Advice on selling boat

[Bad Obsession]

I have decided to sell my Compac 23. I have listed it here and on craigslist: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/boa/6181393530.html

Anyway, I was wondering if there were other places to post the add. Also, I am wondering if the add looks good.

I don't want to hold the boat forever but at the same time I want to get what she is worth. Are there any tricks to selling the boat yourself?

I have only had one person ask about my add so far and it was from craigslist. No hits on here. It has been up two weeks.

Also, any tricks for keeping my add at the top of the adds on craigslist etc.

Thanks for any suggestions that anyone has.

 

[dlochner]

How did you come up with the asking price? $10K for a 30 year old 23' boat seems kind of high to me. BoatUS has a boat valuation service. Send them the info on the boat and they'll send you an estimated value, probably the one they would use in the insurance division.

The market you are looking at is pretty narrow. For $10K it is possible to buy a bigger boat of a similar vintage. Last summer I sold a well equipped well cared for 1981 Sabre 30 for under $15K. I thought it was worth more, but no offers at higher prices.

You might try Good Old Boats, they have a classified section.

 

[shemandr]

Craig's list will generate calls from people who are just looking for something for nothing. They'll start trying to get price concessions before they even look at the boat. Others will ask a lot of questions even though they aren't really interested, don't have the money or any idea what it is to have a boat. Many don't have a plan to transport it, or store it or a place to use it. I think a lot of these calls are people who believe if they get a low enough price they can flip it and make a profit. So you'll waste time on them. I think you can tell a serious buyer because they will bust butt to come see it and they'll have the money with them. Then there are the payment schemes. Cash is king. I once demanded cash for a boat and the guy show up with nothing but $2 bills - like 750 of them. I had no idea if they were real. I had to go to the bank to get them verified. They were. But he was nuts. It took a while before I stopped hearing from him.

 

[sesmith]

How did you come up with the asking price? $10K for a 30 year old 23' boat seems kind of high to me..

Not an out of line asking price for a Compac, especially if it's nice and has all the upgrades he mentioned. Compac's have a pretty loyal following.

You might also mention the boat for sale over on the sister forum:

http://forum.trailersailor.com/index.php

Either in the compac sub forum or the main forum.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Yes, this is a 1989 boat and I paid 8k for it a few years ago.

After I paid 8K I put over 1K into the trailer to put a new actuator, new brakes, and new bearings. After that I rewired the entire boat, added 100 watt solar panel, added a new GPS, added a new VHF and new masthead antenna, added a new stereo, networked the GPS to the VHF, added an asymmetrical spinnaker, bought two spare tires for the trailer, did the exterior woodwork to the boat, put in new plumbing and a water tank with pressurized water pump, added a new anchor rode and anchor, etc etc etc. Compac boats in good shape tend to hold value. This boat is in great shape and has had a lot of work done to her to make her even nicer.

Besides, 10K is the starting point. I am sure that I will have people offer me much lower. I will see how it goes and maybe drop the price in the future if I don't get much attention.

 

[DAVA390]

Going back to bigger or are you done?

 

[Ted]

There are a couple of major omissions in your ad. You don't mention the condition or age of the engine or sails, both of which are expensive items . If the sails are original from 1989 they probably need to be replaced so I would expect a big hit in the offer. Photos go a long way to help sell a boat. Try to take some better shots which will show the potential buyer that your boat is as special as you claim it is. General photos of your boat sailing are ok but you should showcase your boat with clear, bright and detailed photos. You can try listing your boat on Sailboatlistings.com (it's free too) Good luck with the sale of your boat.

 

[Head Sail]

You can always reduce price. Be patient...very patient.

 

[capta]

Remember, you have fond memories of your boat, but a prospective buyer does not. The longer you hold onto a boat you no longer want, the more she costs you and the more she depreciates.
Consider what you would pay for your boat if you'd never sailed it, rather than what you think she's worth when you put an asking price on her, if you actually want to sell her anytime soon.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Not sure on the age of the sails but they don't appear to be originals. They are in very good shape. Cushions inside of boat were recently replaced too.

Good point on the price. I know that when I spent $8000 it was the right price for the boat. I know that I will never get all of the money out of it as I put in it. I want to get at least $9,000 for her and I don't think that it is out of line.

