Selling your boat on your own (for sale by owner)

[fsudelt]

Wanted to get feedback if anyone has tried or sold their boat by themselves rather than using a broker? I have had my boat listed for almost 6 months (6 month listing comes up in 2 weeks), had a few offers, and one signed sales agreement before the guy backed out. At this point my thought when my listing agreement expires is to either 1) use a different broker (probably Sea Ray dealer I bought the boat from) or 2) try selling the boat myself (with the thought I could lower the price quite a bit knowing I'm not forking out 10% to a broker, sale price is 100-115,000). Thanks for any thoughts on this as just seeing what is best route at this point. Just getting frustrated as I feel the only real work the broker has put in is listing the boat on yachtworld.com, and every few weeks telling me to lower the price. I feel like I could be doing that myself. Also after 4 months I realized he had my factory warranty listed for only 1 more year when it was 3 years left.

Thanks again!

 

[chuck1]

IMHO - Price is king when it comes to selling these days. Keep in mind when you go the FSBO route the buyer is going to an extra 10% right off the quoted price you will not have to pay a broker 10%. Why did you wait 4 months to check the ad? I would think a good broker would have sent you a copy of the listing ASAP so you could check it out.

Also be ready to waste a lot of time with tire kickers and free boat ride people.

 

[Turtlesboat]

There is value to having a broker qualify buyers before they call or email you. They also handle the paper work and escrow. As well as listing it on yachtworld. If you're getting action, then you're doing pretty good. A sales agreement usually comes with a deposit, did you get a deposit with the signed agreement?

 

[fsudelt]

There is value to having a broker qualify buyers before they call or email you. They also handle the paper work and escrow. As well as listing it on yachtworld. If you're getting action, then you're doing pretty good. A sales agreement usually comes with a deposit, did you get a deposit with the signed agreement?

He was about to send deposit, and then backed out saying he thinks he moved to quickly. My broker won't let anyone do a sea trial without 10% down. We had one other offer but the broker advised me to counter when I would of taken the orig offer and the counter drove the guy away.

 

[northern]

I have only sold one boat and I sold it for 1/4 of what I had in it. Price is what gets results.
There are thoses that can sell and those can not. You might ask for a list of the agents past sales, what the list was, what the sale price was and how long it took to sell.
Good luck

 

[Carver370]

It sounds like you should give another broker a chance and get rid of this one. Try calling a broker you are interested in listing the boat with and act like you are interested in a boat he has for sale, see how he handles the conversation and evaluate from there along with the services he offers you to make his 10%.

 

[Turtlesboat]

If you sell on your own or with a broker, this kind of stuff happens. You're getting action so you're close to a deal. If you want it gone now, price is king.

 

[pxhil]

As expected things are not moving in this economy but it sounds like you need a new broker not trying it yourself. Believe me I hate handing over 10% as much as anybody buy at the $110000---$115000 level you need pro.A good one will walk the prospect through the process while eliminating objections, not to mention the best pricing strategy. If you were selling a boat at the $10--$15000 or lower than it's a do it yourself opportunity but not now, not at that price range. Best of luck.
Pxhil

 

[fsudelt]

Thanks for all the info as always. I'm going to give the guy his 2 weeks remaining and if nothing happens probably list it with the local Sea Ray dealer here (as they have a lot of exposure (2 different locations- 1 in Orlando and 1 on the coast). I would of listed it there originally but went with this guy since he sold me my last 2 boats when he worked at the dealership before he went out on his own.

 

[barryg]

Hey Brian,
I've always bought and sold my boats myself and have never had a problem or needed a broker.. Of course the largest boat I've bought or sold is 32'.. If I had a large boat -say in the 40' and up category I probably would think about using a broker, but with internet and all the great sites, it's so easy to list, and no one knows your boat or is motivated like you are.. I would not hesitate to fire the broker, and list on a few of the best sites, boattrader.com, and boats.com to name a few. If you keep your boat at a marina, I'd let the guys in the marina know you are looking to sell, and put a sign on your boat as well... I also think a smaller boat like a 31 is better suited to the two sites I mentioned rather than yachtworld...

Good luck, keep in touch.. ..Barry

 

[Alex F]

It sounds like when you gave the listing to your broker you kind of left everything in his control and took kind of an easy approach to follow what he says. Obviously, we're all under the assumption that when you deal with professionals it's better to listen what they say as they do this every day. However, it's not always the case. An example, is the situation when you lost a customer by doing the counter offer vs. accepting what you personally thought was good enough. You need to know exactly what you want and if you maintain the full control and be on top of things all the time, chances are you'll get it done. Broker's point of view for each sale is way different than yours. A boat is just a number. If you sell it cheaper he gets less. So, this is very important not to loose any control even if you go with the broker.

As for FSBO, it all depends on number of things. Some people just don't feel comfortable and don't know how to do it, so in this case it's better to pay for the service. If you're comfortable and know what to expect and you're ready to spend the time, then there are plenty of tools out there to help you get it done. For 10% what you have to pay to a broker you can find 100s of very good sources to list your boat. If you decide to do FSBO, make sure to do your homework and learn each step in the process as you have to be sure that you're protected at all times. You don't have to be rocket scientist. Tons of people do it and chances are you can as well. But, only you can determine for sure what’s the best way to go in your situation. Changing a broker will also help, but I would advise to choose the next one based on references and good feedback from people you know.`

Goog luck.

 

[rondds]

Tried to sell my previous boat (2002 26' Crownline) on boats.com and the local boat shopper mags. Nary a phone call in a month. Got tired of being a two boat owner and gave it to my marina to sell. Got it done in a week, but I had to throw in the trailer and pay the 10%. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[1956olds]

Hauling the bayliner up to skipperbuds saginaw this morning .After taking time off from boating to show it on weekends last year,its there turn .I am there almost every weekend anyway and they do move some used boats.I figure with thier low inhouse inventory of low hr clean pocket cruisers it wont take long.One of our dock neighbors had put his up a week ago because he bought a carver allegra far back storage fees,first guy to look at it wrote a check.

 

[sbw1]

I received a letter from a broker yesterday who wanted me to list my boat with him. It's not for sale but the letter was interesting. It had list of all the larger boats that were sold in Michigan during the quarter ending 12/31/2010. There were 48 boats on the list. It had asking price, selling price and time on the market. Time on the market ranged from 2 months to 83 months. Some of the boats sold very close to asking prices and others were not even close. Examples: 1996 50' SR Dancer asking was 99,900 and it sold for 95,000 after 5 months. 1994 55' SR SB asking was 249,000 and it sold in 9 months for 185,000. A 37' Silverton sold in one month for 59,000, just $900 less than the asking price. All brands were listed. Denison was the broker.

 

[jrirvine1]

What works best for me is to sell boats on my own without the assistance of a broker and then use a broker for the search and negotiation for the next boat and I have used this method several times in the last 12 or so years.

I am not convinced that brokers or dealers are able to obtain a significant amount of additional exposure for their used boats today over and above what we can do using the internet. This does require some investment of time dealing with and qualifying prospects over the phone and then showing the boat with eventual sea trial, but it is possible to come out ahead in the game over what a brokerage sale might bring.

Interesting case in point, several years ago, I stopped at a dealer to look at a few used boats they had prominently displayed in the parking lot directly in front of the showroom, thinking that they must really want to move these items. It turned out this was a tactic to get potential customers to think exactly as I did only to have these used boats way overpriced so that the salespeople could then lure the unsuspecting into the showroom to try and sell them their new boats. The tell tale quote or phrase was, “look for only a little bit more you can have a shiny new boat without any problems!” You do not want to have your boat for sale at a dealer with this attitude.