Pet peeves about photos in used boat ads

LaRea

We all look at ads for used boats.  Sometimes, the photos are just annoying.  Here are five of my pet peeves.

1. Boat not staged.  I mean, c'mon brokers.  At least hide the candy wrappers and dirty towels.  Open the curtains.  Turn on some lights.  Pretend to care.  
2. No engine room.  If you don't show the engines, we assume you are hiding them because the condition is so bad.  
3. Too many exterior shots.  It's great that you took pictures of the boat doing a 360 spin in the fairway.  Don't publish all 120 shots of the spin.  
4. Videos that change the view every 1.3 seconds, like a TV commercial for 12-year-olds.  The purpose of a boat video is to convey information.  When we're trying to get our bearings, don't yank the rug out from under us every 1.3 seconds.
   
5. Pics that are all close-ups, like seeing the boat through a soda straw.  Brokers:  Get a real camera with a wide-angle lens, or at least borrow a friend's iPhone 11 with the wide-angle camera.  We viewers need to figure out the boat's layout.  We can't do that from artistic close-ups of the soap dish. 
   
   EDIT:  MORE PET PEEVES FROM FORUM REGULARS!
   
   
6. Boat baby pictures.  Those glamour shots from when the boat was new 15 years ago are irrelevant at best.  More likely, they are confusing and deceptive unless you label them as archive photos.  We need your boat's CURRENT condition.  
7. Photo tease.  Give us enough photos to fully explain the boat's layout and condition. Six photos does not qualify as "enough."  
8. Members-only listings.  If you limit your ad to Facebook Marketplace or some other members-only site, most of us will never see it.  That's a shame, because we genuinely want to see it.  
9. Stock photos.  Seriously -- we all have The Google.  If we wanted to see the manufacturer's stock photos, we could look them up.  We want to see YOUR boat.  
10. Pics cross-threaded with text.  If the text says "clean" and "needs nothing" but the photos reveal a floating train wreck, your ad won't win friends and influence people.  Be honest about the boat.  
11. Rotate this.  Sometimes, photos show up rotated sideways.  Fix them.  Don't make us rotate our heads. 
    

That is my Monday rant.  (P.S. This rant is actually a list of suggestions for when you sell your boat.)

Dutch320

When I was on my quest for a new boat last year the biggest problem I had was brokers and private sellers using photos of the boat when they bought it, like 5 or 10 years ago. Drove all the way from Michigan to Virginia to look at a boat that the broker assured me were recent pictures only to pull up to the boat and see an absolute disaster of damage on the outside. Actually went inside and talked to the broker to make sure I was looking at the right boat. After she lied to me again about the pictures being recent she wanted to know if I wanted to see the inside because it was supposedly in great shape. Cut my losses and went home, another 9 hours. When I sold my last boat I took recent pictures and the first person to look at it bought it on the spot because it actually looked like the pictures. Amazing concept, tell the truth and people trust you, who would have thought lol. Sorry about the rant, strangely I feel much better now lol. 

Aqua_Aura

Here is a great example of a good listing. Check the details like hot dogs on the grill and the captains hat in the chair. This is a YouTube channel I follow who are selling their boat. 

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/boa/d/portland-1972-tollycraft-sportfisher/7321485167.html

And here is a terrible example from a professional broker. Their website is not very mobile friendly and all of the listings have minimal photos. 

$500k boat and there is 6 pictures 

https://www.sundanceyachts.com/boats/burger-flush-deck-motoryacht

I also really hate how websites want you to sign up to see the listings such as popyachts and boatshed. If I am selling a high dollar boat I don't want barriers to entry. 

Liberty44140

Totally agree with these comments. I hope to retire early and then become a boat broker for a while. I’ve dealt with so many boat brokers and while they are not all bad, 90% of them are very bad. Figure even retired I could do well there. 

I’ll add to the rant: posting on Facebook marketplace. I am not on Facebook nor are most of my male boating friends so while it may be free, a greatly reduced number of people see the ad. I sold my 342 off of our marina bulletin board 😀 

LaRea

Haha -- @Liberty44140 that's awesome.  Last week, a buddy of mine who is a part-time broker asked me to captain a sea trial for him.  He thinks I should do it when I retire.  It would be an interesting gig for sure.  

Dream_Inn

I'd love to do boat survey and sea trials for buyers.  I've done it for many friends and always find things they never thought about.  

I know my buddy listing his 400 has been extremely frustrated with his broker and picture taking.  You guys saw some of them with the bottom all disgusting because he didn't wait another week before it was all cleaned up after winter.  I'm not even sure if they took any engine room shots, but I do know it is quite clean in it.  This is why I always list my boat myself first.  Actually, I've never had to "list" it thru anyone.  If you have an awesome, well-taken care of boat, it sells itself.  I try to pass that savings on to someone else instead of the broker.

davidbrooks

Agree 100% with these comments.  Like you all i have often thought about having a retirement job as a broker or doing surveys.  I will add to the pet peeve list is people using stock photos or taking photos off of the internet.  Like you guys i want to see a bunch of pics inside and out and if i dont see the engine room, outdrive etc...i immediately think that somone is hiding something.  

