Advice on selling boat

[Sam N. Slayer]

I've have a boat for sale for 2 years. The listing is linked below which shows 14.6k views. It is a good, clean boat, that treated me very well. I've owned the boat for 7 years but has not seen the water in 2 years after I upgraded. I've had the boat properly and professionally maintained. The outdrive was serviced at least every two years (u-joints, gimbal bearing, bellows, shift cable, etc). It has one season on a brand new prop. The engine and carb serviced as needed (plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc). Bottom paint is good. You'd be hard pressed to find anything wrong with this boat. It runs great and fishes well. It has all the trolling gear (downriggers, track system, rod holders, autopilot, fishfinder, fish hawk, etc). It has a very roomy and clean cabin. I have it listed here, on Marketplace (posted on many boat/fishing pages), and BoatTrader. I have dropped the price significantly and believe it is more than fair when I look at comparables, and I am willing to negotiate further. It does not have a trailer, which seems to be a common question. It was the perfect boat for me at the time and I would think that it would be the right boat for someone else as well. It just has not generated a lot of interest. What am I doing wrong? I'm at a bit of a loss at this point and I'm looking for genuine advice.  

) 

[orangediablo]

Not the best answer, but sometimes comes down to time and place.  Been part of buying a boat and experienced being part of selling a few.  When selling, we had it listed for months...very few lookers, very little interest.  Pulled it for a month or so, reposted, and it sold in 2 days.  Right buyer, right time.  Think of it from a buyer's perspective....if they see it's listed for 1.5+ years, they may question why, maybe giving them caution (when it may not be substantiated).  Try pulling off for a few weeks, especially this time of year.  Throw it back up in early march when people have fishing on their mind and are excited.  The only 'issue' I see in your case is the trailer.  People want trailers for trailerable boats, and that' an added cost (in this case) of at least $5k for a new trailer, if not more if you are going with aluminum.  Just my $.02

[TyeeTanic]

The economy sucks right now man. It is not good.  We have properties going for 20% less than they were 1 year ago.

Severe price cuts are needed. Affordability has finally showed up at our door steps.

 

If you need it moved, I don't think there's much more you can do than a SEVERE price cut.  It doesn't matter what else is listed.

They aren't selling either ... they'll sit for years too.  For a boat, I would think you need to be at least 30% lower than other listings.

The one thing you have to be careful about though is to avoid perception you are giving the boat away because it has problems.

So, what might also help is to (a) provide access to the boat and have all the documentation ready to try and prove it is in good shape,

and (b) offer some kind of guarantee ... I know this is tough, but it helps reassure the purchaser.

[rolmops]

There is one simple thing that caught my attention. 

It says "price drop" and then way farther down the price says $22500 .When the price is not mentioned on the top , a lot of people feel weary. Now it seems that the price was dropped to $22500.

I had to scroll all the way down to the last post on your thread to discover that you went down to $17500.

If I would have seen 17500 right in the title as the asking price at the top of the thread I would have started checking the thread. Maybe edit your post and refresh it so it gets back to the top.

Edited January 6 by rolmops

[MCF]

I look at boats all the time.   Have sold my share and bought my share.   I know these boats and like its smaller brother the 2450 they are commonly available.    So it needs to be priced in the sale range.   No trailer is a drawback, but not a deal killer.  I will say that right now you are priced in the range that these typically sell for.   You are hitting it early for the upcoming season.    The economy is soft.    So be sure to put your price where it is clearly visible and go around and update the sites you have it posted elsewhere.   Good luck.    

[4426]

1- i agree with price should be one of the first things in the ad, not the last. hit the three dots in the top right of the first post to edit the ad

2-no offense but bayliners probably arent the popular choice in this size range, and more and more people are looking for outboards, or smaller dual purpose platforms for the newer style of jigging with a livescope(more so lake erie than ontario).

3- you may have 14k views here but it may be alot of the same members here clicking it multiple times. may have to start listing in more popular places such as facebook marketplace

4-ive been trying to help a buddy find his next boat for over a year now. Theres are LOTS of the same boats still on the market as when we started looking. Hesitation to buy including economy concerns and higher loan rates have affected the market, its not just your boat/ad at all. not looking forward to trying to sell his current rig once he does upgrade

Edited January 7 by 4426

[RodBuster]

When I sold my last boat I learned that it was worth way more to me, than anyone else. I got about half of what I thought I could get.  It was painful....

[Sam N. Slayer]

23 minutes ago, 4426 said:

1- i agree with price should be one of the first things in the ad, not the last. hit the three dots in the top right of the first post to edit the ad

2-no offense but bayliners probably arent the popular choice in this size range, and more and more people are looking for outboards

3- you may have 14k views here but it may be alot of the same members here clicking it multiple times. may have to start listing in more popular places such as facebook marketplace

Thanks. I changed the listing to make the price more obvious. I have it listed on Marketplace on many boat and fishing pages as well as BoatTrader.

[Shakemsam]

Lower the price in acceptable increments each month until you receive some attention, then hold.

[guffins fisherman]

I just took a look at your listing for the first time. I’ve seen it many times, but never clicked due to several reasons, mostly I am not in the market for that style of boat. That may just be your biggest problem. It is clear she is a clean, well taken care of rig that is set up well. Problem may be, if a trolling fisherman is looking for a single big block in that size range, it will likely be in a Penn Yan or Stamas, etc. something more utilitarian or “fishy.”  I assume this boat is an IO. That doesn’t help either. Boats of that size that are in demand for trolling are inboards.  Especially approaching tens of K dollars. As much as this boat looks like it has been taken care of, right, wrong or indifferent, the Bayliner name has a stigma about it. I know that hurts, because you’ve done the best you can with her.  Just how the market is.  You have it rigged for offshore fishing. Maybe that is a deterrent as well. Have you tried a different market?  It is not uncommon to see that style of boat to serve as a dock queen in a marina somewhere. The well maintained big block, the IO, the really nice cuddy, the great deck space, the high freeboard, the swim platform all scream a young family or older couple on the St Lawrence River or someplace similar.  Maybe pull all the gear off and list it to that market.  IDK. I could be all wrong. Just my initial thought when I see the boat. I hope you have some luck moving her. The big boat market is so tough right now. 

[lost a lure]

See what you can get for trading it in on a new boat. Go from there.

[C3M]

Would getting a survey completed and posting those results to support the sale? Sounds like you have taken great care of the vessel, the survey can support that.

[Salty Nut]

Lots of valid comments above

I learned selling my boat a few years ago the boats, regardless of hull construction, that are inboards that are at or near 30 years old drop in price significantly.

So i priced my by "piece", trailer is X, boat is X, then each piece of fishing add ons. Put a very fair "used" price on it, i would have bought it for what i was asking kind of price.

Then ended up selling it for almost 50% less.

Good luck with your sale