Writing an effective boat sales classifieds ad

Help me write my Boat Classified Ad

These tips are designed to help you attract buyers and sell your boat faster.  You may have done some (or all) of this before but it doesn’t hurt to double check.

1. CREATING YOUR AD

Be sure to include as much information about your boat, watercraft or listing as you can.  The more suggested fields you fill out in your listing the easier it will be for prospective buyers to find your boat, yacht, motor/engine, trailer, dinghy, kayak, jet ski, marina berth, PWC/Watercraft, boat part or marine accessory!

When writing the description, keep in mind that the first 15 words (approx) will be shown in the search results for buyers scrolling down the site.  Make sure that this 15-word introduction is information rich – focus on key features.  For example:

New Motor, (Brand) Trailer included, Bait Board, Full Length Bimini, lots of extras…..

You can include up to 1,500 words in your ad so don’t be shy!  However, if you ensure that the first 15 (approx) are as eye-catching as possible your ad will attract more qualified buyers.

In the rest of the description it is best to write as much information as you can:  Details of the boat dimensions, engine/s, accommodation, extras and special features, as well as number of engine hours and service history – just to name a few!

Tip! : Write an ad that is clear, informative and descriptive.

Your description of your vessel should detail the following:

• Make and model
• Year of manufacture
• Engine capacity and fuel type
• Major features and general condition.
• Inclusions (such as safety equipment)
• Include engine/cruising hours and usage if it is low for the age of the vessel.

Why not search for a boat and see how the listings present?  You will then get a good idea of how your ad will look.  This may give you some good ideas as to how to construct your boat advertisement most effectively.

2. PRICE

Putting an unrealistically high price in your ad will mean you’ll waste valuable time waiting for the phone to ring. 

In the weeks prior to listing your vessel it is a good idea search the Yacht and Boat classifieds section to get an idea of the prices being asked for similar makes and models.

3. PRESENTATION AND PREPARATION

To create a good impression your boat must look its best!

Consider having it detailed by a professional detailer. For a reasonable fee you can have your vessel cleaned from top to bottom and looking the best it can.

If you opt to clean it yourself make sure you clean in all the hard-to-get-at areas like hatch openings, galley, bilge and engine bay.
 
Pickup and secure all loose items in the cabin and on deck.  Loose items look untidy and rattle and bang around during a test run.

Make sure the interior doesn’t smell.  There’s no better way to put a buyer off than with unpleasant smells of tobacco or stale bait and bilge.  It’s a good idea to get rid of all odours.

Make sure the safety equipment onboard is in good condition and complies with the legislative requirements in your state.  Visit our Safety Requirements Page for more information.  It might seem like a small thing but new safety equipment is a big bonus to boat buyers and can set you apart from other boat sellers.

4. PHOTOS

In your Yacht and Boat Ad make sure you show as much of your boat as possible.  Buyers love to see good photos that sell them the boating lifestyle – not just the boat.  Clear photos will attract more interested buyers than the description alone.

Yacht and Boat automatically resize your photos for ideal presentation on the Yacht and Boat web site to approx 600 x 450 pixels.  If you like, you can crop or resize them to these dimensions prior to uploading them using your own photo editing software – or try the free photo editing tool from Picnik at www.picnik.com

Please resize your images if your photos are larger than 1MB (less than 500KB is ideal).  Additionally please ensure there are no extra ‘dots’ in your photo name.  For example:  

beneteau yacht.jpg    (will upload)

beneteau yacht 40.7.jpg    (will not upload)

We highly recommend that you take the main photo showing the exterior side view and the more photos the better.

Other photos to include are:

• Exterior: front
• Exterior: side
• Exterior: back
• Interior: wheelhouse
• Interior: Cabin/lounge/dining
• Interior: Cabin/bed and bunks
• Interior: Galley, storage space
• Engine
• Safety equipment
• Any items that make your vessel special – Entertainment systems, navigation systems and the like.

5. CONTACT INFORMATION AND RESPONSE TO ENQUIRIES

When creating your listing, please ensure that your email address is correct and that your spam filter is not blocking emails from Yacht and Boat – add us to your ‘whitelist’.

You are more likely to sell your boat quickly if you reply to enquiries promptly (within 24 hours).

Please CONTACT US if you have any questions and…..

Good luck with your listing!

The Yacht and Boat team