Presenting Your Boat For Sale
It is vitally important you consider the presentation of your boat to ensure a quick and fruitful sale. Boat Sales Tasmania has been selling boats for 30 years. Here are some tips and tricks we’ve learned along the way.
First impressions are important!
- Fact 1: Clean and shiny boats sell quicker and for more money.
- Fact 2: Spouses have a huge influence in the boat-buying decisions, if it’s not clean enough to satisfy your ‘better half’, consider paying a professional to do the job!
Buyer “turn offs”:
- Grimy, dirty decks, cockpit in particular down below, toilets, saloons cabins
- Chalky fibreglass
- Peeling, dull varnish
- Smelly toilets, dirty bilges
- A rusty engine
- A rusty chain locker
Action:
- Thoroughly clean the interior including any carpets and upholstery.
- Clean out cupboards and lockers
- Remove food and personal belongings.
- Let the buyer see the boat… unclutter it!
- Pay attention to smells, in particular toilets, diesel, petrol or fish.
- Repair damage. Telling a prospective buyer that it will be fixed is not convincing.
- Mop out the bilge.
- Clean the engine, tidy loose wires and pipework.
Make sure everything works
Don’t wait for the surveyor to find defects which will reduce the offer and or panic the buyer. Ensure all machinery and electronics are working. Gear failing on survey or sea-trial will make the buyer rethink their offer and may well scare them off completely.
Consider investing in a pre-sale survey. It can speed up the transaction considerably if you are able to present a current independent survey.
Need help?
List your boat for sale with Boat Sales Tasmania. Or, contact us for assistance with any services, including:
- Moving / delivering boats
- Slipping, cleaning and anti-fouling
- Running engines, free battery surveys
- Detailing, pressure deck-wash
- Shipwrights, mechanics
- Sailmakers & riggers – reports, repairs & replacement
- Condition reports for insurance