Fishing Frenzy

Establishing the monetary value for a boat is one of the most important and sometimes the most difficult aspects of dealing with pleasure boats, from the perspective of the seller but of course also for other parties such as buyers, brokers, insurers and marine surveyors

For the seller, pricing the boat well will make the difference between walking away with the right amount of funds to but an even bigger and more performing watercraft, or finding himself undersold and unable to retrieve its investment in full.

At first glance buyers may think that the subject is less crucial for them as there is a lot of choice of similar boats with clear prices, but make no mistake - don't become complacent and forget that not getting the best deal may mean losing tens of thousands of dollars.

This is, unfortunately, harder than it seems. Boat prices fluctuate a lot due to a series of sometimes obscure circumstances, such as the place you are in and the season of the year, and these are all things you need to be aware of. Otherwise you may strike what seems a great deal, but in hindsight you may then notice that the transaction left you worse off by thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

To do the evaluation right, there are two principal routes: One is to employ a professional appraiser, the other one is to do it yourself. Hiring a broker is the easier and quicker solution, but it is not automatically the best option.

In fact, as there is a lot of information available on the subject for those who are willing to spend some time educating themselves, you can do this yourself if you prefer not to be dependent on someone else's opinion.

To become your own appraiser for boat values, you need to look at as many resources as possible - and there are plenty of books and websites on the subject. Your aim should be to come up with realistic minimum and maximum process for the kind of boat you want or are about to sell.

For this, trade magazine classifieds (whether online or offline) are a fantastic place to start. Systematically collecting and comparing ads for similar boat classes over time will give you a very good idea of offer and demand, and therefore of current price levels.

Also good are boating festivals, which are usually organized by boating clubs and yachting marinas. These shows are excellent to pick up more info on boat values, plus people who come to the shows are experts in this industry and know what they are talking about. Don't underestimate the value of a chat with the right person to accurately pinpoint the possible value of a boat - and you may even find a buyer!

New boat exhibitions are good to gauge current fashions. Fashionable items demand a better price, and you can increase the value of your marine transaction by finding out what features and accessories are currently over- or undervalued.