The combination of price, import/export experience, shipping and warranty we offer you puts us on an entirely different level, whether you’re comparing KWBD to local import brokers or other U.S.–based dealers. Here are some specifics:
Key West Boats Direct vs. Local Import Brokers
Price: We do for free what a middleman charges you thousand of dollars for, and you’ll get the best shipping rates in the business through our two carriers.
Experience: A lot of import brokers are popping up now, but we’ve been shipping boats since 1994, and our CEO, Jack Barker, has been buying and selling boats in the United States for over thirty years.
Shipping: We’ve shipped hundreds of boats using the same shipping line for over a decade and never gotten a damage report. We’ve also started using another carrier with a stellar safety record that offers even better rates.
Note: We don’t recommend containers unless your boat’s beam is less than eight feet and both boat and trailer can sit flat in the container (no angled or side loads).
Warranty: Your boat comes with a full manufacturers warranty on the hull and fittings—ten years on the hull and a year on the electrics—and Key West provides full factory backup on every boat we export.
Key West Boats Direct vs. Other U.S. Dealers
Export: U.S. dealers typically can’t and won’t export new boats because they lose their factory rebate if the sale isn’t in their territory. Exporting is integral to our business.
Price: You rarely end up paying just the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Dealers throw in delivery charges, prep fees, paperwork fees, state taxes and more. Transport from their yard to the nearest port alone usually runs from US$450 to over US$1000 if the jump-off point is a state or two away. We guarantee you the lowest cost and freight price on any new Key West boat. We are also Key West’s exclusive authorized export dealer.
Experience: The slow U.S. boat market has every dealer saying “We Export!” Most of them, however, have no clue about shipping and import/export laws. We know your country’s import laws, and about trailer sizes and customs requirements as well. This is where most people come unstuck when buying a boat, and getting it wrong is expensive. We constantly hear stories from happy clients about other people’s boats sitting at the port for months because they didn’t have the correct paperwork for customs.
Warranty: Purchasing a new or used Key West model from any other U.S. dealer will result in no factory warranty on your boat. KWBD gives you a full manufacturers warranty on the hull and fittings—ten years on the hull and a year on the electrics—and Key West provides full factory backup on every boat we ship out.