Selling a boat

J

jeffk

New member
I have decided to sell my 2013 310 Sig.
I have never sold a boat.
Showing the boat is not a problem I live 5 minutes from the Marina.

I would assume a potential buyer would like someone to check the boat out.
1. As I am in high and dry do I have the boat put on a rack or in the water.
2. Should i be present when the buyers rep checks out the boat?
Test drives
Should I get a refundable deposit before I allow one?
Any thing else?
Thanks
 
Doc

Doc

Liquid Addiction
Staff member
I've sold a few boats.
I have never given a test ride before the boat is sold. By that I mean folks look at the boat and I tell them about it. They ask questions etc. If they like it and want to buy it once we agree on price and how the monies will be paid we do the test drive. Everyone who has done a test run has bought the boat I was selling. I've always gone on the test ride with the buyer. And when buying the seller always rides along. Questions that only the seller will know will come up.

The boats I've bought and sold have never needed a survey. The boats were in tip top shape and the buyer trusted the boat after the test drive. Same with ones I've bought with one exception. I bought a 20 year old 50 ft Gibson houseboat. It was in great shape and had been surveyed the year before. I did review that survey but did not see the need to have another one done. Surveys are normally done out of the water and then in the water test run. The houseboat survey was done with the boat in the water. No trailer came with the boat. When I pulled it out of the water I was shocked to see both rudders had been eaten away by electrolosis. I'm amazed I was able to steer as well as I could. Cost me an additional 1300 dollars plus 3 or 4 hundred for having them installed. It was a gamble and I rolled the dice and lost a bit on that one.
 
J

jeffk

New member
The boat runs perfectly.
We very rarely overnight anymore so there is no reason to keep a boat this size.
Thanks I appreciate the help.
 
Doc

Doc

Liquid Addiction
Staff member
You are welcome.
A little more info: Most people will travel for the right boat. They've been looking and plan to spend years with it. I drove 12 hours one way for one in 2014. Then when I sold it a guy drove from Maine to Ohio to get it. He had a 14 hour drive.
He found mine on facebook market place. I found ones to buy on Ebay. Then drove to see them. Would never bid and buy it there but ebay helps show others it's for sale. Boat Trader is another one that can help sell. And don't forget Craigslist. Post plenty of pics and tell as much about the boat as you can think of. Now is the time folks are looking hard so they have it for the summer.
 
Phillbo

Phillbo

Well-known member
One word of advice on Popyachts. If you sell the boat on your own they will hound you for the buying information. IF that buyer has registered on the Popyachts website and viewed your boat they will come after you for the commission even if you sold it yourself.

I had a boat on contract with them and sold it myself. The buyer contacted me via a craigslist posting I put out there.
 
J

jeffk

New member
They send me a list of their registered buyers.
If I have potential buyer, I give them the name and if he buys the boat...no commission.
It is no different than listing your house, if it sells the agent get paid, even if you sold it.
They sent someone to my boat and he spent about 3 hours taking pictures.
If someone sees the ad and registers then contacts me directly......I would not snake them out of a commission.
They earned it.
List with any other of the brokers, they get comped even if your brother bought it from you.
More concerned about selling the boat than paying the commission
 
Phillbo

Phillbo

Well-known member
I would not pay a commission if the broker did not initiate the sale by bringing me a buyer.
 
J

jeffk

New member
If a potential buyer saw your ad on Popyachts and registered as a buyer on their website, and you then sold him the boat through Craigslist, I do believe a commission is owed.
If the person never saw your boat and did not register on Popyachts, than no commission is owed.
I get a report everyday of who has registered and looked at the boat.
If someone in my marina approaches me and never used popyachts, than I dont owe them a penny.
Their contract is very clear if someone uses their site and contacts me direct from another source, they get paid.
If you dont like that...you should not have signed the contract
 
J

jeffk

New member
Than they are as we say S.O.L.
Their system protects them and you as well.
Not a registered buyer....no comp.
They have to adhere to their contract just as much as the seller.
 
I

Iggy

Active member
I put my Sig 290 on Ebay Marketplace. I got a ton of calls on it. I would say 2/3 where tire kickers. Some that came down wanted a test ride. I told them deposit first or no ride. That stopped that! Then winter hit and the boat was on the hard. So than I got, can we start the engines. I told them YES, but you buy the AF. Within 4 months the boat was sold and both of us are now happy.
 
