mayday mayday the boats got to go!

[3gsdad]

Well I found out today that my company is closing its doors. I was one of the few blessed ones asked to stay and wind thing down. Most of our other employees lost their jobs today. I will have a job for a few more months.

I could see the handrighting on the wall a few weeks ago and put an add on CL for my boat. I have not had a single phone call.

Is it possible to sell a boat at the end of the season or am I stuck with it til spring?
I love the boat but I can't afoard the payments when I am loosing my job.

Do you guy's have any advise for me on trying to sell it now?

 

[ziggy]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

like most things these days. everyone is looking for the deal. you'll sell it. it just depends on how low of a price ya get for it... unfortunetly for the seller, it's a buyers market these days for boats.

fwiw. i do a small biz. keeping the prices within reach of the customer just kills ya on the bottom line or even being able to score a job... it's a bum economy...

my condolences on your job loss... bummer..

 

[ErikF]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Sorry to hear about the company closing and the need to sell the boat.

All that aside though here's my take on the situation and selling the boat:

First, you say you're making payments on the boat, right? Most buyers will shy away from buying a boat that is still being paid off or for some other reason isn't owned free and clear.

Next, how is your price? Are you in line with the other boats for sale? If you want to sell it now you need to price it for a quick sale.

Honestly if you've had you're ad on Craigslist for a few weeks and haven't even had a nibble you're probably priced high, boats do sell cheaper at the end of the season and you need to make sure you're taking this into consideration.

If you could link to your ad it would really help us give you a better assessment.

-Erik

 

[3gsdad]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/2554118244.html

I hope the link works. I have lowered the price,put "OBO",changed pictures and discription and still nothing.
I owe 11,200 and I would take that if someone would offer it but I cant get a phone call. Maybe I should try to hold on to it until the spring.
I Think I could get 11, 500 in the peak of the boat buying season. I just don't know what the future holds, and would like it to go now so I don't have to worry about it all winter.
Oh and by the way selling the boat will not be my "second happiest day". My kids are going to freak out too.

 

[Danny C]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Concider what it will be costing you in intrest over the offseason months to continue making payments and see if you think that will cover the difference in market fluctuation from now till spring...It may make sense to drop the price now.

 

[scoutboater]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Sorry to hear about the job. It sucks for all of us.

As far as selling the boat, I think the pics would look a lot better if you got all of the gear out of the boat. Get the pfd's out from under the dash, get the towel off the front seats, and show them the boat. That being said, it doesn't hurt to show them the stuff, just lay it out nice and pretty in the yard or something and take one pic of just the 'goodies'.

As for the price, I hate to tell you that a five year old boat, even with low hours, and with that smaller motor probably wouldn't bring over $10,000 in my neck of the woods. And that's on a good day. Idk your market tho, so this may be a mum point.

Again, sorry about the job, and good luck with the boat.

P.S. - Might not hurt to tell how big it is?

 

[ErikF]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Just a few things I noticed.

First you never mentioned in the ad the model of the boat or the length. You also setup the ad with only a phone number and no email option, true you will get spam in your email but the more options you give buyers to contact you the better your luck of selling are. You should also make mention that all the paperwork is in order (titles, registrations, etc...)

 

[JWFails]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Sorry about the job. I agree with the other posters. Add size (model) and try to take better pictures in good light, out of shade, that shows color of graphics. I would also mention the value of all extras,tube,pfd's,skis,etc. It's all about marketing. As for the poster saying that people would be scared about lien on boat, not necasarily. I bought mine last year from a guy in the same boat (no pun intended) as you. I just went to my bank and for a small fee they did all the paperwork, got the title from lien holder, transfered the title,paid the taxes, etc. No concerns for me. I would also check and and see if you have any dealers that would take it on consignment. Just a thought. Good luck on boat and future employment.

 

[ErikF]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Take a look at this Ebay auction that just ended. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006-Stingray-200LX-Bank-Repo-Bowrider-Bow-Rider-Clean-/140593028531?pt=Power_Motorboats&hash=item20bbff5db3&autorefresh=true

Same year as your boat, probably longer, bigger engine (more desirable), higher hours, and maybe a little worse for wear.

