Boat selling advice needed.

[Jeff Asbury]

Hey all. Skipper Jeff here. How did you sell your boat? Did you use a broker. I have had my boat listed on sailboat listings.com, craigslist, posted to the Ericsson site, other sailing sites, Facebook, made and distributed flyers at my marina and chandleries. I have had only two parties look at my boat over the past month. My price is more than fair at $11,500. Considering the condition of my boat equipped with a diesel, roller furling and radar just to list a few great features. One guy loved the boat but said he wanted a wheel. Another one wanted me to come down 2K in price. I came down 1,500 and I have not heard back. My boat has been on the market a month now. I’m not in a huge hurry to sell, but I do want to sell it so I can be free to start looking for a larger live a board.

What about Brokers? I talked to one that showed me a Pacific Seacraft 37’ that I was drooling over. I asked him about listing my E-27. He said he did not bother with boats under 30K and then he took 15%. He said if he did list my boat he would want a minimum of 3K commission if it sold. There has to be brokers that are more reasonable than that. Any advice you might have would be great. E-Bay?

I recently saw a dilapidated E-27 sell for 8K. Nothing close to as well maintained as mine with hardly any of the features mine has.

Thank you all in advance. -Jeff

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/56745

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/boa/5555864793.html

 

[Christian Williams]

That sounds about right for yacht brokers. Ten percent or 3K.

Good broker useful, I think. They deal with paperwork and financing "options" and seller take-back loans (which you might consider) in addition to listing. . Generally they will agree that if you bring in the buyer, they will split the commission. In effect, that literally means a $1500 discount for members of Ericson forum.

Talk to Lon Bubeck at Flying Cloud Yachts in Long Beach. Good guy, and if anybody knows the selling options he does.

Personally, I think CL probably works best in this case.

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Personally, I think CL probably works best in this case.

Thanks Christian, I have followed Flying Cloud Yachts Facebook page for a while now. I will check them out. What do you mean by "I think CL probably works best in this case". What is "CL"?

 

[Loren Beach]

Thanks Christian, I have followed Flying Cloud Yachts Facebook page for a while now. I will check them out. What do you mean by "I think CL probably works best in this case". What is "CL"?

If I may, "CL" is shorthand for CraigsList.
I have a friend who used CL and was able to sell his J-30, and got his asking price. Like your boat, it was a well-equipped example.
That's the good news... not-so-good was that it took 6 months and multiple re-postings.
After getting nothing but flakes for a few months, he stopped trying for a few weeks and then tried it again multiple times. Finally got multiple full-price offers.

While talking about how wide to broadcast you ad efforts, you might also use the ad section in your local Nextdoor.com. It is more local and smaller than CL, but around my area it seems to be growing steadily.

Regards,
Loren

 

[Alan Gomes]

Hey all. Skipper Jeff here. How did you sell your boat? Did you use a broker. I have had my boat listed on sailboat listings.com, craigslist, posted to the Ericsson site, other sailing sites, Facebook, made and distributed flyers at my marina and chandleries. I have had only two parties look at my boat over the past month. My price is more than fair at $11,500. Considering the condition of my boat equipped with a diesel, roller furling and radar just to list a few great features. One guy loved the boat but said he wanted a wheel. Another one wanted me to come down 2K in price. I came down 1,500 and I have not heard back. My boat has been on the market a month now. I’m not in a huge hurry to sell, but I do want to sell it so I can be free to start looking for a larger live a board.

What about Brokers? I talked to one that showed me a Pacific Seacraft 37’ that I was drooling over. I asked him about listing my E-27. He said he did not bother with boats under 30K and then he took 15%. He said if he did list my boat he would want a minimum of 3K commission if it sold. There has to be brokers that are more reasonable than that. Any advice you might have would be great. E-Bay?

I recently saw a dilapidated E-27 sell for 8K. Nothing close to as well maintained as mine with hardly any of the features mine has.

Thank you all in advance. -Jeff

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/56745

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/boa/5555864793.html

Jeff,
If it's really true that you are not in a huge hurry to sell, I'd give it more time before going the broker route.

