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Buyer Beware


KenK

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I've put this into the New to Boating section as it very much applies to people looking to purchase their first boat.

 

Yesterday I was checking out boats when I came across my old narrowboat which had just been sold by Rugby Boats for £74,950. I was somewhat surprised as I sold her at the end of 2019 for £50,000, so a 50% price hike on a boat which is three years older. Looking at the pictures on the site not much has changed, a couple of solar panels added, the Wilsons sofa / bed replaced with a different sofa and the dining table and chairs missing, replaced by a large TV, even the pictures on the walls are the same.

When I sold the boat I supplied the purchaser with the original bill of sale from the builder and of course a copy of the sale details at that point along with a file containing al the paperwork relating to the boat. I do wonder how much of that paperwork was available to the current owner, I doubt if many people would be happy to accept a 50% price increase on a boat which is three years older. I know that boats have increased in price over the last couple of years but 50% seems excessive. 

As the topic title suggests when contemplating purchasing a boat do your research.

 

Ken

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Surely that is just 'market price', why should the buyer be aware or even concerned about what you sold it for ?

 

I have bought and sold many house over the years and have normally at least doubled the buying price when I have come to sell - are you suggesting that I should sell at the price I paid for the house ?

 

I have also made a profit on every boat (except one) that I have sold, even taking into consideration the maintenance and improvements spent on the boat.

 

If you buy well and sell well - good luck to you.

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Yes, I'm not really sure what point is being made. If the buyer paid the asking price or below, and was happy with the deal, and you sold for your asking price, what is the problem? It doesn't really matter if 'many people' are happy with an increase of 50%, just the ones who bought it.

 

Or am I missing the point here.

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2 hours ago, KenK said:

I've put this into the New to Boating section as it very much applies to people looking to purchase their first boat.

 

Yesterday I was checking out boats when I came across my old narrowboat which had just been sold by Rugby Boats for £74,950. I was somewhat surprised as I sold her at the end of 2019 for £50,000, so a 50% price hike on a boat which is three years older. Looking at the pictures on the site not much has changed, a couple of solar panels added, the Wilsons sofa / bed replaced with a different sofa and the dining table and chairs missing, replaced by a large TV, even the pictures on the walls are the same.

When I sold the boat I supplied the purchaser with the original bill of sale from the builder and of course a copy of the sale details at that point along with a file containing al the paperwork relating to the boat. I do wonder how much of that paperwork was available to the current owner, I doubt if many people would be happy to accept a 50% price increase on a boat which is three years older. I know that boats have increased in price over the last couple of years but 50% seems excessive. 

As the topic title suggests when contemplating purchasing a boat do your research.

 

Ken

 

I'm afraid that's just the state of the current market. You were a little unlucky with timing, selling at the end of 2019.....a year later and prices had rocketed. 

Edited by booke23
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If you sold it at fifty K, and now Rugby Boats are selling it, they will add a whack for their profit - it's not like a private sale. Factor that in with inflation, and if it's been looked after and it's a nice boat, I'm not really surprised.

I'm hoping to get more for mine when I flog it than I paid for it. There again, it was only seven grand...

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Apparently car boot sales are going to be open to dealers only for one hour in the morning. 

 

There is a new law about all this and it also requires sellers of products to divulge how much they paid for them. 

 

That'll show 'em. 

 

It's not even February the 1st yet. 

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3 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Apparently car boot sales are going to be open to dealers only for one hour in the morning. 

 

There is a new law about all this and it also requires sellers of products to divulge how much they paid for them. 

 

That'll show 'em. 

 

It's not even February the 1st yet. 

 

 

Or April 1st.

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10 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

................they will add a whack for their profit

 

Presumably you mean commission ?

 

They don't add a margin for their commission, they sell at 'market price' the seller then gets 'market price' less the commission of (probably) about 5%.

 

It is the same when you sell things at auction - you do not receive the 'hammer price' you get the hammer price less selling commission and VAT.

 

Even ebay work the same way - they charge you 13% now to sell your goods and that is deducted from the selling price before they give you your money.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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31 minutes ago, KenK said:

I've put this into the New to Boating section as it very much applies to people looking to purchase their first boat.

 

Yesterday I was checking out boats when I came across my old narrowboat which had just been sold by Rugby Boats for £74,950. I was somewhat surprised as I sold her at the end of 2019 for £50,000, so a 50% price hike on a boat which is three years older. Looking at the pictures on the site not much has changed, a couple of solar panels added, the Wilsons sofa / bed replaced with a different sofa and the dining table and chairs missing, replaced by a large TV, even the pictures on the walls are the same.

When I sold the boat I supplied the purchaser with the original bill of sale from the builder and of course a copy of the sale details at that point along with a file containing al the paperwork relating to the boat. I do wonder how much of that paperwork was available to the current owner, I doubt if many people would be happy to accept a 50% price increase on a boat which is three years older. I know that boats have increased in price over the last couple of years but 50% seems excessive. 

