Best way of selling a project boat.

James W

James W

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Due to work and family pressures i've finally had enough and the boat has got to go. The problem is that she's still a project boat. She's got some nice shiny bits, a trailer and a brand new engine but she not in commission, the engine's not fitted and will still require a fair bit of work to finish her.

So what's the best way to sell her?

Should I sell the engine separately? If I do sell the engine separately, the boat is surely pretty much worthless (apart from the trailer)?
Or should I just chuck everything i've ever bought for her in the cabin, photograph it and put her on ebay as a job lot?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

.........next time (when i'm retired) shoot me if I buy another boat with a crappy engine. Actually, I think i might have said that before! :confused:
 
James W said:
Should I sell the engine separately? If I do sell the engine separately, the boat is surely pretty much worthless (apart from the trailer)?
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I'd list everything except the engine on eBay, starting at £5, and say in the listing that anyone buying it can have the engine for another <insert reasonable price her>.
 
worth more separately sell it all ...then sell what's left cheap to get rid of it as a project
Marine engines are worth loads especially a new one
 
Depends on how much (more) effort you want to invest.

I was once in need of a quick resolution and found myself saying to the only caller... 'name your price'.. He said don't want it, I repeated, and he bought it for £25.. Cleared my drive though.

Sell the bits separately for max return..
 
NickRobinson said:
Depends on how much (more) effort you want to invest.

I was once in need of a quick resolution and found myself saying to the only caller... 'name your price'.. He said don't want it, I repeated, and he bought it for £25.. Cleared my drive though.

Sell the bits separately for max return..
Click to expand...

I think it's going to be engine first and then boat + trailer. If nothing else, someone might be keen on the trailer.
 
If you auction anything on ebay be sure to consider the starting bid carefully. If you set one too low people will probably think that what you are selling is rubbish. I made that mistake twice .....
 
Conversely don't start too high - it will deter bidders. I sold my merc recently with 99p start and got £1400. What engine have you got?
TradewindSailor said:
If you auction anything on ebay be sure to consider the starting bid carefully. If you set one too low people will probably think that what you are selling is rubbish. I made that mistake twice .....
Click to expand...
 
The eBay starting price rather depends on what you are selling. If you are selling something with wide appeal say a modern mobile phone them I think starting at a low price and letting it find its value is ok.

If selling something of limited appeal (for me it was some of my pro audio gear) I tend to price it for the minimum I want for it.

With stuff I just want to clear that may be of use to someone then I price to cover the effort and cost involved.

I would as others have said be inclined to sell boat and trailer first. The engine will always sell.
 
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ghostlymoron said:
Conversely don't start too high - it will deter bidders. I sold my merc recently with 99p start and got £1400. What engine have you got?
Click to expand...

I agree. I put a 'on sale elsewhere, may be removed at any time' in the ad to make my intentions clear and fair to potential bidders and start at 99p.

A yacht has been on Ebay for weeks, he starts at 15000, gets one (slightly suspect) bid. The auction ends and he repeats the process. Over and over....
 
Good tips from all, thanks for that. I think i'll just start the auction at the cost of the mast top electronics (£300.00) and then let it run. How you word the engine situation though I don't know.

Perhaps just "brand new Nanni engine available by separate negotiation"?
 
Your biggest difficulty will be selling an engineless boat. On its own the boat is worth very little, and if you start selling the bits you may well end up with a hull you can't get rid of. On the other hand if you sell as a package you are likely to get your money back for your new engine and get somebody to take the rest away. You can get an up and running boat of that size and type (although without a new engine) for less than £5k so you have to give potential buyers an incentive to consider your kit of bits.
 
The boat and trailer in their current condition are likely to be worth less than the sum of their parts so dismantle your boat and sell the parts separately. Sell the engine separately too - just like you, it's buyer won't want to be saddled with the boat and trailer.
 
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