Passionate Kiwi boaties and liveaboard sailors Ron and Tracye Mossman offer a bespoke, boutique brokerage from their yacht Wayward Wind moored in Opua, Bay of Islands.
South Pacific Boat Sales Ltd services customers from Auckland to Houhora, including Whangarei, Tutukaka and the Bay of Islands. The Mossmans specialise in selling quality vessels in the $100,000 to $1,000,000 range – the couple pride themselves on offering customers unmatched levels of personal service, whether they’re buying or selling, power or sail. “Our customers are our first priority, so we work with them to get them to where they want to go,” explains Ron. “Our client is not just a number – we aim to create ‘clients for life.’”
Ron realises the importance of getting to know the seller’s ‘story’ – their reason for purchasing the boat, what adventures they’ve had, and their reason for now selling. That allows the Mossmans to best assist their client to a take the next step in life – “we’re not just selling a boat; we’re helping clients turn the page to the next chapter [of life].”
The Mossmans strive to make the process easy for buyers and sellers alike: “We are great listeners and we’re not afraid to ask lots of questions.”
South Pacific Boat Sales offers sellers valuable advice on presenting their boats for sale, provides them with comparative market assessments after consulting with peers in the industry, and helps organise pre-sale vessel surveys.
“We also stage and photograph boats on behalf of our clients – at no cost,” says Tracye, who understands the value of presenting boats in the best possible light, especially for women.
“Boats are a dream. We help paint a picture for prospective buyers, showing them how they can achieve their dream of owning a boat,” says Ron.
“And we always take the women into account,” says Tracye. Ron light-heartedly notes that women have 51% of the voting rights in any boat purchase – “If the woman doesn’t like the boat, or can’t see herself in the picture, the sale is unlikely to proceed.”
Ron is especially proud of his ability to facilitate win-win transactions. To this end, South Pacific Boat Sales works closely with both sides. The organisation is agile and mobile, with no fixed premises. Ron regularly travels to meet his clients and see their boats and with no expensive office lease running costs are lower, leaving more in the kitty to market clients’ boats.
Both Ron and Tracye have a deep understanding of boating in New Zealand and the boating industry. Ron comes from a line of Master Mariners and has been a boat owner and sometime liveaboard since his teenage years, in New Zealand and overseas. He’s worked as a sailing instructor, completed numerous offshore passages –even run a chandlery business. But, says Ron, it’s his 45 years of businesses experience, especially in sales, that qualifies him best for his current role, ably backed up by his life business partner, wife Tracye.
Tracye has a background in hospitality, here and overseas, including running a hotel and a cafe in Central Otago. More recently she worked in events management for NZ Marine, and later for Coastguard Boating Education as National Course Co-ordinator. Tracye brings organisational skills and customer service that are second to none, says Ron, allowing him to spend his time in front of clients promoting the boating lifestyle and marketing boats.
Both Ron and Tracye love boats and their enthusiasm and passion carry over to their work. As a string of glowing testimonials confirm (see: www.spboatsales.co.nz), South Pacific Boats Sales’ professionalism, dedication and exceptional service is certainly winning the approval of customers. Just one example: “From the moment we met Ron, we felt we were dealing with someone with integrity who was genuinely interested in putting buyers and sellers together to reach a win-win for both sides. The entire process was relatively easy and efficient and as painless as such a large purchase can be…” – Colin.
