Motor homes, fifth wheels, travel trailers, folding or pop up campers and truck campers can often be sold quickly and easily by advertising the sale on the internet.
Using the right combination of free online classified ads and spreading the word through online forums your RV and ad can be viewed by thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of potential buyers each day.
Here are a few simple guidelines to follow to help you get the exposure only the internet can provide.
Make sure the RV is clean, and as presentable as possible.
Take photos both inside and out. Take as many photos as necessary to show the floor plan, features, and both interior and exterior condition.
Take good photographs of any damage… better to let potential buyers know upfront rather that waste time …theirs and yours.
Write a detailed description of the RV. You can’t include too much information or too many details. Include model numbers of appliances and accessories, like awning, slide topper, inverter, solar panels, power jacks/stabilizers, LCD TV. Don’t forget things you may have had added.
Set a fair price. Of course you want to get the highest price possible for your RV but setting the price too high can discourage buyers from even considering your RV. To help determine a fair price for both you and the buyer start by checking the price guides at NADAGuides.com. You can find dealer retail prices on RVs going back to 1975 in some cases.
Also search the online classifieds for RVs like yours or similar to see what other seller are asking.
RVlistingsOnline.com, rvt.com and RVtraderOnline.com are three of the more popular classified sites. And don’t forget, a lot of RVs are sold on ebay.com.
Now it’s time to advertise your RV.
Since most places you will be advertising your RV will have a limit on the number of photos, and/or charge for additional photos you’ll want to have a place where you can post all your photos for free and simply provide a link to them for any advertising you do. If you have a website or blog that’s the perfect place to start. If you have an online photo album like flickr.com, photobucket.com, snapfish.com, MyPhotoAlbum.com or similar service, that will work too. Make sure you make the RV photo album public so buyers will be able to view it. Preferably without the need for their own account or having to join anything.
Start your advertising with craigslist.com. It’s free, easy and is most likely to attract local buyers. In fact, craigslist.com may be the only advertising you need to do. However if your RV has significant value, is unusual or special, you’ll get more benefit from a bigger base of potential buyers.
To expose your RV to more buyers get the word out to your fellow RVers. If you are a member of any forums and email groups, post messages letting the members know that you are selling your RV. Be careful not to SPAM the group. Groups have different levels of tolerance for advertising so if you’re not sure about a particular group email the moderator direct for permission. Generally, it’s okay to give a brief description and perhaps a photo… if the the group allows them… and simply include a link to your website, blog or photo album.
By now you may have already sold your RV, but if you have tried all of the above mentioned services and haven’t found a new owner for your RV you may want to consider the online RV classified services. Aside from those listed earlier, there a several more… do a google search for them. Costs vary so compare cost to service.
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As an add on tip, when taking the photographs have as many windows open as possible and turn the lights on. Light makes rooms look larger. Never take a photo with a window directly in the background or directly at a wall or mirror. The strong light from the window will make the rest of the room appear dark. By shooting walls, mirrors and windows at an angle, you reduce harsh lighting, shadows and reflections.
Use a wide angle lens setting. This too will make the rooms look larger. If you think this is a bit deceptive, it is how all the photos in all those RV sales brochures are taken. Trust me…I’ve taken a few of those. As Steven says, your photos should show the RV exactly as you intend to sell it. However, it will not hurt to have some small flowering plants here and there. Yellow is always a good color for such blooms. Again, small plants make everything else look larger.
For those who do not really understand the role of photos in selling, you are all familiar with standing in line at a restaurant and seeing delicious foods pictured on the walls. When you get the meal, it never looks quite that good. The same is true for most microwave dinners. Most of the foods pictured are actually wax models made just for that purpose. Real food does not stand up well to the time, light and heat of a photo session.
Pictures sell. The better the pictures, the easier the sale is. These tips also apply to selling a house.