• Take yet another moment to look around for places you forgot to clean while also keeping an eye out for random items you may have left lying around (Yes, it’s that important that you should repeat this step multiple times)  

• Take both Wide Angles & Close Up Photos.  The top boat dealers in the county know that people want to see details, but that they also want to feel the space of the boat, so their photographers will often use lenses as wide as 14mm (Like in the picture above) to give people the sensation of having a lot of space.  Taking a picture with a regular lens may make your boat “FEEL” smaller, and that’s rarely ever something boat buyers are shopping for!

• Make sure to capture all of those areas you meticulously cleaned up.  Focus and highlight them!  You want people to look at your listing and think, “Man, this person was crazy about their boat”.

• Always wait for the best lighting-  It may be cloudy today, it may be cloudy tomorrow, but you must wait for good lighting unless of course, you are selling a commercial fishing boat in the Grand Banks.  When people are thinking about being on the water it’s probably a sunny day they are imagining, and that’s what pictures of your boat should line up with so they can see themselves driving it on that perfect day.  Another good reason to make sure you get great sunlight is so that your listings stand out on websites next to someone else who may have been in a hurry to take their pictures.

•  Get Moving-  Pictures of you boat sitting on a trailer or at the dock are OK, and by all means if that’s all you have time for, then so be it.  But if you can swing it, take the boat out, better yet run it at full speed.  Not only are you again allowing potential buyers to see themselves on your boat in action, but you are also adding some validity to the fact that it runs and drives just as you are describing.

• Take As Many Pictures As Possible-  Your boat is as clean as it can be, you have the time, so knock it out now and shoot as many photos of your boat as possible.  Yes, most listings don’t allow unlimited photos, but people that call will almost always ask you for more pictures (Believe Me).  Another good reason for more photos is that you increase the likelihood of garnering interest from distant buyers as someone farther away will want as much information online as possible.  If they can verify your boat is worth the drive on their computer, they may give you a shot.  

• Make note of anything that changes:  If you have a top that is removable or chairs with cushions that come on and off for cruising or fishing, make sure to take pictures of those and keep them side by side in your listing.  

• Look Your Best, But Don’t Lie-  This is the one that I see people doing the most.  They assume (like a shady dealer) that if they can make their boat look better and get more people to come that the boat will sell faster or for more money.  NO, you will only have more people coming to find out they don’t want your boat. 

Top Boat Photography And Selling Tip

If there is something that doesn’t look good, but that you know people will see, don’t run from it, in fact, highlight it.  People are skeptical of you and are trying their best to find problems:

Beat Them To it!

If the buyer finds a problem, it’s perceived to be that they found a reason to ask for money off (And they will).  However, if you present the issue upfront, there is more of an assumption that this issue must already be factored into your price which is exactly how you should frame it. 

“This (So and So) needs to be repaired which is why I am only asking X.  If (So and So) were good I would be asking for more money.