4 Reasons Why Your Boat Is Not Selling
If you’ve had your boat listed for sale and nothing seems to be happening, no one is looking and your enquiry rate is all but non-existent, there could be a few reasons for this. It’s time to have a hard look at your sales strategy and see if any improvements could be made to get that boat sold and into someone else’s hands. Here are 4 reasons why your boat is not selling!
Here are four common reasons that your boat is not getting sold and what you can change to get the offers flowing.
Your Asking Price
The first thing people notice on your listing is the price, and if it is too high, generally they will look no further. A fancy sales brochure won’t help you here. If the boat doesn’t match the market, it is basically dead in the water.
People now have access to an unprecedented amount of information. It only takes a few simple searches to find hundreds and thousands of boats for sale. If your boat tops the list when sorted by the price you can guarantee people are going to be skimming past it. Your boat will be used as the exception rather than the rule. It will become the comparison boat for people to look at yours and think, well this other boat is ten percent cheaper so it’s obviously a bargain!
Aim to list your boat high on the median side of the offerings for the best traction. This will show your boat as being better than most and offer the buyer some negotiation room.
Your Boat Doesn’t Present Well
This can be a hard one for many owners to see. How does your boat present? Try to get an impartial friend to have a look, someone that you trust to be truthful. How do they feel looking at your boat or the pictures?
The less clutter there is on your boat the better it looks. While everything may have a purpose, if there are too many personal touches it may be off-putting to a prospective buyer. Try to take out as many items as possible to give the boat a cleaner look.
Clean down any surfaces that have not had a proper clean in a while, and by that, it means beyond the usual maintenance clean. You need to have everything looking as new as possible. If it can be washed and polished then go ahead and get it completed.
If in doubt hire the services of a professional boat cleaner to get it all done. You may be surprised by the results.
Limited Access
While the far out of the way marina that your boat generally is docked in might be great for you, it might not be all that good for people that want to view it. People generally don’t want to travel or have a hard time getting to your boat to see it. If there is a comparable one closer, you can guarantee that is the one they are going to see.
Consider a short-term berth in an area that has a lot more foot traffic and you will see an increasing number of people viewing your boat.
Equipment at End of Life
How many times have you seen a boat advertisement and it says ‘low hours’ on the motor and other equipment? This is because people like to think that everything is new and working properly, they don’t want to buy something that has a heap of problems.
If your mechanical equipment is older, regardless of its functionality, people are going to put a lower valuation on it. A solution is to lower your price accordingly, have the equipment inspected by a professional or replace it.
Be honest and upfront, if the equipment needs to be replaced, say so. You will get a lot more respect from a potential buyer by being upfront, instead of seemingly trying to hide it.
There you have it, 4 reasons why your boat is not selling. Call the team at BBM Yacht Sales today for help with your sale.
