Best way to sell a boat

[Capt. Jim]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking to sell my narrow boat, I've not really used it much since I bought it and can't really justify keeping it. I was wonder what the best way to sell this time of year would be? I've tried Apollo Duck and it's up for sale at the marina but sadly no takers thus far. Any top tips? I've already lowered the asking price?

 

Thanks

Jim

[dollybassett]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking to sell my narrow boat, I've not really used it much since I bought it and can't really justify keeping it. I was wonder what the best way to sell this time of year would be? I've tried Apollo Duck and it's up for sale at the marina but sadly no takers thus far. Any top tips? I've already lowered the asking price?

 

Thanks

Jim

Hi,

I have sold two boats in the last 18 months, first one my mooring was on towpath so put advert in boat window - it sold within a week, 2nd boat I advertised it on apolloduck took about a month to sell.

Good luck

 

Dolly

[down the north]

Hi,

maybe try other brokeridge sources, but honestly, now is not the time to sell, but then plenty of folks suffering 'the crunch' will know the same.

Trouble is, you'll be spending maybe 2.5 grand a year if its in a marina, with license etc, so to beat the opposition, you've got to make the price really , I mean really good !!!!!. Days have gone when a boat is considered an investment !!

best of luck,

martin

[Liam]

Hi Jim, welcome to the forums..

 

As for selling your boat, you could always advertise it on the forums, in the "For Sale & Wanted" section.

 

Best of luck

[Pie Eater]

I'm sure that you can advertise in Towpath Talk free of charge.

 

Steve

[bag 'o' bones]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking to sell my narrow boat, I've not really used it much since I bought it and can't really justify keeping it. I was wonder what the best way to sell this time of year would be? I've tried Apollo Duck and it's up for sale at the marina but sadly no takers thus far. Any top tips? I've already lowered the asking price?

 

Thanks

Jim

 

Put in your advert open to reasonable offers. Sure you'll get a few idiots offering silly amounts but anyone who is serious won't. If anything it will give an idea of the market during this difficult time.

 

Only an idea, never actually sold a boat, but if I were it would be something I would try.

[tugstyle]

Why not post the link to your apolloduck advert and marina website here?

 

Lots of people on this forum are looking for boats.

 

My recommendation for your apolloduck advert would be lots of good photos.

 

Most apolloduck adverts have one very poor quality photo which does nothing to sell the boat.

 

This guy did a good job:

 

apolloduck

[bargeeboy]

As the advert says

same day service, view pay and take away!

 

try it

[nigel carton]

feel free to put it on my site, basic ad is free

[WJM]

Not only have you chosen the worst time of year to sell, but also the worst economic conditions in a generation. If you dont NEED to sell, then sit on it a bit longer.

[tony collins]

Not only have you chosen the worst time of year to sell, but also the worst economic conditions in a generation. If you dont NEED to sell, then sit on it a bit longer.

 

I would agree with the above. Last autumn, we finally decided that the boat would have to go because of my wife's health issues. I hung on until the spring of this year then placed it with a well known broker who has his own moorings, (ours was a bit difficult to get to). The boat sold within two weeks at a little less than I would have liked, but more than I would have accepted.

 

Tony

[sociable_hermit]

Why not post the link to your apolloduck advert and marina website here?

 

Lots of people on this forum are looking for boats.

 

My recommendation for your apolloduck advert would be lots of good photos.

 

Most apolloduck adverts have one very poor quality photo which does nothing to sell the boat.

 

This guy did a good job:

 

apolloduck

 

I'm sure that boat arrived at Pillings Lock last week, though it's lost a little paint around the bows en route

[jami dodgers]

In my opinion the financial situation is going to get a lot worse for a long time before we turn the corner.

 

Maybe a decade!

 

If you can afford to hang on to it until then, fine, if not take the best offer, which as they say in the motor trade is often the first offer!

 

Sorry to be so negative, but I read a lot of financial websites and this is a commonly held view among the financial savvy traders and investors.

 

We are most likely heading first into a period of deflation or maybe stagflation and then into a period of Hyperinflation.

[WJM]

"In my opinion the financial situation is going to get a lot worse for a long time before we turn the corner. Maybe a decade!"

 

Totally agree, it will take a decade for the ordinary people to pump back the money that was sucked out of the economy by the greed-driven, money-grabbing Hooray-Henry city gits. But it will only take a year for the dust to settle, institutions to stabilise and the confidence of the general public to return. Sell your boat in the spring.

[Athy]

Jim, we've sold two narrowboats and we found that presentation is the key. When we were boathunting years ago, we were shown round craft with dirty playes left on the table, shoes lying around, mucky semi-opaque windows, profound dust, you name it.

Wash the exterior. Clean the windows inside and out. Polish the brass. Clean the engine. Hoover/ brush the carpets. Make the bed. Clear the stove out and lay a fresh fire. Clean the washbasin and shower till they sparkle. We did this before selling our last boat in 2005; she was a pleasant but essentially unexceptional 40-foot trad (well, except for the Rigas Dizelis engine, but that had plenty of shiny bits which looked good when polished up). The first couple to view her bought her for a smidgin under the asking price.