As the topic title suggests when contemplating purchasing a boat do your research.

 

Ken

 

A boat is worth exactly what somebody is prepared to pay for it at the time it's for sale.

 

It's OK saying 'buyer beware' but if you are not prepared to pay the market price then you won't get a boat, simple.

 

Good luck to the seller I say, they clearly made a shrewd investment, even if they didn't know they had at the time.

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6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Even ebay work the same way - they charge you 13% now to sell your goods and that is deducted from the selling price before they give you your money.

Classified adds on eBay work well for high value items like cars £20 flat fee as opposed to over £300 for an auction sale.

 

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8 minutes ago, magnetman said:

There must be occasions when the broker owns the boat. What happens then? 

 

They collect all of the money and obviously don't pay commission to anyone.

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It is also worth adding you don't actually know how much was paid for the boat. You know how much RBS was asking but that is not the same (Even though possible in the current market the final price will likely have been very close.

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Timing lately has been critical, we sold our old boat early 2020 and then cursed because later that year prices increased. We signed the contract for our new build in early 2020 and cursed when lockdowns put delivery back from Oct 2020 to April 2021. We thanked our luck with the timing when new boat prices escalated significantly through 2020 and 202, we were probably one of the last boats through the builder before escalation or availability problems. 

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We cannot live our lives worrying about wether we sold or are selling too cheap/at wrong time/hang on till things book up, etc etc etc. We have one short life, wasting any of it trying to always come out financialy " On Top " is a fools errand, just get on and enjoy as it all ends too soon. 

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53 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Presumably you mean commission ?

 

They don't add a margin for their commission, they sell at 'market price' the seller then gets 'market price' less the commission of (probably) about 5%.

 

It is the same when you sell things at auction - you do not receive the 'hammer price' you get the hammer price less selling commission and VAT.

 

Even ebay work the same way - they charge you 13% now to sell your goods and that is deducted from the selling price before they give you your money.

I assumed that as the buyer said it had been sold by Rugby Boats, rather than through them, that the yard was the owner, so I meant whack, as in profit,  rather than commission. As the usual markup for profit is a lot more than 5%, that would make a fair difference.

I do try to write what I mean.

6 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

We cannot live our lives worrying about wether we sold or are selling too cheap/at wrong time/hang on till things book up, etc etc etc. We have one short life, wasting any of it trying to always come out financialy " On Top " is a fools errand, just get on and enjoy as it all ends too soon. 

Now that is a very sensible piece of philosophy, if I may say so.

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1 minute ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I assumed that as the buyer said it had been sold by Rugby Boats, rather than through them, that the yard was the owner, so I meant whack, as in profit,  rather than commission. As the usual markup for profit is a lot more than 5%, that would make a fair difference.

I do try to write what I mean.

 

I may be wrong but Im pretty sure that RBS don't buy boats and then sell them. All their boats are being brokered for sellers.

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1 hour ago, Arthur Marshall said:

If you sold it at fifty K, and now Rugby Boats are selling it, they will add a whack for their profit - it's not like a private sale. Factor that in with inflation, and if it's been looked after and it's a nice boat, I'm not really surprised.

I'm hoping to get more for mine when I flog it than I paid for it. There again, it was only seven grand...

 

 

If (and they dont buy boats) they owned it and sold it I'd expect that they would have to make way more than a 5% margin, as not only do they have to offer a full warranty on the boat but they are legally obliged to offer a full refund if the new owner changes their mind within (I think) 3 months

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44 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

We cannot live our lives worrying about wether we sold or are selling too cheap/at wrong time/hang on till things book up, etc etc etc. We have one short life, wasting any of it trying to always come out financialy " On Top " is a fools errand, just get on and enjoy as it all ends too soon. 

 

Very wise words. 

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2 hours ago, KenK said:

I've put this into the New to Boating section as it very much applies to people looking to purchase their first boat.

 

Yesterday I was checking out boats when I came across my old narrowboat which had just been sold by Rugby Boats for £74,950. I was somewhat surprised as I sold her at the end of 2019 for £50,000, so a 50% price hike on a boat which is three years older. Looking at the pictures on the site not much has changed, a couple of solar panels added, the Wilsons sofa / bed replaced with a different sofa and the dining table and chairs missing, replaced by a large TV, even the pictures on the walls are the same.

When I sold the boat I supplied the purchaser with the original bill of sale from the builder and of course a copy of the sale details at that point along with a file containing al the paperwork relating to the boat. I do wonder how much of that paperwork was available to the current owner, I doubt if many people would be happy to accept a 50% price increase on a boat which is three years older. I know that boats have increased in price over the last couple of years but 50% seems excessive. 

As the topic title suggests when contemplating purchasing a boat do your research

Ken

The buyers did do their research from all accounts if it's the boat I am thinking of, and how do you know the price agreed on was £74950 ??

 

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