Buyer Beware - My Experience with Seven Seas Yacht Sales…read more
We recently looked at a Glacier Bay 2640 Renegade with Seven Seas Yacht Sales. Brett, the salesman, showed it to us on a Saturday, and it was pouring down rain. We were the only ones there, and we all got pretty wet walking around and looking at the boat. It was clear Brett didn't want to be there -- it felt like he was just holding it open for us and wanted to leave.
Considering we were all wet and Brett didn't invite us to make an offer right then, we said we could come back Monday to take care of the offer and paperwork. He never mentioned any other offers or serious buyers.
We should have been told on Saturday about any previous or current offers that were on the table. Nothing was brought up at all. We even asked how long the boat had been on the market, what the price had been, and how long it had been listed. Brett told us it had been on the market over 90 days, that the price had dropped significantly, that the seller was "very motivated," and that he would be flexible with our offer -- but never mentioned any interest from other buyers. Based on that, we had no idea anything was going on behind the scenes. Something was clearly being hidden from us.
Our visit was merely used to push another buyer into accepting and paying a higher price than they initially wanted to. In doing this, Seven Seas managed to hurt all three parties involved:
They didn't represent the seller properly, because they failed to tell him two parties were interested -- which could have led to multiple offers and potentially more money for the seller.
They didn't represent their other buyer properly, because they pressured him into closing at a higher price than he may have wanted to pay.
They misled us through complete omission, failing to disclose the current situation with the boat and other interested parties.
On Monday morning, I called Brett at 10:00 -- no answer. Called again at 12:00 -- no answer. Finally called the office, and only then did he call me back to say the boat had been sold that morning. Based on the timing and what was said, I can almost guarantee that even if we had submitted an offer on Saturday, the owner of the boat would have never seen that offer -- Brett would have simply used it to pressure the other buyer into closing the deal at a higher price.
When I spoke to Brett, he took no responsibility. Both he and Andy, the owner of Seven Seas, tried to spin the story about how the deal went down, despite offering a hollow "used car salesman" style apology. This kind of dishonesty and lack of transparency is unacceptable -- especially when you're paying extra to buy from a dealer, where the expectation is strong morals, ethics, and a commitment to all clients' best interests.
If this is how they behave on something relatively small, I can only imagine what goes on with bigger deals. Shady business practices should not be supported. There are plenty of dealers who operate with integrity -- unfortunately, this is not one of them.
This is more of the iceberg... BEWARE:
Legal Actions
Recent Lawsuit (Mar 2025): A Fort Lauderdale boat owner filed a federal suit against Scout Boats, Inc. and Seven Seas Yacht Sales, citing major warranty issues. Complaints included severe electrolysis, structural defects, and design flaws in a 2023 Scout 377 LXF vessel. The case aims for rescission of a nearly $1 million purchase due to those unresolved issues.
Source: Holzberg Legal
Forums
The Hull Truth (2004): Dated mention criticizing sales tactics, though lacking specifics.
Reddit (r/boating - 3 years ago): General complaints about shady dealership practices and poor communication -- not specific to Seven Seas, but reflective of industry-wide frustrations.
Yahoo Local: Complaint about recurring steering problems repeatedly billed for but never fixed.