Consignment Sales Experiences

I second the comment about Alexander RV. They are an excellent group of people from the owners down. They deal only in used and consignments but they do it right.
We bought our FW there, and they sold a family members unit there on consignment. It did take a while, but they got it done.
Their prep of the unit before we could pick it up was over the top, they checked or corrected everything. Thanks Nancy and Jeff, you're the best.
I have no connection to them, just a satisfied customer.

I have consigned two motorhomes at Motorhomes of Texas. They have done a fine job with both and took care of all the paperwork and treated us very fairly. I also bought a motorhome from them. They only sell used coaches and they will buy trade ins at times too. Very good people to deal with and they are across the street from the Foretravel factory and they also are the place that Newell puts their older coaches they take in trade as well.

You ability to sell on Craig's list or any other source will be greatly determined by where you are located. Most buyers are going to want to see it before they buy it. If you are not located near a large population base, you are going to be severely handicapped in selling. Even a super low price will only help so much, since most people assume a rig priced well below market value has some kind of problem. That is where a consignment makes the most sense. They are located near major populations and since there are more than one rig there, customers go there. As for them calling you and trying to buy your rig for low dollars, it works. There are a number of people who are no longer interested in the cheese, they just want out of the trap. If you have $1000 a month payments plus insurance and storage costs on your Diesel Pusher, taking $20,000 less than you want might be better than spending a year trying to get your price and then finding out that the rig depreciated another $10000 in that year, so you can't get your price anyway. People making that analysis just might take wholesale value and let the retail sale be someone else's problem. Nothing you put in your ad is going to keep the wholesale buyers away. Just something you will have to deal with along with tire kickers, people who couldn't buy the mud flaps, much less the whole rig and people who don't show up for appointments. Good Luck.

thanks for the advice on consignment dealers???

We recently sold ours through PPL in Texas and it was an excellent experience. We named the price - not them. No pressure. All negotiations are done between the potential buyer and the seller. PPL just does the paperwork. It sold within a month to a party who flew in from Florida.

I think the most important thing to keep in mind, whether selling through a consignment dealer, Craig's list or RV traders is to make sure your asking price is realistic. Every time I visit a RV dealer they have a few rows of tired, unwashed products in their back-lots. I finally figured out that they often, and obviously had been there for years. Price it right and it will be gone in 30-60 days. If it goes longer than that (except during the winter) it is over priced. Here is a good example. I traded my 2011 Jayco trailer in on a new 2015 Starcraft back in June (a good selling month). I followed my trade on their website, and their asking price was more than I paid for it back in 2011, it's not going to sell! They dropped the price last fall, but it was too late. It is still for sale, but the price is still about $3000 over what it is really worth.

The biggest issue IMHO isn't the forum for selling, it's the often VERY unrealistic prices people want for their items.

People often think the 'emotional' attachment, all the fun, the original design, some 'adds' are valuable ... but most are done on every RV's in some manner.

It's like looking down the block at identical homes for sale, and you see five models for one price, and one much higher... but identical homes, with a few personal touches. But he emotion gets in the way, and folks sit on it and it won't sell -- or in some cases (RV's AND Homes) get upside down on the financing and can't sell it without bringing cash to the table. That' ALWAYS hurts!!!

2gypsies wrote:
We recently sold ours through PPL in Texas and it was an excellent experience. We named the price - not them. No pressure. All negotiations are done between the potential buyer and the seller. PPL just does the paperwork. It sold within a month to a party who flew in from Florida.

x2 on the good experience with PPL. We had an price of XX,500, they suggested knocking $600 off to get below $XX,000....we did and the rig sold within a month. Paperwork handled by them, no real hassle, we walked in and picked up a check....

Have sold 4 vehicles online (2 on Craigslist, 2 on an AK equivalent). One just needs to be prepared to wade through the BS a bit. I suspect AK doesn't get as many consignment houses as other areas but the lowball offers still come in....just have to say "No" a few more times.

PPL takes their 10% chunk, and if you want, they can detail the rig for $500, which is useful as a way to get it sold.

I'd definitely consider going that route.