For Services and Resources in French Polynesia

The Tahiti Cruisers Guide is brought to you by Julien Desmont from Xperimental and Chuck Houlihan from Jacaranda. Starting as an idea based on the very successful Panama City Cruisers guide, it has evolved into 200+ pages of information on vendors and services throughout French Polynesia. In January 2018, we added GPS coordinates and links to Google Maps to assist in locating businesses.

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Last update: 27 Mar 2024

Boat Brokers

Raiatea Yacht Sales

2023-08-08 21:54:51 UTC

Island: Raiatea

Raiatea Yacht Sales
(+689) 87 29 06 09 / (+689) 87 27 79 38
info@raiatea-yacht.com
https://www.raiatea-yacht.com/index.php?page=accueil&lang=en

8-2023 SV Indy We decided to list our boat with Raiatea Yachts mostly because other brokers in French Polynesia would not represent an older monohull priced less than $150k. We were also attracted at the 8% commission rate (vs 10% elsewhere). We have come to learn that you get what you pay for....

We had one of the brokers come and take a tour of the boat, we have them a through overview of the ins and outs of how the boat worked and the codes for everything. After reviewing the condition of the boat and then equipment, we asked their opinion of our asking price and she said it was a good price for the kind of boat we had. Fast forward a month, we are back state-side and they write us saying our boat is way overpriced, and if we want any chance of selling it we need to drop the price by 50%.
Suddenly it felt like we were not on the same team any more.

If they would have done any research, they would have known that was a ridiculous thing to ask of us for the kind of boat we have and how equipped it is.

Communication with Raiatea Yachts was generally terrible. Each time they showed the boat, they sent a different member of their team who was seeing the boat for the first time and had no idea what was going on. They couldn't figure out how to flush the head during a showing, so they sent a frantic email to us saying that the head was broken. Then they went totally quiet for 2 weeks and didnt reply to anything! At another showing, the rep they sent didnt even know where the boat was located, or where the key was, so they are scrambling around unprofessionally trying to show the boat. It was a giant cluster %$@%

We hired an independent boat-watcher who did a great job; however had a very difficult time dealing with Raiatea Yachts as well.

There were numerous times they called our boat watcher to 1)clean the boat 2)ask if the boat was clean 3)open up the boat for them. We hired a boat watcher independently of them to take care of the boat for us in our absence. The brokers were extremely demanding of him and treated him like one of their employees. To the point that we were worried he would quit due to how they treated him. Isn't that why we gave Raiatea Yachts a tour of the boat, gave them the code of the boat, and agreed to pay 8% of the sale price for the effort they put into selling it?

Luckily we were able to sell the boat outside of them but I seriously do not recommend using this brokerage for any of your boat sales. They are unprofessional, rude, and uncommunicative. 


6-21 Name withheld by request
I had been looking at boats for 3 years. Finally saw one of the type I wanted very cheap online and made offer instantly it was just listed It was accepted (Melodie was broker) I arranged to fly down have boat inspected. Cost me a fortune of work time off of flight of Airbnb of inspection etc etc. I'm on papeete 7 days I ask a question i get no answer for two days I flew and spent all that money to wait in an Airbnb room? I don't think so So I asked another question but this time I didn't wait I made steps to find my own answers from the owners. I got the owners phone number from locals and called them. Melodie was all upset I went around her but told her why I did so. Then I bought the boat (pictures were were ten years old and it was decrepit compared to them) but I wanted a boat and it was cheap I didn't want to waste a fortune having come to see it for nothing (10% of boat price+) So... Then transaction was finished and I was sending friendly emails back and forth to the old owners. And I got a bit of info....the boat had been listed for a year. Wait what? When I saw it it was new listing.. I checked two three times a week all the time. So.. they had been under the impression that it was listed globally and it had not been.. for. A year they had had it for sale and paid marina fees.etc. while she did what?

2019 SV Jacaranda - We tried to use Melodie at Raiatea Yacht Sales in 2019. We wanted to fly from Tahiti to Bora to look and possibly purchase a catamaran she had listed. First she never got back to me after repeated emails and calls. I finally asked friends to stop by her office in Tahiti and tell her that they would not leave until she contacted me. We had a very short schedule to make a flight to Bora as we were departing for Calif in a few days. She never arranged a showing and said she would get back to me....  

6-19 SV Recalada  gave her a contract to sell their boat. After a year of terrible service and very little action they dropped her and went with another broker. They were very disappointed with her