Cord

iTrader: (2)

Ok, here's how I did it. They also told me that they had a buyer that was looking for my boat. I put the fees on my credit card and wrote on the contract that it was contingent on the potential buyer contacting me within 48 hours. When nobody called, I asked for my money back. They told me to take a flying leap and wouldn't return my calls so I contacted my state consumer protection agency. I provided the state with a copy of the contract and a statement of what they told me. ABL came back and tried to argue that I never wrote that contingency on the contract and that they never told me about a buyer. They also said that because they were not based in Wisconsin that they did not need to follow Wisconsin law. The state essentially said BS! They listed several statues that the company had violated and said that they were formally warned about their buisness practices.

If you want to try and rid the world of scum like ABL (and their kin), then please proceed with the contract. I put the charge on my credit card to help ensure that I could get my money back, but ABL promptly refunded it when told to do so by the state. I'd also gladly supply you with a copy of the letter from the state regarding their practices. It won't have much weight in your state, maybe less so because it's a sister company, but it would help establish a precident.

BTW-it's been almost a year since all this shook out and the ad is still up on their site. I get occasional calls about it, so yea it does work.

yachtjim

Have you looked at www.Yachts-ByOwner.com yet. Works just like a broker except you show your own boat and there is only a 3% commission instead of 10%.

Sean

As much as I dislike ABL Boats---just going by the stories you guys tell---I actually found my boat on ABL...and it's still listed there...

McGary911

I don've never had to deal with ABL, but from the tone of this thread, they are not to be trusted. I did a little checking computer-style, and both usedboatmagazine and abl are owned by people from the same area of new york. Both servers that host these 2 sites are ownedby the same company. The 2 servers are probably in the same room. They use the same DNS servers. Translation with all computer geek speak removed. 99% sure both sites are run by the same people. If you had problems with ABL, expect the same from usedboatmag.......Be careful.

Cord

iTrader: (2)

About the time that heat starts getting a bit too hot is the time you need to start up a new company. Good sleuthing!

Strike

I am currently using: usedboats.com for our listings. They have 86,400 boats listed as of yesterday. We used to use trader, but they got too pricey. Just an FYI.

jb

Not for nothing.
How do you get info on any of those boats on usedboats.com.
Not had info???
Am I missin somethin?

djm

A guy from usedboat magazine.com called me again. I told him the sales approach has a bad reputation and no one has heard of them at boat shows. I told him I'd I want to add a condition to the contract about the "buyers" interested in my boat but he wanted no part of it. His tone changed quite a bit, almost angry. Said he was NOT associated to ABL. That was it.

My boat is on boattrader.com