negotiate the price of your boat with the customer

Boat Price negotiation

Choose the fair price for your boat and add a négociation range exemple you want $27000, ask for 31500.

Also chosse your minimum selling price for the ship and stick to it to the nearest dollar. This is your safety door.

Choose a price for your boat that is not round, exemple $17650 instead of 17500. A figure that is not round automatically induces in the buyer’s head that calculations have been made to obtain this price and the buyer will have more difficulty negotiating the price .

Boat negotiation option

Do not indicate on the announcement of the sale certain advantages or options which will be used for the final negotiation such as an additional sail or paint. (Ex 2 pots of antifouling, or a spinnaker will allow you not to lower the price of your boat but to offer the customer an additional option)

Boat negotiation technics

Never say that you are in a hurry to sell your boat even if you are, if the customer says he is in a hurry to buy a boat, answer that you are lucky to have time to sell your sailboat.

do bot low the price of your boat with round prices. If for example you are selling a catamaran for $325,000, and you don’t want to go below 250,000. If the buyer offers you 225,000 for your boat, do not answer 250,000. Suggest 285,500 instead. It’s a safe bet that it will go up to 250,000 itself quite quickly, and that you can get 265,000 or more in the end.

Don’t say the phrase it’s my last offer. Psychologically this sentence closes doors, while other arrangements are still possible. For example, you could agree to lower the price of your boat but in exchange keep the boat’s chart plotter or watermaker and resell them later.

Calm down a negotiation

If the buyer of your boat seems unwilling to stop the negotiation, you can politely calm him down by replying: I will have to go over all my invoices to see if this price is profitable or not. The resulting effect should make him talk about nautical equipment instead of prices.

If you finally come to an agreement with the buyer, don’t be fooled. He may try to take advantage of the joy offered by this sale to ask you for additional options such as water outlet fees or other. If you can, politely decline.