Time to Part with Loved Travel Trailer

[DD716TED]

The time has finally come after 13 yrs to call it quits with the travel trailer and start just staying at motels/hotels in areas of interest.
Everytime I advertise something either in the newspaper or on FaceBook..Scammers start to appear out of thin air.. Just a general question.."Is is good or bad to let a local dealer who does consignments display and if possible sell the trailer for me".. I am sure there is a fee involved, but no hassle on my part.. Just seeking thoughts or opinions..Travel Safe

[ScottG]

Beware of dealers doing consignments. Mine came up with some BS about something he had to have repaired and when I asked for a receipt, he got strangely mad. So thats one ploy they use to get more out of you.

[DD716TED]

Thanks to all for the valuable inputs on selling my trailer.. Long story short.. Trailer is gone.. I went to a dealer to put it on consignment and when asked what I wanted to get for it, I gave my hopeful figure...They bought the trailer then and there so apparently I wasn't asking for enough BUT..I was happy and left with a check in hand.. Thanks again..

[TXiceman]

We have sold two trailers through PPL Motorhomes consignments in Houston. We were pleased with both sales. We did not have to deal with the scammers and lookie-lous. They handled the whole deal with o one time clean-up fee and kept the trailer clean. We set a minimum acceptable price and they handle the deal from there. Once they had a buyer we were notified, and the new buyer had the option of taking it as is or paying for an inspection. Any shortcomings were reported, and you negotiate any repairs. After the trailer was delivered it was a few days later we had the money deposited to our account or could opt for a paper check.

Ken

[ktmrfs]

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
Consignment sales doesn't work for a lot of people because the item sits in the store or on the lot forever and ever unsold. Maybe one can advertise on FB or craigs list, etc that your RV is on consignment at such and such location.

Don't depend on consignment dealer doing much if anything to move your product as many won't such as listing it in an advertisement, etc. Being on the backlot next to rear fence is not good IMO. Of course you may have a hot product.

Great deal of difference in consignment dealers.

I have 3 friends who have upgraded and then sold the old trailer through consignment at local RV dealerships. All 3 had the trailers sold in a matter of a few weeks, one case only a few days. They all were happy with the process.

[TenOC]

When I moved to MA from TN I sold my TT this way in TN. It had a BAD ROOF. Took a year but got a fair price with no storage and no problems. I was happy.

[Grit_dog]

DD716TED wrote:
The time has finally come after 13 yrs to call it quits with the travel trailer and start just staying at motels/hotels in areas of interest. Everytime I advertise something either in the newspaper or on FaceBook..Scammers start to appear out of thin air.. Just a general question.."Is is good or bad to let a local dealer who does consignments display and if possible sell the trailer for me".. I am sure there is a fee involved, but no hassle on my part.. Just seeking thoughts or opinions..Travel Safe

If you’re willing to forego some residual value because you’re uncomfortable selling it yourself, then sounds like it’s your best option. Fortunately there are people who think buying from a dealer or consigner is better too, so it works and works fine.
Just the buyer pays more and the seller gets less and the middleman makes a living off of people who for whatever reasons aren’t willing to preform that simple task themselves.
It’s fine.

[Samsonsworld]

Sold two through consignment and they sold them in less than 2 months and got a premium for both. In their words, the more they get for yours, the more they make. Plus, a dealer can finance. You can't. Well worth it imo.

[mgirardo]

We sold our last TT through consignment 2 years ago and was happy with the results. Our situation is somewhat unique because our TT was in NJ while we lived in GA. Plus, it was during a time when Used units were in high demand post-pandemic. A unit that NADA valued at $18k - $25k pre-pandemic ended up selling for $33k more than 2 years later.

We had a friend with a truck take the TT to the dealer. A little over a month later it was sold. We went with a dealer that charged a 15% fee to sell the unit. The first dealer we approached (where we bought it) charged 20%. The dealer priced it a little higher than we expected and sold it for $2k less than the asking price, which was $3k more than we expected. They had a buyer come from Maine to look at and ultimately buy it.

There was no way we were going to go up to NJ every time someone wanted to look at the TT, according to the Dealer they had a lot of folks look at it. So consignment was really the only option. Once they received payment from the buyer, we sent the the dealer the Title and about 10 days later we had a check. If we were local, we would have saved 5 or 6 days in getting paid.

We probably wouldn't have used consignment if we had the TT at home. We have sold 2 different RVs through Craigslist before and had good success. The key to selling on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace is to ask a reasonable price so it sells quickly. The longer stuff stays online, the more the scammers come.

-Michael

[NamMedevac_70]

Consignment sales doesn't work for a lot of people because the item sits in the store or on the lot forever and ever unsold. Maybe one can advertise on FB or craigs list, etc that your RV is on consignment at such and such location.

Don't depend on consignment dealer doing much if anything to move your product as many won't such as listing it in an advertisement, etc. Being on the backlot next to rear fence is not good IMO. Of course you may have a hot product.

Great deal of difference in consignment dealers.

[Huntindog]

I sold a truck that way once.
It did not have AC, which is a hard sell in Phoenix AZ.
I was to get 4200.00 from the sale. I dropped by shortly after they got it and was floored that they had it priced at 9500.00. They had a month to sell it. The day the contract was up, I went there to pick it up. And was told they sold it at the last minute. So what happened is they stuck a sky high price on it hoping to get a sucker. Since they had zero dollars invested in it, they could shoot for the moon...But on the last day, they got serious about selling it. I bet anyone that walked on the lot was shown that little truck,,, even those that wanted a car.
But the bottom line, is it got sold with no effort on my part, and I got paid.

[ssthrd]

The following is my experience with consigning locally, but I have no idea how things are done in your area...............

I am currently consigning my 5'er through one of the biggest RV dealers on Vancouver Island. I don't know if this is typical, but step 1 was to agree on a guaranteed amount back to me before they bump the price up by 20% which includes their anticipated wiggle room, and they look after detailing and advertising. Step 2 was to go over the simple contract which lays out conditions in the agreement. Step 3 was to drop the trailer off at their dealership where they take over from me. I have to maintain my insurance coverage, as they take technical ownership at the time of sale.

A couple of nice things are that I can change my mind at any time and pickup my rv without penalty; and also that I no longer have to pay storage fees. They have half a dozen dealerships on the Island, and have a big audience. Their advertising will provide lots of exposure. One other thing that we considered before taking this step was that as a dealer, they have access to onsite financing which might make things easier for some folks who do not have $40,000 (eg) in their pockets.

If they have a sale, they then go over any safety issues that need to be addressed, and will bill me for the required work. I went over my trailer with the dealer with a fine toothed comb before handing it over to them. Everything is documented in our agreement.

Hope this helps.

[ktmrfs]

many reputable dealers will do consignment sales or buy the trailer outright. Way less hassle in some ways, but your paying for the convienience in the lower price or consignment fees. Check around with dealers and decide.

[klutchdust]

What is the consignment dealer going to get in fees and are you ok with that. I get low ballers and scammers just trying to sell some items on Offer up. Goes with the territory.

How about a family member. I sold cars for family and did quite well.
.