What d'you do when she must go, but can't be sold?

[Greenheart]

Thank you, I believe I may end up trying everything, whether it be an internet site I'd never heard of, or a note on a club noticeboard.

I daresay somebody somewhere is probably already looking to find a cheap old boat like mine, as keenly as I was myself in 2013...

...the trouble is, few folk are eccentric enough to want a big, heavy old racing dinghy fit largely for non-racing purposes...and locating that person is much harder than asking the usual loyal class fans, or racers of any description.

Dinghy sailing is dominated by racing, and a large racing boat of an age and condition better suited to uncompetitive idling, nevertheless retains its sprightly handling and is both more fun but less practical than a Wayfarer. Of course I know it's still an awful lot of fun for a fraction of Wayfarer money, but that isn't generally recognised.

 

[Kelpie]

We sold our previous yacht though Facebook. As others have said, it generates a lot of no-hoper replies. But the person who eventually bought her initially contacted us through FB. I also had (free) adverts on boats and outboards and Apollo Duck, which generated more serious replies but ultimately did not lead to a sale.

 

[steveeasy]

It certainly wasn't my own first instinct. I barely use FB myself - I think I only have the account because for a long time it was the only way to text a relative abroad, using the Messenger app.

My Osprey's advert in the FB 'Marketplace' has drawn four enquiries over two weeks.

FB always seems to be a mass of photographs accompanied by weak witticisms and very little coherent or meaningful wording. If what you seek is somewhere down that endless uncategorised scroll of nonsense, it's much harder work to find than it would be in a forum like this. If it's the way of the future, I'm glad not to be young.

Hi..
I agree completely with you about content on Facebook compared to website forums. The very sad fact is Facebook is ruining very good forums. I also am not a fan of the covert bitching that goes on Facebook sites. You simply don’t seam to get that element on webbased forums as much.



however Facebook like it or not is a very powerful tool to sell anything. Be it a boat or a business.. every and anyone now uses Facebook to market and sell anything and everything. If you don’t use it. (Not you personally) then your market is massively limited.
Steveeasy

 

[dunedin]

Like others here, I am no fan of Facebook but when recently looking to buy an Optimist dinghy is was Facebook where most of the boats were and where we bought from.

 

[Greenheart]

Sure, I believe it, although I can't understand FB's popularity, and how it has not only complemented but actually taken the place of what had been entirely clear and much more effective means of swapping information.

Imagine if all the content of the YBW forum was visible only as an endless, unrolling, self-renewing series of the most recently-added photographs and videos with little or no text to clarify their subject, because it was assumed you'd rather look at the latest couple of pictures than glance down a clear index of written themes.

However, the FB 'Marketplace' seems slightly more logical than the tedious two-dimensional stream-of-semiconsciousness which dominates most FB groups' pages.

Just the same, I wonder if, as has been suggested, the breadth of FB readership means I'm mainly getting enquiries from characters without any foreknowledge of boats, who'll retreat as quickly as they appeared when faced with the reality.

 

[pyrojames]

I used Facebook's group "Dinghies and dinghy bits" to sell an RS Tera, and a spare boat trailer. It was the only place I got any genuine interest in either item.

 

[Whaup367]

Sure, I believe it, although I can't understand FB's popularity, and how it has not only complemented but actually taken the place of what had been entirely clear and much more effective means of swapping information.

Imagine if all the content of the YBW forum was visible only as an endless, unrolling, self-renewing series of the most recently-added photographs and videos with little or no text to clarify their subject, because it was assumed you'd rather look at the latest couple of pictures than glance down a clear index of written themes.

However, the FB 'Marketplace' seems slightly more logical than the tedious two-dimensional stream-of-semiconsciousness which dominates most FB groups' pages.

Just the same, I wonder if, as has been suggested, the breadth of FB readership means I'm mainly getting enquiries from characters without any foreknowledge of boats, who'll retreat as quickly as they appeared when faced with the reality.

