Tips on selling a boat

What tips or recommendations do you have on selling a wakeboarding boat? Which websites work and which ones don't? boatrader.com? eBay?

How much difference does it make whether I'm trying to sell in January (winter) or May (summer)?

Do local dealers typically offer a program where I can show my boat on their lot and they'll take a cut of the sale?

Do buyers always expect the seller to be negotiable with the sale price?

I am basically looking to sell a ski/wakeboarding boat with a tower for about $24,000.

I love your profile pic, from the look of the wake I'guess the boat was going 30mph+++

The last two boats I sold were through boattrader.
I think March and April are the best time to sell.
Good luck

I sodl mine on ebay after it wouldnt' sell locally and got more than I was asking.

There are more buyers in the early summer months therefore basic economics says you will get more $$

There are alot of consigment lots available to sell your baot at....look in the yellow pages.

Most buyers will try and negotiate on a used purchase

Your last statement is very general...kinda like I'm selling a dog w/ papers for $400.

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on January 10, 2006)

The more people who see your boat, the better your chances are of selling it. Before paying a website to list your boat you might try listing it in every forum you can find.

When selling my Nautique last year I had my boat listed for free on:

Wakeworld.com
Wakeboarder.com
Planet Nautique
Correct Craft Fan
Dallas Wakeboarding
360 Wakeboarding (Houston site)
..... And a few more that I can't remember

The point is to get your boat exposed to the masses. I had planned on trying the free sites through the winter and then listing it on Boat Trader in the spring. I live in Texas and sold my boat to a guy in California sight unseen, within a month of listing it on the sites above.

Also, list plenty of pictures and more information than anyone cares to read. You cannot have enough info listed for a boat buyer. Every boat buyer wants to know as much as possible, and then some, about the boat they are thinking about buying.

Good Luck


(Message edited by nauty on January 10, 2006)

Most dealers will help you with about anything for a %. Sell in spring, and if the price is non-negotiable, then say it is.

Richard...360 is the austin site...gcwa.com is houston

I sold my boat recently and I put free ad on www.craigslist.org I was getting tons of call. I put a paid ad on boattrader.com and got one call.

www.craigslist.org depending on where you live.

I got tons of hits while mine was listed on flipsell.com

I sold it to someone here on wakeworld through these classifieds.

don't forget to include location - some people will look far and wide, others won't

I sold my last boat here, last summer. Sold in like a week. Clean everything up, and ask a fair price, it will sell fast.

www.flipsell.com is where I sold my boat.

There is also a thought to make sure dealers know about your boat being for sale when they go to the boat show. Quite often people go to the shows to buy a new boat and find out they can't afford the price of a new boat, but if dealers know about your boat, then they can refer them to you and most will. (works best if you have a Nautique to sell to let the local Nautique dealer know because they will then end up with the maintenance, storage, gear....etc out of the deal)

try the free places before you go list it on btonline.com. Just for a frame of reference, I sold a 95 camaro with a cracked block in under a day by posting an add on a camaro enthusiest website. IMO, you'll find a better buyer on wakeboard specific websites.