Selling your boat ( Annapolis area )

Jackdaw · Apr 21, 2014

I'd try this site and craigslist first.

Based on current market, the boat is worth between 5k and 10K? That should be a rather simple transaction. A broker's cut of that would be 10% (500-1000 bucks), you are not going to get a lot of work out of him for that.

svchickadee · Apr 21, 2014

This fellow specializes in smaller sailboats. He sold my Albin Vega for me a few years ago. He is located in Mayo.

http://www.grabbagsailboats.com/index.cfm

harbin2 · Apr 21, 2014

I know of a couple brokers that charge a flat fee for anything under 30K. That way, they get paid for the work they do, regardless of how much you get out of it. The 10% only applies if it is over 30K. Good luck.

Ron20324 · Apr 21, 2014

MerSea said:
I know Greg we bought the boat from him and my wife thinks we should go back with him. I don't know what to do yet, that why I put this post .

Bought and sold my O 222 through Greg, sold a B235. I knew him way back when he was "GBS". He'd be an excellent choice.

Crazy Dave Condon · Apr 22, 2014

For anyone working with buyers thru Craigslist, just be careful as their are scammers. I use to advertise thru that site and oh boy did I come up sometimes with a few whoppers. The best was to send the title work and then they would send the check. There are some good buyers but just be careful.

Warren Milberg · Apr 22, 2014

Over the past 40 years, I've sold 5 of my own boats privately, and a number of other boats as a part-time broker. Both selling yourself, or using a broker, have pros and cons. If you sell yourself, you will need to advertise widely (Craigslist is free, but as others note, there may be scammers out there), be available at all times to show the boat , vetting the buyers, sea trials, and be responsible for dealing with all the paperwork and title transfer. A broker, on the other hand, will do all of this for you -- at a cost. Greg, for example, charges 10% or a minimum of $1400, which I think is reasonable for the services he provides. My advice would be to thoroughly clean the boat and make sure everything is in working order. Then advertise it for 6 weeks or so and see what happens. If that does not work, take the boat up to Greg and let him sell it for you. He sells a lot of boats and sells them quickly as he is honest and prices the boats aggressively. A lot of owners make the mistake of thinking they will net more by selling themselves. That may, or may not, be true depending on how quickly, or not, the boat sells and what the interim carrying charges to you add up to.

momclarissa · Apr 22, 2014

+1 for Greg at GBS. We bought our Mac 26x from him, had him sell it a couple of years later and bought our current boat, a Hunter 34 from him.

Crazy Dave Condon · Apr 23, 2014

I too know how valuable this site for selling boats is due to past experience. It sounds like Greg who is a broker is well known with a good reputation. Thank you for letting me know about your stance on Craig's list.

If there is ever an issue, a good broker knows how to handle. Like some have pointed out, be prepared with all that is required to selling a boat to include being available at all times to show, sea trials, etc. if you have the time which most do not have.

Here are some things as a former dealer. I quit early on giving free rides unless it was an Open House once or twice a year for prospective buyers sailing on a few new boats in the water. If on an individual boat say brokerage, either a fee was charged with refund on the purchase of said boat or a contract with a deposit which separated the serious from the tire kickers. If dealing overseas, money wire transfer to one account and then redirected to the regular account to insure that those monies could not be withdrawn. If the buyer is concerned about the titling, I would use a third party set up to do that which we both agreed upon. Before the boat leaves or delivered to the port of export, all monies need to be received no ifs ands or butts. If leaving a boat at port of export, take photos of condition of boat both inside and outside (Once, I had received photos of one boat torn apart with a refund demand but was able to send photos of how boat was left at port of export with a notation that due to buyer's BS, it was the Austrailian customs who did that as the customs agent called me personally). Have the buyer sign any agreement that at least contains the clause or something close to it on a used boat as is, where is and so on to protect the seller. Never send any title work unless boat is sold and monies are received. One scammer wanted me to do that and I said no notating his cell phone was from the Bronx plus the address in CA was bogus as I simply checked it out on the internet (White Pages is one place to look at where or whom is most of the time).