Selling a boat...broker vs on your own?

[Dogboy]

A growing family and a larger boat purchase have me in a situation where I need to say goodbye to my small trailerable sailboat.  I've sold one boat on my own, but I already had a buyer before I decided to sell, so it wasn't much hassle, he just purchased it and that was that.  I've also sold a boat through a broker.  It was quick and easy, but cost me about $1,500.  I'm inclined to go with a broker to avoid the hassle of selling, but I thought I'd ask here first if people could give me a sense for what was involved in selling your boat on your own?  How much did you spend on for sale listings?  How much time did you spend talking with window shoppers, and how did you make sure the check was good before signing over the title etc.?  I need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks.  Right now I'm leaning towards a broker just to not have to deal with it, but I'm not excited about handing over a good chunk of the value.

Note, I am NOT asking for inquiries about my boat.

Thanks.

[rbh1515]

I have done it both ways and fortunately have always sold my boats very quickly.  I think it really does depend on how much time you have to show people the boat.  Also, the brokers are able to give the boat potentially more exposure.  I am in Milwaukee, and the market is not great for selling a boat, but we have a lot of big/good markets nearby:  Chicago etc.
I also think its easier to sell a small inexpensive boat on your own.  A larger boat that is more expensive can be harder to sell on your own.  Also, it depends if you are in a hurry to sell.  If you are not in a hurry, try it yourself, and if it doesn't sell you can go the brokerage route.
About 14 years ago I was selling my Colgate 26, and buying a new Catalina 28 from a broker.  He let me put it up for sale myself (Craigslist), and he also marketed it for the same price on his website.  If I sold it no commision for him; if he sold it he got commision.  I had a few tirekickers call me, and one guy in Minnesota said he was very serious about buying it, but was not sure when he could come out to look at it.  My broker had a guy come from Colorado looking for a 25-26' fresh water boat.  He bought my boat that day.  After we finished the deal, the guy from Minnesota called and said he was ready to come out and buy the boat.
Good luck!
Rob 

[Tadpole]

Over the years I've sold several sailboats using Sailboatowners.com.  Last time I used them there was no cost unless you decided to donate.  The biggest advantage with Sailboatowners.com is that you are generally dealing with people who know sailboats and are specifically looking for one.  They also usually know what to expect from the transaction.  Most small sailboats are sold on a "cash only" basis.

Of course it ultimately depends on how much you expect to get for your boat, how soon you need to sell it, and how deep your pockets are.  I've found that sound, well kept sailboats sell very quickly!

My 2¢ worth

Tadpole

[wroundey]

Selling yourself you should also check out sailingtexas.com - I have listed a number of boats there over the years.

[Shawn]

For a smaller trailer sailboat I think just selling directly is the way to go. That is assuming your boat is in good shape and you aren't asking an outrageous amount of money. I kind of think when you get into the size of requiring a survey then that may be a decent sign you might also want to consider a broker.

When I sold my Flying Scot I just put a for sale ad on the Flying Scot forum and the boat was sold within 2 weeks to the first person that looked at her.

With Serenity (Compac 23) I had a listing here for awhile and had one person look at her.

I ended up putting a listing on sailboatlistings.com and paid the $25 for a featured boat ad. Had a serious caller the next day, an offer from that buyer that night, an accepted counteroffer the next day and cash in hand two days later.

Anything online and you will likely get scam offers. I had a couple but they are very obvious. For both of my sales they were cash deals.

Biggest hassle after the sale was on the Flying Scot's trailer. I had transferred that trailer registration to the Compac's trailer. The new owner (with signed over title) had a hard time registering the trailer in Pa. as they wanted the old registration that I no longer had. I ended up having to send the new owner a few documents before Pa. registered the trailer for him. I think it was a copy of the excise tax bill I paid on the trailer that finally allowed the new owner to get it registered in his name.

Good luck,

Shawn

[Dogboy]

The boat in question is a 2010 Sunday Cat that I can keep in my garage (after suitible relocation of the random junk in there to clear a spot) with no cost.  Once I'm able to get the storage yard to dig it out its hybernation den, I'll probably try to sell it on my own for a month or two, and if that doesn't work, then go broker.  I've purchased a Compac 25 so I'm still in the family so to speak.  Thanks for the quick perspectives.  As much as I don't really WANT to deal with selling it myself, I have no holding costs, so I may as well give it a go for a bit.

