eBAY Boats

[SHNOOGANS]

Hello,
has anyone had a problem buying a boat on ebay? I found one that I like, but am apprehensive about bidding on it without seeing it first. Any advice??

Thanks,
Rick

[SHNOOGANS]

Sounds awsome.....but, you would have to come down about $200,000 I'm a little lite in the wallet right now.

[camaraderie]

Hey Clipper Skipper...nice SPAM...three posts in the community and all touting your 44 year old wooden boat as the greatest thing since the invention of sails. If you want a commercial ...PAY for one!!

[venturing seagull]

I sold a beautiful wooden boat on EBay for a song. I only had one bidder and a low first bid to try an work up a good momentum. The buyer got a bargain ..... and I'm still kicking myself for using EBay.

You can get lucky ..... but there's an awful lot of wrecks out there!

Rick, I have had good luck selling boats on EBay. Never bought one there, but it is like anything. Buyer beware. The one thing to consider is that most EBay sellers are wanting a fast sale, so it is likely you will find a good deal.

[harpoon5.2]

I would never buy a boat or any other vehicle sight unseen off of eBay. It is way too easy for the seller to hide small defects that could be costly. Try to go take a look at it before you look at it. If the seller refuses to let you see it in person before you bid, then I wouldn;t want to be doing business with that seller.

I guess I should give you a bit more direction aside from the fast sell hint. When I have sold boats on EBAY, I have had extensive email dialogs with the buyers. The buyers, expected, and I expected to provide details about the boat, as well as photos of specific areas of the boat. There is some level of protection, in that if the item for sale is not what was represented, you are not obligated to complete the transaction. While I would bid, and buy on EBay, I would not pay in full until an inspection is complete.
So, buying on EBay, ask lot's of questions,ask for additional photos, ask where the boat was last hauled out, and call that facility to ask for a list of what was done or purchased for the boat. If the yard says $400 in splash zone was purchased at that haul out, this is probably not the boat for you
If the buyer will not answer reasonable questions, or provide requested photos, I would move on.
Hope this helps.

[Kuapa'a]

Shnoogans - ( Rick ),

Caveat emptor ! You must be a very trusting guy and have been blessed never to have been burnt. Opinions are like noses; we all have one, so here's mine.

Never, never, never, ever even think about buying a boat without seeing her, and unless it's a $50 'handyman special', get your own survey done by a qualified marine engineer/surveyor. Don't even consider accepting a survey commissioned by the seller. Ask around and find a really good, well respected buyer's surveyor. He will save you more money and grief than you will ever know.

I am an absolute whore when it comes to boats, and I have a feeling that I'm not alone. Just a stroll down the dock and I can fall in love at least 6 times. So if you share any of these traits, do yourself a HUGE favor and find a good surveyor to help introduce some reality into your dream.

I truly hope my thots are of a small help. I don't mean to pontificate, I just hope to see you out cruising one day and not still working on your boat in 2020.

All the best to you. Fair winds, a following sea, and a green flash in your sunset.

John

[clausont]

A little story on ths subject:
I recently looked at a small (25') sailboat for sale that the person was re-selling after he bought it on Ebay. He told me that he bought it sight unseen from the East coast and transported it out here to the west coast.
He found that it had blisters quite badly. He started working on it to repair the blisters and gave up after most of the grinding was done.
When I saw the boat there was not more than 12" spacing between the areas that he had started to do the repairs. There was also gelcoat spalling in between these areas quite badly along with delamination between the bilge keels.
This boat would be great as a parts boat as it sits with good rigging and a nice little 2 cyl Volvo diesel. But it would be far beyond me to consider trying to repair this hull.
This is the only experience that I personally know of as far as buying an Ebay boat. I believe that most sellers are not trying to hide the defects in their boats for sale, but it can happen.
I personally would not buy an Ebay boat unless I could personally inspect it first or unless it were something that I expected to have problems needing corrected.
Just my thoughts.

[Bilbo Baggins]

We bought our boat off Ebay 2 years ago. It was well described by the owner, going for a real deal because of some work that needed to be done. I did some research on it (a broker had listed it for some months prior to the ebay listing).

The same boat sells for twice what I paid (including shipping) in Puget Sound. Research the boat to know what kind of problems it may have first (ie blister problems, rotten deck problems, etc) and ask. Ya, in a perfect world I would have flown back there, hired a surveyor. No regrets...

Guess I just got lucky??