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Europe's #1 Online Boat Dealer

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The World's Most Detailed Boat Listings

Selling Your Boat with GulfStream

At GulfStream Boat Sales we offer a professional and proven brokerage service for boats located throughout Ireland and the UK. We specialise in ‘distance selling’ high quality brokerage craft – that is using the internet as our primary marketing tool and channel through which we locate qualified boat buyers for your boat. When listing your boat we take the time to work with you to present your boat for sale in the best possible manner to ensure we achieve the best possible price and shortest possible time to sale. One of our team will personally inspect your boat and carry out a 40 point health check.

We will also advise you of the legal and paperwork requirements when selling your boat and ensure that both you and we know exactly where we stand in relation to the sale of your boat. In our experience, dealing with the details up front means that we are all invested in the process from the outset and can complete the deal with much less fuss and hassle when your buyer comes along. We are experts at presenting your boat online. As well as detailed specs and descriptions we present multiple high quality images and even video of your boat online. We will execute highly specific and targeted marketing campaign for your individual boat, driving qualified traffic and enquirers to your boat pages.

What this means for you is that you have no hassle listing your boat as we do all the hard work and you get multiple serious buyers enquiring about your boat which generally results in short sale times and higher achieved prices. Our main broker, Niall Heaney, has 25 years of boating experience, backed up with distinguished engineering career before he embarked on a mission to change the face of the leisure marine industry 5 years ago! He brings a very high level of professionalism to the sale of your boat and has a proven track record of selling high quality craft throughout Europe (see our Testimonials). A skilled negotiator who prides himself on honesty and integrity, Niall will represent your boat to the market in the best possible manner and ensure a smooth, trouble free sale.

Standard Brokerage Service

When you list your brokerage boat with us under our standard service agreement we will deliver the following:

  1. Personal Inspection of your Boat (travel fees may be chargeable)
  2. 40 point boat health check
  3. Paperwork Check
  4. Boat Valet & Prep for Photos
  5. High Quality Photographs
  6. Website listing on GulfStreamBoatSales.com and our affiliate advertising sites
  7. Targeted online advertising campaign for your boat
  8. We can offer 3 months free storage for your boat at our North-West Location – Indoor (size permitting) or Outdoor
  9. We will deal with all enquiries and submit all offers received in writing to you within 24hrs
  10. We will work with you to conveniently arrange viewings of your boat
  11. We will execute all paperwork related to the sale of your boat
  12. We will hold deposit payments against the sale of your boat in a nominated client account and release full proceeds of the sale within 48hrs of completion

Premium Brokerage Service

Under the terms of our premium brokerage service, we provide the following services in addition to the standard service agreement:

  1. High quality video of your boat with personal commentary, to include footage of a walk-through tour of your boat.
  2. A sea trial performance test video of your boat.
  3. Hosting of your boat video presentation on GulfStreamBoatSales.com.
  4. Listing your high quality boat demonstration video on YouTube.com.
  5. Targeted SEO and Google AdWords campaign, specifically for your boat, guaranteeing maximum exposure.

Thinking of Selling Your Boat? Wonder what it’s worth?

Request Your Free Market Valuation For Your Boat – Send us your details below.

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    The Boat Seller’s Guide: 14 Steps to Sell Your Boat FAST and for the Best Price Possible

    Selling your boat is an important event and doing it right is the key to getting the money you deserve for it (and hopefully enough to buy your next boat!).

    As a VIP member of GulfStreamBoatSales.com, I want to make sure that you know exactly what to do to sell your boat quickly and for the best possible price. So I’ve put together this Boat Seller’s Guide to help you. You can download this report as a PDF file here.

    Do NOT List Your Boat to Sell Until You Take Care of These 14 Things:

    1. Prepare Your Boat for Sale

    As a boat seller the single most important thing that you can do to guarantee you get a fast sale and a good price is to put some effort into cleaning your boat and preparing it for sale.

    That means that before the boat is photographed or shown to a potential buyer you should:

    1. Remove ALL your personal effects – only leave on the boat whatever you are selling with it.
    2. Make sure all the little pieces that get lost or forgotten about are present and correct – tables, filler cushions, coolers, cover poles, nav screen covers etc.
    3. Make sure the canvas covers are present, clean and in good condition
    4. Remove any tatty ropes and fenders etc.
    5. Have the engine(s) serviced so that it is starting and running well.
    6. Make sure the engine room is as clean as possible and there are no leaks.
    7. Check all the onboard equipment is working.
    8. Make sure the toilet is clean and odour free.
    9. Make sure the hull bottom is clean and any antifouling is in good condition.
    10. If there is a trailer with the boat make sure the wheel bearings, wheels and tyres are in good condition, the winch and jockey wheel are working and the tow hitch is in good condition. It also helps if you have a working lighting board and a couple of tie-down straps.

    Basically, you should have your boat presented in the ideal way you would like to have it at the start of the season. Some of these points might sound like small things but taking care of the details makes all the difference.

    EVERY boat that sells for a great price has had the above work done at some point before it sells. So if you get it sorted before your boat goes anywhere near the market, the sale will come much quicker and with far less effort for a better price!

    2. High Quality Photographs

    Take good quality, high resolution photographs of all areas of your boat, inside and out. Take time to think about the background as well – is it helping to show the boat in the best possible light? A clean, uncluttered background setting makes it more likely that potential buyers will see your boat in a positive light.

