How To Sell Your Boat

Sell Boat On Boat Marketplaces | Sell Boat On Boating Forums | Sell Through Boat Brokers | Sell Boat Offline | Selling On Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace

There are multiple ways to sell your boat in the world today. We'll go through all the different options available to you as a boat owner.

Most importantly, you'll want to get the most money possible for your vessel so it's crucial you understand how to get the most value for your boat.

You can read our guide on how to price boat to sell for an idea on things you need to consider to ensure you price it just right.

Another simple thing to consider is ways to increase the value of your boat. Increasing your boat value doesn't have to cost a lot and you could really bring the price of your boat up with simple additions to the vessel.

This guide applies to all boat owners, regardless of boat type.

So if you own a Pontoon boat, a small motorboat, a speed boat, a cruise liner or anything else (besides a commercial ship) you've come to the right place.

So what are the ways you can sell your boat? 

We'll go through all the options including: 

  • Selling through a boat broker
  • Selling through a boat dealer
  • Private marketplaces to sell boats
  • Using advertisements to sell vessel
  • Selling boat through forums

We'll look into each of these options below.

Using Boating Marketplaces To Sell Your Boat

This is the first and easiest option to sell your boat. There are lot's of boating marketplaces where you can sell your boat. Depending on location, you might sell fast so they do have their benefits.

So what are these marketplaces? 

BoatTrader.com

sell your boat on boattrader

Boat trader is a great option to sell your boat on. It's full of boat buyers and you might get your boat sold relatively fast once you list it for sale on there.

Please keep in mind however that this is location dependent. The majority of buyers and sellers on this platform are from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

So how do you list your boat on there? 

how to sell boat fast

On boat trader site, there is an option to list and sell your boat. The above image shows the prices at the time of publication.

You can see it ranges from $60 to $200. So if you sell your boat for thousands of dollars, it's a small price to pay.

Boats.com

Another marketplace is boats.com. Selling your boat on there is cheaper than boattrader. Here's a look at the pricing at the time of publication: 

selling powercraft online

It looks almost identical to the Boattrader site except boats.com is cheaper option with price ranging from $30 - $120 for listing your boat for sale. (at time of publication)

This site caters mainly to the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada as the majority of users are from these countries.

Selling Boat On Boating Forums

These are another great way of selling your boat. And what better place than to advertise on a forum of boat lovers.

This will generally work out to be cheaper than the above options but selling your boat can take much longer this way. (depending on the forum you choose to list on) 

SailingAnarchy.com

The first forum worth considering is Sailinganarchy. This is a potential option for boat owners in United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom as most of the sites visitors are from those countries.

selling boat on a forum

At the time of publication, these are the prices to list your boat for sale. So as you can see, it's quite a lot cheaper than the above options.

Prices ranging from $1 - $75 for those that may have trouble viewing the image above.

TheHullTruth.com

This site is currently the number 1 most popular boating forum in the world. So you can almost guarantee there are potential boat buyers in there to sell too.

sell boat on forum

You can register for their forum and post your boat for sale in the classified ads section. You'll have to be a member of their admiral club before posting any ads.

Over 1 million people visit the forum per month so you won't be short of potential buyers.

CruisersForum.com

Another popular forum to sell your vessel on is cruisersforum. There are lot's of boats for sale there with many potential buyers!

Here's a look at the boat listings

cruisersforum boats for sale

You can simply sign up for free and get posting to see can you find a buyer. The majority of the site visitors are from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.

So there are options for many boat owners from around the world.

Sell Boat Through A Boat Brokerage

If you have a more expensive and unique type of boat you want to sell, this may be the option for you. Brokers prefer more expensive boats because it means a higher commission for them.

You'll have to factor in commission when choosing to sell your boat this way. This can range from 5 - 25% on average

How do you find a boat brokerage service?

MarineMax.com

boat broker services

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You can visit their site and follow the brokerage link to get details on listing with them. They'll put your boat up for sale on sites like YachtWorld and also tap into their pool of buyers.

TheBoatBroker.com

Another site you can work with is theboatbroker.com. Here's a look at their site and contact details:

Visit the site and follow the instructions to start the process of selling your boat.

Selling Your Boat Offline

There are a number of ways you can sell your boat offline too! It doesn't always have to be online!

Local Marinas

Simply contact your local marina and ask to put an advertisement in their office or place where people will see it. The benefit with contacting marinas is they'll know many potential buyers, depending on your location of course.

With them being in the marine industry, they might steer you in the right direction. And best of all, it's free!

Classified Ads In Newspapers

Remember those things called newspapers?  Well, you can have success by simply placing your boat for sale in the local newspaper.

The price will vary depending on your location and the newspaper advertising fee. But it can be a good way for people to find your boat.

Place Advertisement In Boat Magazines

Another great offline method is to place your boat for sale in a boating magazine. These magazine readers love boating so it's a great way to get eyeballs on your boat! 

There are many magazines to choose from including: 

  • Yachting
  • YachtingWorld
  • YachtingMonthly
  • Boating
  • OnTheWater

These are just a few but a simple search for boat magazines will bring up a large list of them all!

Facebook Marketplace

Another free and easy way to potentially sell your boat is by listing it on Facebook marketplace. These tends to be a gold mine for buyers but please keep in mind, you'll get a lot of time wasters here!

As it's a free option, there is no harm in listing it there.

Craigslist

selling watercraft on craigslist

Another great option is listing the boat on Craigslist. This can cost as little as $5 and is another fast and easy way to find buyers.

Finally, as part of selling your boat, you'll want to ensure the boat looks great. You can read our how to clean a dirty boat guide for having it looking spotless and like new for potential buyers.

So there you have it, many different ways to place your boat for sale.

Now, go and get the best price and perhaps find yourself a new boat to enjoy on the waters!