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!

[blackeyed1]

I'd sell it yourselves. Not too many creeps will come to your house to look at a travel trailer. We thought of consignment once, but they wanted 10% plus advertising fee. It only went on RV Trader and one other site. I coulda done that myself for cheap rate. Meet a potential buyer at your bank/credit union to do deal and sign docs. Make sure checks clear first before handing over title. And get a $1,000 deposit if they want it. That helps clear out the riff raff at the beginning. One guy wanted me to bring it his place for him to look at. I said NO!

[TucsonJim]

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_bear_II]

I've sold several trailers as well as other vehicles myself. It can be a pain but all the money is yours. With the recent problems you hear about regarding Craigslist deals gone bad...keep in mind it is very few when compared to the number of deals daily. I would have a friend or my DW stay hidden and watch the deal. Work out a signal that would alert her to call the police if something is wrong. Or have a couple of large friends with me when doing the deal. Be sure to have the buyer sign a document indicating the sale was "as is / where is" No warranty implied.

Waiting for the buyer to come up with financing or cash can be frustrating as well. I've only had one person that had to get financing all of the others were cash sales.

If you price your RV a little lower than the market you will sell it quicker.

Several problems with consignment...first the commission can be high 20-30% or more
> Get what they plan to do to market your RV in writing and check to make sure they are working the plan
> Recently a consignment dealer went belly up and the folks who had RVs with them never got paid for sold RVs and the RVs left on the lot are tied up in litigation.