Trailer selling - consign or alone?

[heidicald]

Hi Cothers. I’m trying to decide if I should take my trailer to a consignment site to be sold or continue to try to do it on my own and deal with the never ending list of flaky non serious tire kicking people.

Consignment places generally seem to take about a 10% commission but no one will tell me about how long it takes to sell a trailer and I can’t get a straight answer from either place. What have your experiences been selling your trailer at consignment and how did the process go? How much did they sell for vs what they listed it for?

What I have is a really nice 2h slant aluminum Sundowner gooseneck that has hardly been used. I’ve had it priced well below what the trailer places have told me it’s worth. I’ve had it in many Facebook sites as well as craigslist in Atlanta. Should I keep going with this or just bite the bullet and take it to consign? 10% is what they all want but the advantages is that they have people ready to buy and they offer financing. I’ve had people come out and offer me like $2k less than my asking price, really wasting both of our times. And several no shows.

Anyway, would like to hear opinions and experiences. Thanks so much.

[Color_of_Light]

There is no exact magic formula to selling a trailer. All you need is a buyer who is looking for your sort of trailer. There is no exact time frame in selling anything. It all depends on how desirable your trailer is and how many like trailers are available on the market, and buyer timing.

I think your trailer sounds very marketable. I suggest taking it to the trailer place for appraisal. Don’t tell them you’ve been trying to sell it for a low price. The trailer place is your best bet on marketing your trailer to the targeted market, with the littlest of effort. A bonus is that the trailer dealer will place ads on their website and on trailer sales websites. They will field all the calls, emails, meetings with potential buyers. You know, all the head ache tire kicker stuff. Financing is very attractive to some trailer buyers. They will make your life easier for that 10%. You could also try negotiating the 10% commission. It never hurts to ask.

[cutter99]

Have you tried horsetrailerworld.com? I did sell one on there and was very clear when talking to people about my firmness on price. I had plenty of tire kickers, who are annoying, but there seems to be no way around them.

[China_Doll]

I’ve always sold mine myself. I’ve sold trailers from 2k to 25k and easily sold. Always to the first person that looked. I price them what they are worth and I don’t negotiate. Yours may not be in demand and a tough sell.

[Brigitte]

I’ve done both. I consigned a trailer with a dealer that had a great reputation and sold a lot of trailers. I was happy to have them make the commission and take care of everything.

I’ve also bought and sold through horsetrailerworld.com with very good luck.

If you are priced a bit high, you will have to expect it will take longer to find the right buyer. Make sure your add is clear why your trailer is worth the price (such as super clean, etc.) and have very good pics to go with it.

[CLB15]

I bought a trailer that was consigned, and traded a trailer in in the process.
My “new” trailer had been at the dealer less than a month and was fully serviced. My “old” trailer was cleaned & serviced & and was sold in 1 week. I know, because the person who bought turned out to be very local and reached out to me after recognizing my name on title.
If she’d known I was selling, she would’ve bought directly from me. BUT I didn’t want to be out the money to do what needed to be done to the trailer, while taking the time to deal with tire kickers, so did not try to sell it myself.

I’m in an area with a few dealers with good reputations, and as a buyer I felt more comfortable knowing that a professional had looked the trailer over inside & out.
I think the style will factor in on how quickly it sells, and the price. The trailer I traded was very versatile setup & was short money, while the one I bought suits someone looking for this specific floor plan. I had one acquaintance sell a 5 horse head to head herself and it took a while, but another friend had a buyer for a 6 horse slant in 2 weeks. Both of them advertised in exactly the same places and price range.

[heidicald]

Thank you for input everyone. I have two different people seemingly interested who are supposed to come see it this week but if they don’t pan out - I will be taking it to consignment. I’d probably make a bit more money that way anyway. I appreciate the advice!

[SBrentnall]

I bought a consignment trailer from a dealer in April and I definitely felt better knowing it was coming from a reputable source. They checked the trailer throughout, examined wiring, fixed a couple of lights and reflectors, checked the brakes, etc. They also handled all the DMV paperwork, which saved me a ton of hassle.