- How to use this website
- BoatHistoryReport.com
- Wellcraft- BoatHistoryReport.com
- Bertram- BoatHistoryReport.com
- Boatfax.com
- Wellcraft- BoatFax
- Bertram- BoatFax
- HINValid.com
- Wellcraft- HINValid
- MarineTitle.com
- Wellcraft- Marine Title
- Bertram- Marine Title
- HINDecoder/Boat-Alert
- Wellcraft- HINDecoder
- Bertram- Boat-Alert
- COMPARISON CHART
- Contact Me
- 2013 Wellcraft- BoatHistoryReport
- 2013 Bertram- BoatHistoryReport
- 2013 WellCraft- boatfax
- 2013 Bertram- boatfax
- 2013 Wellcraft- MarineTitle
- 2013 Bertram- MarineTitle
- 2013 Bertram- HINValid
HINDecoder/Boat-Alert
This is a new company which seems to have popped up in the past year. A Google image search makes it appear that it has several websites which are all the same thing including HINDecoder.net, Boat-Alert.com, and HINCheck.net. The owner of the website actually contacted me to request an affiliate partnership (which is a big NO NO), and had hindecoder.com/order and boat-history-report.com listed in his email as well. I assume they have no relation with BoatHistoryReport.com so I also do not care for the fact that they are trying to confuse customers into using that service by altering their name. That being said, if this product is better than the others, that's all that would matter- so lets take a look!
GETTING STARTED
No matter which of his websites you go to, they are all basically the same. They have a very simple to use feature at the top that allows you to enter a HIN, and below it very clearly spelled out information on what they look for. One of the sites also has a fun video which is a nice touch. Below that though there is a bunch of poorly written "articles" that do not make sense. These appear to be specifically for the purpose of generating Google traffic by including every possible boat related word they can think of to capture search terms the user enters into Google. It's very spammy.
CHECK OUT PAGE
As you enter a HIN in the search box, it appears to validate the length of the HIN, but not the format itself. However, it is a nice touch with the red to green color as your HIN becomes long enough. Once you select "Check this HIN" it then shows a "Buy Now" feature below it which then directs you to PayPal. You can pay using your PayPal account, or with a credit or debit card. As mentioned on the other sites, I do appreciate being able to use PayPal to check out.
PRICE POINT
The price is $19.99 which makes this the cheapest service if you are only ordering 1 report.
ACCOUNT PAGE
There doesn't look to be an actual account page. The login page asks for a transaction ID and email address but I do not have a transaction ID so I am not sure how to log in.
REPORTS
The reports are long which is nice because, like Marine Title, you feel like you're really getting something for your money. It also seems to provide information on Canada which some of the others don't. It gives you a summary at the top and tells you to see the "Status Report" below for more details. Turns out the "Status Report" is actually the exact Marine Title "BoatScope" report but rebranded under the Hindecoder name? I am not sure if this company is a certified reseller of the product or not but I would rather give my money to the company doing the work than the company copying the work. This report does seem to have a few extra features that the Marine Title Report doesn't have but almost all of those features force you to visit another site to purchase another product. I do want to mention that I purchased one report from one Boat-Alert.com, and the other report from HINDecoder.net and they are the identical report as far as the types of information provided.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
On 8/30/16, I emailed them to ask about some additional features that are mentioned throughout the report but that I have not been able to find. I received a response within 24 hours, but it was poorly written and did not answer or correctly address my question.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The report itself mentions all sorts of additional information but the websites themselves do not provide this. I assume it is because they simply subscribed to the Marine Title service for unlimited reports, rebrand the reports, and then they turn around and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.
HINDECODER REVIEW SUMMARY
Use this site at your own discretion. Although I try not to persuade you in one direction or another and want you to decide which features you need, I will not be purchasing from any of these specific websites in the future: hindecoder.net, boat-alert.com, or hincheck.net. From the spammy Google search term garbage on the bottom of each site, the trickery in using an altered name of another website, and the exact replica of a report on a 3rd website make this cluster of websites something I would stay away from.
GETTING STARTED
No matter which of his websites you go to, they are all basically the same. They have a very simple to use feature at the top that allows you to enter a HIN, and below it very clearly spelled out information on what they look for. One of the sites also has a fun video which is a nice touch. Below that though there is a bunch of poorly written "articles" that do not make sense. These appear to be specifically for the purpose of generating Google traffic by including every possible boat related word they can think of to capture search terms the user enters into Google. It's very spammy.
CHECK OUT PAGE
As you enter a HIN in the search box, it appears to validate the length of the HIN, but not the format itself. However, it is a nice touch with the red to green color as your HIN becomes long enough. Once you select "Check this HIN" it then shows a "Buy Now" feature below it which then directs you to PayPal. You can pay using your PayPal account, or with a credit or debit card. As mentioned on the other sites, I do appreciate being able to use PayPal to check out.
PRICE POINT
The price is $19.99 which makes this the cheapest service if you are only ordering 1 report.
ACCOUNT PAGE
There doesn't look to be an actual account page. The login page asks for a transaction ID and email address but I do not have a transaction ID so I am not sure how to log in.
REPORTS
The reports are long which is nice because, like Marine Title, you feel like you're really getting something for your money. It also seems to provide information on Canada which some of the others don't. It gives you a summary at the top and tells you to see the "Status Report" below for more details. Turns out the "Status Report" is actually the exact Marine Title "BoatScope" report but rebranded under the Hindecoder name? I am not sure if this company is a certified reseller of the product or not but I would rather give my money to the company doing the work than the company copying the work. This report does seem to have a few extra features that the Marine Title Report doesn't have but almost all of those features force you to visit another site to purchase another product. I do want to mention that I purchased one report from one Boat-Alert.com, and the other report from HINDecoder.net and they are the identical report as far as the types of information provided.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
On 8/30/16, I emailed them to ask about some additional features that are mentioned throughout the report but that I have not been able to find. I received a response within 24 hours, but it was poorly written and did not answer or correctly address my question.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The report itself mentions all sorts of additional information but the websites themselves do not provide this. I assume it is because they simply subscribed to the Marine Title service for unlimited reports, rebrand the reports, and then they turn around and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.
HINDECODER REVIEW SUMMARY
Use this site at your own discretion. Although I try not to persuade you in one direction or another and want you to decide which features you need, I will not be purchasing from any of these specific websites in the future: hindecoder.net, boat-alert.com, or hincheck.net. From the spammy Google search term garbage on the bottom of each site, the trickery in using an altered name of another website, and the exact replica of a report on a 3rd website make this cluster of websites something I would stay away from.