Willhound

And if they're too lazy to prep the boat and take proper pics then how lax were they on maintenance?

LaRea

Agree.  Pics like that suggest that the owners have lost all give-a-damm about their boat.  And a good photo session can do just the opposite.  

Dream_Inn

Willhound said:

And if they're too lazy to prep the boat and take proper pics then how lax were they on maintenance?

But again, only if it is the owner selling it.  Most of the time it is the broker being lazy.  To me, they don't work enough for their money.  I'll sell it myself!

Handymans342

Only issue is availability for you to show the boat when a buyer wants to see it

YYZRC

Dream_Inn said:

But again, only if it is the owner selling it.  Most of the time it is the broker being lazy.  To me, they don't work enough for their money.  I'll sell it myself!

Handymans342 said:

Only issue is availability for you to show the boat when a buyer wants to see it

For 10% commission savings, I will make myself available!  The broker I used was not helpful, and I only did it to get the tax credit.  Using him saved me 13% but cost me 10%.  In hindsight, given the market right now, I would have been better off selling the boat myself and eating the taxes.

Dream_Inn

Handymans342 said:

Only issue is availability for you to show the boat when a buyer wants to see it

I think that is actually what sold both of my last two boats.  My boats were either on the lift or in the water, ready to go. Both times I sold to the first person looking.  They were impressed at the availability and turn-key when I took them out for a weekday sunset cruise. 

RiverRat232

My "pet peeve" is going to look at a boat that the owner calls "clean" and "excellent condition" only to find a craft that makes you feel like wiping your feet after you get off the boat. Or "needs nothing" when in reality it needs plenty. 

Ian

Aqua_Aura said:

Here is a great example of a good listing. Check the details like hot dogs on the grill and the captains hat in the chair. This is a YouTube channel I follow who are selling their boat. 

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/boa/d/portland-1972-tollycraft-sportfisher/7321485167.html

Good photos yet look at the engine hatch an the surrounds - full of crap. Clean this up, make it look like it’s fully cared for.

Ian

Apart from engine room photos I always want to see another good one is anchor locker - another place overlooked and can be ughh…..

Aqua_Aura

Good point about the engine hatch. The boat is a 1972 though. They actually had a video on there pet peeves for listings as well. 

Atleast just have current photos of all the areas of the boat. And make sure they are oriented correctly and not blurry. Some photos I have seen are sideways and looked like they were developed at the 1 hour photo booth 30 years ago. 

PickleRick

You can't smell a boat in the ads. Some not so cheap sanitation hose like to permiate.  This is extremely evident when it's hot.


Luckily I found a fix as I don't intend on replacing hoses unless I'm going to a compost toilet.

That fix is HVAC foil tape. Tape all your lines, including under hose clamps where it is below the top waste level.  


You'll notice a lack of smell in 24 hrs.  

Change them when its convenient, or don't. 

luvinlife

My personal recommendation when looking at a boat that’s not local is to ask the owner or broker to FaceTime you from the boat.  You can instruct them on what you want to see. Even then, things look better in pictures than in person quite often. 

YYZRC

I love ads with "Sistership" photos.

[Deleted User]

The problem with used boat advertising is they never show the OEM bikini babe from when the boat was new. Andy

PickleRick

The oem bikini babe may have aged worse than the boat

RiverRat232

There used to be a TV ad for a certain motorcycle brand that featured supermodels giving middle aged schlubs the "come hither" look when they were on their bikes. I think us middle aged schlubs should file a class action lawsuit because I never had a supermodel give me the "come hither" look.

Michael T

.....as a retiree my JOB is to read this forum when not making margaritas (for which I have the world's best recipe) scuba diving, walking beaches or cadging rides on others' boats. The only time I haven't sold a boat myself was when I was able to get a smokin' trade-in on it and at the same time get 13% credit off the sales price to eliminate our (@#$%^) sales tax of 13%. Never, ever paid a broker and did sell two boats sight unseen: (2014 Rinker EC360 and 2020 Yamaha SX195)....and yes if the pictures show a sloppy boat you KNOW the maintenance was $hit. 

Aqua_Aura

Michael T

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?

Aqua_Aura

I think is what they call in the industry, raw water cooled 😳

aero3113

Other than replacing the starter and alternator that engines still might run!

LaRea

Seller meant to say it <will> run good.  After you repower it.  And replace the wiring, plumbing and fuel systems.  And renovate the interior and cockpit.  Also replace the hull.  Then it will run like new.  

[Deleted User]

I love the used car classifieds. "It ran when I parked it." Andy