Selling in AU or NZ?

[BentP]

We are considering selling our 52' Amel Mango in AU or NZ, after we have made the Pacific crossing some time in 2018. We are currently in Rio Dulce.

The boat is Danish flagged. Any thoughts on how we could start the process, and what is the better place to sell, AU or NZ?

Thanks, Bent S/Y Karma

[savoir]

If you try to sell in Australia you will be subject to 15% import duty on arrival. Payment is not conditional on completing the sale. A regular Australian entry permit, which is tax free, does not allow you to put the boat up for sale and there are penalties for taking regular tourist boat entry then trying to sell. Australia does not permit foreign boats to be sold ex tax.

It is important that early payment of the tax is included in your calculations.

[Zven]

Malaysia is great for this sort of thing... It seems there are no taxes, duties, time restrictions etc, for foreign boats. I think boats can also change hands with a minimum of fuss, regardless who is buyer or seller. Especially so in the duty free zones (Labuan, Langkawi and others) ... but the whole country is really easy about these things.

Singapore and Hong Kong are other places with a minimum of costs and bureaucracy.

I'd opt to put the boat in that area, close any deal there, and offer to deliver the boat to nearby countries, incl. Australia. The buyer would be responsible for relevant import taxes etc.

This is all assuming the boat is valuable, of course, and worth a little effort.

Who knows, the perfect buyer might just be some Chinese person with too much money, or an American hoping to sail back across the Pacific.

[Paul L]

Do a search on Yachtworld and you will find a number of cruising boats listed in NZ. Unlike Australia you do not have to pay the import duty prior to listing for sale. The NZ market is much smaller than Australia, but for the right boat/price the Aussies will checkout NZ boats.

[grantmc]

In NZ the GST is 15% plus an import duty of 5%.

Just to correct the earlier post, Australia charges 5% import duty, and 10% GST.
It may be important to appreciate the difference. Duty is charged on the assessed customs value of the boat (usually the value paid to purchase). Where as GST is calculated on the customs value, plus the cost of transporting the yacht to the country (freight and insurance) plus the duty.

Both NZ and Australia Customs have very good and informative web sites.

Better advice than you might gain here would be provided by a customs broker in each country.

[NevisDog]

I do know of a guy who buys a yacht in the US every few years, spends a year or so sailing it around the Pacific and back to New Zealand, then sells it to recoup all of his costs, including the 20% or so tax and import duties, so I guess prices are maybe 20% higher in New Zealand, for the right type of yacht of course. I wouldn't count on it though - lots of yachts for sale in NZ, often it takes a year to sell, but it is hard to find the right type of offshore cruiser.

[CRANBERRY]

hi, depending on condition and price etc i could be interested in NZ
.Arrochar44

[barnakiel]

When we lived in Auckland, NZ seemed a very shallow market. I have seen decent boats at brokers' docks and they never sold. Tayanas, Amels, Valiants.

I can imagine Aus is a much bigger market.

Amels are great boats. In Europe they sell fine.

A trick that might work is to try and find a preemptive buyer before you land in either country. A keen buyer may be willing and able to fly out say to Fiji or Tonga to take a look and possibly agree a deal.

Good luck sailing and selling! And watch out for them taxes, transfer fees and exchange rates ...

Cheers,
b.

[KiwiKen]

We are considering selling our 52' Amel Mango in AU or NZ, after we have made the Pacific crossing some time in 2018. We are currently in Rio Dulce.

A New Zealander returning after a period of living abroad can bring his chattels into the country without import duty or GST if they have owned and used to goods for more than 12 months before arriving in New Zealand (applies to cars, boats and caravans - and used actually means used - and there is a minimum period the item must be owned and used in NZ before it can be sold or the duty and GST liability is restored.)
If a boat is sold in New Zealand there will be GST to be paid if sold through a broker, but the GST is refundable if the item is bought for re- export.

The second hand boat market in Australia is not all that vibrant, a boat can take many months to sell, especially if it is not well known in either NZ or Australia.

There are a lot of factors that determine how quickly a boat may sell, and I would recommend finding a good broker, and these individuals are not all that common, and aske some searching questions before deciding

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by grantmc

In NZ the GST is 15% plus an import duty of 5%.

Just to correct the earlier post, Australia charges 5% import duty, and 10% GST.
It may be important to appreciate the difference. Duty is charged on the assessed customs value of the boat (usually the value paid to purchase). Where as GST is calculated on the customs value, plus the cost of transporting the yacht to the country (freight and insurance) plus the duty.

Both NZ and Australia Customs have very good and informative web sites.

Better advice than you might gain here would be provided by a customs broker in each country.

Another key difference between Aus and NZ is that Australia requires you pay the duties when you put the boat up for sale. In NZ you pay them on the transaction when it is sold and the boat is planning to stay in country. At least that's how I understand it.

[bill99]

I was looking about a year ago at two Amels for sale in NZ at that time. One was the comfort pack 100 Yanmar 1 owner. Both Super Maramu. both asking around 400 Kiwi. Both had been for sale for several years.

[Scotty Kiwi]

I can't help with the decision between selling from a location in NZ or Aust.
The impression is that boats are cheaper in Aust, but am not sure.

Return air travel, to view a yacht, between larger cities in the two countries starts at $ 600. Three hour trip. Air travel to the Islands similar. Kiwis like an excuse to take a tropical holiday, especially in winter.

I'd suggest listing it directly, not through a broker, with a very rough itinerary, more than 12 months before your arrival. That may enable a Kiwi the opportunity to take ownership offshore, and use it 12 months 2018 to 2019 (after taking possession), and so avoid the overall 15% GST tax and 5% duty and to plan.

In the event it sells early, the deposit stays in a reputable Solicitor's trust account to be released to you on possession.

If I was in the market to buy (I'm not but I hope to be by 2019), that would work for me.

If it doesn't sell in advance, then list it with reputable brokers a couple of months before arrival, but then it could effectively be 20% dearer unless the buyer wants to take possession in the Islands, plus the brokerage fee. Good brokers have existing client lists. In the past, as a buyer, I have just gone to a broker I know well and said "let me know when a yacht of this specification, type and price range comes up".

The quid pro quo is that a yacht that has been listed for some time without selling may be unfairly perceived as deficient. The partial work around is a good explanation.

Also, state what condition you expect the yacht to be in. As is following a refit in 20xx and then xx years cruising, or would you get remedial work done in order to sell in excellent condition?

This all just suggestion.

[Nikki S]

Join some of the Facebook pages and let it be known there. Aussie yachties buy swap and sell, liveaboard sailing families Australia, WWS. There might be some NZ ones too.

[HankOnthewater]

Bent, there is a reasonable active Facebook page for Amel owners, just search for "Amel" in the FB search box, it has over 450 members.
Of course you know already of the Amel Yahoo group.

A place to sell in Oz is via "Yachthub", cost is $50 upwards, or consider "Gumtree", which is more used by private sellers; a basic ad is free there.
I believe in New Zealand "Trademe" works well.

The other way is alert one or more brokers on the Oz East coast of your plans. The hardest part is then to find the best broker.

Lastly you can 'bump' this thread to the top, every so often by adding a post. Hehehe, every time adding a photo might attract a potential buyer.

[Seas the Day]

Don't second guess anything. Check the Customs department's web site in each country or customs brokers and get the facts. The latter may be quicker as these web sites often require a PhD in binary linguistics. It can take some months to sell a yacht in Oz if it does not have an edge.