It is true that you are competing with other 27s out there being listed at lower sales prices. But most buyers are clueless that the couple of thousand they save on the initial purchase price will be more than eaten up on all the stuff they are going to have to do to the boat. Your boat is excellent--great shape and well equipped. There are some discerning buyers out there and I think it's just a matter of time before one finds your boat. I know when I was looking for a smaller boat the E27 was on my short list, but all the ones I looked at were beaters. If this were 2012 and not 2016 I might well have bought your boat! But then, having fixed up boats in the past I know how expensive a "bargain boat" really is!

Anyway, just hang in there and don't be discouraged by cheaper 27s listed on CL. A knowledgeable and serious buyer who looks at those cheaper ones and then looks at yours will understand why you are asking a few thousand more. Realize, too, that with summer coming the market should be heating up a bit.

 

[Loren Beach]

I agree with Alan regarding selling into summer and warmer weather. Several decades ago I did some sail boat brokering - completely away from my day job.
Spring is when potential sailors start "dreaming of palm trees, warm winds, and images of island girls in grass skirts" (!).

While many brokers love smaller boats as much as you and I, there's little profit in them. I recall seeing the truth in the adage that it take as much time for a customer to make a buying decision for an 8' dinghy as for a 30' cruiser!

Repeat those ads on-line, and remember that the ad you put up at 9 am this morning will be buried deep the listings by this afternoon on CL. Lots and lots of ad traffic.
The right person might not visit the site and see it while it's visible on the opening screen this hour, but tomorrow or next week they might.

And then, knowledgeable buyers are a small % of the market. Someone will come along. Patience is a good thing.... and refreshing the ad.

Good luck,
Loren

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Thanks Christian, Loren & Alan for all the great advice and support. CL, got it. Speaking of CL my old account and sailboat ad got hacked. I had to create a whole new account. Someone replaced my listing for a pontoon party boat with a bunch of gibberish text twice. Craigslist flagged and deleted my listing twice. I also got a couple of texts from folks claiming they were on a offshore passage, supposedly merchant sailors that wanted to send me a certified bank check. Of course they were asking for my account number. I talked to another dock neighbor trying to sell his boat on CL and the same thing happened to him and it was a guy in the Coast Guard offshore. I also got multiple phone calls from a boat / auto dealer type company in Nevada that wanted to sell my boat for me for a flat rate of $180. Money back refund if my boat did not sell in a certain amount of time. I google that agency and several folks did not get their money back.

The two prospective buyers I did get that actually looked at my boat were, one from word of mouth. The other from sailboat listings .com. Loren it is spring down here in LA. That's why I started to advertise on March 1st. The reason I asked for advice is that I have two friends that recently sold their Ericson's quickly down here over the winter. One was a E-30 + and the other was a E-27 of my vintage. Yeah I'm not in a great hurry but I do want to start the process. I'm looking forward to living aboard and hopefully retiring in the next few years. Not to mention not having to mow my lawn anymore.

 

[toddster]

I have bought and sold vehicles and boats on Craigslist quite a few times. It does take some patience. And sometimes some creative writing. When I bought my current boat, I was watching several "project boats" that had been posted and re-posted for months. Then they all sold at once around the first week of June. (I lost out on two of them because I had to drive across the state with my accepted cash offer, and someone else stepped in before I got there.)

I notice that some people list their boats in the CL for every major city on the west coast. These tend to be the higher-end ones. Don't know if that helps to sell them or not.

 

[bgary]

Two other random tidbits

When I was searching for my boat, I tried to engage brokers and was told that "generally speaking", listings under $25-30k are not worth the broker's time. I don't know that it is universally true, but if you're engaging with a broker it's probably worth finding out how much energy and effort he/she is going to put in on your behalf. Craigslist seems to be the place, and a number of brokers will help with guidance on paperwork, escrow account, title transition, etc. Especially if you're going to be looking for your next boat.

