Suggestions on Selling Trailer

[augustpilot]

Please help with places to advertise our trailer, want to buy new trailer and trade offers are too low, so want to sell ourselves. I know a lot of you have advertised and sold, so looking for ideas. Thanks

[B_O__Plenty]

Gdetrailer wrote:

augustpilot wrote:
Please help with places to advertise our trailer, want to buy new trailer and trade offers are too low, so want to sell ourselves. I know a lot of you have advertised and sold, so looking for ideas. Thanks

Craigslist.org..

That is a great place to start with and it is FREE!!

But, I will give you several pieces of unwanted advice..

#1 Step back and realize the trailer is not worth as much as you think.

#2 Used RVs are only worth what the BUYERS are willing to pay and not a penny more. You can throw that NADA "guide" into the trash, those prices ARE unrealistic, do not take into account YOUR local "market" and what your local market is willing to pay for it.

Also NADA does not take into account for a GLUT in the local used inventory.. I see PLENTY of used trailers for sale in my local area.. Fills up a page of 100 listings on Craigslist within a few hrs.. Gets to well over 300-400 listings per day in my area.

YOU may think the trade offers are too low but you don't realize that it takes TIME AND MONEY for a dealer to sell your trailer. Dealer has overhead like utilities, people, lot rent or mortgage to pay..

#3 Selling it yourself will involve many tire kickers and most likely they WILL be "low balling" you if you feel your trailer is worth more than the market will support. YOU will be putting time (and "time IS money") into listing, showing then completing the sale.

#4 REAL IN YOUR "ATTITUDE", it shows in your post.. Buyers will see it also and many will not even want to deal with you making selling it even harder.

I wish you all the luck..

I totally agree. They aren't always easy to get rid of. Tried to sell mine for months. priced it several thousand below NADA low retail. Never even got a single phone call. It all depends on where you are and how many are available. Smaller cheaper units seem to move. Bigger 5ht wheels not so. One local dealer must 100 of them sitting on their lot. Good luck.

B.O.

[mtofell1]

I just sold my TT on Craigslist. I had it up for 2 months before someone finally took it. Granted, it was from Thanksgiving until mid-January when it finally sold - not exactly hot RV sales time.

Be patient and be realistic. Many people overpay for their RVs when new and are then surprised how little they get at the time of sale. I've paid around 65-70% of MSRP for my last 2 new units. When I sold my TT it was for about 55% of MSRP and it was 3 model years old. I made it out of that one VERY well and was happy.

As RVs get older the MSRP can become less significant of a tool. If you're selling a newer unit see what they went for new. As a rough guideline I think a TT should sell for about 50% of MSRP after 5 years. Of course, there are lots of other factors like brand, location, condition, etc. That's just a very rough guideline.

[Kittykath]

We've sold campers, boats, ATV's, you name it on Craigslist. Always sold to the first looker. Price it right, take good pictures and include plenty of details. And for heaven's sake, clean it up! I've seen camper pictures featuring an overflowing garbage can, a dog on the counter top and some guy sleeping in the bed. Just think like the buyer. What sold you on it? Selling before one of the summer holidays is good timing too.

Good luck!

[2012Coleman]

avoidcrowds wrote:

I sold a popup on CL for $1,800, 8 years after I paid $1,000 for it. Dealer wouldn't give anything in trade. I sold my 2-yr old trailer on CL for $17,000, when dealer offered $10,000 in trade. Pup was on CL for one day. TT was on CL for two weeks. Well worth the time and effort, as I weeded-out those not very interested in buying, and they never made an appointment.

OP asked for ideas on where to sell theirs. OP has received advice as to where, and how. Now they know what to expect, and have more information about selling themselves, or accepting the dealer's trade offer. I just felt your post was condescending to the OP, and made many assumptions about OP. OP came and asked advice, but you, in essence, treated him like an ignorant putz. No need for that. He may already know what you "pointed out" to him, and still wants to take a stab at selling it himself. He just wanted to know where others sold theirs.

Whoops - avoidcrowds must have edited his post since the BEST part wasn't included in what was quoted above, or maybe it was magically altered every place in the entire thread 2 hours after the OP - pesky forum software.