I feel the same way about "learning through youtube videos"... Really? Yes, an occasional vid is helpful to show a particular point (just as photos are better than text sometimes. But otherwise... what a spectacular waste of time!!!

..but there's a big critical mass factor with FB. No point in a great ad with no eyes on it.

 

[northwind]

Unfortunately your biggest issue is lack of road trailer, which will limit interest as anyone wanting to take it away first has to find a suitable trailer, adding considerably to the cost and will make it less appealing as a cheap purchase.

 

[Greenheart]

As a venue for advertising, I do accept FB's point and its advantageous breadth of reach and influence.

As an attempt to subsume thoroughly approachable, clear, proven forms of specific group discussion, it is dire.

It's especially inexplicable that fora which worked as well as ours here, are barely touched now by the very people who benefited from them, previously. What improvement can group members detect in FB, over a previous system that was so much more fit for the purposes of detailed, categorised discussion?

Once I've let the Osprey fly, I'll close my FB account and be happy again.

 

[Wansworth]

Sometimes a simple add in the local yacht club or newsagent can reach your buyer

 

[Skysail]

There is a Facebook group called Classic and Vintage Dinghy Racing Association which seems to be fairly active for selling.

 

[Greenheart]

Significantly and perhaps thankfully, that group is not limited to Facebook!

They seem to have a whole website, complete with a proper forum: CVRDA – Classic & Vintage Racing Dinghy Association – Classic & Vintage Racing Dinghy Association

 

[chris-s]

Sold our Pegasus 700 on FB in under 48 hours. First saw our new boat on FB but was also with a broker so ended up buying it thru the broker. Have since bought and sold a few bits very quickly and without hassle thru FB.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Have you tried 'boatsandoutboards.co.uk ' I've sold my previous three boats on there, but it was about 14 years ago.

 

[wombat88]

Significantly and perhaps thankfully, that group is not limited to Facebook!

They seem to have a whole website, complete with a proper forum: CVRDA – Classic & Vintage Racing Dinghy Association – Classic & Vintage Racing Dinghy Association

I'm sorry to say that the website is now very quiet indeed, and the activity is now mostly on FB.

However, the Dinghy Cruising Association is alive and well on both!

 

[NealB]

Please, no funny scuttling quips.

I was ready to give away my Achilles 24 three years ago, because there was so little interest in the Apollo Duck advert - which was clear and descriptive, complete with pretty good photos.

I didn't want to keep paying marina fees, so I had reached the stage where it was cheaper for me to hand the boat over to a new owner for nothing, rather than pay a whopping fee for responsible scrapping - which certainly would have been a sad waste of a perfectly useable boat.

In the end I agreed to accept a token sum from the only guy who had shown significant interest. I was as glad for myself as I was for him, and for the boat.

Now, the same story is happening again. I haven't launched my Osprey for years and I seem to have grown prematurely feeble while she has seemingly gained weight. I don't want to injure myself proving the point, so the boat must go...

...and while I feel genuine affection for her, I don't want my own sailing in other boats to be held up by the Osprey's delayed departure. The trouble is, how the hell do I get rid of her?

Adverts on Facebook and Yachts & Yachting have drawn very few enquiries, which quickly went cold. Apollo Duck is next, though perhaps it should have been first. Failing that, it seems like the happy Osprey years may end sadly with a couple of carloads of scrap fibreglass at the tip.

It's especially unfortunate because I know darned well that I've searched again and again over the years for expensive items like spars and centreboards, and never found them anywhere. Now, when in the last resort I'd give mine away, there seems to be no-one to benefit from them.

It's a useful (in fact, vital) thing to remember when I look for my next boat, that if it is cheap to buy because it's not a popular style or not in a standard condition, it may be virtually impossible to shift later.

So tempting ..... but she'd be too much of a distraction, for me, just now.

I've mentioned this thread to some members of BSC and CSC.

I've had great success, over the last few years, with selling bigger boats through classified ads. on ebay.

Good luck: she's a real beauty.