J

jeffk

New member
I have not used ebay in years but it is worth a try.
I have very mixed feelings about selling.
It is just getting so expensive to keep a boat down in S.Florida.
My high and dry spot is almost as much as my mortgage.
We very rarely overnight anymore so a smaller boat fits my needs much better than this cruiser.
 
I

Iggy

Active member
jeffk said:
I have not used ebay in years but it is worth a try.
I have very mixed feelings about selling.
It is just getting so expensive to keep a boat down in S.Florida.
My high and dry spot is almost as much as my mortgage.
We very rarely overnight anymore so a smaller boat fits my needs much better than this cruiser.
Click to expand...
Look into yacht clubs. Much cheaper than a marina! Point of fact, I pay $32 per foot and the marina next door gets $90 per foot. Summer rates which is higher in Boston. Plus, you will find more people that are truly into boating.
 
Doc

Doc

Liquid Addiction
Staff member
Good luck selling. Getting the word out is the key. No experience with Pop yachts.
I've sold by listing boats on ebay, craigslist and lots of other free ad sites. I sold one on Craigslist. Sold our houseboat due to the ebay ad. Ad ran out but buyer contacted me a few weeks later and asked to see the boat. We dickered around for a month or so and finally he made an offer I accepted. Took a year to sell the houseboat though. This was in 2013.
I sold a 288 MCOB Sunsation with a 496HO Merc Cruiser in it by listing it on facebook market place. It sold in two days for listing price. I was testing the waters. It sold much faster than I anticipated. This was July of 2020. Covid did help as everything was selling fast due to lockdown.
Like others, I do not do test rides. I guarantee the ride. Buy the boat, have money order or monies on hand. We test drive to see it's acceptable and the deal is done. My boats always have sold after the acceptance ride.
Selling can be a lot of work. Getting the word out in as many places as possible is the key. Good luck selling.
 
J

jeffk

New member
I appreciate the advice.
Using the broker helps me out quite a bit.
I am out of the country starting end April and dont know when I will return.
Having someone to show the boat is beneficial.
I am not concerned of a test ride, the boat runs like new.
I will try Ebay and Craiglist maybe I get lucky and sell before I leave.
I also used FSBO as they charge a listing fee ($300) a put it on various websites.
So far this has been a waste, live and learn.
 
Last edited:
Doc

Doc

Liquid Addiction
Staff member
jeffk said:
I appreciate the advice.
Using the broker helps me out quite a bit.
I am out of the country starting end April and dont know when I will return.
Having someone to show the boat is beneficial.
I am not concerned of a test ride, the boat runs like new.
I will try Ebay and Craiglist maybe I get lucky and sell before I leave.
I also used FSBO as they charge a listing fee ($300) a put it on various websites.
So far this has been a waste, live and learn.
Click to expand...
Ahhh that changes things. If you are going to be out of the country you MUST have a broker who can do the deal from start to finish. Smart move. Good luck.

My boats ran perfect to but still some will waste your time on test rides with no intention of buying. No worries for you if dealing with someone wanting a test drive. Brokers know how to deal with tire kickers.
 
I

Iggy

Active member
jeffk said:
A yacht club in S.Florida....my boat would be a dinghy in a yacht club down here!
Click to expand...
Still cheaper.

But its funny you said that. My friend has a 55 footer that he brings back and forth every year. One spring we fly down and I helped him bring it back. Looking around, his boat was a average to maybe a little below average size down there. At the time I still has my Sig 290. We walked around and a saw a 30 footer and said, I boat more more like mine! Than I realized, it was the tender to the 80 footer next to it.:bonk:
 
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J

jeffk

New member
A yacht club down here probably has a minimum footage and would not be cheaper.
Also there are none in my area.
I chose to live here as i am a mile from my marina.
When I lived in Orlando it was a 55 mile drive.
The first time I took my boat to the bahamas it was less than a year old and still had that brand new feel.
My wife and I are sitting at the dock and all these yachts start coming in.
Nobody smaller than 65ft.
So at night I put my underwater lights on and it's like the boat is sitting in an aquarium.
The guy next to me in his 65ft Azimut looks at my boat with the blue lights under it and says "Cool Boat"!
 
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