Guide to 77marine.com Auction Assistance and Services for eBaY.co.uk

It is a commonly known fact that, when it comes to selling them, boats can sit on brokerage for months on end, often selling for substantially less than the original asking price. After broker's fees plus VAT have been deducted the money seen by the vendor often falls far short of what was anticipated. Sometimes it is not possible to wait for the right buyer to come along and agree a purchase price; sometimes reasons dictate that it is imperative to dispose of or release money tied up in a boat as fast as possible..

With an auction you can rapidly realise funds from your marine related assets, often an important factor if you are seeking to change boats or need to fund a recent purchase from a craft that is no longer used. Traditional auctions can be used but these are rarely frequented by the average boat seeking member of the public and some auction houses' charges appear to bear no relation to the little amount of work that they actually undertake.

Now however, as we are sure you are aware, there is a flourishing auction trade in marine related items on the internet including all types of boats and equipment from small chandlery items through dilapidated cabin cruisers right up to £75,000 catamarans and above. The most popular online auction site in the UK, and many other countries besides, is of course eBaY. With an item as valuable as a boat though it is imperative to get your advert right first time, for it to be comprehensive, full of detail, packed with pictures and easily found and watched by anyone looking for a craft of that make or similar.

A number of factors (other than the actual item itself) can and will affect the final hammer price. There are hundreds of boats up for auction at any given time on eBaY.co.uk and you need to make sure that potential buyers want to bid on yours. That is where 77marine.com can help. From our substantial knowledge of keyword analysis we can write advert titles that will be found. We can prepare high quality listings that contain all the appropriate information required by viewers and we can include high quality photographs that capture your boat's best features without compromising an honest description of condition. For higher value craft we can run an advertising campaign through Google® Search Engine PPC (Pay per Click) directing users straight to your own auction lot. We can manage your auctions within our own eBaY.co.uk account or simply prepare an advert for you to use within your own. A range of services are offered depending on the value of the item / craft and the method by which a new owner will be expected to take delivery. Here is an example of the layout that we use within craft auction listings and our own iNUX shackle auctions.

Our friendly team who can help you market your boat include our marine savvy web developers who have substantial knowledge of W3C valid HTML, membership of the eBaY Developer, Trading Assistant and Google Adwords Professional schemes and a British Photographic Exhibitions (BPE) starred and Credit of The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (CPAGB) awarded photographer.

Quick guide to some of our available services

* Where available these services are charged at a variable additional rate agreed with client prior to auction listing

Boats for Auction - 77marine.com charges for auction assistance

Photographic visit (within 20 miles of Junction 21 of the M62) £70 including 1 1/2 hours onsite with client. For distances above 20 miles an additional charge of £0.60 per mile applies

Creation of HTML advert including up to 30 hosted photographs and 300 word description £30

Final Sale Commission 1.5 % of hammer price

We do not feel that this service is suitable for craft with an anticipated hammer price of less than £1250

Example

The craft lies 55 miles away : Photographic visit £91

HTML advert creation £30

The advert for the craft is placed via client's own eBay account for client's self management, craft viewing, handover and payment receipt in a standard eBaY.co.uk listing with a reserve of £2000

Insertion fee £2

The craft sells for a hammer price of £2600

The reserve fee (2% of stipulated reserve price) is waived by eBaY.co.uk as the item successfully sold

Commission calculated as 5.25% of the initial £29.99 (£1.57), plus 3.25% of the initial £30.00 - £599.99 (£18.53), plus 1.75% of the remaining closing value balance (£35) : Total commission = £55.10

Total eBaY fees £57.10

(eBaY fees listed above were correct as of 6th Sept 2005. For current fee schedule please check http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/fees.html )

77marine.com commission (1.5% of 2600) £39

Total costs (eBaY.co.uk & 77marine.com) £219.10

The client will effectively see £2381.90 of the Sale price

In this example the total costs equal approx 8.43% of the hammer price

Chandlery / Single items for Auction - 77marine.com charges for auction assistance

If you have surplus chandlery or single items for sale we can help you prepare simple HTML adverts from information submitted to us. Our standard charge is £5 per advert (including incorporation of up to 5 pictures and 200 words of text) plus 5% of the first £100 and 3% of the balance of the final sale price if information is submitted via email. For hard copy pictures that require scanning and text requiring transcribing the standard charge increases by 75p per photograph and £1.50 per 100 words or part thereof. This service is suitable for items such as sails, dinghies, outboard engines, trailers, windsurfers etc.

Managed auctions are only available where Cash on Collection is accepted. Payment processing is available for items dispatched by 77marine.com or where the vendor wishes to use us as an escrow facility. All goods sent via post / courier shall be sent recorded / insured delivery.

Marine Traders with Multiple items - 77marine.com charges for auction assistance

Naturally if you wish to place a large number of auction lots, either at once to dispose of surplus stock or over a period of time to raise your online profile and where combined value is going to be significant we will be able to advise you on individual arrangements that may be possible.

Notes

We will list your craft in a fixed duration auction (currently 10 days) unless you stipulate otherwise. Full payment and arrangement for craft handover is expected from winning bidders within 7 days of auction end (15% deposit within 2 days). Listings will advise bidders that craft may not be removed until all funds have cleared. We encourage bank transfer or cash transactions to speed up this process.

We ask that you are onsite with the craft and able to conduct inspection viewings for at least 6 hours on either a Saturday or Sunday spanned by the Auction. If you can be more flexible with potential purchasers that is even better. For auctions that may not include a weekend day we ask that you are available on the evening prior to auction close. For craft with a Reserve of £10,000+ we may be able to conduct weekend viewings on your behalf for an additional charge according to location.

If you end an auction early for any reason you will be held liable for a 1.5% commission of what we term 'Agreed Minimum Value' which is agreed with the client during the Photographic visit. If your craft fails to meet its reserve this is waived (eBaY reserve fee will still apply). For chandlery / single item listings with 'Agreed Minimum Value' of less than £1250 the commision rate is 5% of the first £100 and 3% of the balance of the 'Agreed Minimum Value'

'Managed auction' is our term for an auction conducted using our own eBaY.co.uk account (freenet77) where we act as intermediary, answering all questions from bidders and communicating with winning bidder after the hammer fall.

Additional fees that may be applicable for optional services include extra 77marine.com facilities including Managed Auction, SE Advertising, Store and Dispatch, Managed Viewings and Payment Processing fees, eBaY insertion, reserve, commission and Premium listing fees

Purchaser is responsible for all transportation, continued mooring / storage or delivery costs in addition to the sale price. For chandlery items where postage is possible these will be advised in the listing. For boat sales it shall be their responsibility to make suitable arrangements.

Hosted photographs are kept online for a minimum of 1 month for self administered auctions enabling you to relist your craft should it fail to attract any bids or make its reserve the first time around. Any successful sales via eBaY.co.uk within this period will be liable for the 1.5% sales commission. For chandlery / single item listings with 'Agreed Minimum Value' of less than £1250 the commision rate is 5% of the first £100 and 3% of the balance

We do not offer Managed Auctions or Payment Processing for electrical items such as VHF, GPS, Plotters, Radar or for Gas appliances. We can remotely prepare adverts from your information and pictures but auctions and communications for these items must be managed by the vendor themselves

77marine.com reserves the right to alter fees listed on this page at any time. Fee revisions will not apply to auctions that are already underway or committed to but will apply to all subsequent auctions. All prices and services on this page are for guidance only. Specific terms will be advised and agreed with each client prior to any 77marine.com auction assistance services commencing

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