Dealing with unresponsive sellers - buying a boat

[Refueler]

In 1979 I bought a Moody 30, one of the best boats I have ever had.

Old but good boats : (note the OLD versions before take-overs / mergers etc)

Moody 30 and 30+ range
Westerly 30
Colvic Countess's

and this may surprise some - but try show me a boat that can take the punishment better in similar size :

MacWester Seaforth.

When you look at boats produced today - most are leaning well into the accommodation rather than seakeeping ... gone are the heavy layups, ample reserve bouyancy 'ends' etc.
Its not only boats .. ships have done similar ... scantlings are now used exact to the decimal mm etc.

 

[Ceirwan]

Timewaster is a very pejorative term.

It's frequently used by a vendor to detract attention from the fact that lots of people have gone to the trouble of viewing whatever item may be for sale and immediately dismissed whatever it is as a craftily misdescribed overpriced pile of junk.

Yes & I meant it as such, like I said, I'm talking about cheap boats.
Usually priced that way because they need work, are old, need refreshing etc.
Clearly if a boat is falsely advertised then its a different matter.

Its somewhat similar to selling an old car, about ten years ago I sold an old Audi A3 for £500. It was a 13 year old car, but it was high mileage & had a few issues, all of which were detailed in the advert, realistically it was worth double even with the issues it had, I just wanted a quick sale. Despite that I still had people messaging me asking questions that were already answered in the advert, people saying they would come to see it and not showing up etc, or acting surprised when the paintwork wasn't show room standard.

After a while you get a feel for the genuine buyers, I personally would (and have done) reply to anyone who contacts me about a boat I'm selling, I'm just outlining how frustrating the process could be, many want you to guarantee that the 40 year old engine will be reliable for another 10 years, or to let it stay on your mooring for a year until they 'find somewhere', I had one guy ask me if my Sadler 25 was suitable for a round the world trip. And quite a few people arrange a time to turn up and then go radio silent.

But as I say - that is a consequence of being in the low price range bracket ... people start to think ... what about having a boat etc.

I think we're in agreement here.
You get more timewasters because its at a price point affordable to many, in some cases almost throw away money, so you have to deal with a lot of people who can't even do basic research on google.

At the higher price brackets, you still get the odd timewaster, but its a lower ratio for sure.

And of course at the other end of the spectrum, you get the people selling absolute heaps but wanting mega money for them.

 

[oldharry]

And of course at the other end of the spectrum, you get the people selling absolute heaps but wanting mega money for them.

Overpricing is often reflected by the length of time its been on the market. Unrealsitic expectations lead to too many zeros in the price.

 

[wonkywinch]

Timewaster is a very pejorative term.

It's frequently used by a vendor to detract attention from the fact that lots of people have gone to the trouble of viewing whatever item may be for sale and immediately dismissed whatever it is as a craftily misdescribed overpriced pile of junk.

It gets my goat when I see countless car ads with "no timewasters". Add a couple of "first to see will buy" or "if it doesn't sell at this price, I'll keep it" and it's already summed up the vendor enough for me not to bother phoning.

 

[Ceirwan]

It gets my goat when I see countless car ads with "no timewasters". Add a couple of "first to see will buy" or "if it doesn't sell at this price, I'll keep it" and it's already summed up the vendor enough for me not to bother phoning.

Those are usually the adverts written entirely in capital letters. Or as a block of text with no punctuation or line breaks.

In my case when I talk about timewasters its mean after the fact, not before.
I agree its stupid to write it on an advert. like putting 'No scammers'. as if the would be scammer will take note and amend their behaviour!

 

[Hot Property]

Having sold a load of cars, motorcycles, etc, including a couple of yachts under 5K. I have to say you get the most time wasters looking for yachts.
I think this is due to most people not having a ‘need’ for a yacht but wanting a hobby or lifestyle. Retired people (no offence) are the worst, they even come to view, tell you their life story and then complain about everything that’s not perfect trying to get money off. With out a doubt the most time wasters are found on Facebook marketplace, even EBay is better than FB these days..
I’m not saying the OP is a time waster but it’s really easy for genuine people to get drowned out by people asking, ‘how fast does it go?’.

I've just bought a boat on marketplace.

I messaged the seller twice to no avail, then "stalked him" via other similar names publicly available. Found out where he worked. Rang and asked if he was available, I called back later and spoke to him.

He works in a marina and was acting as an informal broker.

Arranged a date to visit (on the IOW).

Took hovercraft to the island.

Met up, sea trial, offer made to owner, sale agreed.

I then dealt with the owner directly for deposit etc.

Collected the following week.

What a palava!!

BUT I have the only one of this boat on sale in the UK, in great condition and with an engine 5 years younger than I expected.

So worth persisting.

It certainly put off anyone who may have been interested....

 

[Ribtecer]

To the OP, did you get fixed up in the end?

