Advice needed selling Nimbus 340 Commander

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trialframe

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How much activity should I expect re. selling my Nimbus 340 Commander? I've got it listed at a very good price with Whyboats (who in turn list it on multiple websites including Yachtworld). It's also on EBay, plus I've set up my own website which is usually on page 3 of Google. So far after about 6 weeks, I've only had one enquiry. How dead is the market at the moment? Any advice would be welcome. The link to my website is www.nimbus340commander.co.uk
 
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trialframe said:
How much activity should I expect re. selling my Nimbus 340 Commander? I've got it listed at a very good price with Whyboats (who in turn list it on multiple websites including Yachtworld). It's also on EBay, plus I've set up my own website which is usually on page 3 of Google. So far after about 6 weeks, I've only had one enquiry. How dead is the market at the moment? Any advice would be welcome.
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Put a link to your ad and there are folk on here that will give you a great critique - but price and level if enquiries are difficult to comment on until we know full details.
 
Page 3 of google is worthless - it might as well not be there.

First page fine, top of second page ok. Past that few look.

You could try using Adwords to improve your position.

Also, it's a popular boat in Sweden but less so here. Try advertising on the Swedish and Scandinavian boat sales websites. It worked for me when I sold an odd ball Scandinavia boat
 
Check with why boats, they should be able to give you some stats, you need to know...
Uniques
Av time on page
Bounce rate

And then ask them to compare that to something that has just sold...

If you are under performing then ask them to bump you up the searches. If you compare well then you are probably with the wrong brokerage.

I would suggest a traditional broker, your boat is nicely priced and a broker could introduce punters to your boat that might not know they are looking for a 340. I know that some don't like paying commission but you can't understate the value of a motivated brokerage with outreach and client lists...

IMHO of course
 
A single engine boat of that size will only appeal to a certain audience which I'd say is small. I'd be dropping the price to attract an inland waterways client . Is this the same boat at hayling island ?
 
trialframe said:
How much activity should I expect re. selling my Nimbus 340 Commander? I've got it listed at a very good price with Whyboats (who in turn list it on multiple websites including Yachtworld). It's also on EBay, plus I've set up my own website which is usually on page 3 of Google. So far after about 6 weeks, I've only had one enquiry. How dead is the market at the moment? Any advice would be welcome.
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Loads of people will be interested apparently........if you you drop the price by about 30%!!......
 
There is a world of difference between advertising on the internet and proper face to face brokerage.

Google stats etc are all a bit meaningless really, internet coverage is a given these days.

it's experienced people who actually sell boats.

What you need is real live footfall and face to face viewings.

A good broker will be introducing clients who don't even know they want that type of boat, and will have spent all last season building strong face to face relationships with buyers, not emailing out some fancy looking analytics.

There are always more boats than buyers but a broker with a hot list of them is your friend.

...but I don't sell power.
 
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volvopaul said:
A single engine boat of that size will only appeal to a certain audience which I'd say is small. I'd be dropping the price to attract an inland waterways client . Is this the same boat at hayling island ?
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No not the same boat as Hayling Island. Air draught may be a bit high for inland waterways I feel.
 
Your website looks good with plenty of pictures and info. One very small point that caught my eye is this sentence - "Outside the warranty period, all the engine servicing has been done by me- I'm quite an expert on the Volvo Penta D6 now!"

The way I read this as that the engine has either had quite a few problems (and hence you have become an expert at working on it) and/or that the engine has not had "professional servicing" since the end of it's warranty period as you have serviced it yourself (and learnt as you went along?). I'm sure this isn't the case and I apologise if this offends you, but it may be worth simplifying the ad to say something like "engine serviced annually". Interested buyers would probably discuss this in depth with you anyway when viewing or making an offer.
 
trialframe said:
No not the same boat as Hayling Island. Air draught may be a bit high for inland waterways I feel.
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IIRC the mast on the Nimbus drops so your air draft will be no higher than many boats on inland waterways and lower than many. Many Brooms do both inland and sea and you will be comparable with them. We are talking places like the Broads, Thames, Ouse as opposed to canals.

jonic has a point. Whilst I have managed to sell all three of our previous boats privately there has probably been an element of luck involved. It is worth talking to brokers about how many boats they are selling before listing with them and even considering moving it to somewhere where it may sell sooner.
Price is, of course always an issue. We all want top dollar when selling and a bargain when buying so being honest with yourself about what is likely to attract a buyer is important. Not offering a view on your asking price as I am not up to speed on the market for that type of boat save to say that is probably slightly outside the mainstream so the pool you are fishing in may be smaller.
 
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Adrian Nicholl sold my last boat - and from a distance! I also had a lot of interest through Astra-Mare in Holland where several people came and viewed the boat while on buying trips from Europe. Also try a classified ad' on Ebay. Costs peanuts and gets a lot of viewings.
 
Love the web site and love the boat!
Have to agree with those that advocate the use of a suitable broker, you could regard their commission as the same money you may discount the boat to a private buyer.
Not suggesting that she is over priced, far from it but people will always try an offer!
 
I agree with Sneds about a suitable broker. I am based in North Wales and am currently on my fifth Scandinavian boat, when selling the last three I have either trucked or travelled by sea back to Lymington which you will no doubt be aware is home to Offshore Powerboats and Berthon. Chris Harridge is your man, a true professional and knows the marque well , this gives buyers confidence and will enhance your sales prospects.

Good luck and keep us posted re your new purchase

Cheers

Tetleys
 
tetleys said:
I agree with Sneds about a suitable broker. I am based in North Wales and am currently on my fifth Scandinavian boat, when selling the last three I have either trucked or travelled by sea back to Lymington which you will no doubt be aware is home to Offshore Powerboats and Berthon. Chris Harridge is your man, a true professional and knows the marque well , this gives buyers confidence and will enhance your sales prospects.

Good luck and keep us posted re your new purchase

Cheers

Tetleys
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+1

Chris and his team are excellent.
 
Matt341 said:
Your website looks good with plenty of pictures and info. One very small point that caught my eye is this sentence - "Outside the warranty period, all the engine servicing has been done by me- I'm quite an expert on the Volvo Penta D6 now!"

The way I read this as that the engine has either had quite a few problems (and hence you have become an expert at working on it) and/or that the engine has not had "professional servicing" since the end of it's warranty period as you have serviced it yourself (and learnt as you went along?). I'm sure this isn't the case and I apologise if this offends you, but it may be worth simplifying the ad to say something like "engine serviced annually". Interested buyers would probably discuss this in depth with you anyway when viewing or making an offer.
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+1 I read that comment the same way. it raises a question mark and is best omitted.
 
Offshore Powerboats and Berthon. Chris Harridge is your man, a true professional and knows the marque well , this gives buyers confidence and will enhance your sales prospects.

[/QUOTE]
+1
 
She's a fine looking boat.

One thing I noticed - all your images are of a very high resolution, even though they're only displayed at about 10% of their full size. It can make the pages slow to load and leaves a bad impression on perspective purchasers.
If you reduce the size of the image initially loaded the lower resolution won't be noticeable on the main page and then create a link behind the image to load the high resolution one. I always love the option of seeing huge photos of a boat.
It might be ridiculous but people associate the quality of the product with the quality of the website.

You might need to delete your browsing history to see how loading the page for the first time looks.

Best of luck with your Nordhavn search - I'm going a bit green here...
 
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