Taking your suggestions, going with Craigslist

[TDLucas]

Thanks for all of your helpful comments. I decided to avoid Boats.com and Boat Trader.  I went with Craigslist.  Now we'll see how it goes.  So far no nibbles in two days.  I know she's priced high, but I will negotiate.  I also posted it on the Chaparral Facebook page.

I like the suggestion to delete and repost on Craigslist to keep it at the top.  If she doesn't sell by June 1, I will go with one of the yacht brokers at the local marina (all of whom have a $3,500 minimum commission).  FYI  here is the ad:  http://ventura.craigslist.org/boa/6146624512.html

 

[Toddavid]

You need to post it on more CL sites, particularly in boating areas.

Until I did multiple posts with my last boat, I had crickets. As soon as I put it on multiple locations, I had a bidding war.

Good luck!

[Phillbo]

Todd is correct. Post it on a lot of sites like LA, San Diego etc...  Expecting a boat to sell in 2 weeks is a bit aggressive.

 

My last boat sold on CL from an ad I placed on the Salt Lake City CL...  I live in the Phoenix area. 

I would also recommend removing the family photos.

[rreale]

good luck but in my opinion, i think you are little high.  i would price it around book value.   I had the same idea 2 years ago, priced it high and thought i would get lucky.... no nibbles just some scammers.  I lowered it to around book and i got more activity.  Some people in my area are using Facebook.  theres a FB group called "buy sell or trade in ###"  ### = area code

 

[crvtt771]

You're priced way too high.   The only way to sell quickly is to price aggressively.     The trailer is faded, the boat as per your description needs painted, the trailer has rust on it, the bottom paint looks like it can used touched up, the headliner looks dirty and sagging, the wood on the helm looks sun bleached, a dog has been on it, all of the fabric looks original and out of date.  Nothing about those boats scream let's pay top dollar for it.  Not trying to burst your bubble, just giving you my observations if I were looking at it from a consumer's perspective. 

Also, the old way of pricing it high and leaving negotiating room is losing favor fast with today's retail customers.  With all of the internet purchasing going on, people are getting used to paying the price they see.  You'll find more and more new car dealers are also going with the one non negotiable price model.

[Phillbo]

I agree, given the market right now being flooded with boats priced to sell.

Look at it this way. You can sell it for less and it's gone or you can sit on it for another year hoping to get lucky and make some money.

If you decide to go with a broker they will require you to drop your price so they can tack on their commission and still get it sold. The typical commission is 10% so if they are quoting you a flat rate of 3500 go elsewhere.

I dealt with PopYachts on  a boat a few years ago. They did not bring the buyer but i was allowed to market it on my own as well and found a buyer on CL. Did not hurt to have them engaged in the process.

[Weekend At Bernie's]

I see cabin cruisers priced at book value sitting on sites like Boat Trader for eternity. Check what boats are listed at book value now and come back six months later and the same boats are still there. One of my boating friends tried for two years to sell his pristine 27 foot cabin cruiser just below book value. I priced mine at book value for two weeks on Boat Trader and Craigslist and not a single lead. I dropped it about 10K below book value and had a buyer within a week on Craigslist. There's just too many boats out there and no one is willing to pay book value no matter how well kept your boat. They all look pretty much the same in the pictures, but the asking price gets all the attention. 

[crvtt771]

Maybe I'm way off base, but it seems like it's a sub 10k boat. 

[phills fan]

Was he asking how much he should sell his boat for?

[crvtt771]

 

"Taking your suggestions, going with Craigslist"

 

Did he just want people to not make any useful posts?  The man asked for suggestions and posted a link to his ad.  He also wants it sold before June 1, lest he pay a broker 3500.

[phills fan]

Sub 10k boat, that's a useful post, nah.Maybe you are way off base.

 

Nada with zero options $14500

Values

Print

 

	Suggested  List Price	Low  Retail	Average  Retail
Base Price	$41,485	$7,410	$8,470
Engine 351-400 HP (5.7L - 8.1L ##)		$3,610	$3,610
Options: (add)
Trailer: (change)
1999 Tandem 30 Feet		$2,155	$2,420
TOTAL PRICE:	$41,485	$13,175	$14,500

[crvtt771]

14,500 minus a paint job equals how much?  All advice above recommends pricing below nada.  Does the trailer look like it's worth 2400 to you?

 

Zero options puts you at 10,890.

 

Thanks for helping back it may be a sub 10k boat in order to sell before June 1.

[phills fan]

8 minutes ago, crvtt771 said:

Zero options puts you at 10,890.

 

Thanks for helping back it may be a sub 10k boat in order to sell before June 1

I tried, I don't understand.

[drewm3i]

eBay if you want top dollar!

