is ebay worth the time
 

i was just wondering if ebay was worth the time and expense of listing a boat on, i see many boats for sale there but only rediculous bids for them ,i've been trying to sell my boat for 8 months and only had 1 person look at it and really wanting to sell it,so i was wondering if anyone had any luck listing there ?
http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o19054-en.html

For your boat I say NO.

Its just too much for ebay.

For a boat like yours and at your asking price, e-bay is not the route that will sell it. People on e-ba are looking for a steal of a deal, and it will sell only if you're willing to part with your boat for next to nothing in comparison to your investment.

On a positive note, a listing in e-bay that does NOT meet your reserves or expectations does give some national and international exposure to your boat, and many have sold after auction's end to buyers that have watched the auction and contact you to work a deal afterwards.
Just curious (as an aviator), what kind of aircraft are you buying?:cool-smiley-011:
Jim

I sold my Formula 382 to an Ebay buyer. He knew nothing about OSO or the other on-line listing services.

The responses I got from my OSO lisiting were ALL low-ball/kid offers.

Ebay worked for me.

I've purchased 2 boats this year from Ebay. I've also purchased a couple of cars and a big truck. I didn't steal any of them but I paid less than retail. Prior to Ebay I bought cars, boats, trucks, etc and didn't pay retail then either. Ebay hasn't brought my buying prices down, but it's increased the radius I buy from. If you market well on Ebay and give a buyer some security that they're not going to get hosed, you should have some luck.

Having said all that, there are some things that are just against you. There couldn't be a worse month than November to sell a boat. The stock market is a roller coaster and fuel is headed nowhere but up. Cat insurance is ridiculous and only available to experienced HP boaters.

Lastly, and with all due respect, I looked at your classified and it scared me away. No price but repeated proclamations of it being worth $150K says to me that you're afraid to scare people off by printing the price and you're attempting to justify your asking price by comparison with a "value" figure. The comment "priced to move" suggests that where you have it priced is going to be enticing- so then say what it is and let the price sell it. If it's not really priced to move, I'll know that the second the numbers leave your lips.

Ebay is often a waste of time for the unrealistic. I see boats that are up there with ridiculous "buy it now" prices. Start low and let it go up. I've seen boats bring ridiculous numbers- money that I thought for sure the buyer would back out when he saw what he bought but the boats never came back. I sold one last summer and it brought almost a third more than I expected.

the price is listed there, $89,995 but offers dont scare me and i really dont mind the input/suggestions as to what to ask for it as i want to sell without getting hosed too bad either..

im building a lite sport amphibian all composite,rotax motor regular gas and no faa requirements,elecro servo retractable gear.http://www.seamaxusa.com/

My mistake on that one. Will classifieds allow you to put in the dollar sign and comma?

I know several people who have used E-bay to sell boats in the 25-60k range,they did not actually sell on E-bay from the auction though,they sold from the exposure and people that responded and called their phone number listed in the ad AFTER the auction was over. If you run your ad on E-bay,list every phone number you have in the ad and encourage buyers to call with "questions" (that is where your possible buyers will probably come from) so you will not miss a call,some people will only call once and if they don't reach you they will not leave a message,Smitty

you more than likely wont sell it on ebay, but the exposure will bring you a buyer. It's cheap worldwide advertising.

I sold 5 boats on e-bay , all went great. ( 1 went over seas)


Mike

List it on ebay, and the exposure will bring you a buyer. It's cheap worldwide advertising.Have Sold boats,cars,trucks,planes,Heavy equipt,property,and even sold our old shop and they came up from Tenn with 3 semis loaded it and put it back together up there .Lots of guys lookin for deals but stick to your price and you'll sell it :cool-smiley-027:

I found my current boat on eBay.

Me too, but not b/c of the typical ebay circumstance. The seller pm'd me after I stopped bidding on a similar boat listed on ebay.

i had listed my cig earlier this year ,not many want a project , sitting on a myco trailer with all new disc brakes , highest bid was 1132.00..

try it , can't hurt , and as other's have stated , you will get alot of looks ,make sure you put a bean counter on the bottom..

nice boat by the way , the sea plane looks like a ton of fun!

Ive sold probably 15 to 20 cars and trucks and several boats on there. Sometimes after the auction is over. Nothing but good luck so far for me!

so i guess from the majority of responses is to go for it , nothing ventured nothig gained,, so the next question is , how to write the perfect ad, ie, a starting bid, no reserve, or call me ?, im new to this selling deal but i want to weed out the transom kickers but want to sell, is my price fair? hell i can even help with transport. i need a vacation! help me out guy's!!!
scott
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I've bought quite a few things on ebay, my son's car, work machines and the like...I even bid on my present boat there and contacted the owner after the auction and ended up buying it...

I did have my 29' Fountain listed and didn't receive many real bids but who knows I might list it there again closer to spring...but i would always have a reserve unless your willing to take whatever you get...

Good Luck

Lots of photos and a concise description. Sell it with the pictures, not the words. Use a 3rd party host for the photos. I'd start it fairly low- like $10K, and put a reserve on it.

Ebay can be funny- you might get little bidding the first go-round, then hit a home run on the second post. I'd consider holding off until boat show season.