“Joe,

We are having a great time with Nebbia…had her out at least five times now. Janet and I really appreciated how thorough you were, first in identifying what we wanted in a sailboat. Your extensive sailing experience certainly assisted us in narrowing the field. After identifying the boat, your diligence in scheduling the inspections and obtaining all of the answers to our questions expedited the process and calmed our nerves. Finally, the very fact that you follow up with us to ensure that we are happy with our investment speaks volumes about the your interest and commitment to the clients that you represent. We most certainly will refer you to anyone who expresses an interest in making a boat purchase. (We are also thoroughly enjoying Capt Steve – I promise to contact you the next time we schedule a sailing outing.)”

Best Regards, Eric Ziedrich

To whom it may concern:

“My name is Scott Scherer and I want to take a few minutes to articulate my impression of working with yacht broker Joe Biondo from Oceanic Yacht Sales. I have recently done a great deal of business with Joe, buying the C&C 115 sailboat ‘Warp Speed’ through him. Please find my comments on my experience with him below.

1. Joe is very knowledgeable, about the specific boat and the yacht brokerage process
– a. He answered every question I put to him.
– b. If he didn’t have the answer right away, he found the answer and responded back with it in a VERY timely fashion.
– c. He clearly explained the process and concepts surrounding buying a boat through a yacht broker. If I didn’t get it the first time, he was patient with me and re-explained it until I got it.
d. He has a wealth of boat owner knowledge that I have been able to tap into and learn from.

2. Joe was always personable and always conducted himself with a positive attitude.
– a. He never displayed any negative emotions or unwillingness to help towards me.
– b. We did have some minor trouble with the rigging surveyor (not always returning calls or e-mails, seemed distracted when communication did actually occur, failed to meet initial schedule, initially refused to give us report until he was paid for fear of not ever receiving payment for services rendered); however, Joe diligently kept on top of the situation and ensured that we had a quality rigging survey and the subsequent report all the while displaying a MINIMAL amount of anger. On a small side note, there were times I was really upset with the rigging surveyor but Joe handled it before I became VERY angry.
– c. Whenever we would meet face to face throughout the process, Joe would always have a smile on his face and would be VERY personable.
– d. Even during times when I felt I was bugging him with TONS of questions per day, he was quick to respond to them and didn’t ever seem to convey that he was bothered at all.

3. Joe is an excellent communicator
– a. Joe had an uncanny ability to clearly articulate himself and the particular fact or concept he was trying to communicate to me or any of the other people throughout the brokerage process. I never felt like he had to re-explain things in a manner I could understand, unlike many of my former academic professors.
– b. Joe went above and beyond to make sure I fully understood the process, explaining every part in great detail so that I fully understood it. I liked this quality because I have an ‘engineering’ oriented mind and stuff needs to make sense to me before I can really remember it.

4. Joe possesses an OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE ABILITY
– a. He was always quick to pick up the phone or respond to my e-mails promptly concerning any and all questions I had.
– b. I have reached out to him a few times since the sale for questions regarding the boat and previous seller, he did in fact respond in a timely fashion even if it was a weekend.
– c. He has given me several recommendations for various boat service personnel.
– d. He personally screens each surveyor and other people involved in the brokerage process to ensure his respective customers get the best quality results for their money.
– e. Joe was personally recommended as a good, solid broker to work with by my boat financing agent: Max Salvater with Sterling & Associates.

5. I WOULD RECOMMEND JOE BIONDO TO ANYONE WHO IS ATTEMPTING TO BUY A BOAT!!!!!
R/,”

Scott D. Scherer, Systems Engineer Sr.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

Hi, Joe! First, we were attracted back to Oceanic as we had had a very pleasant introduction to John Baier several years ago. He provided our introduction to you and we were delighted that that your are a sailor first and a yacht salesperson second. We felt you performed a thorough assessment of our boat’s condition, equipment and additional items included in the offer. You put us in touch with a professional boat detailer who put put Nebbia into pristine condition. Your pictures were professional and very appealing. Only then did we work with you to set an asking price that we felt was fair, but aggressive.

Throughout the process, you communicated frequently and kept us informed of showings and responses. As we contemplated price changes, we felt you kept us in touch with the realities of the market which made those decisions easier to make.

You observed the inspections, surveys and sea trial and I believe were instrumental in keeping finding in perspective for a vessel of Nebbia’s age. We were pleased with the closing process.

I have already recommended you to another sailor and would strongly recommend you and Oceanic to anyone selling, or buying, a boat!”

Best regards, John and Mary O’Connell