Wisdom of putting 22' cruiser on consignment in Washington

P

pele 2

New member
Could I get some advice? I have had a couple of individuals contact me, excited about looking at my C-Dory for sale. Unfortunatley, they did not realize I live down in Crescent City, CA. There seems to be more demand for C-Dorys up in Washington. Do many of you think it would be worth paying consignment & transport fees to have it for sale up near the Seattle area? It is a 2009/ 2010 model listed on this site.

Thank you,
Marshall
 
Marshall-

If it were my boat, I'd first make sure that I'd done everything to present it well in the listing with a very though description, photos, and the like, and that the price was reasonable and somewhat negotiable.

You'll pay a commission of about 10% for someone else to sell it, plus the transportation costs, although a good dealer like Matt Gurnsey may be able to get a higher price for it, offsetting the commission somewhat or entirely.

Generally, folks that want a C-Dory are willing to travel to get a good deal on a good boat, although I'm sure they take the transportation cost to trail it home into consideration with the price.

I'd give it my best effort first, but also go ahead and get a hold of a good, honest, deserving dealer like Matt and discuss it with him to get a feel for the consignment process, etc.

For your convenience:

Matt Gurnsey
Kitsap Marina
1595 S.W. Bay Street
Port Orchard, WA 98366
1-360-895-2193
Cell 1-360-710-3801
info@kitsapmarina.com

Good LUck!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Marshall-

I didn't realize you'd bought the boat from Matt when I wrote the above post, but discovered it reading your ad/listing.

I still think the suggestions are valid, and probably even more so!

One of the problems you're experiencing is that your boat is very new and very well equipped, making it one of the more expensive boats among those of that model during tight times, etc.

It may take some extra time to allow it to sell, since there are older boats available for half the price.

But for someone that wants a nearly new boat at a real discount, your boat is a great alternative!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Over the years I have done both, sell boats myself and consign them. My very personal opinion is that consigning a boat to a known reputable dealer is worth every penny of the cost. My 16 footer was consigned to Les at EQ. We all know how great that outfit is. But I had some years ago consigned a boat to a local broker here in Bellevue. They were top notch also. In both instances I had no hastle. They kept me abrest of any interest, got a fair price and handled all the details of payment and ownership transfer. I had none of the problems of negotiating with low ballers, just lookers, and critics. Again, my very personal recommendation is to trailer the boat up to one of the NW places that you are comfortable with and leave the selling to them.
 
I agree that consignment with the right dealer is well worth the commission fee. I tried selling my Toland 18-8 on my own (through the C-Brat website) and discovered that a lot of folks just wanted to see the boat, with no interest in purchasing.

I delivered my boat to Les at EQ and he had it sold in short order at a very fair price. A dealer will take care of the paperwork and offer additional services, such a financing. The dealer also has a website to market their consignment boats and regular business hours for prospective customers to visit so your evenings and weekends aren't interrupted with "tire kickers" and "no-shows". Matt and Les have stellar reputations and are held in high esteem with the C-Brat community.

Best Regards,
Leo
 
Consignment sales with reputable folks can certainly work, but when you're talking large sums (and C-Dory's are generally large sums!) I think a serious buyer should be willing to travel to get the correct boat for him/her.

I have traveled from Maryland to Tacoma (twice!) to inspect a boat that I didn't even end up buying! (But in the end, the travel saved me a LOT of money!) We also traveled from Baltimore to Florida to buy a Great 17' B/W, later we bought C-Dory Naknek from Les when I was near Ft. Meade (MD), and five years later sold Naknek to a fellow in Gig Harbor after he flew to Phoenix to inspect the boat while it was in AZ (I then delivered it to Gig Harbor as part of the deal).

Prior to buying Katmai I traveled 650 miles (FL to NC) to inspect a boat that I didn't end up buying; but the trip/time/cost was worthwhile never the less. Shortly thereafter I ended up buying Katmai on consignment, from a dealer only 50 miles from our place in FL. Go figure.

Your buyer is out there ... somewhere.

Bottomline: I think serious buyer's should be willing to travel to see vessels they're really interested-in.

Good Luck!

Casey
 
You have only had your boat listed on the C Brat site for 10 days. It may take months to sell your boat--but this is not the best time of year for sales.

If someone wants the boat, they will buy it in Cresent City, CA. I don't think it is worth the cost of consignment and transport to WA--there are just as many buyers out of the PNW as in the PNW--maybe more....

I bought my CDory 22 in New Mexico, and the 25 in New Jersey. Both were from this web site, and both boats had been on the market for at least several months.

A clean boat, with good presentation of photos, at the right price will sell itself.
 
Buyers also like to see a variety of boats in one place . Instead of traveling just to see one boat .That's the reason boat shows attract people and well stocked dealers do as well .
Marc
 
I drove 2000 miles twice to purchase the then 2 year old Puffin now 11 year old Hunkydory. Agree with "the buyer is out there" and your remote more difficult to reach town of Cresent City will just help you deal with mostly real potential buyers. Think all the access roads there would surprise many who have't been that way.

Jay
 
I Thank all of you for your great input. I will try to advertise a couple of months, then talk to Matt (the dealer I bought the boat from) about assisting. I sure appreciate the different perspectives.

Thanks again, Marshall
 
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