Selling our 5th Wheel--Consignment

[ttstansfield]

DH and I have decided to sell our 5th wheel. We are trying to decide whether or not to try to sell it ourselves or just take a bit of a financial hit and sell it on consignment through a dealer. Our main concern about selling it ourselves is safety. We really don't want strangers coming to our house (too many bad things happen to people who sell stuff on CraigsList, etc.). We also worry about making sure their payment is legit and they can't get the money back once they have left with the trailer. Consignment seems a good option, but they are only offering the absolute minimum amount for trade-in--which is low considering the light use that we have on our 5th wheel. Do any of you have experience with selling your trailers individually or on consignment and can give us some advice? Thanks!

[laknox]

TucsonJim wrote:
I've sold lots of items on Craigslist, and never had a problem. I do require that the only acceptable form of payment is cash. For anything over $100, I have the buyer meet me at my bank where the payment is immediately deposited, and then the paperwork (if any) is notarized if required.

What you don't want is for somebody to give you a large amount of cash which they can then try to steal back from you later.

x2, though I would add for something this large, cashiers' check or wire transfer, are also acceptable. If someone wants to pay with folding money, then =definitely= a bank and ask them to run the bills through their currency counter, and be =sure= it's one that has a counterfeit detector in it. Check with your bank beforehand, because not all banks will have them (cheap bastards). Banks can also check validity of other banks' cashiers' checks. Avoid PayPal, even for deposits, as an account can be funded with bogus credit cards. Learned this the hard way. Escrow is always an option, though it can certainly slow down the process and will cost you fees.

Lyle

[Duck]

ttstansfield wrote:
Thanks for all of the replies. DH and I took our 5th wheel to a nearby dealer and put it on consignment. They are reputable and are positive that they will sell the trailer. The deciding factor was that we live in a neighborhood that doesn't allow RV's to sit out in the driveway for long periods of time. Our immediate neighbors don't have a problem with our 5th wheel, but the homeowners association is a bit nasty about petty little things and we didn't want to take the risk.

When we pulled into the dealership yesterday, two sales men approached us and told us they already have potential buyers for the 5th wheel. 🙂 We will see if anything happens quickly. We know it is the right thing to do for now, but it isn't easy for us to see it go.

Let us know how it goes with your consignment
Don

[ttstansfield]

Thanks for all of the replies. DH and I took our 5th wheel to a nearby dealer and put it on consignment. They are reputable and are positive that they will sell the trailer. The deciding factor was that we live in a neighborhood that doesn't allow RV's to sit out in the driveway for long periods of time. Our immediate neighbors don't have a problem with our 5th wheel, but the homeowners association is a bit nasty about petty little things and we didn't want to take the risk.

When we pulled into the dealership yesterday, two sales men approached us and told us they already have potential buyers for the 5th wheel. 🙂 We will see if anything happens quickly. We know it is the right thing to do for now, but it isn't easy for us to see it go.

[Tyler0215]

I have sold several items on CL, never a problem. You can usually sort out the serious buyers after a couple of e-mails. Then set up a time to meet. I always get cash for small items. Large transactions, cars boats or MH meet at the your bank. They can help with an instant transfer, sign the title. and your done.

[Earl_E]

You need to be sure it is a reputable consignment lot. We bought our trailer at a consignment lot and found out that they had not paid the seller after six months! We got the call because the seller had complained to the Justice Department and they were investigating.

[Bob_Vaughn]

With consignment lots be careful....we sold our TT on a well respected lot and got royally ripped off. They called me and told me they had an offer and what it was. I was right in the middle of something and could not talk to them but wrote down what they said. I called them back in less than 10 minutes to decline the offer when I realized it was 1/2 of what I was asking. They informed me that the trailer had been sold and delivered and could not be recinded.....I had already paid them to sell the unit. A couple of months later we saw the trailer in a local campground. It still had our name on the back and inquired of the people what they paid for it. And low and behold they had paid what I was asking. So I drove to the dealership that sold it and was told that the salesman that sold it was no longer working there and they would take no responsibility for his actions. The buyers told me when they bought it and when I looked at the calendar I realized that was before the dealer even called me. So I got screwed.....

[Earl_E]

We've sold the last two trailers on consignment. We didn't get the $$ we could have gotten but then we didn't have any problems or questions about getting paid, stealing money back, etc. It just depends on if you want to take the gamble to make more money or play it safe and get less money. I don't begrudge the consignment dealer for the money he made--he did the work, he took the gamble...

[camperfamily]

Remember you can bring the trailer to a public place to meet, or even meet in the parking lot of a police station?

[GypsiesAtHeart2]

I have bought & sold many things on CL including trailers, trucks & household items.

Just delete messages that sound incoherent, crazy or unreasonable.

Set up any meetings over the phone after a reasonable email exchange. They'll want to know all about your trailer just as you would if you were the buyer.You'll also have a chance to talk to the people and get a feel for what you can expect.

In the end, do what you're comfortable with.

[drfife]

ttstansfield wrote:
Thanks for all of the replies. The two dealers that we talked to will pay the low end of book value and then they will list it for about $5,000 higher to prospective buyers. So, the amount coming to us is a set amount--regardless of the condition of our 5th wheel. Neither of the dealers has seen it and they won't offer any more money.

If you are not using it you are losing money on depreciation by the day.

Sell it ASAP.

We sold ours through Bennett's Camping Center in Granbury, Texas.

[ttstansfield]

Thanks for all of the replies. The two dealers that we talked to will pay the low end of book value and then they will list it for about $5,000 higher to prospective buyers. So, the amount coming to us is a set amount--regardless of the condition of our 5th wheel. Neither of the dealers has seen it and they won't offer any more money.

[ttstansfield]

TucsonJim wrote:
I've sold lots of items on Craigslist, and never had a problem. I do require that the only acceptable form of payment is cash. For anything over $100, I have the buyer meet me at my bank where the payment is immediately deposited, and then the paperwork (if any) is notarized if required.

What you don't want is for somebody to give you a large amount of cash which they can then try to steal back from you later.

The scenario where they try to steal the money back is exactly what we are worried about in selling the 5th wheel. It is only 4 years old with very little use. So, the book value is still fairly high. The only reason we are selling it is because DH doesn't have much vacation time and we don't use it. I hate to sell it, but our plans are to return to RV'ing when we retire in about 10 years and sell the house.

[Duck]

I tried to sell my trailer myself by listing on RVTrader and Craigs list. I used a lower price then the low retail price. Had just a few calls that were looking for a give away. Decided to consign with a dealer that gets more traffic then I would. After 1 month it has not sold yet. The fee is 10% of sales price. No fee for paper work etc. I prefer not to have to handle all the paper work, title, and collecting the money.
Don

[drfife]

We sold our previous trailer on consignment.

It sold in less than a week and I got more after commission than I planned to sell on my own.

Very positive experience.