Selling a boat on Ebay?

catlotion

catlotion

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We're thinking of selling our boat and I was wondering about putting it on Ebay. I sell a lot of things through the site, but slightly apprehensive about the process of selling the boat as have had some negative experiences when selling cars there.

Does anyone have any good/bad experiences of the process?

I would expect a few timewasters but wouldn't want to trawl all the way to Windermere to get let down by people... There's also the legal aspect of the sale which I've always left to the broker...

thanks
 
We have just been selling a boat through both Ebay and broker facilities.

The feedback we got from visitors who had seen it on both Ebay and the broker website was that seeing it on the broker website gave them confidence in the boat. So just as you are not confident in the buyers you get through Ebay, the buyers are not confident in the sellers!

In the end the sale turned out to be a "walk-by" sale anyway!
 
Use an Ebay Classified advert, plus a Boats and Outboards and Apollo Duck as well.
Once you have decided to sell what's to lose? You are not committed because someone has turned up to view the boat. They have to make a first contact to find out where you are and you can get a feel for them at that point.

Rather depends on the sort of price you are looking for. If it's a weighty amount you need to safeguard yourself. However the fact it's on the lake means that your boat is pretty secure against theft.
 
PS.

We had about 5 responses from an Ebay classified:

1. one completely stupid (why would I want to swap my boat for two motorcycles!)
2. one low (but not unreasonable offer) but as it was on day one of advert I let it run
3. one offer at the right level but having gone though the process of arranging test run etc. disappeared.
4. one who phoned and said he really liked Larsons (our was a Bayliner) and when he came to view said it was not what he wanted.
5. one who loved it but had to wait 8 weeks to get the money so told us to come back to him if it didn't sell (so he has missed it)
 
Sold last,two boats via Apollo Duck. Had both of them on both eBay and AD with zero response from eBay. I have over 350 100% positive feedback so that wasn't the issue. Maybe everyone on eBay is looking for a cheapie? Apollo Duck customers may be more serious.
 
When I was trying to sell my Hunter 490 (before I sailed her and decided she was too nice to sell) I had her advertised on both Apollo Duck and eBay. They generated the same general number of enquiries, the same inane question and the same total lack of actual purchasers. For which I am, in retrospect, glad. I have sold three cars and a sailing dinghy on eBay without problems.

Favourite inane Hunter question: "Would she be OK to sail from Galloway to Dublin?" Well yes, if you are happy to do it in a 16' boat with no interior.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Favourite inane Hunter question: "Would she be OK to sail from Galloway to Dublin?" Well yes, if you are happy to do it in a 16' boat with no interior.
Click to expand...

Equalling or beating that, enquiry about a lift keel Sun Odyssey 32, "Would it be OK to sail to the Caribbean?" It's a boat with many good points for the right use but ......

However, 5 years ago I did sell a boat successfully for £23k through an ebay classified, having waited 3 months while the buyer sold his existing boat, also through ebay I think. Ebay did also produce the crazy exchange offers (vintage car etc) and "will you take £12k for a quick sale?" chancers. Also got response through Apollo Duck.

I sold the Sun Od through Apollo Duck I think, or it might have been ebay, less than a month from ad to gone.

Boats and outboards, no results either time.
 
Having sold a laser on Appolo Duck, the final sale was fine decent folk and no problems I had a fair number of real goons who were a real distraction as although it was clear they were time wasters they kept sending further email excuses or idiot questions. On the otherhand for other things Ebay has been very good and good customers.

I think in general selling on line attracts more idiots than classified etc but you get a wide range of potential buyers.
 
In think that ebay may attract many viewers who are just browsing as a way of whiling away a rainy afternoon. They may not be boaters but may be dreamers. Apollo Duck, boats and outboards and the like are probably more suitable sites for selling a boat although ebay attracts huge amounts of viewers. I've bought and sold several things on ebay including big ticket items like cars with (usually) no problems.
 
I bought my boat through eBay, sort of.

Saw boat on eBay. Emailed seller some questions, he offered to talk on phone. We set up a dialogue. I wanted to arrange a survey, so for a £500 returnable deposit he took item offeBay while survey was arranged. I made offer outside eBay, and bobs your uncle.