But, it sold for right over $8k, or right around $9k if the buyer wants the trailer too.

If you're set on selling the boat right now you need to lower the price until you find some interest. Advertising over a wider area (Ebay, boat classifieds, etc...) might also be worth doing.

 

[saxrulez]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Here is the very best advice I can give you about selling on craigslist.

Take very high quality pictures and then upload them to picasa or imageshack or something of that nature. Then use the http code to display them in your ad FULL size. Now you have a CL ad that REALLY shows the condition the boat is in.

The default CL pictures are too small to ever tell any detail on an item/vehicle. If it looks pristine, you will instantly have 10x the interest. I did this with my motorcycle after not getting a call in 3 weeks(regular pictures like yours) and got 5-7 calls in 2 days after I changed it and sold it.

Do this, I promise you it will help. If it doesn't then you are definitely priced too high.

 

[saxrulez]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/2545049137.html

Check out this ad. This is what you want on yours.

 

[3gsdad]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Thanks for all the help. I will take ya'll advise and try the larger and better pics. I think that will help because the boat looks new. The pics I have in the add were just some I had stored on the computerand ya'll are right they don't do it justice. I had better pics of it in my first add but I took them in the garage so they were a little dark and made the boat look small so I changed to these.

The price is close I think. It is 11,300 on NADA without the trailer. I could probably get that in May but I guess not in Aug/Sept.

I will make $1350 in payments for the 6 months it sits over the winter so I have to think about that in droping the price to sell it now.

On the brite side I do have a boat to fall back on. A 12' jon with a 9.8. I am going to try to hold on to that one as long as I can.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Have you tried a "take over payments" approach?

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

If worse comes to worse and you loose your job sooner than expected, you can let it go back to the bank. This is a last resort type deal and least desirable but if the boat payment cuts into the mortgage, car payment, food, and utilities......I'd let the boat go.

 

[90stingray]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Like stated earlier... need to say what length the boat is. Maybe top mph as well. Larger pics will help too. It's gonna be a hard sell for a 4 cylinder. If you have it priced under NADA, then mention that too. Goodluck!

 

[raymondpickens]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Sorry to hear you have tough times coming, but remember one door closes another one opens. Might be the best thing that ever happened to you.

As for the boat, Much better and more pictures would be worth the effort. I pay much more attention to ads with great pictures, and it could be worth the couple grand your missing there. As stated above, I dont know your market in florida, but here in texas I have seen boats just like yours but with bigger motors sit on craigslist since the spring for much less money. You cant hardly give away a sub 18 foot boat with a 4banger in it around here. Well compared to what the Nada is anyways. Good luck and I hope It works out without having to sell the boat.

Stay safe,

Ray

 

[ezmobee]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

I wanted to emphasize some of the great advice already given:

Put in an email address. Some weirdos (like myself) hate the phone and are much more likely to contact you over email. Yes you will have scammers but they're pretty easy to weed out.

Put in large photobucket pictures but also leave in at least one CL picture so the ad still shows the "pics" icon. I did this with my last boat and sold it for a better price than I thought I would.

Your write up is good and does a great job emphasizing 2 very important things: it's turn-key water ready and that it's been garage kept. You've got some misspellings to fix though and of course add in the length of the boat.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

Someone mentioned NADA. I have yet to see NADA get remotely close for a boat. They are either well under or well over, but rarely actually on. Boats vary far too much with time of year and region. The fact that you have had it listed already without even a lowball offer tells me you are FAR over priced... Your only advantage is that there is still a little season left. If you try selling it in a month, its going to be 10x harder.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

I agree with a lot of the other posts, you need to look at the local papers and advertise there also. Craigs list has a bad reputation and a lot of people won't go there. Trader on line gets a lot of hits for boat adds.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: mayday mayday the boats got to go!

I am sorry to hear about your job. This is a crappy economy, and things look like they are getting worse again. I am in sales, and you have to really hype the boat up. Give as much information as possible and play to peoples emotions, and like everyone else said insert larger pictures. Boats are going at a decent price here in Texas still, but for some reason boats in Florida do not bring as much.