And, just my purely subjective opinion, but your flyer might be a little intimidating to someone looking for their first boat. pretty dense text, and the headline ("lovingly restored") might be wrongly translated as "this thing needed a lot of work". Might put on your marketing buzz-word hat and try a less-is-more flyer: "Ericson 27 - pristine and ready for adventure!".... with a short bullet list of noteworthy things ("upgraded rigging! full complement of electronics! lovingly maintained inside and out") and your number/email for more info.

I think of flyers (and listings, and classifieds...) like I think of resumes - a resume doesn't get you a job, at *best* it gets someone interested enough to talk to you, so the goal in writing a resume is to give just enough info to intrigue the reader, without giving them any reason to move onto the next resume. Same thing with your flyer - put just enough info on it to get people to call, and nothing on it that might make people move along...

$.02

PS - to the guy who really wants a wheel? Take him sailing. Let him see how delightful it is to sit with hand on tiller, and how the tiller-pilot makes it easy and effortless...

 

[bgary]

Forgot to add

There are 13 E27s on Yachtworld right now, asking prices from $3800 to $22,750

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...on&slim=quick&No=0&Ns=PBoat_sortByPriceDesc|1

There's one in MDR at $9500, with outboard and tiller, and doesn't look *nearly* as nice as yours.

I don't think there's any problem with your asking price. I think the challenge is getting people to come see it.

JMHO

 

[Jeff Asbury]

When I was searching for my boat, I tried to engage brokers and was told that "generally speaking", listings under $25-30k are not worth the broker's time. I don't know that it is universally true, but if you're engaging with a broker it's probably worth finding out how much energy and effort he/she is going to put in on your behalf. Craigslist seems to be the place, and a number of brokers will help with guidance on paperwork, escrow account, title transition, etc. Especially if you're going to be looking for your next boat.

And, just my purely subjective opinion, but your flyer might be a little intimidating to someone looking for their first boat. pretty dense text, and the headline ("lovingly restored") might be wrongly translated as "this thing needed a lot of work". Might put on your marketing buzz-word hat and try a less-is-more flyer: "Ericson 27 - pristine and ready for adventure!".... with a short bullet list of noteworthy things ("upgraded rigging! full complement of electronics! lovingly maintained inside and out") and your number/email for more info.

I think of flyers (and listings, and classifieds...) like I think of resumes - a resume doesn't get you a job, at *best* it gets someone interested enough to talk to you, so the goal in writing a resume is to give just enough info to intrigue the reader, without giving them any reason to move onto the next resume. Same thing with your flyer - put just enough info on it to get people to call, and nothing on it that might make people move along...

$.02

PS - to the guy who really wants a wheel? Take him sailing. Let him see how delightful it is to sit with hand on tiller, and how the tiller-pilot makes it easy and effortless...

Thanks for your $.02. All very good suggestions! There really are not that many flyers out there. Four at neighboring Marinas and a couple at two local chandleries. I will try and simply my flyer. The only valid interest I got came from Sailboatlistings.com. Nothing of any real interest has come from Craigslist. Only annoying scams so far.

Link Here for Sailboatlistings.com: http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/56745

 

[Christian Williams]

Oh, and be sure to put a For Sale sign on the boat with a phone number big enough to see (without having a key to the gate).

One MDR broker says such signs are the most powerful tool of all.

 

[Alan Gomes]

There are 13 E27s on Yachtworld right now, asking prices from $3800 to $22,750

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...on&slim=quick&No=0&Ns=PBoat_sortByPriceDesc|1

There's one in MDR at $9500, with outboard and tiller, and doesn't look *nearly* as nice as yours.

I don't think there's any problem with your asking price. I think the challenge is getting people to come see it.

JMHO

The listing for $22,750 is delusional....

 

[Rick R.]

Sales

Jeff,

Sales is easy if you start with the end in mind.
I) Know what you you want and what you will settle for
2) Don't be in a hurry, 30 days is nothing (If you don't believe me, look at Sailboatlistings.com where some of those boats have been listed for years)
3) List, then enjoy your boat. I'm leaving next week to sail to Key West on a friends Leopard 38 he's had listed with a big-time broker for two years.
4) There is a Zen to sales (Keep repeating the mantra.....If this guy doesn't buy, the next one will)
5) Lastly, sell it for what you want. Price it high, look em in the eye and watch them buy.
RR

 

[tenders]

I agree that the many features your boat has belong on the back of the flyer, and the benefits to the buyer belong on the front.

