Decisions to Buy

Let's speculate that you're one of the folks looking to buy a boat this fall. We can all fantasize, right? But seriously, we've talked to a few prospective buyers at the recent boat shows that tell us that they're "in the market". Good for them! But when it comes down to actually making that big decison as to what, when, and where, the crew at Edson would love to know "Why?" as well. What is it about a particular boat that causes us to swoon and fall in love. If you talk to any number of analysts, they'll tell you right off that buying a boat is a totally irrational decision. Rather like spending millions on a precious stone or on a luxury sports car from the 1950's. Something has to drive us over the edge, be it the perception that we're getting a good buy, or it was the boat that always caught your eye when you sailed out of the harbor, or maybe it was a notion of realizing the dream to cast off lines from your everyday life and set off for the South Pacific.

Buying boats is usually not an "impulse buy". There may have been times when one could look at a new boat deal and rationalize the price in terms of a monthly payment, or as an alternative to renting a summer property at the beach. Brokers tell you that contracts rarely get written at the boat show anymore. With more internet information available, the careful shopper has usually narrowed down the new boat purchase to a few models or even one specific model well before the boat is seen or test sailed. One of our builder/customer friends said that at the Annapolis Show, he was mostly talking to customers that were two or three years away from finally making the move to buy. That's quite a lot of thinking!

So back to the root question, "What turns a boat shopper into a boat buyer?"
Answer that and you'll have friends in the boat brokerage business for life! When the decision time comes, I believe that ultimately the word "comfort" becomes the prime component with making the move to buy. You have to be comfortable with the amount of money you're about to spend and buying a product that is recognizable for quality, longevity, durability, and performance reduces the risk perception of such a purchase. For some, viewing the boat in terms of the components used to assemble to boat makes the value judgements a bit easier. For others, the patriotic jesture of buying a vessel that is built in the US from American made components can add to the comfort zone of the purchase. We've all seen the ads on TV where the customer service operator "Peggy" befuddles a troubled customer with incomprehensible jibberish and endless phone transfers. So while Made in America may not be the cheapest, it often constitutes a sizeable value for the potential buyer.

We're hearing that more and more at boat shows. "I like your stuff because it's made in the US and you're always there to stand behind it", they say. Not that we can be at every boat show in this economy, far from it. But we do want customers to know that we're there for them, either with technical advice or with the oddball replacement piece for their 30 year old pedestal. It gives a nice cushion of comfort to a purchase knowing that the company that sold it will be around for a while. We hope that those "shoppers" at the shows become "buyers" soon, partly because the industry needs more buyers than shoppers. But also because it gives Edson the opportunity to connect with a few more people, to learn about how the boating world is changing, and to figure out what new products we should build. And when our boat builder clients choose to use our products on their boats, Edson wants to make sure we positively influence the customer making that tough decision to buy.
For all of you that stopped by to see us at Newport and Annapolis, thanks for taking time to talk to us and we hope to see you on the water!
Maybe even on your new boat!
Cheers,
Chuck