    3. Price It Right

    It is vital to price your boat at the right level. Are you sure that you have priced your boat at a realistic level, taking into consideration its age, specification, condition, location etc.? What are other similar models achieving in the market place? A good broker can help you in this regard with their industry knowledge.

    One of the big mistakes I commonly see that stops boats selling is that they are priced unrealistically high. It is often better to price the boat realistically at the outset as opposed to starting high with a view to leaving lots of negotiation room.

    I also see cases where the boat owner underestimates the value of their boat and sell it for too little.

    It’s my job to keep on top of market demand and prices so if you’d like a second opinion about how much your boat is worth, you can get a Free Boat Valuation here:
    https://www.gulfstreamboatsales.com/selling-your-boat-with-gulfstream/#valuation-form

    The boat valuation, done by me personally, is totally free and there are no strings attached so you should take advantage of this opportunity now: Click here to get your free valuation.

    4. Write A Fantastic Description Of Your Boat

    The days of selling a boat with just a one line description in a magazine or online ad are over. You need to write a great description of your boat which focuses on the benefits of owning your boat as well as listing its features. The ideal formula includes a short narrative about your boat, the more interesting the better, followed by a list of its most notable features. You should then include other more detailed information in a less prominent position; this should include things like a list or table of technical specifications, boat dimensions, onboard equipment list, service history etc. The more information that you can provide the better.

    5. Have you thought about online video?

    A high quality video of your boat, showing it in its best light, can dramatically reduce the time it takes to sell your boat. A great video with audio commentary can answer lots of questions for buyers and give them an excellent ‘feel’ for your boat without them ever having to leave the comfort of their own home.

    6. Market Exposure

    Once the preparation work is done and you have all the information gathered together that a prospective buyer could ever want now you need to get that information in front of them! The breadth of options currently available to sellers to advertise their boats is staggering and ever-changing. Unfortunately there is no silver bullet or one place that vastly outperforms others, and often the best forum for you to sell your boat depends on a wide range of variables including the type of boat, its age, price, location etc. When it comes to getting your boat market exposure you can pick a few places to advertise in and adopt a ‘suck it and see’ approach, however there really is no substitute for industry knowledge. This is where a good broker can come into their own in helping to pitch your boat in exactly the right places and markets to generate serious interest quickly.

    7. Check Your Broker’s Credentials

    When using a broker to sell your boat, always make sure that they are a member of a relevant trade association and that they adhere to a code of conduct. E.g. at GulfStream Marine we’re a member of the Irish Marine Federation.

    8. Ensure Your Money Is Safe

    Ensure that any purchase monies are paid into and held in your broker’s designated client account until the transaction is completed. Also make sure that you know when the money will be released to you. It is vital to get clarity on all of this before your boat is listed for sale, don’t wait until you’ve agreed a sale to find out how the transaction works.

    9. Get Your Finance In Order

    If there is marine finance on your boat, make sure that you have made arrangements for the discharge of it prior to completion of the sale. Forgetting about details like this or leaving them to the last minute can delay the sale and increase the chances of the deal falling through.

    10. Get Your Paperwork In Order

    Have you got all necessary forms of Title Documentation for your boat, to be transferred on completion of the sale? Lack of organisation or lack of knowledge around what paperwork you need to successfully complete the sale of your boat is another thing that causes problems and delays with boat sales.

    An experienced broker will guide you through the process and ensure that you have all the important paperwork in order. E.g. Bills of Sale, original purchase invoice, evidence of VAT status, Part 1 Registration, builder’s certificate, evidence of compliance with the EU Recreational Craft Directive etc.

    If you have any concerns about missing paperwork that could hamper your sale, give me a call on +44 (0) 28 7136 8779 or email me at [email protected]

    11. Be Protected

    Selling your boat is a big event and it involves significant sums of money so it is very important to ensure that your broker uses approved standard forms of contract between seller and purchaser, to protect your interests as the seller.

    12. Give Qualified Potential Buyers Good Access

    Make arrangements to give qualified potential buyers suitable opportunity to inspect the boat, have a sea trial and/or have the boat surveyed prior to completion of the sale. All of these things make it much easier for a buyer to decide if the boat is right for them and it gives them more confidence to proceed with the sale. All of this means that they are much more likely to complete the sale quickly.

    Check if your broker will help to arrange these all important inspections, sea trials and surveys.

    13. Make A Written Inventory List

    Decide exactly what you are including in the advertised price of your boat. Creating a written inventory list means that the deal is crystal clear for both you and the buyer. It helps to prevent confusion surrounding the sale, which often delays sales or results in them falling through altogether.

    14. Arrange Handover

    The final thing to be clear on in advance of the sale is what the specific arrangements are for handover of the boat to the buyer upon completion. A smooth sale and handover doesn’t happen automatically. Planning the details of the handover in advance is key to things going according to schedule and having a simple, no hassle sale.

    Sell Your Boat The Smart Way

    The best way to sell your boat is to put the work in at the outset when advertising it. This ensures that you have already dealt with the vast majority of possible objections or concerns a buyer might have. And that leads to a faster and smoother sale.

    My aim at GulfStream Boat Sales is to get you a fast and hassle-free sale, so that all you have to worry about is what to spend the money on when the deal is done!

    If you would like to talk about selling your boat, or have any questions about anything mentioned in this guide, call me on +44 (0) 28 7136 8779 or drop me an email at [email protected]

    I look forward to talking to you!

    Niall Heaney MEng | Managing Director, GulfStream Marine Ltd