advice on selling my Achilles dinghy

[Herschel]

Greetings fellow Mac sailors. I have been away from the forum for a couple of months. Holidays, traveling, and physical therapy have distracted me. I'm 80 years old and have three sailboats---26X, O'Day Sprite, and my Achilles LT-4 with sailing kit, plus a 2 h.p. Honda and an electric trolling motor. We have taken the Achilles with us on RV trips in the bed of my pickup for years, but it mostly just sits in my garage. This is not an announcement of an ad. I haven't actually decided to sell it, but I am exploring the idea. Have been thinking of making the switch to a Sea Eagle inflatable kayak. With all the scams, tricksters, and ne'er-do-wells out there in the online world, I have no idea what is the safest way is to actually sell something (due to shipping costs and practicality, most likely local to Central Florida). I am not a customer of Facebook or other social media so I have to keep it simple. Any advice?

[NiceAft]

The other option is donating it to a charitable organization for a tax write off. Maybe even Sea Scouts, or a disadvantaged youth organization.

[Russ]

I know you don't like it, but I have found Facebook Marketplace and local FB yardsale type groups to be a great way to sell stuff locally.

You could put it on the classifieds section here, but I don't know if a dinghy would get much attention there.

[tuxonpup]

I bought our 26X off facebook marketplace in October, which I'm not a member of, but which still comes up in google results. I found lots of boats on craigslist as well, including a full sailboatstogo rig for $100, but I didn't really need an additional one. I would try a craigslist ad.

I have the Sea Eagle 465ft as it's 44# and just under the 62" combined dimensions to fly as a free checked bag. I toted it on a wire folding truck through the airports in London, Marseille and Barcelona this summer. The sail kit flys in a golf bag, which unfortunately did not make the Atlantic crossing with us and Delta ended up finally locating in Atlanta. So we now own an extra set of French paddles, c'est la vie.



I believe the longer Explorer models work better with the sail kit in waves, as our needle nose rides lower with the mast in place, so we get wet when sailing into 3' plus chop.

[Herschel]

I bought our 26X off facebook marketplace in October, which I'm not a member of, but which still comes up in google results. I found lots of boats on craigslist as well, including a full sailboatstogo rig for $100, but I didn't really need an additional one. I would try a craigslist ad.

How does money change hands in marketplace and craigslist? My last experience with selling stuff was with classified ads and/or auto trader. We either did a cash deal at my house, or went to the buyers bank, and I cashed his check while he stood there. What is ebay? And is that an option?

And thanks for the pics of your neat kayak. My notion for the kayak is to drop the sailing aspect and get in some paddling in the rivers in Florida. Just want to keep it simple. Been thinking about the Sea Eagle 385ft with the keel tube. I need to be doing more cardio stuff, and my knees are just not up to that kind of activity. Thought some rowing would substitute and be fun.

[tuxonpup]

Facebook and Craigslist are just private seller postings, so cash, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, etc. through your own account for payment. I actually wrote a personal check for our boat, which was accommodating of the seller. Best bet is meeting at a neutral, public location near a bank.

The FastTrack is a good straight line paddler compared to their other more whitewater designs. The 10 psi floor is great, you can carry a couple gallons under it in the “bilge” and stay dry. I can stand up on it in the ocean waves.

[Herschel]

Facebook and Craigslist are just private seller postings, so cash, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, etc. through your own account for payment. I actually wrote a personal check for our boat, which was accommodating of the seller. Best bet is meeting at a neutral, public location near a bank.

The FastTrack is a good straight line paddler compared to their other more whitewater designs. The 10 psi floor is great, you can carry a couple gallons under it in the “bilge” and stay dry. I can stand up on it in the ocean waves.

Yes, I bought my X with a Credit Union "counter check" back in 2003, and, in 2010, I bought my used travel trailer with a USAA check (they financed it) made out to me which I endorsed over to the seller at his bank. I suspect that since I hope to be fortunate to find someone willing to pay in the neighborhood 50% of my investment for the whole set, that deal ought to be easily done with just cash. But I agree, a public place. I'll check with my sheriff's office and see if they have "safe places" set up for that. I can post an ad at my local marina's office plus Craigs list. That seems to be feasible since I am not on Facebook. I have to admit that "Venmo, Zelle, PayPal" are like Greek to me. When I retired and closed my practice in 2009, we took credit cards and were just shifting to processors that didn't require "swiping" the card through the pressure slider so the raised numerals and name would imprint on the carbon backed receipts. Of course the techs that service my home and RV have these gizmos that take my credit cards, but I am lost in this technology. And thanks for the info about the FastTrack.

[Russ]

How does money change hands in marketplace and craigslist? My last experience with selling stuff was with classified ads and/or auto trader. We either did a cash deal at my house, or went to the buyers bank, and I cashed his check while he stood there. What is ebay? And is that an option?

Are you able to ship it? I've sold lots of stuff on eBay. They take a cut but also handle accepting the funds. Shipping is the trick. I have a really heavy piece of equipment on eBay that needs to be crated to ship. Freight is expensive and adds much to the cost.

I've sold on Craigs List and Facebook Marketplace. In fact, we are cleaning my mother-in-law's apartment and selling tons of stuff on Marketplace. Most people pay via Venmo or Cash. I would never take a check.

There are scammers on all platforms. Often asking for a cell phone number so they can scam Google Voice. Yesterday I got a scammer who said they tried to Venmo and it asked for my email. Venmore doesn't. For big ticket items, Venmo asks for the last 4 of my cell phone. I played along and they sent a fake Venmo email claiming it failed and I needed to do something. I quickly reported them.

All in all good success on Marketplace. It reaches lots of people.

Often I will do "porch pickup". I leave the item on my porch and they come and get it whenever. They pay via Venmo and I have a camera on my porch. I doubt anyone would try to steal without paying.

How much does it weigh? Does it have a bag? You might be able to ship it as is and eBay it. I would contact a local UPS store or similar and ask if it can be shipped regular UPS.