do people strip before they sell?

firstascent2002

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If you had a well founded but old boat to sell...would you market her for alittle more than you hoped for in the knowledge you would get chipped or would you strip everything you could out of it then sell it cheap as a bargin?

Just of the top of my head I can think of a sea feather wind vane, tiller pilot, wallas heater, taylors stove and spares ++, rutland913 + pole + reg, liferaft, ridgid and inflatiable tenders, ob, life raft...and it goes on...

I think I could get about 3 to 4 K for all the bits and then sell the boat as a bargin?

What do you think? I have to sell her before next spring at all costs!
 
I think either is fine; the price will reflect the situation. People do both depending on whether they're giving up sailing or have a new boat to fit out.

Pete
 
Some do, some don't.

Loads of gear makes it quicker to sell but generally doesn't up the price much, but no gear makes it very hard to sell as teh new owner has to add the cost of that stuff new onto the purchase price.

You could think carefully about what the average potential buyer will use.

You have 2 heaters, & 2 tenders, one of each would be fine. But I have sold boats without a tender at all. If the new owner uses marinas, they don't need a tender.

One "trick" might be to not list all the extras & then use them as bargaining chips. Buyer says, "I need to buy a tender as well" You respond, "pay my price & I will throw one in free".

If you list it all & buyer offers too low a price, counter by saying, yes but not with x, y & z. Buyer may then negotiate higher price to include the bits he actually wants & you keep the rest.

All sales are the individual result of negotiations between two different people, a sale only occurs if both agree on a deal. No-one can set rules for a given sale, except the seller & the buyer - & if there is no agreement, there is no sale.
 
If you are going to take off items like stoves and heaters then you do need to replace & tidy up to a high standard, compliant with requirements (eg. Gas). I bought before I sold and the transfer of gear and hardware saved a large pile of £££ but the remedial work on the boat to be sold cannot be skimped and took me a good few days
 
As has been said, it's good to be open to deals around the extras.
If the buyer is trading up, he may already have a tender, safety equipment etc.

Sometimes it's good to include stuff which is in good condition but has a limited life, like lifejackets. I had a couple that had only been used a few times but were more than halfway through their service life. More use to the buyer than to me.

Extra stuff like odd mooring warps, excess fenders etc are often better removed as they make the boat look cluttered and the storage limited.

Whatever you do, make sure there is an agreed inventory, you don't want ill feeling on handover day about whether some £50 gadget is included.
 
Whatever you do, make sure there is an agreed inventory, you don't want ill feeling on handover day about whether some £50 gadget is included.

Simplest way to solve that would be to take everything that you're not selling off the boat before anyone ever looks at her.

Pete
 
Simplest way to solve that would be to take everything that you're not selling off the boat before anyone ever looks at her.

Pete

May not be ideal if you intend to use the boat while it is for sale.
If it's ashore in a used boat show, I'd suggest removing everything which is not bolted down.

One point is that selling extras separately means they are not subject to the broker's commission.

There is a danger that 5 years after you sell your boat, you still have a garage half full of the bits you kept...
 
people are greedy. You only need to look at the queues at January sale time, or sailors triumphantly carrying rubbish away from Beaulieu . So I reckon the best way is to take off the boat all the bits that can be described as expensive extras ( that doesnt include stove or tiller pilot - those are basics) leaving behind the things you wont get much for on EBay. And then price the boat cheap - you can always imagine an extra interested buyer to drive the price a bit above what you are asking.

But if you really "have" to sell then dont mess about gradually slicing bits off the asking price as you get more desperate. Its a buyers market and you need to be cheap to sell quick.
 
My attitude is that most of what is with the boat in extras can go with the boat-some came with it plus some additions of mine.
Personally I dislike those individuals who even remove light bulbs when selling their home!
 
or you can indicate an offer price "depending on inventory"

then provide an attached list for tender, OB engine, windvane, etc with their prices (say 1/2 of new ? or whatever)

the prospective buyer would sum the various things up, the amount then becomes the beginning of negotiation



instead of "what about xxx thousands" it turns to "what about including the OB engine", opens more doors to finding an acceptable solution for both seller and buyer :)
 
When I sell my boat just about everything that is normally on it , except personal things, will go with it.

If I was buying a replacement there would be some things I'd transfer to the new one... tools for instance.
 
Keep everything on

Make the boat as attractive a buy as possible you don’t say if you are buying another then you may wish to hold onto some of the equipment. Taking all the bits n pieces off and selling separately may get you a few hundred pounds. Try selling a bare boat in the present market for what you may consider top dollar, the market is flooded with second hand boats, supply outstrips demand several times over. I would sell with as much as possible with a top end price and expect to be knocked down a bit, you say you are under some time constraint after all.
 
On all boats I've sold I've removed all the 'extras' but left the boat in a sailable condition, so a new owner could just jump aboard and sail off. I've left sufficient warps, fenders, vHF, cookers, tiller pilot, some spares for the engine for instance etc but removed all personal stuff and extras to be moved to the new boat or sold.
And I've always made sure the boat is clean & tidy befor advertising. Worked for me and sold all my previous boats quickly.
 
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