Question for sailers

[sailerdaughter]

My dad cannot physically sail right now and asked me to sell off some of his equipment. Since we are not in the same state right now and I can't communicate with him easily I am left with lots of things and lots of questions.
1. Pretty much everything is new, in the original box so the stores said they would take it back but only give a gift card which I would need to sell. Do sailors buy gift cards to West Marine or places like that, for thousands of dollars?
2. Some things are rare, like a WP30 Digital Wheel Pilot which they do not make anymore. I would rather sell it to someone who needs it than return it to the company for a gift card. Where is a good place to find people looking for things like this?
3. If there is a bag with some kind of sail (I think)and rope in it (brand new) How do I know what kind of sail it is? Is there any kind of number printed on it somewhere that I can look for?
Thanks for any info you you can give me

 

[cb32863]

I would think your best bet would be to get an itemized list of everything you intend to sell and put the list on craigslist or e-bay. You could put the list on places like this also, not sure on the buying of gift card thing though. If you know the boat that the sail is for it can be measured and the size determined that way. Do you know if it is a main or a jib/genoa?

FWIW

 

[Slow Mo^cean]

I doubt someone would buy a gift card for several thousand dollars. If you could have them break it up into a few hundred dollar gift cards, you shouldn't have an issue selling them. You'll have to take a little loss on them though, because there would be no point for someone to buy a $500 gift certificate for $500..

 

[Mike B1026]

My first thought would be to return it to West Marine for a number of gift cards IF they can be used by a third party. You could sell them at a discount to interested parties. That would still give you a lot more than selling the "used" gear and the hassle.

You could get the cards from $250 - $500 which might be easier to sell than one very large one.

My dad cannot physically sail right now and asked me to sell off some of his equipment. Since we are not in the same state right now and I can't communicate with him easily I am left with lots of things and lots of questions.
1. Pretty much everything is new, in the original box so the stores said they would take it back but only give a gift card which I would need to sell. Do sailors buy gift cards to West Marine or places like that, for thousands of dollars?
2. Some things are rare, like a WP30 Digital Wheel Pilot which they do not make anymore. I would rather sell it to someone who needs it than return it to the company for a gift card. Where is a good place to find people looking for things like this?
3. If there is a bag with some kind of sail (I think)and rope in it (brand new) How do I know what kind of sail it is? Is there any kind of number printed on it somewhere that I can look for?
Thanks for any info you you can give me

 

[Bob McL]

Personally I am VERY suspicious of any third party gift card offer (scam?). I would use e-bay. If you don't mind the hassle Craig's list is okay

 

[Stu Jackson]

My dad cannot physically sail right now and asked me to sell off some of his equipment. Since we are not in the same state right now and I can't communicate with him easily I am left with lots of things and lots of questions.

If he can't physically sail, can he at least make up the inventory list?

If not, you might just have to wait a while and go there yourself.

What's the "communications" problem?

 

[xcyz]

Sorry ALL but this seems like a scam. It doesn't pass the smell test...

 

[Chris Nowell]

If W.M. has offered to take the merchandise back in exchange for gift cards I would be inclined to do that just to save the time and hassle involved in identifying, itemizing, appraising, and advertising them, not to mention dealing with all the phone calls and showings. You will have to get some input from everyone here on what is fair to expect for remuneration for the gift cards. Pre owned gear would not sell for exactly what it did when it was new and I'm assuming the gift card prices would have to reflect this. I'm always buying stuff at West Marine so if I could buy a few credits at a discount I would certainly do so. Good luck and keep me in mind if you do wind up with a few gift cards.

 

[Benny17441]

If it looks like a duck, sound like a duck amd smell like a duck; it is probably a duck!

 

[Merlin Clark]

You and he could come up with an inventory and anticipated price list and use one of those ebay -selling- shops where they do the ebay transactions for the owner of the items for a fee.
Our local one is a small private pack and ship company. Handy for folks that aren't ebay savvy and don't care to be. They are aware of all the ebay and CL scams too.
I doubt WM would accept returns of equipment that was purchased too long ago, anything they no longer stock or anything that isn't in the original (and good) packaging.

