Baja_342

I have a different view than most on this subject. I'm on my 5th boat and have sold my previous 4 for more than what I paid for them. All between 1999 and 2010. I make sure when I purchase a boat it's one I can afford and like if I cannot sell. That could be another reason you see a lot for sale for a long time. Some people honestly don't care if it never sells, like me. But if you have a good boat at a good price it will. Basic maintenance and elbow grease can go a long way.

I don't necessarily make a lot of money doing this when you add up the expenses involved in boating. But it makes this hobby a lot more affordable in the $40-60K niche I'm comfortable playing in.

$hit is always going to happen for some; divorce, job loss, etc. There have and will be plenty of people that NEED to get out of a boat. There has always been a buyer's market out there. My take on selling is have a boat priced towards the lower end of the spectrum and make sure it out shines all other competition.

On Time

That's just good sense. I do it the same way. I have NEVER bought a new boat. But I know some fine service people, one of them myself!

Tim G.

Yes, owners that need to sell need to let the price drop a bit more...
However, the "buyers" out there need to offer a bit more... There is still the thought that boats can be had for pennies.. Some can, but many of the good deals are gone...
Remember the crazy frenzy of repos and people scraping up great deals???? I don't want to say that it is over, but I will say that most of the GOOD Boats have all been taken.

Drock78

iTrader: (2)

If they are handing out credit out like candy...I'm moving to New York! Around here you better have a debt to income ratio of less than 30% with a credit score above 700 for them to even talk to you. Banks are being stingy as hell with the money they loan because of all the people that burn them with foreclosure and bankruptcy. I am one of those "idiots" that finances a boat among other things but i have good enough credit to have low interest rates. Id much rather have the money sitting in the bank to pay my bills in case i got hurt and couldnt work for some reason instead of having it sitting in a boat that i couldnt use or likely sell. I bought my last boat $5k under comparable boats, did some serious detail work on it, used the hell out of it for a summer and sold it for what i payed for it a week after i listed. i put a very attractive price on it because i put an offer on a boat for $10k below market value on another boat with fresh power to boot

TexomaPowerboater

+1, Does it suprise me that a dealer is trying to get people to accept lower offers on the premise of "reality" so that he can pad his own pocket, nope. Piss poor article IMO Trulio and very disrespectful, curious how much Shogren had to pay it. I'm sure you guys talk chit about boat owners all day, but no need to write an article about it and publish it on this site.

Not everyone pisses away hours every day looking for bottom prices. When a wealthy buyer finds something they want they will buy it, period. I helped someone last year overpay for a houseboat. Time is money, they didn't feel like shopping for another month and they certainly didn't enjoy dicking with dealers or serveyors or the hour and half driving trips to go see a boat without driving away in it.

SS930

I could be wrong, but isn't Scott saying just the opposite in the article and in the quote from above?

huskyrider

iTrader: (1)

I completely disagree with this reply.
When I offer 500 to 800 trade in on a 5yr old acrylic hot tub that cost 4500-5500 the people are like "that's a ripoff" offer.
I let them know that Craigslist is available for free and lets just work on the design concept and putting a plan with a quotation together and then dealing with the tub later if it doesn't sell. I'll always check Craigslist to see how much they listed for, which is typically 50% of the purchase price.
9 times out of 10 when we move to a contract they have yet to sell it. I volunteer that my offer still stands if they choose so and if not drop your price down closer to or slightly below 1000. If you don't want to you'll see your hot tub on there the day after we remove it. You'll see me listing it at 900 which reflects my 500 purchase price plus 300 in removal labor and plumbing/electrical disconnection.
This, my internet friend, is a c_nt hair above a 10 percent return in my margin and if you think Scott is padding his pocket giving 50k for a 100k boat and selling it for 55k that he is padding his pockets with the additional profitability that the buyer missed out on your sadly mistaken. He took the deal just as I did to keep money flowing throught the companies kitty, not to hit a grandslam homerun on and retire.

Just my .02.

See ya,
Kelly

blingbling

Agreed, and also maybe the boat brokers need to check reality on there commission. I guarantee that if the boat brokers would lower there commissions a bit or get closer to what the trade will really sell for you would have trade in customers in alot more new boats. Boat Brokers trying to make 25k on a possible 165k sale is absurd.

Expensive Date

[QUOTE=Team Shogren;3357546]Thank you for the comment RH.

The only boats that are in our inventory for a long period of time are a few brokerage boats where owners won't budge

Hi Scott,Thats a very true statement I went out there last August to look at one of those brokerage boats.Scott made me a fair offer for my boat but we were just too far apart.
Now that boat has dropped 10k still not where I wanted to be but closer.Unfortunately I just spent 6k on a new trailer which puts us farther apart.Had the price been then what it is today it might have happened.Its not exactly what I want but I could have lived with it for a few years.More than likely will wait one more year and pick up a staggered 35.

And for what its worth I think they are decent people.

rlj676

That's a MI thing! I have noticed that the people of this great state somehow think because insurance is more here, gas is more here, property over priced here that every thing should be 20% more than the rest of the country!

I have not been able to buy a single thing here, from boats to vettes/trucks to a Harley I just bought! If you search outside of MI you see just how asinine sellers here are.