The two most important things you can do to get your boat sold quickly are to price it well and have as many recent, quality photos as possible in your listing.
ASKING PRICE
Our brokers can provide a BUC and/or NADA valuation and comps if you’d like. Valuations compared to asking prices are what buyers and lenders consider when choosing a boat. If your boat is randomly priced or based on an outdated valuation, it will be much more difficult to sell. Unlike some brokers, we never inflate an asking price to try to increase our commission. We want to get your boat sold at the right price!
PHOTOS
Photos sell boats! Because of the quantity and quality of the photos we include in our listing, many of our boats are put under contract and even sold “sight unseen.”
Buyers are now accustomed to buying everything online – from houses to cars to household goods and gifts. But they expect several quality, detailed photos to feel secure in making their decision to purchase.
Buyers have high expectations! They expect recent photos that show everything – warts and all – and for the boat to be clean and in a presentable, sale-able condition. Have you ever seen a house or car advertised for sale on the internet that is dirty or full of clutter?
Our brokers are trained and skilled at ‘showcasing’ your boat to stand out in the pretty crowded market because there are zillions of boats for sale and it’s a “buyer’s market.”
Here are some examples of how important photos are. All of these were very nice boats which were priced very well:
This beautiful Sea Ray sat on the market for nearly a year because there were so few photos. 2009 Sea Ray 230.
This one sold in 13 days! The 140 photos really made a difference. It sold “sight unseen.” 2002 MacGregor 26X.
This really nice Cobalt took over a year to sell because there were so few photos. 2008 Cobalt.
This complete project boat took just two months to sell – again “sight unseen” to an overseas buyer with over 100 photos. 1973 Columbia 57.
This lovely world cruiser took almost a year to sell due to the random and few photos (none of the deck and rigging at all!) 1981 Freya Halvorson 39.
SHOW READY
Once listed, your boat should be ready to show to potential buyers. Unless it’s a project boat, it should be clean and clutter-free. All systems should be working – unless disclosed in the listing. The batteries should be charged and the engine(s) ready to fire up.
ROCK SOLID CONTRACT
Once a buyer is found, it’s important to have everything in writing so there is absolutely no ambiguity, confusion, misunderstandings or risk to either you or the buyer. This includes price, dates (a clear timeline for the deposit, inspections, water trial, acceptance of vessel and close,) inventory and contingencies.
One of the reasons we are so successful at selling boats is our Purchase and Sale Agreement is excellent. While handshakes and verbal agreements are great, we believe in having everything in writing and only presenting signed offers to our sellers. We will never call you with a verbal offer.
Also, all of our contracts and addendums can be signed electronically, even on a smart phone. I have sold several boats to people who were actually on vacation!
Ready to Get Your Boat Sold? 