I think RG and Benny are right about this duck!

 

[Rick D]

Try Here First

You will see a page for sale items on this site. No cost to you to sell. I'd be inclined to sell here first. Typically something resold that is still new will go at a third to fifty percent discount. As far as the sail, check to see if there is a sail maker nearby who could help you identify it for value and description. If not, give your location and maybe someone near you on this site could help. Good luck.

 

[31seahorse]

Baltimore? Annapolis? There must be a sailor or two in the area who can help. I'll bet you couldn't "swing a cat" without hitting one! Try Bacon Sail & Marine in Annapolis for consignment of sails and equipment.

 

[MLampner]

I was going to just suggest Bacon's they are reasonably decent to deal with located may be 45 minutes drive from Baltimore or West Street in Annapolis. This also begs another question, where is the boat that this stuff was purchased with, it may well be it makes the most sense to sell most or all the gear as an add on to the boat, not because it will get you more money but it may make the boat more marketable. An older stripped sailboat will not fetch much at this and may be nearly impossible to sell as there are many being abandoned in some cases.

Assuming this is legit doesn't your father have some sailing buddies he could direct you to? The way you are asking the questions legitimately raises questions about your relationship to that which you are trying to sell. It sounds far fetched that you would have all this gear and no one to guide you.

 

[dawg2]

hmmm....odd. I sure would be "leary" of buying a gift card for $500....

 

[sailerdaughter]

Thanks so much for your answers (I understand the wariness about scams-especially since I spelled sailors wrong- but i am clueless and really appreciate your thoughts)

I don't know which boat the sail is for. over the years he's had at least three sailboats and one catamaran. ( I lived overseas for 7 years so I rarely went sailing with him). As far as I understand from my brother, who is in charge of selling the boats, they are all in bad repair since my dad was a fix-it kind of guy and only did things himself. He also is the type to be in the middle of a million projects at once so there is a lot more we kids are dealing with besides the boat stuff- which is why we want to get through this quickly and easily.
I like the idea of splitting up the gift cards into a bunch of hundreds. If people are wary of that they can check the numbers on the card online to see that they are legit before they buy them. I can even sell them at the store if i go there at a busy time and talk to people making big purchases (good idea? or would that seem creepy?- they could check that the cards are good then and there)
so far that's the best idea.
my hesitation is that on some forums i have seen people looking for things like a Force 10 seacook stove (new in box) and that other thing i mentioned before and since they don't make it any more i thought it would be good to sell.
if i would only get 50% of original cost i would rather try to sell the gift cards that have the full value. (the WP30 Digital Wheel Pilot was bought from a catalog and its in the original box with the invoice and has a remote so the company will take it and give me credit even though its 11 years old)
I will try to get the sail checked out if i have a chance only i am super busy and was hoping there was an easier way to figure what kind of sail it was
thanks again

 

[sailerdaughter]

my brother is overseas now so he can't help and he just wants to toss everything since he is very busy (i think he needs to go sailing)

 

[sailerdaughter]

if i did want to make a list of everthing i have to sell on this site- would it let me? i tried to post something on the For Sale page and it said I needed to write 100 posts first?

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Where is the boat stuff located? I know if it were near me, I would be willing to help you make a list of the stuff and figure out the best way to part with the stuff. Maybe someone in your area would be willing to do the same.

Us sailor need to stick together and help each other out. I would hate to see you get screwed on this while caring for an aging sailor.

I don't think there would be an issue with posting the list here.

 

[redhead78]

What kind of boat were the majority of these items from? make ,size year.As much info as u have..Red

 

[dparilla]

THere should be no issue posting the list here. If the site won't let you, any one of us can help. Make a detailed inventory with as much info as you can, if you don't know what an item is, then post a picture and we will help identify it. I buy alot of things on ebay, and am always looking for parts and pieces. (Like a stove/oven etc.) So if you aren't in too big a rush, post away and things will sell.