Is there a social media platform for boat buyers to meet boat sellers?

[Mark Schneider]

Hello Sailboat Owners!

I'm getting ready to sell my Norseman 447 and looking around at all the social media options, and none of them look very "efficient". If you're not somebody with thousands of followers, you'll be fishing for potential boat buyers in very small pools, and mostly among your fellow deadbeat friends.

For example, I could tweet something about SV Wendaway, but at least half of my 69 followers are spambots I’ve attracted with my occasional outbursts at the alt-right.

Ditto for Facebook, Instagram, and the like. They are all box canyons limited by geographical locality (you’re stuck in your own city in terms of postings ). And besides, none of them really work for pricy items (like a Norseman 447). That’s why boat shoppers turn to YBW and Yachtworld.

So…is there an Uber-ized or Pirate bay version? Something like a co-op version of Zillow.com, or maybe a kind of Offerup.com that sorts by national category?

I am looking for any successful experience you may have had using social media.

Many thanks!

mark
SV Wendaway
Norseman 447 #69

 

[Jackdaw]

And besides, none of them really work for pricy items (like a Norseman 447). That’s why boat shoppers turn to YBW and Yachtworld.

I think you kind of answered your own question there....

For better or worse, the two you mentioned are the big games in town for serious buying and selling. Are you looking to totally avoid brokers frees, or widen your footprint? Because a good broker should also point on craigslist and sailboatlistings.com etc.

A smart buyer will find the boat they are looking for anywhere these days. If I was looking for a Bob Perry blue water cruiser and you posted it on craigslist today, I would find it tomorrow with adhuntr.com

 

[jssailem]

Mark. I am sure there are folks with Social Media needs on a sail boat. They sometimes appear to me like an addict to social media.
But not me. When I get on the boat and untie the lines I am unhooked. The social media is not social on my boat. You need to be social, lets have something to eat or drink. Need to do something with your hands, grab the mainsheet and trim the sail. Feeling the need to talk to someone... VHF Radio or boat in the next slip/anchored near by.

Or just sit back and admire all that has gone on to give you one of the greatest view in the world...

 

[jhonmiller]

Instagram is one of a few powerful web based life devices that you ought to think about utilizing for your business. With Instagram, it is about the quantity of followers that you can get. The truth of the matter is that without countless followers, you and your business will get dark. BuyBetterSocial Instagram Here!

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Sailing is a lifestyle to get away from the fast pace of life. All this social media in my books should get a boot. I recall my dad who flew as a forward artillery observer in the Battle of the Bulge telling me an officer told the Nazi officer offering the U S Army surrender terms “Nuts”

 

[Serenity on Hudson]

The only one in my family with a facebook page is my dog. Keeps life simple.

 

[jssailem]

The only one in my family with a facebook page is my dog.

How often does he/she update the social status.
Happy!
Looking
Bad food choice I’m out of here.

 

[Serenity on Hudson]

He is on a paws now. Probably update after he hosts X-Mas in NY next month. My cheek hurts now! Hmmmmmm…….

 

[capta]

When I go looking for a boat to buy or want to sell one, I am going into a business deal which I'd prefer be completely unemotional. Therefor, I can't see a social networking sight as a good place to go to begin that sort of endeavor.
Using a broker I trust is as good as it gets for me and I don't mind paying a broker's fee to have a speedy, effortless sale. Problems seem to start when someone wants to save on the broker's fee and a sale that could have happened in a couple of months hasn't even gotten the sale information out to a market such as Yachtworld has, in twice that time. My time (plus dockage/maintenance on a boat I want to sell) is worth more than whatever I'd save by not using a broker.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

A good established broker has a lot of pluses. For one, they have access to non-consumer web sites that expose your boat literally all over the world. While most boats may be sold locally, a lot of them are sold to buyers elsewhere. They also know brokers from other locations and so there is a personal network where sales can be shared, which doesn't cost the seller anything more. In addition, local and knowledge of other sailing areas around the country is helpful for a buyer who is looking for a boat for a certain area and as experience dictates, not all boats are suited for all areas and boats used on inland lakes, coastal cruising or offshore cruising have different criterias. A good broker knows how to source things out needed for repairs in case there is a good boat that needs some attention. A good broker has connections with marinas, haulers, good surveyors, etc. A good broker works for the seller, but will also be interested in keeping the buyer happy too and therefore should be honest and give good solutions to buyers who might not be so smart about certain things and panic over things that need not be paniced over. And, a good broker will lean on a seller to do things so that boat actually has a chance to sell. Regarding surveyors, there are good and bad ones and they work for the buyer, not the seller or the broker. But a good broker will point you in the direction of a good surveyor and not someone who will not do a good job for you so you regret your decision later. All of the above is what experience can provide.

 

[SycloneDriver]

It's time to sell my current boat.
How much are people paying for a broker? I paid 14% a few years ago, seemed high to me.

 

[nightowle]

Brokers here on the west coast are 10%

 

[Meriachee]

Whats a facebook?

 

[jssailem]

I think it is like a book of mug shots used by the coppers of the usual suspects.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Sailing is a lifestyle to get away from the fast pace of life. All this social media in my books should get a boot. I recall my dad who flew as a forward artillery observer in the Battle of the Bulge telling me an officer told the Nazi officer offering the U S Army surrender terms “Nuts”

That was referenced in the movie Patton, I believe.

 

[Kings Gambit]

One has to appreciate that the used boat market is skewed tremendously in favor of the buyer. He/she does not need “social media” to find a boat. IMHO, it would be a distraction for anyone seriously pursuing purchase of one. Buyers aren’t looking for a new “pal” the way a seller would be. They may be considering a few possibilities at once, with ALL of the power to “pull the trigger” as people say. Social media would benefit only the seller by potentially expanding his/her market. It would do little, to nothing, to aid the buyer. I personally would not invest any time in it as a buyer. For me, I’d likely have to purchase the device(s), learn how to use them, as well as how to use the apps themselves, etc. Besides, if the seller sold the boat while we were “socializing a sale” would I even be told, or would the game just go silent? Who knows. “Oh yeah, sorry dude, I sold the boat last week.”

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Dad told me flying for Patton during WW II was difficult but he was one old respected tough bird

 

[capta]

He had a gorgeous sailboat, the When and If, an Alden hermaphrodite schooner. I believe he wanted to retire and cruise her, but unfortunately it didn't work out.