Determining private sale price

[CelticRose]

Hello - We are selling our Keystone Cougar trailer. This is the first time we have sold an RV privately and I'm trying to determine a fair sales price. I did find the NADA retail amount for our particular model and year. Is that retail amount appropriate for a private sale providing the trailer is in good condition? I would greatly appreciate any advice and guidance! Thank you!

[wiredgeorge]

Hello - We are selling our Keystone Cougar trailer. This is the first time we have sold an RV privately and I'm trying to determine a fair sales price. I did find the NADA retail amount for our particular model and year. Is that retail amount appropriate for a private sale providing the trailer is in good condition? I would greatly appreciate any advice and guidance! Thank you!

In normal times it is a safe bet to use a price midway between low retail and high retail and expect to give some when you bargain. You ain't a retail dealer with their expenses or expectation of profit to keep the business rolling. However we are in crazy times. A $5000 camper is going for $8-9K and newer campers are going for more than the owner originally paid. Last thing is that if you are in a bit of a hurry to sell, price at the low end of reasonable; high prices tend to make folks move on when they see what appears to be a ridiculous price. If you sell and live somewhere where traffic goes by, put a sign on the camper. Be careful with Craigslist or Facebook sales but they do work. RVTrader.com is a go-to place for selling a trailer to a wider buying market and there are consignment sales. Only a few are who I would consider... pplmotorhomes.com is one but they eat a nice chunk of your profit. Anyway, good luck! BTW: The NADA stuff doesn't reflect what campers are selling for at this time; the numbers were good for a year ago maybe but now the numbers are too low.

[Weldon]

In normal times it is a safe bet to use a price midway between low retail and high retail and expect to give some when you bargain. You ain't a retail dealer with their expenses or expectation of profit to keep the business rolling. However we are in crazy times. A $5000 camper is going for $8-9K and newer campers are going for more than the owner originally paid. Last thing is that if you are in a bit of a hurry to sell, price at the low end of reasonable; high prices tend to make folks move on when they see what appears to be a ridiculous price. If you sell and live somewhere where traffic goes by, put a sign on the camper. Be careful with Craigslist or Facebook sales but they do work. RVTrader.com is a go-to place for selling a trailer to a wider buying market and there are consignment sales. Only a few are who I would consider... pplmotorhomes.com is one but they eat a nice chunk of your profit. Anyway, good luck! BTW: The NADA stuff doesn't reflect what campers are selling for at this time; the numbers were good for a year ago maybe but now the numbers are too low.

X2. What George said. You can use CL or FB. Just put your red flag radar on high, say that you don't need help selling, require texts only, and listen to the verbiage to see if the seller seems legit, etc. You can ignore the first 10 texts that come in within 5 mins of you posting. Their are auto-scams. I sold a motorcycle through CL a few years ago and knew the seller was legit when he agreed that we would both go to his bank, let them cut the cashier's check, and verify the funds. I've bought 5 bikes through CL.

This is a great time to sell, but as George said, if you want it to go fast, sell for a little lower than you would if you had all the time in the world.

For personal safety reasons, please don't seel to a dude in a low-riding Taco with no WDH and 8 people riding in it. With my luck i'll get behind them on the interstate when your Cougar decides to take the scenic route and pull the Taco and the 20 following vehicles along with it. :lol:

[CelticRose]

Thank you, George, for all the great info! I appreciate it! Interesting about the NADA value. I checked it today. It's increased $1K since the last time I checked it several weeks ago!

[CelticRose]

Thank you, Weldon! Those are great tips about assessing prospective buyers. I will try to sell to a responsible driver for your sanity's sake! :)

[JRTJH]

Thank you, George, for all the great info! I appreciate it! Interesting about the NADA value. I checked it today. It's increased $1K since the last time I checked it several weeks ago!

NADA values do change and do "track the local prices" (that's why the website wants your zip code).

The "issue" is how rapidly NADA changes based on current conditions. It's my understanding that the values on the website come from "dealer reports" and on "historical information harvested from tax values reported to the SOS (and other government registration entities).

So, if dealerships wait 2 weeks to process your title and the SOS takes a week to put it into the system, what NADA works on "today" is "3 week old information"... Who knows, it may even be "older than 3 weeks"....

It's better than nothing, but not "today's market" like we see on the 6 o'clock news when they post the DOW closing value.

[CelticRose]

Thank you, John, for your detailed explanation! It's very helpful to know. I'll keep my eye on the values.

[Gegrad]

I had success selling my old one 4 years ago on RV Trader. Paid like $60 for extended pics, and had several legitimate interests in a few days. Sold within two weeks. Going with RV Trader lowers the likelihood of a scammer, since the scammers tend to frequent the more common sites like FB and CL, and people don't just go to RV trader looking to browse everything and stumble upon trailers. You are on RV Trader for one thing only- looking for campers. That's my recommendation, just my 2 cents. Good luck!

[wiredgeorge]

Are scammers really a consideration for anyone selling that has common sense.
#1. Cash - even a bank check can be easily forged it appears
#2 - Purchasing party must pick up; not some "agent" - get their drivers license #
#3 - in the state of Texas there is a form that legally disassociates you with the vehicle when a party purchases it (VTR-346). This is useful if a buyer doesn't title/register a vehicle and rides around on all the toll roads in Texas where they have cameras to catch the tag number or the buyer runs out and robs a bank.
#4. NO NO if purchaser is from foreign country or even out of state - in person is the way to go. Make sure it is done securely with either a friend or someone to back you up if there is an issue.

[Pharphr]

I have sold two trailers by using rvt.com. They have different tiers of pricing and features. Just something else to consider.

[mcomeaux]

I sold my 2017 Fuzion in 55 minutes on RV Trader. I did several still shots and a walk through video which is what sold it...Shoot for the moon and see what you get...You can always lower a bit each week if its slow moving...It'll sell quick if it's clean...

[{tpc}]

To determine selling price you should probably look at identical or comparable models in your area. Then determine how you compare to them when setting your price. IMHO, the more description and good pictures you have, the better you will do at selling it.

I would be wary from "out of towners" than are willing to drive hundreds of miles away to purchase your trailer. Especially those that seem willing to buy or leave a deposit sight unseen. Not to say there are legitimate folks out there, but always good to be cautious. If your "spidey sense" is tingling...there is likely a reason for it. I agree that RV trader is a good place to start.

[Ibdagriz]

I rode my Harley Ultra Classic from Houston to Dayton, Ohio to pick up a bunkhouse motorcycle trailer and towed it back home.
Two years later I towed another one for a friend up to Harrison Arkansas behind the same motorcycle to a friend who saw it close to me in Louisiana and I delivered it to him.
But we're scooter folk, so all bets are off.

Griz