I would have thought anyone buying a boat off eBay would not just blindly bid, but follow a similar route ?
 
Not a first hand experience but friends returned from 18 months sailing a month ago, sold their yacht after a week on eBay and a few days later, after securing their funds, are now in France collecting their next yacht. Don't price yourself out of the sale. It's a buyers' market.
 
I have sold about 10 boats on ebay, from an inflatable to a sportscruiser and in general boat buyers are much better behaved than car buyers.

You will get the biggest response from an auction rather than a classified. Usual things apply, be honest, lots of information and pictures and if you can a couple of videos as well.
 
landlockedpirate said:
.....You will get the biggest response from an auction rather than a classified. Usual things apply, be honest, lots of information and pictures and if you can a couple of videos as well.
Click to expand...

I've begun to use classifieds for larger items such as boat/car/camper as they are better value, no Ebay fees beyond the ad price and it runs for a month IIRC.
You also keep control of the selling process, no worrying if a good set of bids may vanish after the auction ends
 
NickRobinson said:
I've begun to use classifieds for larger items such as boat/car/camper as they are better value, no Ebay fees beyond the ad price and it runs for a month IIRC.
You also keep control of the selling process, no worrying if a good set of bids may vanish after the auction ends
Click to expand...

Yep, agree with everything you say. However I have noticed that auctions get 3 to 4 times more views and watchers than classified ads will.

I advertised a Zodiac on there in summer, classified ad with a price of £1500, no takers.

Last week put the same boat on with 99p start and no reserve, sold for £1570 and picked up 2 days later by a guy from the Scottish Isles
 
I bourght my boat on eBay.

Seller had loads of promises but we were the only people to actually turn up on viewing day. Made a decent offer, agreed and paid on the day. Sailed back with the previous owner. Good experience all round.
 
That's the point. it's not the medium that matters, it's the people who you get answering the ads.
You have to be prepared for dipsticks as well as serious buyers. No advertising media guarantees good buyers, not even brokers.

I sold a boat to a bloke who was a serious buyer.
The previous potential buyer seemed as good. However he only had a 1 hour trip to see the boat so it wasn't a big deal for him to mess me about and whilst he made all the proper noises he avoided the closing signals ("So, do you want to buy the boat?") and retreated to consult the financial overlord. The next day he emailed to say the boat was not as perfect as he wanted.
I replied saying that I hadn't realised he wanted a new boat and that a 23 year-old boat would obviously not be up to the mark. What a knob-head.

The eventual buyer made a train journey from Surrey to see it and bought it, returning 3 weeks later to tow it away. He got a great boat and I helped him with lots of small details before he collected it (like fitting new trailer bearings for his long journey).

There are genuine buyers out there.
 
Before we set off on our adventures, we sold a lot of 'stuff' via eBay. For smaller items (likely selling price up to about£750) we used the auction format and found it great. Selling cars, motorbikes and our previous small mobo, we used classified ads. We sold both cars, the bike and the boat to sellers who phoned, talked through the item, turned up with cash in hand and, luckily, departed with their new toys.
On the other hand, I'm not too sure about selling a larger boat via eBay, as it tends to fall a bit outside the norm fore the site. Apollo duck sounds a better bet for say a 12m sailing boat.
 
I tried selling a car twice on ebay and gave up. Not great for sellers but excellent for the sort of buyer who makes a high bid on multiple items and then decides which one to follow through, while ignoring invoice requests from the others. On the third attempt I decided to demand a deposit via paypal, then worked out their eye watering fees and thought better of it.
There are an awful lot of time wasters out there. Stick to the boaty sites or stick a for sale sign in the window.
 
I've bought and sold boats on Ebay. My main problem with selling was that I kept getting retracted bids from random people who hadn't contacted me or viewed the boat at the yard. I believe this was an attempt by someone to put the high bidder off so she made less money. I reported this to ebay and received no response whatsoever. In the end she sold herself for a much higher price than the original high bidder so it didn't matter but I had to answer many emails asking what was wrong with the boat and why had these people retracted their bids.
My advice would be that if you intend to sell there then be SUPER clear about all the details of the item and make sure you state clearly how you want paying and that you will not accept P/X or anything. One guy tried to offer me his art collection and website as payment!
 
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