Selling a Boat for the First Time...Help Needed, Please

[calphi27]

So here is the short story. My uncle purchased a boat approx 12 years ago. He gutted it, added a swim deck, electronics, carbon fiber sails, etc; a process that took him 10 years part time doing.

His goal was to sail around the world, but his dream was smashed when he had quad bypass surgery. The boat has been in Alabama on the bay for two years. We sailed in the Dauphin Island race last summer and the boat performed beautifully even though the wind was lite for the first half.

Anyways, he has asked me to put it for sale on the internet for him out of desperation, and I really don't know where to start. It has had a survey, and there are pics, info, and even a magazine article on it. It appraised at $575k but he is now asking $300k. (I realize values have probably plummeted over the past few years)

Anything would be appreciated. I can give you more info when he sends me everything. Thanks in advance.

[S/V_Surya]

For a quick sale I would use ebay and craigslist. Max exposure for a quick sale. Although most buyers in that venue are bottom feeders just have a nice size reserve price. You may have to list it a few times. Check out the sites and look at sales that went to completion. Good luck. Oh, also list on as many boat forum sites that you can find.

[S/VSkylark]

I agree with Surya but wanted to be sure you found New and Used Yachts for Sale - YachtWorld.com as well. Found mine there as did quite a few others on the forum.

[anotherT34C]

For that kind of money, I'd hire a broker. If I was unloading something for a few $K, sure I'd try ebay or cragslist, but $300K is a big ticket item.

[cdennyb]

yep, "what he siad", I'd find a reputible broker and go from there. It's worth the commssion to be free of the headaches. Sounds like a nice ride. Would love to see the pics when you get them posted.

[Pblais]

For a 40 year old 25 ft boat with an outboard the internet quick sales idea works well. It's an easy purchase decision. No one spends big money that easy. You'll need to clean it up, do an inventory and find a broker to help you get the best price. You need a buyer that will actually close. Cruising for bottom feeders just is no way to sell a boat worth real money. When you get into better (expensive) boats closing is the only game that counts. You can get taken down the aisle a lot of times and end up with a disaster each time doing it yourself.

Given you don't get to keep the money, you do want a nice clean deal for your uncle. After the boat is gone he will still be your uncle. You want a nice easy to close transaction. It's what good brokers do. Shop around and find a good one. They all cost the same but find one that sells lots of boats. It means they work hard for a living. Anyone willing to sell the boat for you for little to nothing in return won't work very hard. 80% of all boats sold are sold by only 20% of all brokers.

You need someone local to the boat that can show the boat for you and not rip you off with slip fees doing it.

[calphi27]

He had a broker for 2+ years in Alabama in which 1 serious buyer came to the table and turned out to be a flake. He turned to me as a last hope. I think all I can do is post online a few places.

I was thinking he would have better luck sailing to Florida somewhere and finding a broker there. Would that be worth looking into? If so, any referrals?

[Pblais]

He had a broker for 2+ years in Alabama in which 1 serious buyer came to the table and turned out to be a flake. He turned to me as a last hope. I think all I can do is post on line a few places.

It may be worth moving the boat in that case. If you can only get flake buyers where it is then it needs to be where buyers want to look. You just need to factor the added cost of moving and keeping the boat some place else. Selling a boat that is perhaps worth more than $100K on the an Internet ad is more a long shot given you can't get people to come where the boat is now. Posting handbills on light posts might work too but I wouldn't do it myself.

I would check out the broker that you had and see if you can find any reliable info about them. When you consider the 80/20 rule they could be in the other side of the 80. Boat brokers are not unlike real estate agents in that respect.

Was it ever listed on YachtWorld.com? Only a broker can list it there so you can't list it there yourself. Bad news is the same people that own Yachtworld own most of the other big venues as well. To get access to the better publicity you need a real broker. You need help dealing with the flakes unless you want to spend a lot of your own time chasing flakes. While you may not expect to be paid for your services, I don't think getting jerked around for free would be high on your list. Working to actually sell the boat for a family member is a worthy cause I think. Better to put the best effort to work for you and the goal of really selling it for a fair price what ever it might be. Even an idiot broker could put out a few Internet ads. Not sure how you could do more with less that they did.

[Not Sure]

This thread smells fishy. I can't hardly believe someone would try and sell a $500k boat on craigslist or ebay. For that kind of money it'd pay to move it to South Africa if need be to sell it (even for $300k). Any photos of this $300k - $500k boat? Or even a make and model for reference? I'm guessing its a wreak with a high price tag, which is why the broker couldn't unload it in 2 years time?

[johnar]

I would think you could get a broker anyplace in the world without moving the boat at all, with a high dollar item like this anyone really wanting to buy would travel to it.

Find a Broker give them 6 month a year if they dont sell find another. If they dont sell it you dont pay.


best of luck,

Dutch