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” . . you never get a second chance to make a first impression . . . “

Sell your Boat

After many years of happy cruising it may be simply be time to stop. Or, conversely, you may be wanting to upgrade your boat and find a new one with more space for friends and family on board. Whatever the reason, when it’s time say good-bye to your much-loved vessel you’re going to be entering a very competitive market place.

Attract, Inform, Convince – and Sell

  • In the Crowd. 
    Recognise that buyers have many other boats to choose from. Make sure that your boat stands out from the others – for all the right reasons! See things from the buyer’s point of view – check out  – What we tell Buyers to Look Out For –
  • First Impressions – what and how. 
    First and foremost people will judge on what they see – in photographs or video clips. And how will they get to see? Once upon a time it was through printed advertisements, nowadays it is via websites.
  • Information is Communication. 
    Prepare the right mix of cold facts with persuasive description. At the outset the facts should not overwhelm, complete detail can be provided later on. Description should present the boat in a positive light, and honestly so. What will a buyer really want to know?
  • The Asking Price.
    How does it relate to the crowd, to what others are asking? How does it relate to what buyers can see in the photographs and what they read in the description?
    A boat that looks and reads cheap must be sold cheap. A boat that seems to be expensive, by comparison, must deserve that price – and be at a level that people actually want to pay. What do they get for their money?
  •  Making the Sale.
    Things come to the crunch. If things fall into place properly, people will come and inspect. How will the full spectrum of reality match their superficial, but powerful, expectations? This is the positive opportunity to show, explain, present and convince. To answer questions and remove doubts. In other words, to sell.

The Options

  • Leave it to the Professionals.
    Boatshed will handle all the above points and do so with the unrivalled experience of selling over 1,000 boats every year. There is a cost in doing so, but this only happens as and when there is a sale. Their professional service means a greater certainty of a fast sale at an advantageous price. This can more than outweigh the cost.
  • Do it Yourself. 
    Of course, many people prepare their own information, promote and sell for themselves.

This is our detailed guide to the complete selling process –

Prepare and Photograph

Get your boat looking as good as possible – clean, tidy and polished. Inside, deep-clean into the corners, wash all fabrics and put everything away. Create a sense of light and space and polish all surfaces and metalwork til they shine.

Outside, make sure that all woodwork is in good condition, sanded and varnished where appropriate, and that the decks are spotless. Clean the topsides with proprietary boat cleaner and take the time to wax and polish – it makes the world of difference. Don’t forget any lines that are going with your boat – soak them in a bucket of suds, rinse with conditioner and they’ll feel like new. Pay attention to the fenders – a dirty, untidy set can ruin a boat’s appearance. If the boat is out of the water a coat of antifoul will also be worth the cost. By the time you’ve finished, your boat may never have looked so good, which is how it should be to sell.

Images
Take plenty of photos on a sunny day but avoid glare as dark shadows won’t really help. Show your boat from all angles and include close-up detail shots (loo seat down, please). Photos of things that aren’t quite so good are important, too. If there’s a crack, scratch, dent or impossible stain be up-front about it – this shows that you are being honest and have valued your boat carefully. Aside from the habitable spaces include photos of the engine, tool lockers and (cleaned) bilges.

These days, smartphones can provide very good images, and you can check them as you go along, discarding ones that don’t work and try again. In addition, and better still, use the video function to provide ‘walk-through’ clips of the cabin spaces and even ask a friend to take a short video from the shore as you cruise by. If you can use a drone to make a short clip as you cruise this will set you apart from other contenders. How much trouble you take over this is in direct proportion to your perceived value of the boat; the larger and more expensive your boat, the more trouble you’ll need to take because they are harder to sell.

You should end up with at least one photo that could make it to a magazine cover – showing the whole boat from the front quarter and preferably on the water. Up to ten shots should show enough to interest a buyer and you can make many more available when contact is made. Sort them, describe what they show and have them ready.

The condition of your boat is very important to a buyer and no matter how special it is, it won’t make it to the short list if it doesn’t look good in the initial photos you present.

If you use Boatshed’s services your broker will arrange and take a complete portfolio of photographs and video clips, as appropriate, for use on the Boatshed and other websites. 

Spick and Span

Having taken everything off board that you don’t want to part with make sure that all remaining equipment is in good working order and that it smells good for inspection. Check the engine and if it hasn’t had a service for a while, get one done. It needs to start from cold when your buyer arrives to inspect.

Paperwork

Collect all your documents together. Title deed, VAT receipts, all purchases and work/repair receipts, insurance documents, previous surveys and so on. Include a list of where you’ve taken her, to explain her engine hours and to fire up the imagination. Fuel consumption will be one of the questions you’ll need to answer. Use exact specifications for your boat’s dimensions and brand names for all features, especially those that you’ve added aboard. Clear, easy to read information is key and if you can produce a layout plan with dimensions you’ll be one of the few and immediately of interest.

Price Point

Research the market to assess a realistic value by looking at similar boats to yours. Value is affected by how many boats like yours are for sale in your area, and factors such as fuel consumption will influence value as well as the condition of your boat. If you have a newer engine in your boat, for example, than an identical one close by, yours will have greater value. Another factor will be where your boat is actually located – if possible, get your boat to a marina/mooring that’s a popular hub for boat sales and easily accessible.

Boats are pleasure items, not necessities, so it’s easy to over-value your boat due to the emotional-value of the time you’ve spent aboard. Try to be realistic about the true value of your boat – and remember that value is different from price. Pricing below the value of your boat will bring a quicker sale.

Judging the asking price

If you use Boatshed’s services then you can rely on your broker’s experienced judgement of market conditions and comparisons to set the optimum price level.

The waterway magazine publisher Fluvial has a very useful interactive guide that matches boat details from its comprehensive database against prices asked by advertisers [in French].

FLUVIAL BOAT + PRICE GUIDE

Promote

In a market of thousands, budget for a spend on promotion in order to be at all visible. Choose your best photos – external and internal – to show all aspects and list all the boat’s attributes, and the trailer’s, too, if you are including one in the sale. If things need fixing, say so; this is not necessarily off-putting. It’s fear of the unknown that makes a buyer wary. What they’re looking for is reassurance and value for money.

If you use Boatshed your boat’s details will be promoted throughout their world-wide broker network, via their highly popular website (280,000 visitors each month) and in other website portals such as ApolloDuck. 

Sell

When the fish start to bite be sure to respond immediately and offer to send preliminary documents by email. Likewise, ask them what stage they’re at in their buying process – do they have finance arranged? When could they come and view?

Be prepared to welcome their surveyor and take the buyer out in the boat. Work out your negotiation tactics – it’s not always cash that wins. Sometimes an offer to include an item you’d rather keep, or deliver the boat to a mooring, will secure the price you want.

With Boatshed, all viewings are managed in person by your broker. Also all subsequent purchase negotiations, contracts and paperwork, and financial arrangements.

Advertise on Waterways-Boats.com – or – Boatshed can Sell your Boat for you

More Buying and Selling Advice from Waterways Boats . . .