Benefits include things like:
* Ready to sail TODAY
* Feel the wind in your hair as you spend an afternoon at sea
* Your wife will love this boat's comfortable cabin
* Your friends will love this boat's classic look
* Own the Lexus of sailboats at the price of a Chevy (insert car manufacturers of your choice)
* World's cleanest and best-equipped boat under 30' or $30K

I think your eventual buyer will be somebody who's pretty set on a Catalina 25 (or equivalent) but will be impressed enough by the condition of your boat to give it a look.

 

[Jeff Asbury]

marketing genius!

Thank you Rick R. & Tenders, you Guys are marketing genius! I will be stealing some of your copy verbatim!

 

[Don Smith]

Hey all. Skipper Jeff here. How did you sell your boat? Did you use a broker. I have had my boat listed on sailboat listings.com, craigslist, posted to the Ericsson site, other sailing sites, Facebook, made and distributed flyers at my marina and chandleries. I have had only two parties look at my boat over the past month. My price is more than fair at $11,500. Considering the condition of my boat equipped with a diesel, roller furling and radar just to list a few great features. One guy loved the boat but said he wanted a wheel. Another one wanted me to come down 2K in price. I came down 1,500 and I have not heard back. My boat has been on the market a month now. I’m not in a huge hurry to sell, but I do want to sell it so I can be free to start looking for a larger live a board.

What about Brokers? I talked to one that showed me a Pacific Seacraft 37’ that I was drooling over. I asked him about listing my E-27. He said he did not bother with boats under 30K and then he took 15%. He said if he did list my boat he would want a minimum of 3K commission if it sold. There has to be brokers that are more reasonable than that. Any advice you might have would be great. E-Bay?

I recently saw a dilapidated E-27 sell for 8K. Nothing close to as well maintained as mine with hardly any of the features mine has.

Thank you all in advance. -Jeff

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/56745

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/boa/5555864793.html

Jeff, I fully agree with Alan Gomes' comments in his first post.

Years ago when I was shopping for a 25' to 27' boat I wanted a tiller boat that could be single-handed, had room for 4, and was in turn-key condition or nearly so. Price was important but not the primary criteria. Many buyers are looking to purchase a very cheap boat and are willing to overlook a lot of deficiencies. I was not in that category. I looked at probably 25 to 30 boats, none of which I fancied. Then I saw an E26 for sale by a private party and as soon as I saw it I knew it was for me. I would have paid the listing price but was able to negotiate several thousand dollars off that. Your boat is not a typical E27 and my bet is that there's a buyer out their who will fall in love with it. And, don't be too quick to lower your price!

Patience my friend, patience.

Captain Don
Gitana E26

 

[Shelman]

I found my 1985 E-26 on Craigs-List in Salt Lake city. I called on it the first day it was listed and I owned it two days later. I gladly paid the original owner the asking price of $10,000 including the trailer.
The boat had not been abused and had lived in the desert out of the water much of its life. Basically no water damage or excessive use, but it was all completely factory original so it all needed modernizing including sails and a rebuild of most mechanical systems due to lack of use. (which seems to be harder on systems than excessive use)

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Why does everybody want a wheel??

Well I have another interested party looking at my boat. Why does everybody want a wheel?? :sad: When I looked for my boat I specifically did not want a wheel. I don't want a future boat with a wheel even if it's a 40 footer. Cal 40's have Tillers, So do many Pacific Seacraft 37's which is one of my dream boats. Well this guy is still interested regardless of no wheel we will see if he still likes it after the sea trial.

 

[Shelman]

Yea I totally agree with you on that one Jeff, I think its an irrational preconceived notion that "real" yachts have to be steered by a wheel. Kinda like motorcycle fairings and clip-ons, Some funny notion that It will handle like and old Honda trail 90 if it doesn't have a fairing. After my experience with a tiller I too only dream of tiller steered boats. Especially the Crelock designs.