The 70% Rule

[stillbuilding]

My father bought and sold numerous boats. Always made a profit. His principle was work out the correct price and offer 1/3 less. Be prepared to walk away. For him it was just business. He would approve of your 80% rule.

[stillbuilding]

70%. Bloody I-phones.

Have to know your market though.

[robert sailor]

No question, its all about homework. I have sold several boats over the years and I think the largest discount was less than 20% with most of them selling around 10% of asking. Just make sure you know whats happening in the local market and price it right. There are always some guys that are wanting to steal your boat but if its really nicely kept and maintained and your price is proper for the market it will sell. Anybody that shops for a used boat knows how many dogs they have to look at before they run into a cream puff. If you throw a 70% offer at an owner who has a real nice boat and its priced right they usually don't have the time of day for you.

[a64pilot]

Right now, I'm a buyer, or at least a looker anyway. What astonishes me is the vast majority of boats I'm looking at look almost abandoned. They are filthy, covered in bird droppings, closed up and stink. I don't even think the holding tanks are emptied. You look at houses for sale, and usually everything is immaculate, they have had the interior decorator in, have the potpourri on the stove etc. And before anyone says anything, I'm not looking at 3 yr old Oysters and Island Packets, I have been looking at ten to fifteen yr old boats usually in the 200 to 300 thousand price range, so I'm not looking at older cheap boats. Are sellers discouraged when or if they find out the boat isn't going to bring them a profit, most likely they are going to take quite a loss? Is that it, or is this a boat thing?

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Snore

My boat is currently on the market. I priced it below other T-33's. If a real buyer offered me 70% he would be at 50% of the other guys prices. And I would reject their offer and not sell to them as they would probably be a PITA to deal with.

A real and competent buyer surveys the market and compares specific examples of the same model to develop a real offer.

Respectfully- people who don't want to do their homework offer 70%.

Are you trying to get your boat sold, or have a relationship with the potential purchaser? It isn't a personal snub when someone makes an offer you consider low. It is just a starting point. The potential buyer does not have the same info you have on the boat, or on you. They have already been told what a great deal so many boats are, only find big pitfalls. An offer is just that. It takes about 5 minutes effort to respond respectfully and keep the process going. It doesn't require a counter offer. Something as simple as ""That's a quite a bit lower than I'm willing to entertain, can you bring it up some so we can talk?" I don't think you can judge how much a PITA a buyer will be by the amount of his initial offer -- just not related in my thoughts.

[estarzinger]

If anyone offers me 70% . . . . I just tell them "no".

They can come back with a reasonable offer if they want. But I am not wasting my time trying to talk a 70% up.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

If anyone offers me 70% . . . . I just tell them "no".

They can come back with a reasonable offer if they want. But I am not wasting my time trying to talk a 70% up.

That's fine, it is at least a response and offer to come back with another offer. So, in a way, you are still negotiating. Some here seem to think the buyer is some low-life idiot because he started the negotiating with 30% off. Are the sellers who started the listing 30% high low-lifes? I don't think so. It isn't personal, its just a business deal on a luxury item.

Clearly a willing buyer and willing seller are what makes the boat price.Not what a seller lists for. Lots of folks put their boat on the market, only to withdraw it when they can't get the price. That's just testing the market.

[thinwater]

I sold my first 2 boat using the 100% rule and the second using the 90% rule. Both sold within weeks. I figure this one, at some point in the future, will sell with that sort of pricing.

a. The boats were in very good condition, well prepped to sell with all minor problems fixed and perfect sea trails. Perhaps a dirty boat with problems belongs to an unrealistic owner who has priced his boat the same as another that is prepared.

b. I was realistic in my pricing. I'm not going to drive off interested buyers with a non-sense price. That's just a silly dance.

Offer me 70% and expect a polite goodby. Offer me 90-100% and I will do everything I can to explain her systems and answer the phone when you have a problem to diagnose a month later.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Paul L

It isn't personal, its just a business deal on a luxury item.

Yep. Always amazes me how very personal some people DO try to make it. It's just a negotiation. Getting honestly offended by anything to do with a negotiation is just silly and pointless.

(Though I will admit that there have been times when I have feigned a degree of offense, as a negotiating tactic.)

[Cheechako]

Most "proud" sellers start too high. Their reality comes about a year later..... Occassionally they have a superb example of a super desireable design of which there are few examples for sale, ...priced right they get it!

[Just BS]

This year alone, I've sold a boat, a dune buggy and a house. I also have a $25K horse for sale (we're downsizing). All of them were/are under market value and ready to sell because I wanted to sell them quickly and figured the lower price would get more looks. The boat & buggy sold to the first person to come see them at full asking price, which is what I calculated was the final selling price based on similar vehicles asking price. The home got into a bidding war and sold for over asking price and more than the appraisal price but the buyer had enough cash in the deal it still sold. The horse was put on the market last week and the first potential buyer is flying in from two thousand miles away this Friday, so I am optomistic it will sell as well. My point is that if anything is priced well, real buyers will arrive with cash versus shoppers that are just looking.

[Capt Phil]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Hello all,
Having just listed our boat for sale I can offer some insight as to the price we are asking. Our boat is a 1982 38ft centre cockpit. It is in good condition with many extra's and ready to go offshore straight away. Boat has always been well maintained. I looked at comparative boats which I believe the price was well over the current market here in Australia. I chose not to use a broker as taking 10% off the final purchase price can really hamper the asking price and gives the seller a little more room to negotiate. Its not that we have to sell our boat but having seen to many boats not sell I believe we have priced out boat very competitively but leaving a bit of lee room for a offer. If someone were to offer me 70% of its value then they are more then welcome to find a similar boat for anywhere near the asking price. Yes a boat is only worth what someone is prepared to pay but its has to be a fair offer IMO particularly when you are not desperate to sell.

Really good advice!... just did the same as we are downsizing and had no trouble at all selling quality stuff. Phil

[westwinds]

And, there are some poorly designed boats needing a lot of work where the owner should pay someone to take it.

[terminalcitygrl]

I've been watching the market a few years now and see a lot of boats sitting because they are priced too highly which is fine if the sellers don't really want to sell and are flush to continue paying maintenance, insurance, moorage. We won't offer on a boat priced unrealistically, just not worth dealing with the drama of a seller who is proud, will take offence, tell us goodbye without having a conversation in which to start a negotiation. I have seen a number of high priced boats taken off the market for a month and then re-listed with "new listing" which always cracks me up because anyone actually watching the market knows it's not a new listing and if you're looking at dropping anything over $50k on a boat you're likely following the market and doing your homework.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by westwinds

And, there are some poorly designed boats needing a lot of work where the owner should pay someone to take it.

Well, that's the whole problem with trying to apply any sort of simple rule of thumb. Even if your rule of thumb is to offer only 10% of the asking price, there are a whole lot of boats out there that you would be offering WAAAAAY too much for!