We cannot help but be subjective about our treasured boats; in this case try to be objective, look at your boat's condition and, when you can honestly tell yourself that YOU would buy her if you were a customer, you're ready to go. As we sold one boat in October and the other in August, when received wisdom tells us that spring is the best time, I think it shows that presentation is more important than timing.

Oh, and we got Andy Burnett's to sell the last one. That helped, I'm sure.

[Jason Wilson and Family]

Sorry to be so negative, but I read a lot of financial websites and this is a commonly held view among the financial savvy traders and investors.

 

Sorry to go off topic, and not taking a dig at you, but these wouldn't be the same financial savvy traders and investors who told us all was well while they artificially inflated the value of just about everything and got us into this whole mess, would they?

[John Orentas]

Presentation is all very well but if you you can't even get buyers to turn out and look at the boat it is all to nothing, but I suppose it is true to say that the fewer the buyers the more you must apply yourself to capture one..

 

Yes the boat must look immaculate especially the interior, spend a few bob and buy a new set of curtains, cushions and even a new carpet, a less than perfect exterior you can talk your way out of, but no rust.. Buyers must feel immediately 'at home' in the boat so make them a brew and sit them down.. The location is important too if your mooring it not the best then take the boat to a nice place and arrange to meet them there.

[Athy]

John, your last point is a very good one, and one which I hadn't thought of. Our last one, 'Batto', was sold off her mooring at Springwood Haven Marina which is quite scenically placed, and which is also a pretty convenient central starting point for getting to almost anywhere,. Come to think of it, it was my wife and I who showed the couple round and yes, as I recall, sat them down and fed them a hot drink, so I'm not sure what ABNB did to earn their commission.

Just remembered, I also ran the gleaming engine for the chap, and when his eyes lit up I knew we were in with a chance. What he didn't know was that I'd run it for an hour before he arrived to warm it up, otherwise, like many traditional engines, it would have been smoky. There's another selling tip: an asphyxiated customer is not a happy customer!

[starman]

We looked for months for our boat and were utterly frustrated by the poor quality of photos of many boats for sale on Apolloduck and in a lot of brokerage websites. It really is worth spending some time getting good pics if you're selling privately and picking a broker that does the same. Remember, buyers could be travelling miles and won't waste time on visits to blurry blobs. Get a decent side or three quarter shot out on the cut and some interiors that are free from clutter.

 

Second thing that really p***ed us off was sellers' inability to be at least reasonably honest in their answers to phone queries. I've lost count of how many "immaculate" boats we dismissed within moments of arriving at a rust bucket. Be honest on the phone and buyers will generally be pleasantly surprised when they do view.

 

Final point is to be realistic about the price: there are lots of boats out there and if yours is too expensive it won't shift.

 

But I'd agree with everyone else that you'd be better waiting until next year when the climate (economic and weather) might be improving.

[Dominic M]

Oh, and we got Andy Burnett's to sell the last one. That helped, I'm sure.

Yeah, but that's when I was there . No me, and no Andy Burnett for the last 3 years either. I'm cheaper and better, my web site is ranked the highest of any inland waterways broker (and all coastal ones too except the huge Ancasta) and I'm very good at blatant unashamed self-promotion as well.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Dominic M

[bottle]

Yeah, but that's when I was there . No me, and no Andy Burnett for the last 3 years either. I'm cheaper and better, my web site is ranked the highest of any inland waterways broker (and all coastal ones too except the huge Ancasta) and I'm very good at blatant unashamed self-promotion as well.

 

I had noticed.

[grahoom]

my web site is ranked the highest of any inland waterways broker (and all coastal ones too except the huge Ancasta) and I'm very good at blatant unashamed self-promotion as well.

 

hmm, what search criteria are you basing that on?

[Athy]

I don't think it was you who came to see and photograph the boat Dominic; we dealt with a chap called Paul, and I believe that although Andy had sold the firm by then ( summer 2005) he was still doing some work for them. I think it was him who took the photos. That was a plus point for us too: ABNB's brochures presented our boat honestly but attractively and clearly.

So, Mr. Self-promotion Man, what is your brokerage company called? And would you ever be interested in flogging a 45 foot M. Davis tug with a 2LW in case I ever decided to part with her?

[Capt. Jim]

Wow, I did expect this many replies! Thanks all

 

I've spent a fair bit of time and money on the interior trying to get it looking good, was rather drab when I bought it in '07.

Annoyingly it's been on the market for a few months, before all the financial business really took off. I guess I've got to accept the loss and but it behind me, try to learn from ones mistakes and all that

Who are good people to sell with?

 

To be cheeky the link to apolloduck.co.uk is http://www.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=87642. She is moored at Bill Fen Marina in Cambridgeshire - very reasonable mooring fees! I've reduce the price from £41k to £36,990 and I'm open to sensible offers.

 

Thanks

 

Jim

[Liam]

Well as you have already listed it on Apollo Duck and with the marina, I'd try other sites... Try putting an advert on Boats and outboards, as well as Move your boat, the only problem being is that people checking Apolloduck will also most likely check the others but it's worth doing.