It's crap like this, hemorrhoids of the 'seller's market' we're experiencing, that have me rethinking buying another boat at all. I'm at the point (60-something), having owned 13 boats over the past 50 years, I thought I had one more boat left in me, and time left to use one more boat. But I'm not willing (nor can afford) to be ripped off. The bitterness of being screwed would leave a bad taste in my mouth and cloud the enjoyment of having a boat. I might just be hanging up boating a few years early.
The gravity-defying stock market and seller's market in boats is mind-boggling, given the slow-moving and burgeoning global recession we're in. Unfortunately, the pandemic will be with us for a few more years. Sadly, it will not 'all be over' with the first vaccine, for many reasons. I think the market *might* begin to cool down next year when the impacts on real estate start to ripple through. All the restaurants, bars, stores, and other small business closures will cause rental incomes to drop, which will hit the wallets of property owners. Likewise, all the companies that have discovered they don't need to keep all their employees in large offices in major cities will reduce commercial rents, impacting REITs. The decline in cash flow there *might* trickle through to boat owners and buyers, to the extent they're into real estate, all of which *might* cool the market a bit and bring it back down to reality, where you don't have brokers arrogantly telling buyers to 'take it or leave it' and 'buy a boat without a sea trial'.
But no one really knows. In the meantime, as much as I want a boat and might joke about needing a boat, the harsh reality is that it's a want and not a need.
I think I'll start looking for a kayak (but wait... they're hard to find these days too...)