An insight into Princess Brokerage International with John Tipton
Brand strength rests firmly on the twin pillars of longevity and experience, and both elements are firmly present in Princess Brokerage Specialist John Tipton and Princess Brokerage International. John has been closely associated with Princess Brokerage International from the very beginning over two decades ago, and has been involved in its evolution into what is now probably the largest collection of brokerage Princess yachts anywhere in the world.
“We are the only brokerage organisation authorised by Princess Yachts International (the manufacturer) to use the Princess title and the trademark crown” says John, “and that gives us tremendous credibility within the market. We are normally the first port of call for anyone seeking a Princess, be it a two year old 98 Motor Yacht or a classic twenty year old 435” (both of which, in fact, can be found listed right now). “We typically have in the region of one hundred Princess brokerage listings at any one time covering a diverse cross section of Princess production past and present”.
“We have our own offices in key positions throughout the UK and Mediterranean of course” John tells me, “but beyond that we have a huge network of sub dealers right across Europe, all of whom have access to Princess Brokerage International for both vendors and purchasers”.
Backing all this up is a massive marketing campaign encompassing an on line presence via a dedicated website plus all major international boat sales portals such as Yachtworld and Rightboat.com. In addition, full page advertising is carried in premier marine titles such as Motor Boats Monthly and Motor Boat and Yachting, and regular email bulletins are sent out to the group’s massive database to update clients with latest brokerage stock.
Beyond all that, what really gives clients confidence is the sheer depth of experience and knowledge displayed by people like John and the rest of the team. “I’ve been with the company for twenty years” says John, “dealing with both new and used Princess so I know these boats inside out, and I’m far from alone in that. But where we really score is that, by being the largest Princess dealer in the world, there’s a strong probability that we supplied the boat new, and given our high levels of customer retention, every chance that we’ve handled the sale of the boat through its lifetime too. It’s really not unusual to be able to trace the history of a boat through our archives right back to day one, and more than that, have a member of our team somewhere that handled the sale of the boat and that knows not only the current owner personally, but quite likely the one before him and possibly even the one before that! It’s a situation that often allows us to give buyers a unique perspective, not only into what the boat is about today, but first hand information about the history of that vessel. It creates a very powerful and effective sales tool that benefits both buyer and seller, and helps keep us number one for Princess brokerage”.
