it built with just the options you want.

I'm not saying i have all the answers, just my thoughts are that if a manufacturer came up with a way to advertise a lower cost than traditional msrp, they would draw a lot more shoppers away from other brands.

This isn't aimed at AT by the way (and i feel they do have some of the best pricing in the industry), i just read the thread and it sparked interest.

At work we deal with reduction of variation in an aviation environment and its benefits. What if the boat manufacturer added (just an example) 10% above build cost. Meaning if the cost of livorsi gauges goes up 2% for the builder, then the cost to the buyer goes up 2% as well. At this point you are taking variation out of the profit margin. The manufacturer would make 10% on every boat it built, no more, no less. Sell more boats, make more money. But you don't have to screw someone today because you gave away a boat yesterday just so you can stay profitable.


Plus we use the term "custom" rather loosely. They aren't designing a new hull for each customer. They are just building them to order and allowing them to pick out options that are manufacturer provided options, or buyer dreamed up options.


i'm not picking on anything here and please don't take it that way. I may very well be wrong, but I always feel that just because its the way its always been done, doesn't mean its the best way. (sometimes it is though)

Point taken.

But, do you want Livorsi Platinum, Standard, Monster Racing, Redline, Carbon Fiber, or SmartCraft? Do you want bezels?
Do you want Livorsi Standard controls or Billet? Arched base? Powdercoat or polished?

And I did not even leave the dash yet.

Agreed. Perhaps you couldn't advertise a "no haggle" price since there are so many variables in the manufacturing process. But you could advertise, 10% over cost pricing standards.

i feel like the reason the marine industry has such a high msrp markup is because of the occassional customer who comes through, looks at the sticker price and says "i'll take it".

It would be interesting to see the effects of a more unconventional advertising campaign in the marine industry.

it would probably be an experiment best suited for a large company like brunswick though.

How bout just starting at the basics? The haul is all petrol products and the prices change on all that stuff on a daily basis. Then you go to just about everything else that goes into the build that is also based off petrol chems and things get outa hand in a hurry through the whole industry. With that said I don't see any way possible to even have a solid base price that isn't going to be changing from week to week. I have talked to Pat and other builders about this and have been told that it is a huge problem.:eek:

Jan 2006, AT orders gauges for Mr Xs boat.
March 2006, AT order same guages for Mr Ys boat, but they are 15% more. No way to figure that in.

Plus a 10% margin wont work when you are selling 15-30 units a year.

BUY YOUR NEXT BOAT HERE... FIXED PRICING AT 40% ABOVE FACTORY COST! damn that sounds attractive. ;)

All that means is that you advertise the cost of a base model boat, based on the raw material costs of that day. You add in a disclaimer that prices are subject to change with the change in raw material costs. But the cost model (x% over manufacturer cost) stays the same. Two guys walk into buy the same boat on the same day, they both pay the same price.

10% was just an arbitrary number thrown out there. Not saying thats THE number.

I think people would be attracted to this way of doing business. I know, when i walk into a dealership (car or boat), i'm already in my head, distrusting what the salesman is telling me because he is being incentivized to take as much of my money as he can. Take that incentive away, and he can do his job of selling you on the quality of the product rather than on what he can do about the MSRP.

I personally think for the kind of money boats cost today, that the buyer is educated enough to know what it costs, or doesn't care, cuz it doesn't matter.
And for this kind of money, you buy what you want cause its what you WANT, not because of the deal. you might walk cuz of a deal, but if you WANT A 39 CIG TG, you'll go to the dealer you like and/or pay for great service.
These boats are HI ROLLERS toys (bought new) not to be compared to buying a saturn... more like a Ferrari.

I think that is true in some cases. However, i believe that most people buying these boats are not multimillionaires who are willing to throw money at things. I can almost garuantee that most of the clientelle are successful middle and upper middle class citizens who know the value of a dollar and would not want to throw 50g's or even 10g's down the drain.

One of the draws of AT is that they sell a boat comparable in quality to some of the real big dollar manufacturers, but for a much more fair price.

If all the buyers were "high rollers" and didn't care about money, AT would raise their prices today and i wouldn't blame them.