New auctions for bigger boats

Selling or buying a big motor yacht is a project almost guaranteed to give both the seller and the buyer a few sleepless nights.

As a seller you want a quick sale at a good price and as a buyer you want to know you are getting real value for your hard-earned dollars. Buyers can spend all their weekends trudging from one marina to another to inspect boats and buyers worry over whether or not they have picked the right broker to sell their pride and joy.

Australian Marine Auctions, a newly established business based at the Gold Coast City Marina, promises to remove the worries for both parties and produce a quick sale at a genuine market price.

The company's managing director John Anderson says that the system brings together motivated sellers and buyers on the same day in the same place. He reckons that despite the recent economic downturn inquiries from both parties have never been greater.

And, he says, the auction system, which specialises in boat over 25 feet in length, establishes a true market value for any vessel that will please both the seller and the new owner. He calls it a "win-win" situation for all parties.

Anderson points out that in Queensland alone there are more than 7000 boats of all shapes and sizes for sale at any given time but that most buyers know pretty much what they want and what they can afford to pay.

Boats submitted to Australian Marine Auctions must be on site at least two weeks before the auction date so they can be photographed, lifted from the water, and displayed on hardstands. Anderson says a boat on a hardstand looks bigger to everyone.

The photographs are displayed on the Australian Marine Auctions website for two weeks so prospective buyers can study what is for sale. The time also allows them to personally inspect the vessel, arrange for a marine survey and a REVS check and even arrange a sea trial.

For owners putting their boats up for auction the long wait that can follow listing their boat with a broker is gone. All the interested buyers come to them.

Australian Marine Auctions has had great success since it was established just over four months and Anderson says things can only get bigger.

Australian Marine Auctions can be found at 76-84 Waterway Drive, Coomera, Gold Coast. Their next auction is on April 24.

Check out Australian Marine Auctions.com.au for more details.