[Futzin']

TDLucas, I think one good way to gauge your price (if indeed you want our opinions on the matter - you may not) is to check to see what other boats are being offered at that price and compare them to yours.

[phills fan]

2 minutes ago, Futzin' said:

TDLucas, I think one good way to gauge your price (if indeed you want our opinions on the matter - you may not) is to check to see what other boats are being offered at that price and compare them to yours.

+1

[Phillbo]

I'm assuming he already did the market analysis because he knows he is over priced. 

 

A boat is a toy and not something you will ever make a profit from. When I decide to sell one I dump it to get rid of the cost of ownership (and get in the market for a bigger one sooner).

[drewm3i]

1 hour ago, Phillbo said:

I'm assuming he already did the market analysis because he knows he is over priced. 

 

A boat is a toy and not something you will ever make a profit from. When I decide to sell one I dump it to get rid of the cost of ownership (and get in the market for a bigger one sooner).

I've made money on ever USED boat I've bought and then sold. The key is to market the boat in a way that draws attention to something unique about her. For my last boat, it was the faux teak flooring I added, the TV, nice chartplotter, etc. For my first Chaparral it was the condition, care, and limited use. That's why I recommend eBay: more exposure.

[TDLucas]

On ‎5‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 4:45 PM, Weekend At Bernie's said:

I see cabin cruisers priced at book value sitting on sites like Boat Trader for eternity. Check what boats are listed at book value now and come back six months later and the same boats are still there. One of my boating friends tried for two years to sell his pristine 27 foot cabin cruiser just below book value. I priced mine at book value for two weeks on Boat Trader and Craigslist and not a single lead. I dropped it about 10K below book value and had a buyer within a week on Craigslist. There's just too many boats out there and no one is willing to pay book value no matter how well kept your boat. They all look pretty much the same in the pictures, but the asking price gets all the attention. 

Okay, I lowered the price to 10K, listed it on craigslist in six coastal California cities, and listed it on eBay.  Thanks for all of your comments.

[soldier4402]

just keep listing on sites.  Its going to take a few weeks to start getting interest.  But like others have said price is huge. If your listed over book value, people wont even click.  Boats these days are typically selling below book.  If your boat is perfect plan on getting right at high book value if you are LUCKY, if its not then your going to get below book value. most of my stuff sells usually arund 10-25% below book and I usually get rid of it within a few weeks.

Last boat I had booked at 28, was probably worth close to that shape wise, but I bought it for 23.  After two years of use it was booking around 25ish, I sold it within a week for 21.  Really you should be listing for about 5-10% below book, and probably expect to sell it if you really want to sell it at probably around 15-25% below book.  Shape matters it really does but price matters more.  With boats its a buyers market and it has been for a long time and probably will remain that way.

[soldier4402]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 1:16 PM, drewm3i said:

I've made money on ever USED boat I've bought and then sold. The key is to market the boat in a way that draws attention to something unique about her. For my last boat, it was the faux teak flooring I added, the TV, nice chartplotter, etc. For my first Chaparral it was the condition, care, and limited use. That's why I recommend eBay: more exposure.

Drew no one makes money on boats, they possibly can sell it for more than they bought it if they got a steal on it when they bought or bought a fixer upper.  But by the time you add in maint, renovation costs, labor(yes your time counts), insurance, operations fees, nobody is making money on these thing besides dealers.

[drewm3i]

3 hours ago, soldier4402 said:

Drew no one makes money on boats, they possibly can sell it for more than they bought it if they got a steal on it when they bought or bought a fixer upper.  But by the time you add in maint, renovation costs, labor(yes your time counts), insurance, operations fees, nobody is making money on these thing besides dealers.

I've made money on three boats when you factor in purchase price, cost of repairs/upgrades, and then sale price. Obviously I don't consider insurance, gas, storage, etc. because we are using the boat after all for at least a while...

[soldier4402]

22 minutes ago, drewm3i said:

I've made money on three boats when you factor in purchase price, cost of repairs/upgrades, and then sale price. Obviously I don't consider insurance, gas, storage, etc. because we are using the boat after all for at least a while...

I know you can but just pointing somethings out.  One boat I made 500 but factoring in a $80 bracket I bought and an hour of time I actually made 400.  I guess my point is its hard to make some real money,  you have to buy super low and either steal it or get a junk heap and fix it.  Like I said you have to subtract everything you spent, and your time counts, youll understand that as you get older, that time could have been used to make money on a real job or to enjoy your self.  Its all relative.  I think when we talked about getting your old boat sold, you were looking at 6-7k on making, but my guess is much lower after all the upgrades and repairs that were made.

 

Insurance, dockage, and gas might be stretch, as that's a constant on any boat, but if you are looking at total ownership on that boat that would include initial purchase, upgrades/repairs, fuel, insurance, dockage etc,  at that point, nobody but a dealer is making money.