How to Sell Your Boat Fast

This article was written by Keith Raven

Without doubt, the world of boating is a huge, engaging and interesting one. One of the most interesting features is how to sell your boat fast and gain maximum financial benefit.

Now if you are really interested in selling your 'water craft' and need some proven ideas to guide you, then I have good news for you. These are the top 9 tips that lead to a fast and high value sale of your watercraft. I also suggest that you approach boat selling with caution to avoid being cheated.

For the remaining part of this article, let me showcase nine tips to sell your boat fast, starting from today.

Get knowledge of the best time to sell your boat: Does this sound weird to you? Having knowledge of the right seasons before selling your boat will boost your bottom line. As an example, most boat buyers hardly open their wallet for boat during or middle of winter season.

Avoid selling at very cold seasons unless you want to sell at a low price. On the other hand, you can get the best price for your boat just when the boating season begins. This is a smart marketing move because lots of people are always looking to buy a boat then. Apart from the fact you will likely sell your boat for good price, you will avoid a lot of the marketing costs that you would spend during the winter months.

What is the market willing to pay? The next point is to find the best possible price an average buyer is willing to pay for your boat. How can you accomplish this?

Firstly, research the boat's worth, by getting advice and appraisals from a competent boat sales professional.

But if you don't want to pay a professional, then check with the marine blue book value. Simply change the price predicated on the accessories plus depreciation for your boat. If you add any new accessories or some resurfacing such as carpeting, make sure to compute that and all of the boating accessories that you are going to provide with the boat.

Study your competitors. Always remember you're not alone in the game. There are many competitors, just as some boat buyers may opt for buying a new boat instead of buying yours.

Therefore, you must set a very competitive price based on features that potential buyers may really desires. For example, if you find out that many similar boats (both old and new models) lack certain features such as radio, GPS, fish finders, you may add them to your own boat and let the potential buyers know this.

Use smart advertising techniques. Displaying a mere small add in an obscure corner of a daily newspaper may not get you many good inquiries, if any at all. Most boaters now use the Internet to search for their preferred boats. As a result, to win the game, advertise your boat by displaying both the profile and photographs of different angles of the interiors and exteriors.

Make sure your pictures are good-looking quality pictures, studies have proven that a profile with professional pictures command more attention and help to sell a boat faster online.

Get a boat broker. Not everyone can stand the rigor of showing boats to potential customers and answering their questions. Why don't you contact a broker to do the 'dirty job' for you? The difference is 10% or 15% commission the broker will earn - but he will get the job done very fast and without any hassles to you.

However, insist to know the methods that the broker will use to advertise your boat. The best medium is to use the Internet so as to attract a large percentage of buyers as fast as humanly possible.

Be patient. Judging by normal standards, you may have to wait for three to six months to sell your boat. So if you want to advertise it yourself, start early and display on sites where listing are allowed for several months. However, with some luck, you will sell your boat sooner.

Boaters love clean boats. Apart from adding new features, make sure you clean your boat very well. Using soapy water and a handful dab, start cleaning from the exterior to the interiors. Clean off every mold, mildew and rusty stain. Everything must be thoroughly cleaned and replaced back properly after they're completely dried up. I strongly urge you do this before you add new features and advertise you boat for sale.

Make sure the storage is cleaned and organized and get rid of any odor from the interior. This should be accomplished at the time of cleaning the boat. However, many people miss out on this vital aspect. Apart from cleaning and replacing rusty and leaking clamps and hoses, ensure the stove, cushions and refrigerators are all in working order. Also, remove every item from the storage lockers to avoid giving buyers the wrong impression that your boat storage is inadequate.

Do not be rigid on pricing. It's good to sell at the best price, but let your customers' interest be uppermost. Put yourself in his shoes and ask yourself this question, "If I'm buying this boat, what special deals will easily sway my interests to buy this boat rather than other boats that are similar?"

Consider doing a survey. Having considered every tip that will help you sell your boat fast, nevertheless, it'll be futile to get loads of potential buyers coming to check your boat, their minds ready to issue you a check - but they stopped because something 'bad' was discovered: The buyer discovered your boat not in the best working condition!

Most times this is beyond the competence of the boat owner. So to avoid disappointment, do a survey to determine the working condition of your boat before listing. Survey cost in the region of $10 per linear foot, which means that a 20ft will cost $200.

If the survey returns a clean bill of health, you can even use it to dangle a sweet carrot before buyers to get better price.

Happy Selling!