Overvalued Used Boats

[Lakesailor]

I keep an eye on eBay and Boats and Outboards and such and am continually amazed at the unrealistically high prices people are looking for. Usually for boats near the end of their life, not particularly smart and generally in need of a lot of work.
I saw this one on Ebay and This One and wondered who would start the bidding at £4K for a rather dumpy, unattractive, boat with an air-cooled diesel and painted guardrails or a rather unloved looking launch that needs some work doing.

I know a little grp boat with a gaff rig and similarly painted guardrails and the blessing of a BMW diesel inboard (run for your lives) for sale at Ullswater for £3K, also without a nibble.

I'm not suggesting they make charitable donations, but when you see what cracking little boats you can get for this kind of money, it does make you wonder.

Or am I wrong?

 

[adrianm]

A lot of people put their boats on at high prices knowing there is always someone around who will pay it. Lots of muppets with too much disposable income around these days.

Also whenever I've sold a boat I've always put it on for a lot more than I expect so when I get knocked down by people who niggle over every scratch I still get a decent sale.

 

[Richard10002]

Boats, Houses, Cars.... I guess it boils down to greed, ignorance, or bad advice, or a combination of the three.

The last boat my father sold, the broker suggested £49,995, expecting to get around £40K-£45K. Nobody viewed until he dropped the price to £39,995, and he ultimately got about £32K less fees.

Brokers and agents sometimes/often tell you what they think you want to hear so they get the business, rather than one of their competitors.... then they hope they still have it when it sells for the right price.

 

[VicS]

I wonder if people realise what they are buying sometimes on e-Bay or how much things are really worth.

I have an old Vovo Penta 51 (5hp) outboard from 1978 which I pensioned off in 1985 because it was so temperamental. Being a single cylinder air cooled engine it was also noisy and vibrated the whole boat. It does still go and recently did a season for a friend who was temporarily in need of an engine but I would not expect to get more than a few tens of pounds for it, if that. The same and similar engines were also badged Archimedes Penta or Crescent.

A while back there was one for sale on e-bay which fetched several hundred. It did look in good condition but there was no way it was worth anything like the final price. Maybe someone thought it was a 51hp but anyone with any clue would have known from the photo that it was nothing like that. Heaven knows whether they paid up or not.

 

[Windy]

E-Bay is overpriced.

I got this Vivacity 24 thru a broker here in Cankuckistan for $4,000 Cdn.....
the extra equipment was worth near that........

My wife and i have had a great summer cruising (retired you know)

Bit of a comedown from my last boat of 20 years ago which was 38 ft

 

[Parsonsheath]

If you keep an eye on boats for sale on ebay you must see how many fail to "reach reserve" and re appear with monotonous regularity.

Not just ebay tho, many folk seem to believe their own hopes, and at the end of the day it is only worth what someone will pay, if you are prepared to sell that low!

We are amazed at prices for our own type, would love to believe they could make it!

 

[Ecosse120]

Totally agree, I know of a boat for sale for £9,000. My friend reckons it is worth about £3,500 tops. Funniest thing is the owner has payed out £6,000 to keep it for the past 3 years on the marina hard. Hasn't even been able to sail it.

 

[David_Jersey]

Was chatting to a mate today when onboard his CI22 (ended up at the Minkies for no real reason /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif), he has been talking about selling it for a while (a great a Seaboat for him to have learnt on over the last 3/4 years, but neither big emough or fast enough). I was suggesting to him that as an interim measure (until he no doubt splashes out on something bigger) and so he doesn't end up boatless (and I get something for whizzing around the bay /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) that we share something cheap and fastish (a bit of cabin and an O/B) along the lines of a Fletcher 18.

Went down the Yacht Club on one of my biannual visits and drove past this one Fletcher Faro

which is now on Trailer ashore, if he gets anywhere near the asking price I will eat my hat. To be generous the described condition may have been accurate when first put on the market.........although in that case this would have been several years ago?? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

All I can say for sure is that it has been for sale for a good few months at least.