What is the best way of selling a boat cheaply?

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KeironF

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In the experience of forum members where is the best place to advertise a boat online or in magazines to sell? I wish to put the boat on the market for £8500 and not overkeen to pay 8-10% to a broker if I can help it.
 
I also recommend 'boatsandoutboards' I've sold two boats via this website. Make sure your boat is well valeted, all personel items removed, make a full inventory and a CD with lots of photos, and you can send/email all the info to interested parties.
Good Luck!
 
After a few years of scouring "boats for sale"...

I have to agree with the above, especially the one about getting good photos for your advert, there's nothing more off-putting than seeing the can of cockroach killer beside the galley sink! :D
 
'What is the best way of selling a boat cheaply?'

Giving it away. Surprising how often you'll find a buyer.

PS - what is it?
 
KeironF said:
In the experience of forum members where is the best place to advertise a boat online or in magazines to sell? I wish to put the boat on the market for £8500 and not overkeen to pay 8-10% to a broker if I can help it.
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I've never sold a boat through a broker - always privately. And never failed to sell quickly. The keys are: realistic price (which means a bit below others on the market not a bit above), a thoroughly clean boat, and an advert in PBO. In one case it helped to have a survey from a dopey local surveyor since people are often too cheap to pay for their own if they think there's a survey available free. And you get to chose your own surveyor that way.

Look at it this way. If brokers are advertising for 8500 you can sell at 7950 and still be better off. The punter will see an attractive price and haggle less. You can then buy privately again cheaper than a broker.
 
KeironF said:
In the experience of forum members where is the best place to advertise a boat online or in magazines to sell? I wish to put the boat on the market for £8500 and not overkeen to pay 8-10% to a broker if I can help it.
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8-10% ??!!! WTF?

All good advice so far, boatandoutboards ads tend to produce spam/scam message but they are usually easy to spot. Righboat is also good.

Is there an owners association? That can help too.

And of course put a link in your forum sig.

Having a survey is a great idea, so long as it is not going to cost too much. It will give your buyer a tangible confidence boost.
 
This may sound obvious.There are lots of nice boats around that are just not presented properly. They're full of clutter & suffer from a lack of basic maintenance. I saw one boat that had flaking antifoul & was dirty outside. Iside just couldn't be seen properly as eveything was just thrown in. What I did see was mouldy lockers & a mess. In fact jjust like everyone's boat at the end of the winter layup. But what was evident was the owner didn't care.

It needs to stand out from the crowd. So make sure the photos look good & the description is accurate & positive. A photo of a saloon for instance looks far better if teh table is layed, or there's an almanac on the nav table. That's how to get someone to see the boat.

Once they are there, the first outside impression really does count. So, it needs to be thoroughly clean & tidy. Expect every nook & cranney to be investigated. Try to remove all personal stuff & present the boat as it's being sold. That presents a problem if it still being used but at least make it tidy. When I bought my current boat I saw lots of the same model. Most were in a horrible state. Some owners were obviously very proud of their boats. But you make a decision that you're not interested very quickly. You decide to buy slowly (some don't!!!).

So some obvious stuff: clean out the lockers, clean out the bilges, antifoul if it's ashore, clean off the bird poo from the decks, remove any waterline stains etc etc.

Also have a nice file of info prepared: photos, details of any recent work done, new equipment etc. This shows the boat was cared for.

Do this & you'll stand out from the crowd & have a good chance of selling.
 
Pictures....hmmmm.

Lots of peeps here saying how important the pictures are....

I wonder.... would people be willing to pay to have someone go down, and do proper profesional pictures which included dressing and tidying the scene??

I see so many pictures on the web that are ****... and have rubbish in the frame...etc etc... and I think... for a couple of hundred quid I could go down there and do a proper job... lighting... clean... tidy away... ......

Gotta be worth that???
 
KeironF said:
In the experience of forum members where is the best place to advertise a boat online or in magazines to sell? I wish to put the boat on the market for £8500 and not overkeen to pay 8-10% to a broker if I can help it.
Click to expand...

If a broker is prepared to take it then you should consider it. It is to an extent irrelevant what you have to pay him. All that is important is what you get net after the sale.

Remember you are paying a broker to get away from all the hassle and cost of selling it yourself. Depending on your individual circumstances the £6-700 the broker gets out of the deal may be a bargain compared with what you have to do to get a sale! Many buyers prefer to go to a broker to avoid the hassle of dealing with individuals.

Think about it If he can sell it for £9000 you get the same as if you are advertising at £8500 and carrying the cost of advertising and having to deal with all the enquirers who don't turn up, try and screw you and then don't have the money anyway. On the other hand if your boat is in high demand you might get lucky!
 
If your upholstery in the saloon has seen better days, then buy some nice cushions, spread them around and then no one will notice ;)
 
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