If not I've just noticed this, and it's not far from you. Hope it's of interest;

27ft Jaguar Yacht in Edinburgh | eBay

 

[Hoist]

I've written and deleted my response a few times. Bought and sold a few boats and I am the disgruntled seller!

1. Buy local - Don't travel from Cornwall to Greenock for a £1500 boat
2. Use Google - that tells you where Greenock is in the world
3. 10 pictures is enough. 5 outside, 5 inside will give you a general condition and cover most on a small boat
4. "What's your best price?" - The best price for me is the guy who turns up and doesn't haggle. What a stupid Mike Brewer type question!!!

and most importantly

The person with cash standing in front of me is taken seriously and I am willing to make a deal

money talks!

 

[Sea Change]

Any tips on dealing with reluctant brokers? I don't know what I'm doing wrong but most of them just don't seem interested in selling the boats they list. They get basic information wrong, they don't reply to emails, they don't answer the kind of questions that the owner would have at their fingertips.

 

[Mister E]

The most annoying purchasers are the one that want money of for problems/faults that you put in the advert.

 

[Birdseye]

I finally decided to buy a small yacht. It will be my first boat so I want to buy something cheaper - up to £5k. I understand this would be a very old and small boat. I understand the condition will not be mint and it may require some touch and repairs. I expect a safe and seaworthy boat, though. I don't need a boat which will sink right after I leave the harbour with her!

I had found a few interesting ads on the Internet and I asked the sellers about some details, like their condition, osmosis, navigational equipment and some other things.

I also asked for more photos. If there is only 5 or 7 photos of the boat, I really prefer to see more. Especially because some people like to hide some problems by simply not showing them in the ad.

I thought, it is in the sellers' interest to try to convince potential buyers to buy their boats. Am I mistaken? Try to understand my position, please: if the boat is far away from my location, I need to drive/take bus/train to see her. It is obvious, I would prefer to know the condition of the boat before I waste time to travel and see that her photos from the ad arey ears old and the current condition is bad.

And my problem is: it is very hard to have anything in return, no photos, no answers! A private seller may not have time or experience how to sell a boat. But I noticed such unresponsiveness even with brokers (in this case, the boat has been for sale for over a year!). Why!?

So the question is: how to deal with boat sellers?

you are being unrealistic. For petty cash ie £5k you cannot expect a boat in good condition nor any sort of warranties from the seller. And certainly the commission on a sale at below £5k wont generate a vigorous response from the broker. Likely your queries come over to the seller as someone unrealistic or a dreamer.

 

[dunedin]

Any tips on dealing with reluctant brokers? I don't know what I'm doing wrong but most of them just don't seem interested in selling the boats they list. They get basic information wrong, they don't reply to emails, they don't answer the kind of questions that the owner would have at their fingertips.

Which country / continent are you dealing with? You know it is bad enough in the UK, but in some places there is no word for urgency, or even as urgent as “tomorrow”. Plus some may only respond to telephone - or even face to face.
Might be quicker buying in Europe and sailing across the pond again

 

[Sea Change]

Which country / continent are you dealing with? You know it is bad enough in the UK, but in some places there is no word for urgency, or even as urgent as “tomorrow”. Plus some may only respond to telephone - or even face to face.
Might be quicker buying in Europe and sailing across the pond again

I'm looking abroad, but the brokers themselves appear to be Brits. Make of that what you will

 

[webcraft]

> Whereabouts in the country are you
West of Scotland (Dundee area).

> what sort of thing did you have in mind?
A yacht, 22-27 feet. In a reasonable condition.

erm . . . think you will find Dundee is on rhe East coast

- W

 

[wallacebob]

A lot of Forth /Tay clubs and harbours will be lifting out this weekend or soon for the winter. This gives a great opportunity to have a trail around and see what’s ashore, talk to people and check the market. Most boats are sold within clubs around here. It is easier to trade up with a fellow member, and you are already in a yard, with a mooring. If you want to move a boat tho’, you might need to wait until spring as a full yard at these small harbours usually means difficult/no crane or HIAB access. You wait until they all crane back in April.

 

[dgadee]

A lot of Forth /Tay clubs and harbours will be lifting out this weekend or soon for the winter. This gives a great opportunity to have a trail around and see what’s ashore, talk to people and check the market. Most boats are sold within clubs around here. It is easier to trade up with a fellow member, and you are already in a yard, with a mooring. If you want to move a boat tho’, you might need to wait until spring as a full yard at these small harbours usually means difficult/no crane or HIAB access. You wait until they all crane back in April.

True. Someone called at the club gate and said he was looking for a boat. No experience but I brought him in, showed him around and gave him an idea of a beginner/Forth boat, pointed out one boat where health problems had arisen. Sale was agreed within days. He spent the winter turning it into a very nice boat.

There are several boats (not twin keel) which would do better over in West for someone prepared to clean them up.