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How to Buy Boats at Boat Auctions

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Boat ownership is a popular pleasure that many Americans share, with, according to statistics, over 12.1 million boats registered in America. Those times you spend with family and friends enjoying the thrill of the waves will be some of the best of your lives. The experiences last with you and always bring you back to a time you treasure. If you are looking for your first boat or just need a powerful new trick to score major on your next boat, this guide will help you.

Regular boat buying methods can be quite costly and involve a lot of hassle. With the little known power of boat auctions, however, including some fire sale auctions where boats must be offloaded without fail, you can snag a great deal.

Finding Boat Auctions in Your State

There are thousands of boat auctions in almost every state around the country. If you know where to look, you can score a great boat model with a recent year of manufacture for a huge discount over the regular price. For example, deep-pocketed buyers can expect to score million dollar yachts for 50% off the list price when buying through an auction.

To find the best opportunities, you can begin with a local search for a boat opportunity in your state. One of the best ways is to approach the Boat Owners Association in your state and ask for some auction recommendations.

Scoring Great Deals With Boat Repossession Auctions

One category of venues that can bring the biggest opportunities, especially for boats close to new, is boat repossession auctions. These are typically for high-value boats financed by a bank where the owner was unable to keep up with the payments on their boat. The bank that originated the loan will typically accept a low price for the boat at auction in order to offload the repossessed boat and avoid boat storage costs.

The Little Known Method of Government Boat Auctions

Many new boat buyers are unaware that they can save significantly on the cost of buying a boat by turning to the government. The government regularly seizes boats and other property in the course of criminal investigations and other federal actions. When these boats are unclaimed for a long time and surplus inventory accumulates, the property will be listed for government auctions. To buy from a government auction, you can use a variety of auction websites, government and private, for unclaimed boats for sale.

Fire Sale Auctions for Boats

If you can afford a higher priced luxury boat, then you stand to benefit the most from fire sale auctions that happen all the time. Typically, other well to do people that have hit a hard time will hold auctions privately or through a broker to offload luxury items like boats and sport cars. The cost you pay for these items will be, likely, a fraction of the true value.

Scoring Your Dream Boat With International Auctions

Your boat ownership ambitions can be greatly enhanced by exploring international boat auctions. The Caribbean, for example, is close enough that you can easily have your boat delivered from there. Other locations like Mexico and Canada offer similar opportunities. There are many successful people in these places who regularly buy and sell their boats through auction. These international auctions offer you the chance to snag unusually attractive bargains.

How to Succeed on Auction Day

If you have found a boat that looks promising and you've decided to make the trip to the auction, there are some ways you should prepare for successful bidding ahead of time. First, you must check the reputation of the auction.

Next, check the fair market value of the boat you are interested in. If you are unsure about the estimate you come up with, ask a boat sales expert in your local area for their opinion.

Finally, decide in advance what your budget is. Then, on auction day, during the actual bidding, make sure to stay within budget. The worst thing you can do is to get caught up in the emotion of the bidding and ending up overpaying for the boat. This defeats the whole purpose of saving money by using the auction route for your boat purchase.