For the right price I would probably throw in the dingy and a 2.5 hp outboard.

I really have to think about this. The problem with listing her lower is that it leaves very little room to negotiate.

Thanks for the other site to list, good idea.

 

[agprice22]

Sailboatowners.com.... right here. Advertise it here.

 

[Bad Obsession]

It is on here already. It was one of the first places I posted.

Here is the listing on sailboat listings: http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/66573

 

[jon hansen]

you clearly are not a sales man! but you seem to be a good sails man.

1. do not ever mention to any one what you paid for the boat
2. don't itemize the maintainence you have done. makes it sound like its endless work. which it is. but you want to down play such. just say ' very well maintained to a high standard'.
3. just say ' many nice upgrades to enhance cruising'.
4. just say ' trailer in excellent condition'
5. mention her great characteristics: good speed, super safe design, built to a very high standard with high quality parts, ...................
6. ready to take you sailing tomorrow, ...........
7. all prepared to go on great cruises
8. now , most important, sailboat buyers are dreamers, we all are . photos, photos, photos, ......... minimum 25. the photos sell the boat, NOT a list of the maintainence you have had to do.

 

[jon hansen]

do not say i rewired the whole boat, say all the electronics are fresh
do not waffel on the age of the sails, say the sails are in good shape
............... have fun with it ............. it's called winning the new boat

 

[jon hansen]

the boat will speak for it self, your job is to sell the dream!

... thats if you want all the money.
it only takes one to give you your price

 

[jon hansen]

ignore the negative responses, people that say you cannot get er done. put on your positive hat and have fun with it

 

[dlochner]

OK, so I was a little surprised at the value of a small trailerable sailboat. Learn something every day.

Judging from the periodic articles in Cruising World, Sail and other magazines there is an enthusiastic group out there. That's your market and you need to get the boat listed where these sailors will see it.

One place would be the Com-Pac Owners Association. CPYOA Classifieds There is a classified section. Search for other trailer sailor organizations.

Consider lowering your asking price to $9,900. People often set upper limits when boat shopping and use round numbers like $10,000, $15,000 etc.

At least with larger boats, don't expect much return on the investment. A new Garmin chart plotter is not an asset if a buyer hates Garmin products, that buyer will see it as a liability and doesn't want to pay the extra for it. New stuff, like running rigging helps to sell the boat quicker, but not for more money. The exception for this is something that is essential and has a big price, like a new trailer, new motor, etc. but even then don't expect to recoup the full value.

As others have said, sell the dream.

 

[NYSail]

I have had great success selling two boats on Craigslist. First boat I sold to a guy from Russia...... he came over cash in hand (I brought said cash to bank to have it checked). He spent two weeks tinkering and getting her ready then he, his dad and a friend took off back to Russia. 20 days to the Azores.

 

[MitchM]

i sold my last 2 boats, a cal 21 on a trailer and a seafarer 30 without a broker. (PM why...)i had advertised both in good old boat. i had a maintenance and travel log and separate lists, with receipts, of all the maintenance, service , features and and options i had added. i had a notebook with my observations about procedures : (example: yan mar gear box oil to be measured with dipstick resting atop gear case, not screwed in tight. ) 'i sent serious inquiries a link to a website with many photos of the boat inside and out , and descriptions of every system i had gotten installed . i priced the boats fairly, using boatus and BUC only as a base line. ( note that those rely only on the reported sale values of broker sales . a mint boat in great shape might sell by word of mouth and never be reported to BUC/BoatUS. ) the 1980 seafarer was BUC at 15K (w/ original farymann 11 hp diesel, no add ons.) i valued the seafarer at 25K, 10K over BUC, because it had a new yan mar 2 GM 20F,($8K) air conditioning (2.5K) new stove (1.2K) , dickerson propane fireplace (1K) and good sails. the first guy offered me 15K on my 25K ask. i said no. he said what's your counter? i said 'there is not going to be one. i have 6 more inquiries on this boat.' i sold it to 2nd viewer at 24K cash.

 

[justsomeguy]

i sold my last 2 boats, a cal 21 on a trailer and a seafarer 30 without a broker. (PM why...)

I think I know why. Because they're unnecessary middlemen who try to rip off unsuspecting buyers and sellers?