Morty
Well-Known Member
I recently sold my Arima. Did a lot of research first to learn a market value. Advertised it on AutoTrader.ca, Craigslist Vancouver, Canadian Listed, and Facebook Marketplace. 95% of the inquiries I received were from Craigslist.
The ultimate buyer was from near Portland OR and was here in Vancouver BC for a weekend event and saw my ad. It wasn't appearing on Craigslist Portland. Because there were other keen parties who were all planning on coming to see the boat on Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend (after fishing season had died down). Therefore, I emailed them all with the same message that there were multiple interests, they were all preparing to travel Tuesday, and that I didn't actually have an "offer" from any of them. The Portland buyer got on a plane on the Monday, thoroughly inspected the boat, and gave a deposit on a full price offer.
Now - important background:
- Oregon doesn't have any sales tax on boat purchases
- BC has no 12% PST on used boats IF: sold to a U.S. buyer, AND the boat is delivered by the seller, to the buyer, in the U.S.A.
- although I had all of the cross border paperwork prepared and in hand, and a full audit trail of boat ownership, I spent 3-1/2 hours at US CBP and never made it into Washington. Buyer had to drive to the border to complete the transaction in the CBP impound lot.
- the delays meant we passed the 1:00pm deadline for sending a wire transfer and I had to accept a Cashier's Cheque or do the trip all over again
- U.S. Cashiers cheques take 20 days to clear in a Canadian bank account. (but they're as good as cash)
Bottom Line; in addition to the usual: cosmetically clean your boat and make sure everything is working properly
* do your research on pricing of similar boats
* advertise on Craigslist Portland
* lead your ad with what's unique about your boat
* use a broker for clearing your boat across the border (they can also collect and guarantee your payment)
That's my de-brief!
The ultimate buyer was from near Portland OR and was here in Vancouver BC for a weekend event and saw my ad. It wasn't appearing on Craigslist Portland. Because there were other keen parties who were all planning on coming to see the boat on Tuesday after the Thanksgiving weekend (after fishing season had died down). Therefore, I emailed them all with the same message that there were multiple interests, they were all preparing to travel Tuesday, and that I didn't actually have an "offer" from any of them. The Portland buyer got on a plane on the Monday, thoroughly inspected the boat, and gave a deposit on a full price offer.
Now - important background:
- Oregon doesn't have any sales tax on boat purchases
- BC has no 12% PST on used boats IF: sold to a U.S. buyer, AND the boat is delivered by the seller, to the buyer, in the U.S.A.
- although I had all of the cross border paperwork prepared and in hand, and a full audit trail of boat ownership, I spent 3-1/2 hours at US CBP and never made it into Washington. Buyer had to drive to the border to complete the transaction in the CBP impound lot.
- the delays meant we passed the 1:00pm deadline for sending a wire transfer and I had to accept a Cashier's Cheque or do the trip all over again
- U.S. Cashiers cheques take 20 days to clear in a Canadian bank account. (but they're as good as cash)
Bottom Line; in addition to the usual: cosmetically clean your boat and make sure everything is working properly
* do your research on pricing of similar boats
* advertise on Craigslist Portland
* lead your ad with what's unique about your boat
* use a broker for clearing your boat across the border (they can also collect and guarantee your payment)
That's my de-brief!
