Best Place to Sell Boats?

In the coming days, we are launching a consumer based listing system based on The Shipyard, a classified system built for the brokerage industry. It will be free for everyone while we propagate the system. Best of all, listings should rank well in a Google search. We are also planning to include select listings on our front page news feed, giving sellers additional exposure, plus we're going to offer a service to mail out listings to our member base for consumers and brokers who are aggressively marketing their boats/listings.

Forums are a natural marketplace and they attract buyers who are seeking the guidance and experience of owners. Most of the larger forums have vibrant, active listing systems, but they are usually a subforum. The Shipyard is a stand alone system that seamlessly integrates into YachtForums.

A promotional campaign is planned for the summer.

bravo!

Much depends on the size and type and price of boat. The vast majority of larger boats are sold through brokers. Most of those are listed on YachtWorld with smaller boats on BoatTrader. And boats below those price points have been sold on Craigslist and Ebay.

In support of Carl's comments on forums for selling, I've seen quite a few trawlers sold successfully on Trawler Forum. I've found people looking to move up in boats and those looking just to get started are good targets for advertising a boat on a forum.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens when Carl gets The Shipyard active. One advantage he has is his ability to get excellent search engine placement. I've seen many people try to sell boats through personal websites but unless they had the skills or hired someone for SEO, no one would ever know their site existed.

You'll have to decide if the traditional way of selling through a broker or some form of selling without one such as The Shipyard is right for you. Much of it depends on how much time and energy you're willing to spend with potential buyers. There are many lookers for every buyer. Brand will play a role too. For instance, the Post community here is active and dedicated and I imagine if you had a Post for sale it would do very well. On the other hand, Magnum is rarely mentioned here and I don't know of any owners and if that is what you were trying to sell, you might need a broader net. I also think person to person selling works best where the owner has taken great pride in maintaining a pristine boat. That way one has an exceptional boat and one that is highly likely to close after survey rather than have to be put back on the market.

One word I have to caution is if you list it on this or any other site, list as if a broker's commission is coming out of the selling price. Otherwise, if you end up changing to a broker, you'll either be shrinking your recovery or increasing the price and you really will have a difficult time increasing a price. So, don't discount from a broker price in your listing price. If you decide to sell for less, that's all up to you. You can always come down in price but raising a price is extremely difficult.

If I was wanting to sell a boat today, I'd find a good broker and go that route, but that's largely because I want nothing to do with selling one. I don't want to take calls or meet potential buyers or anything else related to it. I have enough businesses and selling boats isn't one of them and not one I want to be in. It's the same reason I trade cars and never sell the old one myself. I think it will be interesting to see how The Shipyard does.

There's a best place for everything. You said not to mention Craigslist, but I did intentionally. I'd never go there to sell or buy a boat, but a lot of people do so and if one has a $30k boat for sale, it may be the best place. I just scanned and a lot of boats for sale there, I can't think of a better way to sell. Then I see a $205k Nor-tech for sale there and I can't imagine that being the best place to try to sell it.

As long as you are priced right, staged right and have great pictures you should be fine on Yachtworld and BoatTrader. I can't imagine a boat buyer not looking/searching for a boat without checking those two.

Boats do tend to sit a long time before selling. Sellers want to keep the prices high for obvious reasons. Brokers want to keep the prices high to keep the market from deflating. Imagine if brokers recommended low ball asking prices, that just doesn't help with commission and it certainly doesn't help with comps.

If I were to sell a boat and wanted it sold, it would be priced below the comps and presented better than the comps. If I were selling just to make a change then I would keep the price higher and probably wait a long time.

"... Brokers want to keep the prices high to keep the market from deflating. Imagine if brokers recommended low ball asking prices, that just doesn't help with commission and it certainly doesn't help with comps."

Ouch! When I have a seller call me for listing his/her boat, I ask what price they want to net. Then I present them with the market research and advise what they should ask and what they should expect/accept. Then I ask their level of motivation or need for expediency. My job is to sell the yacht for the owner, not hold out for a specific price unless the seller so directs. My recommendations for pricing are based on recent sales and owner motivation with taking current sisterships for sale as a tertiary factor. Pricing a boat at a high value "to keep prices high" just means the yacht will sit on the market longer than necessary. No one wins there, especially the boat.

