Selling A Boat On eBay

[Lakesailor]

I am looking around the boat sales sites at the moment and came across this Colvic which is a boat I've often thought charming.
But it really baffles me that people who want to sell something present it so badly. Some people don't even include a picture, which is guaranteeing that they won't get a very wide audience.
Some that do take pics don't do the simplest things to improve the desirability of their craft.
Look at this. I know your own boat may be less than immaculate, but surely you'd have a little tidy up?

 

[Pinnacle]

I guess maybe they don't really want to sell ( but have made the minimum effort, perhaps so they can say to SWMBO, "look, I have tried to sell it" ).

Alternatively, and I prefer this one, they just don't think........

 

[Dyflin]

It really amazes me too. What's even more incredible is that I've seen brokers advertise similarly neglected boats and charged the owner good money to do so.

As you mentioned, the other thing that makes me wonder is people selling boats for relatively large sums of money and not even including one picture of the boat in question. All I can say is it must be a sellers market...

 

[ChrisE]

That picture would be typical of our craft after a tidy up....

And whilst I'm on the subject have you noiticed how the galley area is kept immaculate by, ahem, one member of the crew, removing the unwanted items and dumping them on the chart table?

 

[Sans Bateau]

I have heard of boats being handed over to a broker with washing up in the sink and dirty cloths still in the cabins.

If I understand correctly what you are saying, to me either of these examples says to a potential buyer "I didn't bother to look after the boat when I owned her"

 

[Channel Ribs]

It will be interesting to see what she goes for...

 

[DanTribe]

It's often no better if you visit in person.
I looked at some boats at a large east coast brokerage. One was complete with a half eaten sandwich and toothpaste on a toothbrush, all covered in furry moss.
Another had 2ft of rainwater inside and a strong smell of mushrooms.
It was obvious that the brokers had never been aboard, even though they were only yards from his office.

 

[capt_courageous]

Hi
When we were last looking for a boat many of them were in that sort of condition. As a lad I used to deliver for an old fashioned grocer - primordial Sainsbury - Hovis bike and everything. I learnt then that you could never predict what people's houses were like inside. If they don't care about a house what chance for a tidy boat.

 

[Cliveshep]

Nothing wrong with that picture, they've got an essential item of equipment - the ash tray, plus poly bags for used toilet paper (one of yesterday's posts) but why is Lakesailor's handbag left lying around in the background?

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Not just the photos but the appalling spelling and grammar - if they are trying to get someone to part with several thousand pounds, they could at least check the spelling of the ad first!

 

[doug748]

Saw a Trident for sale in the 1980's, still had the heads full and unflushed from the last season. I was not tempted.

 

[robmcg]

My father viewed a yacht last year - it had mouldy sausages under the grill. Not nice at all!!!!!!!

 

[Lakesailor]

Obviously a new TV programme idea for the daytime producers here.

Sell Your Boat! Cleanliness guru Lakesailor looks at your pathetic attempts to market your boat. Will he find a new home for your floating detritus? Will his suggestions make your bank balance smile?

 

[Capn Pugwash]

We have our Folkboat on ebay - SWMBO runs a tidy ship! If I put a spanner down to wipe my weary brow - its gone when I turn round. "Back in the toolbox where it belongs", I'm told!

Still....that Colvic looks like a really bad student squat!

Zoetje

 

[Danny Jo]

By this the vendor is indicating that he or she wants to be shot of it, and isn't too fussed about the price.

Also I suspect that some vendors know that there are buyers around who avoid boats that have been given a cosmetic makeover, on the grounds that it is harder to see the faults. Never mind the galley top, take a look at the bilges. This is what persuaded me that Freestyle was a good investment:

(I've since discovered that it's normally bone dry - the water in this picture was presumably left by the plumber who drained down the calorifier.)

If those bilges had been gleaming with new paint, I'm not sure I would have been so keen.

Perhaps it's more important for wooden boats than for GRP, but if I was buying a Folkboat built of mahogany on oak, I'd want to see photos of the hull after it had been prepared for the latest paint job, not just the finished article.

Mark

 

[Slow_boat]

You're lucky; I have to constantly nag SWMBO and darling daughter to put anything back where they find it on board. I only get away with that on safety grounds on the boat. At home I've got no chance.

 

[Capn Pugwash]

Quote:[Also I suspect that some vendors know that there are buyers around who avoid boats that have been given a cosmetic makeover, on the grounds that it is harder to see the faults. Never mind the galley top, take a look at the bilges. This is what persuaded me that Freestyle was a good investment:

If those bilges had been gleaming with new paint, I'm not sure I would have been so keen.

Perhaps it's more important for wooden boats than for GRP, but if I was buying a Folkboat built of mahogany on oak, I'd want to see photos of the hull after it had been prepared for the latest paint job, not just the finished article.

Mark

[/ QUOTE ]


Or perhaps a full survey from reputable surveyor would be better than the MK1 eyeball! Photos can be very selective!
/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
Or perhaps a full survey from reputable surveyor would be better than the MK1 eyeball! Photos can be very selective!


[/ QUOTE ]

I agree entirely. I should have made it clear that I was talking of choosing a boat worthy of a survey. Before making an offer for Freestyle, I did a lot of grovelling about in tight spaces, produced a list of things that I was concerned about, and asked the surveyor to check them out. He graciously addressed each concern and produced a very reassuring report. Reading between the lines he seemed to be saying "Chill! Cosmetics aside, you won't find a boat in much better condition that this."

Mark

 

[Searush]

Errm, why is the locker COMPLETELY cleaned out?

Methinks they have been in the middle of clearing out and then decided to take the pic without considering the consequences.

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
Errm, why is the locker COMPLETELY cleaned out?


[/ QUOTE ]

They are not lockers, and there was no sign that anything had been kept in them. The floor over the one in the fo'csle was a devil of a job to lift. I took the pictures at the time of my first viewing.

These are of the large cockpit locker:

The frames were a bit of a surprise to me, because I knew her sister ship (built a year or two later), and she had been built on temporary frames. I don't mind having a little extra strength, but they reduce the useability of the space.

Mark