How to Buy or Sell Used Boat Gear & Equipment

buy used boat equipment

Boaters tend to collect a lot of old gear over the years… lots and lots of gear! What may no longer be useful to you may be invaluable to another boater in need of specific gear or parts.

Almost every boater you talk to has something lying around they don’t use anymore. When you look into how to sell the items, the options are not very good. There are many places to sell used boats (the typical used market for boating), but until recently nothing really specific for equipment.

Some people use eBay – a well known and successful platform for selling stuff… but it doesn’t work as well for people looking for boat equipment. For example, when you try searching by keywords for boating equipment you get all kinds of unrelated stuff.  The problem is boating equipment is not a primary category – so if you search for “anchor” you may get nautical anchor charm bracelets, search for “rigging” and you’ll get stuff for trucks, sound stages, etc.



Buying and Selling for Boat Equipment

UsedBoatEquipment.com is a website for selling used equipment like a Craig’s list or eBay if you like, but specifically built for the boating market.

They built a category structure like you would find on an online retail boat store. This makes it easy to find stuff and not worry about figuring out the right keywords.

By encouraging boaters with equipment lying around in basements, garages and boatyards to list them on the site, UsedBoatEquipment.com makes it possible for someone who needs it to buy it.

Masts are one of our their biggest selling items. This represents the power of what they do… lots of riggers have old masts lying around and there is a market for them. By listing them with on UsedBoatEquipment.com, someone with a broken mast can find a replacement and get sailing again.

Users of the site include recreational boaters and industry partners. In addition to private listings, there are many retailers that use the site to list clearance items, producing some great deals for boaters.

Here are some success stories…

One site member recounted that he put his old Autohelm autopilot from the mid 1980’s on the site. He ended up selling parts to two separate people extending the life of their Autohelm units. This made him some money and he helped a couple of fellow boaters which made him happy.

“I used the site for the first time to sell a brand new boarding ladder that I had never installed. I got hits on the item almost immediately and ended up selling it to a boater in Arizona!!”

“I have used this site to get some great deals on parts – very happy with what I have found saved me a lot of money”

“Great experience with this web site! After listing my 16′ pocket boom, I had 3 people interested in the first few days!”

Costs

The basic fee for a listing is only $4 for 60 days, or free if the value of your item is under $100. You can also sign up for a membership package if you have a lot of items to sell. There is no commission due for a sale of an item, and there is no charge to the buyer to use the site.

How it Works

For a full tutorial on how the site works, check out this video by site owner Mike Hobson:

Boating Equipment Options

If you are looking to buy or sell boat gear, be sure to check out BuyUsedBoatEquipment.com for your used equipment buying & selling needs.

For new boat gear and equipment, also check out our Boat Gift Guide for or Boat Gear Guide for popular boat gear by category.


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Editorial Staff

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This article was written by MyBoatLife.com editorial staff.

2 Comments

  1. Nancy WallaceNovember 17, 2017

    You could also donate parts of your boat. For example, like if you have a boat that is virtually in pieces, but the engine still works great you could always donate the engine to a place like Charity Boats. They accept boat donations of all sorts, even parts. They only ask that you submit the online donation form on their web site. When you make a donation you not only receive a tax deduction, but you also help Charity Boats continue to be able to help people. If you have any questions you can give them a call, contact them through live chat, or by submitting a contact form.

  2. Ivy BakerAugust 18, 2017

    I didn’t realize that mast are the thing most bought for a boat. It does seem like a good thing to be aware of when you are considering buying a sail boat. If I was getting a boat I would wan to know what the potential things that need to be replaced are.

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