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January 2024 by C G
Unprofessional and needs better manners. Has a negative effect on the industry
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October 2023 by Gary MacDougal
My neighbor and I just purchased a 1999 Catalina 34' sailboat with Bob Reed's help at the St. Clair Sailboat Center. Bob represented both us and the seller, and I believe navigated both parties through the purchase process in a transparent and efficient manner. In addition to providing comps and helping us understand and accomplish the normal offer, inspection (survey), commitment process, Bob gave generously of his time, even on weekends, to make it possible for us to see and get comfortable with the boat. Then after the purchase, he went above and beyond to teach us about our new boat... even going so far as to personally give us docking and sailing lessons. Bob's entire career has been in sailboats, and he takes the long view on relationships, assuming that boating paths will cross again and again. We are grateful for Bob's assistance and highly recommend him.
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November 2020 by Anne G
If you aren’t buying a very expensive boat don’t even bother. Definitely never list your boat with this man if you can help it.It was so difficult to even get ahold of Bob to ask questions or look at the boat we wanted to see. We finally got a friend of a friend to show us the boat, still never spoke to Bob. After we looked at the boat Bob finally called but after less than 5 minutes said he wouldn’t talk to us unless we put down money on the boat. He said he was too busy to be bothered with people who didn’t give him money. We had been warned by two other people who own boats that he was like this and another broker and the marina staff, he has a terrible reputation amongst his peers, but he had the listing so we had no choice. We offered to pay for a survey and had one scheduled, but Bob refused to allow it unless we put down 10% of the asking price. That might be a standard thing, but we felt like Bob was shady based on our dealings and didn’t want him holding our money. We felt like we wouldn’t get a fair deal from someone who worked that way so we walked away. There’s always more boats.Five months later and it’s the end of season, the boat we looked at was still for sale. We re-approach Bob about the boat because now the owner is looking at having to store this boat again. We’ve also now looked at a number of this type of boat across the country and know what it needs to be ocean worthy (our intended purpose). He answers on our call, lucky. Then proceeds to tell us how busy he is and how hot the market is. Instantly used car salesman tactics. The boat has sat there, in storage for over a year now. We offer him a price reflective of everything we now know, because we now know the boat needs a 15k replacement on it because we’ve seen a bunch of these. We also say we’ll buy it with no survey which puts us in a precarious position because the engine could be worthless, it’s 25+ years old with less than 200 hours on it, not a great thing for a boat engine. We are cash buyers. We know he’s sold this exact style of boat for less than we offer and we almost bought one in Texas for this price. So we know it’s not an insane price to ask, and if you minus the storage fees the owner is going to have to pay, it’s really not that crazy. He gets instantly offended, calls our price ludicrous and basically hangs up. Even if the price was ludicrous, which it wasn’t, but let’s say it was, he could have come back with a different price. We looked at the boat once, there’s no survey, it’s been sitting over a year. We would have paid more than we offered, but he didn’t even come back with anything, just hung up and now refuses to respond to emails.The real thing is that he would have gotten close to his asking price at the beginning of the season if he’d just taken the time to show us the boat and let us get a survey in May, but he was “too busy” and “only talks to people who give him money” his words. I feel sorry for the owner. He could have sold his boat at the beginning of the season. We had the full asking money in CASH and were willing to pay that price with a survey. Bob wasn’t willing to take more than 5 minutes on us and find that out. Bob is so difficult to deal with and money hungry that he scares off potential buyers with his shadiness. Can you imagine if it were your boat he was selling?It’s a shame for everyone involved. Oh and we still haven’t met him. He’s too busy. We’ve talked to him a total of less than 15 minutes.
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November 2020 by Sheri Orlando
What a knowledgeable, kind man! Though we weren’t one of his clients, Bob helped us haul out our boat and get it squared away for the season. I had just repurchased my family boat and on the day we had to take down the mast and haul out for the season, Bob was at the marina and came over to give us a hand. The next day, he checked in on us and gave us tips, and even supplies, for squaring away the mast. His knowledge was evident and his kindness will never be forgotten by me or my family.
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November 2019 by Wellesley Row
Bob Reed is metro Detroit's sailboat expert hands down. Goes above and beyond to satisfy customer requests. His passion for sailing is contagious and his knowledge about boats is endless. Do yourself a favor if you are thinking about buying a sailboat and visit Bob at St. Clair Sailboat Center.
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November 2018 by Scott Lange
Bob put me in a beautiful 1995 Sabre 362 late last year (2017). I had never purchased a boat before and I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I'm forever grateful for his service once the boat arrived, his sage advice and help getting her rigged and to her home berth. I highly recommend his services.
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November 2018 by John Galt (Metzger)
I bought a boat back in 99 and Bob was awesome! I’m looking at a new boat soon and Bobs the guy. I hope he never retires.
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November 2016 by Peter Soles
I have been trying to contact Bob Reed regarding a boat I'm interested in purchasing, and he does not return calls or emails.
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November 2016 by Abc Defg
Never answers and he knows nothing about the boats!
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November 2014 by Alexis Shirk
I thought about buying my first real sailboat in 2004. I found the St Clair Sailboat Center on the internet and stopped by on a Saturday with my wife to meet with a sales associate. Bob Reed was very busy but took the time to meet with us and to learn about what we thought our needs were.After learning that we really did not know what we wanted Bob took us out to the marina and showed us about a half a dozen boats. We all learned that my wife and I liked "bigger" boats. We did not buy a boat that year but we kept in touch with Bob.In 2005 Bob sold us a new 49' Jeanneau SO sailboat. Bob rigged the boat, taught us how to operate it and provided service above and beyond our expectations. Later that year our situation changed and we had to sell our beloved boat. We turned to Bob to sell the boat and he sold it quickly and painlessly.Since then we have bought and sold another boat through Bob and we continue to keep in touch with him. Each time we meet with Bob he treats us as part of his family. He is one of the most professional people that we have ever had the pleasure of working with.
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November 2012 by Jack Baker
I bought my first large sailboat from Bob Reed in 1983, and have had exceptional service from him ever since. Bob has been selling sailboats now for 40 plus years, and he has many, many satisfied customers that come back to him repeatedly.In addition to his deep knowledge and love of sailing, I have found him to have high integrity, and to work through any issues that arise in buying, selling and owning a boat. If you have never owned a boat before, you need to recognize that you will occasionally run into challenges, and I have always found Bob to calmly assess and clarify what is required, figure out the best way to help, and take ownership until the issue is resolved. He is not a miracle worker (though I can recall a few times he seemed like one), but if you approach the problem objectively and fairly, I would be surprised if you weren't very satisfied with the outcome.
