|
Trying to sell? Don't publish HIN!!
I recently offered my boat for sale on a website that requested my HIN. The purpose was to link prospective buyers to a website that uses your HIN to search for records of accidents, salvage, sinking, hurricane exposure, etc.
I was surprised to see that the link showed that my boat had two records of incidents. To find out what those incidents were, the buyer (or seller) has to pay $45.00. I have owned this boat since it was almost new and I know of no such incidents nor have I found it to be unseaworthy in any way. I believe they mis-typed the HIN into the database. Even if I pay for the records to see if what they claim is true, I probably can't get them to believe that they are wrong and change it
The day this link was attached to my ad, the inquiries stopped cold. Why would anyone pay to see the record of a boat with two unknown incident unless they are seroiusly planning to buy it? And why would anyone seriously plan to buy a boat with serious issues? Easier to pass on it.
To their credit, the website that placed my ad refunded my money, but now I have one less avenue to use to sell.
Max
|