Buying and Selling Online

[alexwood]

Hi,

I’m doing a survey and I’m trying to find out: what is the most annoying thing about buying and selling a boat online?

Thank you in advance for any responses, they’re greatly appreciated.

 

[IRENE]

Incomplete ads by sellers (to include brokers) - basic information missing like engine hours, maintenance tasks completed recently, upgrades, relevant photos.

A significant asset for sale merits the time to write a proper ad. Anything less than complete detail is lazy, and that attitude has likely driven how the boat was cared for.

 

[alexwood]

Incomplete ads by sellers (to include brokers) - basic information missing like engine hours, maintenance tasks completed recently, upgrades, relevant photos.

A significant asset for sale merits the time to write a proper ad. Anything less than complete detail is lazy, and that attitude has likely driven how the boat was cared for.

Thank you for the response Irene! A lot of other people on different forums have also said this and it seems to be a major issue.

 

[kthoennes]

We bought our last three boats online, two Craigslist and one eBay, although the seller also listed it with Pop Yachts at the same time. All went well, but maybe we were lucky. When it comes to annoying, there is a lot of junk and spam out there with boat listings. In fact our current boat is still listed on a junk boat sales website, a site that lifts real listings and re-posts them. Our boat hasn't been for sale since we bought it in 2015. And then there was that time I drove three hours to Titusville, Florida to look at a boat. Online the hull was mirror-polished, pristine. When I got there there were birds' nests on the helm dashboard through the broken windows. It's the 'net, comes with the territory I suppose.

 

[alexwood]

We bought our last three boats online, two Craigslist and one eBay, although the seller also listed it with Pop Yachts at the same time. All went well, but maybe we were lucky. When it comes to annoying, there is a lot of junk and spam out there with boat listings. In fact our current boat is still listed on a junk boat sales website, a site that lifts real listings and re-posts them. Our boat hasn't been for sale since we bought it in 2015. And then there was that time I drove three hours to Titusville, Florida to look at a boat. Online the hull was mirror-polished, pristine. When I got there there were birds' nests on the helm dashboard through the broken windows. It's the 'net, comes with the territory I suppose.

Thank you for the response kthoennes! I have had a lot of people say similar things to you about problems they face buying and selling a boat online. I'm building an online marketplace that aims to remove these annoyances and prevent them from happening altogether.

I am going to be contacting you once the beta is available for you to test it and give me more feedback on what needs improving.

Thank you, once again, it is very beneficial to me.

 

[smitty477]

From previous transactions off the top of my head....

- incomplete adds, lack of data
- incomplete/inaccurate list of all machinery
- inaccurate adds, wrong data
- incomplete/inaccurate list of all that conveys with sale
- lack of current pictures
- lack of current pictures that matter (12 shots of a made-up bed)
- lack of maintenance records
- past records or major problems/partial sinkings, fire etc not included
- lack of who owns the vessel, are you the owner
- does 'owner' have full right to sell vessel
- is vessel encumbered by loans, liens, or other liabilities

 

[Brooksie]

Selling: Nowhere near as aggravating as dealing with brokers if you know what you are doing.
Buying: A broker is not a lawyer and is not working for you, your surveyor is working for you and so is your mechanic.

 

[Kuncicky]

Hi,

I’m doing a survey and I’m trying to find out: what is the most annoying thing about buying and selling a boat online?

Thank you in advance for any responses, they’re greatly appreciated.

Very easy to answer. Assuming you put your boat on Craigslist, you will immediately receive a response from someone saying that they want to buy your boat sight unseen and that a cashiers' check will be sent to you at the price you are asking. It is a scam, of course. I cannot say that I know just exactly how it works, but it is a scam.

 

[Comodave]

When we are shopping for a boat the most annoying thing to me is crappy photos. I want the photos to be well lit and in focus. The second thing is people that want to sell a boat and have all their crap all over the boat. The first thing I do when selling a boat is remove all of the personal stuff and then give the boat a deep cleaning. Then we take the phots of everything that we can think of. And we use portable lights so the photos actually show the condition of the boat.