Selling boats

[bluevelvet]

I have just spend a hour looking at yachts for sale as I do on a regular basis and I think that there are an awful lot of yachts that are still on the market after one or more years,why dont these owners reduce their prices to allow a sale?I f the cost of marinas/storage and ongoing maintence is factored in. Selling a year ago at a more realistic price must surely be worthwhile.Boats have maybe become a bit like houses where owners think that prices keep going up.again I believe that this is not the case and a more level headed approach is required

 

[Whitelighter]

I think some put them on the market on a sort of 'if I can get that I'll sell, if not I wont' basis. Also, I have found brokers often forget to update the external sales sites as well as their own. If they have an account, the adverts will stay forever until deleted. If they have sold the boat and forgotton the add, they may never go...

 

[cgull]

Mines been for sale for 2 yrs and I have seen 3 of the same boats sold in that time, all at more money than mine. And mine is always clean and shiny....

 

[bluevelvet]

In your shoes I would find that strange but at lower values I think people tend to buy locally.Regards John

 

[Lakesailor]

I can only assume that you are not marketing it well.
It doesn't matter how fabulous your boat is. If no one knows that it won't attract punters.
I've sold 4 boats on Boats and Outboards in the past 4 years and each has been at or near the asking price. I'm not claiming to have made a profit, but at least I've sold it at it's market value.
You need an aspirational picture. There has to be a reason someone clicks on your ad. Best is a pic of the boat in motion taken by someone else. People are not buying a lump of plastic or wood, but an experience.

SOLD

 

[tyce]

mind you that forestay looks a bit slack, lakey

 

[Csail]

In my case i don't actually want to sell the boat but everything i own is for sale at the right price.

 

[Alfie168]

Lake Sailor says " People are not buying a lump of plastic "

Is that where I went wrong??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Tim

 

[LymingtonPugwash]

We used to have an extremely successful new boat and brokerage business on the South Coast and I always drummed into the staff's minds that "we are not selling boats, we are selling dreams".... so in all of our adverts, pictures and discussions with the potential buyers, we would reflect that.....
So in short, look at your advert again, at the descriptions, at the photos and see how it reflects that...... then get a friend who will be honest with you and doesn't know your boat to look at those things and tell you if they get the picture!
Also, make sure that there are plenty of crisp, clear, uncluttered pictures of the boat...... you can almost not have too many pics when selling a boat. Not just the general inside shots, but close ups of important bits and dreamy pics of the boat under sail.....
Finally, my pet peeve whenever I have been looking to buy a boat..... include clear pictures of the underwater profile with the keel and rudder config!

Those things combined with a reasonable price will always ensure a good and speedy sale.

Okay..... I've finished, you can wake up now /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[oughtoc]

I'm a web gazer too. No pic, no click. lots of detail is better. I do agree though, some read better than others. I have to say there doesn't seem to be a big movement in the market - I look at classics a lot and they are pretty much all for sale still. I'm still saving up for mine, ad cruising is the closest I can come to learning about the boats and market without tire kicking.

 

[bluedragon]

As another post said some weeks back, the worst offenders for boring / uninspiring boat details are the brokers. You get a list of inventory (that every other boat also has), one pic if you're lucky and no narrative that encourages the potential buyer to go any further.

 

[mikehibb]

When I was searching the adds here on YBW this summer, I was annoyed to see the same boats advertised through a number of brokers all at different prices. Of course when I enquired about one in particular and questioned the price, I was informed that the higher price was the correct one despite two other brokers having it at a couple of £k cheaper.
Needless to say I did not pursue that particular boat any further.

Re Boats and Outboards, I found that many of the adds were out of date and boats had been sold months earlier, I thought that B&O used to have a button to click on to report if boat had been sold (report to webmaster thingy) but could not find it last time I looked.

 

[fishermantwo]

[ QUOTE ]
you can almost not have too many pics when selling a boat. Not just the general inside shots, but close ups of important bits and dreamy pics of the boat under sail.....
Finally, my pet peeve whenever I have been looking to buy a boat..... include clear pictures of the underwater profile with the keel and rudder config!



[/ QUOTE ]

I am an avid fan of Yachthub in Australia and constantly check the site for the next yacht. Sometimes yachts appear at just ridiculous prices that have no hope of selling. Even well priced boats are slow movers these days. The quality, larger secondhand boats are hard to sell, it seems they are too close in price to the new plastic wonders which are easier to finance. The older expensive boats are more the realm for the cashed up buyers.

Photos are everything. More the merrier. Check out the yachts on the US e bay site, they will regularly have 20 or more.
If you are selling a yacht on yachthub, do not copy write the pictures. When I look at prospective yachts I enlarge the pictures, copy them in a picture programme so that I can study them in full screen detail. Its important when some of these boats are a couple of thousand miles away.