Tips for Selling Your Boat this Winter 

The winter season can be a good time to sell your boat. Many boat buyers are browsing for their next boat during the winter season, so they are ready for spring boating. Now is the right time to get your boat sold! 

Our experts at Boats for Sale are here to give you tips for selling your boat this winter.

 It could take several months to find a buyer in any season so why not sell your boat this winter.

Selling your boat this winter may not be as profitable as in other seasons. 

The market dictates what people are willing to pay, so you must consider supply and demand. You’ll need to decide whether holding onto your boat (and the expenses) are worth the possibility of selling at a higher price. Holding onto your boat through the winter hoping for a more profitable spring market can be a mistake for many sellers. Your boat is valued at its highest price right now. By springtime, newer models have hit the market while your boat value decreases.  

If you’re considering selling your boat yourself, keep in mind that it takes time and effort to do it alone. With modern technology, you can attract active shoppers from across the country during any season with the click of a mouse. Online marketplaces like Boats for Sale offer more room for dealers of all sizes to get more leads by attracting hundreds of thousands of active buyers every month. With Boats for Sale, you can list your boat or get a cash offer fast.

Some of the benefits of using Boats for Sale:

• Free listings
• Easy to use
• Targeted directly to qualified buyers 
• Full-service online boat buying experience  

Using other marketplaces or classifieds can be costly, in addition to the extra expense of storage and maintenance. We want to help you learn more about selling boats with an online marketplace.  

It’s essential to make a good first impression by ensuring your boat is clean and accessible.  

Start by using a good winter cover that you can remove easily and quickly. You want to make your boat easy for potential buyers to climb aboard and see the condition of the boat. This will also show interested buyers that you’ve taken care of the vessel by using a good cover. If you have to wrap it for winter storage, then make sure you take tons of quality photos and video. Videos provide accurate views of the floorplan, boat condition, and accessories, and give the buyer a better feel for the boat’s size, stature, and overall look and feel, so a buyer can make a fair assessment before visiting the boat for a sea trial, which wastes far less of your time. We have some great tips for filming a walkthrough of your boat for sale.  

Sea trials are usually part of the selling process and something to consider when planning to sell your boat this winter. Do you have a boatyard or launch readily available? Make sure your boatyard is willing and able to launch or haul the boat for you. If it’s too cold to for water trial or inspection, you can set new dates and write it into the sales contract.  

Make sure your boat has been thoroughly cleaned. Potential buyers will be concerned if they see the bilges are dirty, storage spaces are full, and dock lines that should have been replaced. This checklist will ensure your boat is ready for sale. Find more tips and tricks on how to get top dollar for your boat.   

Some say that selling your boat this winter isn’t as lucrative but can be more profitable when you factor in winterization costs, depreciation, and an unknown future market. No matter if you’re in the market to upgrade or want to avoid your boat sitting all winter long, Boats for Sale can help you sell your boat. 

For more boat tips and important how-to’s, check out our blog and follow along on Facebook!