Selling Your Boat

Unlike selling a car, selling a boat isn't quite as clear cut as one might expect. There are only so many physical places you can bring your boat to with the hopes of finding a few prospective buyers, and there are only so many interested buyers for your specific boat type in your given area. This makes publicizing your boat extremely important, and we've listed our tips for cutting a deal on your boat as quickly as possible.

Clean Things Up

In the literal sense, your boat needs to be cleaned and in tip top shape before you promote it or put a for sale sticker on it. Fix all mechanical problems with the boat, to ensure the buyers won’t be dealing with other unearthed problems you haven’t attended to. Most of these things should be easy and do it yourself tasks, like fixing a broken light or tightening up a handrail. Quite often your first potential buyers are your most valuable ones, so it’s important to do this step first.

Advertising Your Boat

These days, people are resorting to technology to either find the most available buyers in their area or to find the most options on the market if they’re looking for a boat. That’s been eliminating the need for a middle man and results in more cash for both the buyer and the seller. Picking the right site to list your boat is important however, and there are a few things to consider. Sites will have their own way of charging people for listing their boats, and everyone has their own preference. I prefer sites where you pay one fee upfront and then you get to list your boat on it as long as you like. Also, pick a site where there’s no limitation or extra charge on the number of photos you can upload, as they will be a big part of the reason you will get leads and there’s no need to skimp on the photos you want to upload. Finally, be sure you have the ability to update your listing as often as you like without any hidden charges for doing so. If you’re looking for an example, Boatdealers.ca which has New and Used boats is a safe and reliable site and gets a large amount of traffic from both buyers and sellers every day.

Closing the Deal

Once you find the right buyer, it’s time that you make sure you close the deal and finalize the transfer of ownership. Visit your state Department of Motor Vehicles website or other governmental organization that controls your area’s boat sales, and check to see all the paperwork needed in the transfer. A bill of sale is almost always required and includes information like the purchase date, hull number, price and signatures. Like a car, your boat needs registration, and a boat title needs to be created for the new boat owner. Be wary that loans on a boat don’t get carried over to the new owner and they need to be cleared before the new boat owner can get their title. Quite often if you go through an online listing website they are able to help you out with all of this paperwork to ensure nothing is missed.