Someone should take their own advice - read #4 on page 1.

OP - Craigslist is a great place to sell a TT. You have to deal with the chaf, but you will figure it out. Someone mentioned RV trader as well. As stated, present it well, have lots of pictures and a good write up to peak interest.

[Gdetrailer]

avoidcrowds wrote:
Gdetrailer, I apologize. My browser didn't show as much of the OP's post as you apparently saw. Mine only shows:
"Please help with places to advertise our trailer, want to buy new trailer and trade offers are too low, so want to sell ourselves. I know a lot of you have advertised and sold, so looking for ideas. Thanks"

I missed the parts where OP said "that dealer trade offers SHOULD have been substantially more than what was offered", "felt slighted thinking that the dealer should have paid full value price", and "that they will get bunches of money more by selling it themselves".

OPs first post DID originally mention they felt the dealer "lowballed" them.. That post appears to have been "EDITED" withing the allowed time frame without it showing that it was edited. I used the forum "quote editor" which copied the OPs original text and looks like when it was edited it changed MY quote also.

You ARE more than welcome to YOUR "opinion" of me but in the end it is nothing more than YOUR "opinion"..

I saw what I saw and I tell the story as I saw it happened.

[petrel]

I had no luck with Craigslist, nothing but lowball offers. Created a nice listing on RVtrader and had a bunch of activity. Sold it to the second person to take a look.

[avoidcrowds]

But, one more box that he intends to sell for a profit. Nothing wrong with that, as that is his business, and he must turn a profit to stay in business.

[rbpru]

If you are a dealer with a lot full of TTs, how excited would you be to take another in trade?

The owner and the dealer are both better off if the trailer is sold before the purchase. The owner can usually make more money and the dealer does not have to worry about guessing how much he can sell your old traveling barn for. :h

It maybe your old treasure chest of found camping memories but to the dealer it is just one more box on wheels in his inventory.

[phillyg]

When you take photos to add to your listing, remove everything from the horizontal surfaces to present a neat and uncluttered look.

[avoidcrowds]

Gdetrailer, I apologize. My browser didn't show as much of the OP's post as you apparently saw. Mine only shows:
"Please help with places to advertise our trailer, want to buy new trailer and trade offers are too low, so want to sell ourselves. I know a lot of you have advertised and sold, so looking for ideas. Thanks"

I missed the parts where OP said "that dealer trade offers SHOULD have been substantially more than what was offered", "felt slighted thinking that the dealer should have paid full value price", and "that they will get bunches of money more by selling it themselves".

I sold a popup on CL for $1,800, 8 years after I paid $1,000 for it. Dealer wouldn't give anything in trade. I sold my 2-yr old trailer on CL for $17,000, when dealer offered $10,000 in trade. Pup was on CL for one day. TT was on CL for two weeks. Well worth the time and effort, as I weeded-out those not very interested in buying, and they never made an appointment.

OP asked for ideas on where to sell theirs. OP has received advice as to where, and how. Now they know what to expect, and have more information about selling themselves, or accepting the dealer's trade offer. I just felt your post was condescending to the OP, and made many assumptions about OP. OP came and asked advice, but you, in essence, treated him like an ignorant putz. No need for that. He may already know what you "pointed out" to him, and still wants to take a stab at selling it himself. He just wanted to know where others sold theirs.

[westernrvparkow]

fitznj wrote:


Try selling a boar in December........

Not sure selling livestock is a great comparison to selling travel trailers. 😉

[tragusa3]

Great point Gerry. I tried selling our boat over a two year period. Finally, I listed it early spring and it sold in a few days.

[RandACampin]

Your PM inbox should be full by now

[fitznj]

Sold several boats/motorcycles/cars on Craigslist; Never had a problem, sure you get the odd email with a ridiculous low ball offer or the hard luck story but it's pretty easy to weed out the losers from those who are really interested.

If you price it realistically, clean it WELL inside and outside, take good photos and be honest in the description then you should be set.

No one has mentioned it but the season is very important. You will get more buyers in Spring/Summer than Fall/Winter and get closer to your asking price.

Try selling a boar in December........