Selling a boat on e-bay need advice

[wakai]

Has any one sold their boat on e-bay? I am thinking that I might have better luck than the traditional methods that have not worked. I have never sold or bought any thing on e-bay, I''m looking for any advice on what I should do. Once I put it on e-bay will I be locked in? Can I sell to outside buyer? Any ideas or experances you have will be welcome.The boat is a 1983 HUNTER 34

[ughmo2000]

Hi,

Place a reserve amount on your boat and a starting bid price so you''ll get at least that amount. Put a disclaimer in your add stating you have the right to cancel the auction at any time so you won''t be "locked in".

Other than that, be as descriptive as you can concerning the boat''s systems, inventories, tankage, electronics, et.al. Include lots of photos, etc.

Take a look at how others have listed their boats and go from there.

Good luck!

[Jeff_H]

I have not sold a boat on Ebay but have watched a few auctions. My suggestions are to really clean out the boat so that no personal gear shows and all of the cushions etc are in place and take good clear pictures that explain the interior, deck and rig. The better shape the boat is in the more important that the photo gallery will be to the sales price. If the boat looks like a project it will languish and go unsold. The cleaner and readier to go that the boat seems to be the more likely it is that you will get your price. The sloppier and more unkept the less likely it is to yield its reserve.

Jeff

[deseely]

I bought a boat that had been listed on Ebay. I was out bid by someone who actual had no intensions of buying the boat, they just didn''t want to be out bid. I ended up contacting the owner several days after the bidding had closed and got the boat for quite a bit less than the high bid. What you should learn from my experience is that there are many dead beat bidders out there. Don''t get discouraged if you have to relist it several times.

[mfatic]

I actually bought my boat because of eBay, but not through it. The PO used eBay as a marketing tool to get visibility.

I was looking everywhere for boats 18 months ago and found some, but not many, interesting craft on eBay. I was also going to all the on-line boat brokerages I could find not only to see what I might buy, but also to learn what was out there.

I stumbled across a local Pearson 323 on eBay and corresponded with the owner to get more information. After several emails, we talked on the phone, then went for a sea trial. No money had changed hands at this point, but we''d left eBay behind as the transaction method. The deal came down to me and another guy on the east coast that was willing to pay $2k over my offer sight-unseen and have the boat shipped from LA to NY.

Even through that minor bidding war, I believe that I got a very good price for a very sound boat that really only needed cosmetic and minor system work.

I honestly lucked out. The PO was in a hurry to sell and the local broker wasn''t getting any prospective buyers. I came into the deal at the right time and ended up with a boat I''m very pleased with. In fact, of all the other boats I''ve sailed on and seen at shows in the last few years I can''t see myself owning anything else... At least anything I can afford. (Although I do rather like the new Beneteau 365 as a race-cruiser.)

I think the key to my eBay transaction working was the fact that the seller was local and I had a chance to do the normal due-dilligence prior to the sale. If there was a 42'' Swan on eBay for $2,000 that was 2k miles away, I don''t think I''d be interested.

Hope that helps.