[hoddinr]

I agree with Shawn regarding Sailboatlistings.com  I had an ad on Sailing Texas and got only one response.  When I put it on Sailboat listings, and paid $25 for the featured ad, I got instant responses.

I eventually sold it to a person who saw it on Sailing Texas anyway.

Ron

[relamb]

I've sold a half dozen boats and many cars myself without a broker, it's no big deal for a small boat as long as you have time to show it to people.
However, I pretty much insist on cash or wire transfer.  In the rare case where it's too much cash to carry around (like $20k) I will take a cashiers check, but....
I always have the buyer meet me at the bank, on camera, and hand the cash or cashiers check over directly to the teller. If I do feel comfortable enough with the person to take a cashiers check (watch out, some are forged) I have the bank manager call the issuing bank and make sure the funds are good.
The reason for the bank is that nobody is going to rob me inside the bank (I hope), they're on camera, and the teller checks for counterfit bills.
It's good for the buyer too, would I steal a car, then go to a bank on camera and sell it to you?  Not likely.
It might be more difficult to show a boat in a bank parking lot, but I usually meet car buyers there to show.  You're likely to be on camera then as well, just in case.   There's a lot of scammers out there, I've had several swear they were going to buy my stuff and were going to give me a cashiers check, then failed to show up when I insisted on meeting at the bank.

[hoddinr]

When I recently sold Whisper, I went to the Bank parking lot of the buyer's bank, and got a cashier's check made out to me.

The clerk offered to cash it, but I was two days away from home and didn't want that much cash on me!

Ron

[Salty19]

No need to use a broker with a small boat. You can place a free ad right here on this site for any Compac boat or parts.  Just post a for sale ad in the classified section and I'm sure you'll find a buyer in no time.

[ChuckO]

Ahoy !

Selling a boat on your own is not a big deal.  I've sold two and bought two in the last couple years.  Cost me less than $100 each time and both sold within a few weeks. Good brokers are not going to spend much time marketing a boat and making a few hundred bucks .... if they are any good ... they have bigger fish to fry and will spend their time and money accordingly.  We salesmen are basically prostitutes.

Clean her up, make her ready for the water, take a lot of pictures, write a good description, price it competitively, post it on all the sites you can find (as previously mentioned - many are free) .... be ready to negotiate a little (it's the American way) and it will happen. New boats have gone up considerably in the last few years and older clean trailerable boats are in demand.  Craig's List has brought me local lookers ... but the sale has always been from elsewhere.

Beware of scammers wanting to buy it without seeing it, wanting it shipped to Europe or any deal that seems too good to be true. 

My purchases and sells have all been with people several hundred miles away.  You will be amazed at the distance people will travel for the "right boat".  So the trailer needs to be road ready and have a spare tire, working lights, etc.

If your home isn't good for the point of sale .. A very busy public area makes a great meeting place to "show the boat".  For example: WalMart  parking lots are good.  Most have active cameras on every light pole.  Keep in mind that the buyer may have the cash with him and is just as nervous as you are.  A certified check cut from a BOA or other large bank to a local bank may be okay ... but many banks are very cautious about same today and will probably want it from their own network.


Chucko
Carpe Diem CP-16/2
Charleston, SC

[Dogboy]

Update.  I sold my boat and I did not use a broker.  The only issues I had were dealing with delivery (midwest to east coast) and payment.  The buyer had someone from a local marina come and look at the boat, so I figured it wasn't a scam.  We signed the sale agreement via email and scanning documents.  Then he ended up wiring the money to me, and then I sent him photocopies of the signed title and registration, then overnighted the originals.  Then I packed up the boat and readied it for transport.

Here she is as the transporter picked her up.


Thanks again to all who recommended selling on my own.  It wasn't as bad as I feared, and I didn't have to pay a broker fee.

[hoddinr]

Glad it worked out for you.  Pretty boat!

Ron Hoddinott