A NS30 was offered for sale on the San Diego Craigslist, recently. I recognized it as one of the other three that exist in town. I’d tried to contact the owner in the past, but failed, so I answered the ad. I told him that I already had one and was just curious about the boat and why he was selling. Turns out it’s a church that is taking it as a donation. The guy doesn’t know anything about selling boats and he needs to move it fast. He picked my brain hard, but the best I could come up with was to list it with a broker but for a short term to encourage them to put a fast-sale price on it.
I’d like to help him out, if only to get the boat into the hands of a loving owner before it begins to languish. He says it is in very good condition, that the owners are wealthy and poured a lot of money into it before realizing that they were too old to keep sailing. But we all know how that goes: it might be great now, but it won’t stay that way without constant care. I’m going to try and see it sometime in the next week because he wanted my opinion of it, so I guess I’ll find out.
So I’d like to ask: if you had to sell a boat fast and didn’t care about a getting the maximum price, how would you do it? Broker? Craigslist? Facebook?
Brian,
I hate to see our boat prices driven down, but honestly, if they have to move a boat fast and cheap, Craigslist is probably best. In addition, I’d encourage them to spread the word around the local dock community: repairmen, cleaners, divers, dockmasters, etc. They often know people.
I got my first Nonsuch because the previous owner had the same diver as me, and the diver let me know about it.
– Bob
Hmmm. Yeah. I suppose a brokerage listing would be the worst thing for us because of YachtWorld comparable searches. I think I’ll write him up a little selling-your-boat note along with some contacts that I know including title company, insurance. He says he sells donated cars all the time for his church, but has no clue how to sell a boat. So he’s not averse to doing it himself and with a little guidance it might turn out better for all.
Plus, brokers would cut severely into the church’s take.
I’m out of the country just now, but next week I’ll be home and can look at my records for the boats I’ve sold privately in SoCal. I’ll be happy to help you help these folks.
-- Bob
Perhaps they should also post it on Facebook Market place, with a corresponding post on the Facebook Nonsuch page that there’s a San Diego Nonsuch for sale and to look at San Diego FB Marketplace for info.
Perhaps I missed it but has anyone put this boat on the INA website under boats for sale in the N30 category. That may not get as many views but the ones it does get will be lookin for that specific item
Just a thought,
Brian
Someone looking for a Nonsuch is going to be lurking on the INA Marketplace
It’s been donated to a church and they are trying to sell it, so I don’t think they can list it on the INA website, can they?
Brian,
I would say yes. Just as the PO ( perhaps an INA member ) did it as an act of charity so can this group.
Brian
The INA Marketplace is a service for members of the Association.
That said, when I was co-President I did bend the rules to help a Boys Scout troop with a donated boat. When I’m back in-country next week, I’ll see what can be done for these folks.
-- Bob
This is not my church and, in fact, I’m not even religious. I’m not advocating for them to be permitted to advertise on the website, but I’ll help with it if you decide to do it. I agree that keeping any low price quick sales out of the public eye is a good thing.
Hi Brian,
Sorry my capitalistic mind just got excited about this one.
Multiple charities could hop on this and do a deal
-
Someone with capitol and a charitable soul could purchase immediately at some acceptable low figure. That satisfies the Church.
-
Raffle off the boat with one or two Charities as beneficiaries (the church could share some of the excess.
-
The sale price would be the total realized USD, which should make all our values increase.
-
The association might even toss in a years membership to the lucky new owner.
-
All Local yacht Clubs and Marinas are sources of ticket sales and since it is for charities lots of free publicity is available. as well as many public bill boards are available.
-
You could even have the drawing at some gala or barbeque with an admission for a bit more profit
Perhaps the Original church could pull this off on their own If they can just cough up enough to satisfy the urgent need for cash. It is still early enough in the season to complete all this before summer storage fees kick in. You might even be able to get some marinas to toss in a month or two of summer dockage. I see this as a great opportunity for some fun. I wish it was around here.
Fran Cichowski
This thread started as me just asking how to move it fast. Thank you for the suggestion, but I suspect it won’t work. If some other charity wants to try this, they are certainly welcome to do so. It is not something that I am interested in pursuing or organizing. I’m barely starting to ramp down my pain meds from the procedures in January and am looking forward to another surgery in a little over a week. I’m not going to spend any of this brief window organizing stuff. (I am going to try and take a look at the boat on Monday or Tuesday. And to do some maintenance on my own boat.)
The current church that is selling it isn’t going to be interested in that kind of thing, either. Churches are as concerned with cash flow as any other business and this one wants to move the boat fast. The guy I’m dealing with sells donated cars all the time, but has no clue how to sell a boat. They took a different boat as a donation some years ago and “lost their shirt” on it. I assume that means they paid more in marina fees and divers and such than they ever got when it finally sold. He doesn’t want this to happen again.
I actually talked to him again this morning and he said he is probably going to join the INA in order to post the boat on our website. He does not object to the $65 membership fee. We’ll see if he does it. He hasn’t listed with a broker yet.
Fran,
That’s an interesting idea. So if the charitable soul got compensated for their original amount and the church was satisfied with that amount then folks from the church do the legwork to organize the raffle and there is enough interest in the prize to cover that original amount plus whatever cost to hold the boat until all is said and done then it’s a win-win. INA’s expertise in the apparent condition and donation of advertising space to view the prize online could be considered donation in itself and reflect well on the INA.
I’m not sure that article 3 as all funds received could be considered the sale price due to lottery aspect but it would be an interesting endeavor.
Brian Cayer
Brian Godfrey, you posted in the time it took to type my reply to Fran. I hope your medical procedure ends up with you able to carry on and enjoy your boat for at least a few seasons more. I am 78 and recovering from a serious operation and dealing with pain meds and trying to launch my boat and carry on myself so I understand.
Be Well
Brian
My suggestion was meant to be passed on to your church abiding acquaintance. It is up to his parish to do the work if they want the benefit. My suggestion lets them determine the outcome. If it was close to me geographically I’d jump on it. It would be fun and profitable
Oh. Okay, I’ll pass it on to him. Thanks.
Turns out the owner/donor is an INA member, though apparently not in this discourse group. The church hasn’t formally taken ownership of the boat yet, so the church guy is going to work with the owner to get an ad placed on the INA website. And Craigslist and Facebook and Boat Trader.
Thanks for the suggestions.
MODERATOR NOTE:
Brian is being careful to keep this to the spirit of discussing “How to sell A boat fast.”
I’m getting a little concerned about this topic drifting away from general suggestions. I’m hoping we can avoid crossing the line into discussions of selling THIS SPECIFIC boat. Such specific discussions need to be taken off-line, via private messages or email. Otherwise, I’ll have to get involved as a moderator.
The reserved place for using INA services (of which this forum is one) for selling a boat is via ads under the MARKETPLACE tab at www.Nonsuch.org.
I support INA helping other charitable organizations where possible[1]. In fact, I’ve been using private messages myself to communicate with Brian about doing so in this case.
I’d also like to point out that the INA has a responsibility to help maintain the resale value of members’ boats, and thus prefers that low-cost sales be done through low-visibility channels.
– Bob
BTW, in case of interest, the INA is itself a non-profit 501(c)7 corporation under U.S. law. This designation requires us to operate for the collective interest of members and provide opportunities for social contact between them. ↩︎
At the risk of stretching the rules a bit I have to say that if this particular “Daisy” were on the east coast it would have been picked already.
Probably, but this is the hinterlands.
(I did suggest that he consider rebating to offset the cost of trucking if he wants to sell it fast.)