As Judy says, there is absolutely no incentive for a broker keeping prices high. They spend time and effort and don't get paid for an overpriced boat. Their incentive is to sell and pricing high is opposite to that. It's just like real estate where the only one who artificially inflates prices is the owner who won't listen to the broker.

Sorry Judy, perhaps I phrased my thoughts incorrectly. I do think that brokers walk more of a fine line on pricing and maintaining the value of the boats. You, as I have no doubt, take the professional broker role who is working for the seller. You do it the right way.

OB, I meant to imply that brokers, perhaps not all, will be better served to maintain higher pricing. My goodness, look at new boat pricing. It is crazy high. Do you think dealers are going to have low listing prices to depress the market on new vessels.

Boats and other big ticket items never strike me as comparable markets. Boats are just not items, they have more emotions and soul and very few people need a boat.

I do agree, logically, that the lower the broker can get the price the more boats they will sell and the sooner they will sell them. But, what if that is the only consideration? Keep lowering the prices? I don't see that on Yachtworld. Someone is keeping the prices from deflating.

Brokers are better served by selling more boats. 10% of something always beats 10% of nothing.

As to new boat prices, they're not crazy high just because you don't like them and their pricing has nothing to do with brokers. Most of the new boats we're talking about here have the prices set by the builders who are trying to maintain a decent profit. They reflect the costs of materials, labor, shipping and tariffs plus profits for the builders and any sales force or dealership group.

Fair enough, brokers selling boats is the best for everyone.

Back to new boats for a moment. You are telling me that a new Presitge 50 fly bridge is listed north of $1M US because of materials, labor, tarrifs, shipping and profit margin? You don't think there is any inflation or attempt to maintain higher listing prices built in there?

I did not say I didn't like it, I said it was crazy high. My opinion. Anyone paying List on a new boat? Not that that would be crazy or anything.

I think Triton84 is selling a bass boat, that is my best guess.

Each builder is different. Prestige is sold by dealers, so the builder has built extra into the MSRP so the dealer has room to discount it. Most boats discussed here are not sold in the same type dealer network as Prestige and deal with smaller gross margins. Prestige is sold more like Sea Rays and Cobalts and other smaller US boats are sold. Those brands have average dealer discounts off MSRP of 30% or so. Boats sold through typical brokerage arrangements have far less, typically 10-15%. I don't know what margin Prestige allows it's dealers but I suspect it's in at least the 20-25% range.

Most larger boats are sold by the builder or exclusive marketing organizations they have set up or have deals with. Not a lot of price negotiation. Not like going and buying a large Sea Ray and them offering you a 10% discount, you ask for 20% and end up somewhere in between.

Thanks, Gr8, but I have to clarify. I work for the seller...until I have a buyer. Then I work for both. I would estimate that out of the hundreds of yachts I've sold, maybe 70% is where I represented both seller and buyer. In large part it becomes a matter of trust and good conscience. I get the best price for my seller and the best deal for my buyer. Gaining the trust of both parties is what determines a successful (happy) closing. No seller is ever forced to accept less than he wants and no buyer should pay more. The conclusionary price = market value.

Roger that OB. I see the difference.

Thank you Judy,
I guess I was thinking more long term. What if the used boat market was only concerned about selling and selling fast, which low prices would facilitate. Would the market get eroded over the long run and effect the future earning potential?

You're overestimating the power of brokers. First, the influence of any single broker is minimal due to how many in the market. Second, the ability of brokers to influence sellers is less than you are implying and sellers are far more likely to overestimate the value of their boat than underestimate.

I certainly agree that sellers will overestimate the value of their boat. Every boat buyer wants to buy low and every seller wants to sell high. Of course.
You may be underestimating the power of brokers. They are in a profession which has a vested interest in maintaining the value of the product they broker. Notice, I say you may be underestimating, not that you are. I don't really know.