Tips for Selling Your Boat Yourself!

Pictured here are Tom & Gordon. Tom is the new owner of SV San San.

 If you are a reader of Latitude's & Attitudes Magazine then check out pages 64 & 65!! There you will see this article, published Woohoo in the June 2012 issue! The feeling I get from being published never gets old!

Listen I am no salesman, no yacht broker and I’m definitely no expert but several readers have emailed with questions on how we sold our boat so fast. She sold in 3 months. This is not the first time we sold a boat “By Owner”. Our last boat, a 424 Pearson, was sold using our same method.  It sold really fast, we were still sailing her home from Bahamas while the buyer was emailing us his flight reservations before we hit the dock in Miami. What is the method you ask? Well, get out your pens and pencils boys and girls, here are 5 tips for selling your boat yourself.

Creating Your Own Boat For Sale Ad

• First, gather up all your materials. This means get the specs, write up a blurb about the boat and take photos. You may even be able to locate a line drawing on-line which makes for a better ad. The more information the better, this will weed out any unnecessary emails with questions like, “What’s her draft, Captain?” If the draft and other specs are clearly shown you can essentially sell the boat in a one time visit to your ad. Give contact information and list the price.

• Taking photos. Take your time with photos. Set a whole day aside just to take pictures. Remove everything from the area to be photographed. Make your boat as clean as possible. For instance, if you are taking a photo of the salon clear the area of books, clothes and any other items that hinder the view of the boat itself. I cannot stress the importance of this step enough. There is nothing worse than shopping for a boat and trying to decipher what you are looking at. “Is that the galley, or a workshop?” Show some photos of the boat under sail. Give the impression that the boat is not just one that sits at the dock. Really show them what she can do! Taking quality photos is like allowing potential buyers a visit to your boat without the hassle travel expenses on either party.

• Create an online presence. If you haven’t noticed by now the way to reach people is on the World Wide Web. With all the free blog hosting sites you can take your pick and create a smashing presentation using the latest technology. You no longer have to be a computer whizz to do this stuff, it’s basically Cut & Paste with a little bit of know-how. The main thing you want is to be able to track your stats. Get a stat counter or a blog that has stats built in. This will help you figure out where your audience is coming from. Once you have picked out a host (site) began uploading your photos and creating a bit of verbiage (some words to describe) to the reader/potential buyer what in fact they are seeing, what’s it like upon entering the companionway, etc.

• Give contact information. Give an email address or a phone number or both.  Answer your leads quickly and thoroughly answering all their questions. I really have to say this too, be polite. I can’t tell you how many times we have emailed about a boat and gotten short one or two word responses. All I have to say about that is, “You catch more flies with honey.” Allow your reader to see the boat in action, if you have a current blog give the web address. This shows the potential buyer that the boat is being used. It’s not just sitting, being neglected; it’s being run and maintained.

• Once you have an ad you can be proud of bring it to the people! There are so many free outlets to show off your ad it’s laughable. Go to any forum and there is a Free Classified Ad section. Give a little bit of information, just a taste and then direct them to your site by putting your link in it. A lot of people don’t want to Cut & Paste, the want to just click on a link.Craigslist.com, Searfaring.com, & CruisersForum.com are just some of the sites that worked for us.

Selling your boat can be one of the biggest pains of boat ownership; which is why some people like the professional service a yacht broker can provide.  Using these tips, check out the listings of the yacht broker you might select and see if all your questions are answered. How do the pictures look? What is the first impression you get? Is it one you would want people to get when they look at your boat? Be careful and be wise. Hopefully, these tips will help you in your search for a new boat, and in the sale of your old boat.