Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Selling an airplane

Hey! I need some advice from those experienced with selling an airplane. Any and all advice to aid in a quick sale at a fair price will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks bunches!

You could go to www.barnstormers.com [barnstormers.com] to see how their adds are worded. This is a free place to advertize aircraft.

Bill:

I haven't sold an airplane for many years, but I've sure learned alot about selling one from trying to buy one this last year. Here is a list of things that I wish sellers would do for me as a potential buyer:

1. Be available. They place ads and then never answer their telephone or respond to emails.
2. Return buyers' phone calls if you miss their call.
3. Tell buyers about your airplane when they call. So many sellers give one or two word answers and act put out when asked questions by the buyer. I called a seller last Sunday and attempted to start the conversation by saying "Do you have a few minutes to talk to me about your airplane?" Her reply was "Well, most all you need to know is in the ad." That was a short call.
4. Offer to photocopy the more recent years of the logs and mail or fax them. This is really helpful for buyers at a distance. Also, get a CD of your airplane's paper work from the FAA and offer an interested seller a copy of it.
5. Advertise in this club's classified; Barnstormers; and TAP. ( I believe you are in two out of these three)
6. Put up good quality pictures that show the airplane from a front quartering view, a full side view, interior w/ clear shots of the paneling, seats, and carpeting, and the panel showing the yokes and all of the instruments and avionics.
7. Do for potential buyers what the seller of your new plane did for you. Make it easy for them to buy!

In a nutshell, advertise, be pleasant, and then facilitate the sale.

Good luck and best wishes.

Don

I fully agree with this point and especially going to the extreme of showing the headliner, detail of the seats and carpet. I find it ever increasingly easy to spot the photos which intentionally cut off a portion of the picture which show flaws or cracks. Makes you wonder what they're trying to hide until you see it for yourself in person.

There seems to be nothing worse than posting an ad in TAP or Barnstormers without posting a photo array, TT, SMOH or even a price. Why do they bother? Maybe they're just testing the water for potential buyers or aren't interested in selling in the first place. I'm increasingly wary of ads which don't post this information or say, "call for price." Usually, the "call for price" ad is the one which is unreasonable to start with. Perhaps sellers posting this info, would possibly weed out the noninterested just by having it available.

A friend of mine who's purchased several planes over the years, has told me he's never been able to buy a plane out of a current issue of TAP. He looks at older issues, maybe 3-4 months, and calls the sellers to see if they're still available. Usually the seller has gotten frustrated by then and is willing to make the deal the second time around, when only one person is inquiring.

My .02 worth. I imagine my time will come, eventually.

Bengie Phillips
KCSG 061238Z AUTO 06008KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR SCT009 OVC015 22/21 A2973 RMK AO2 P0001

The reverse of the question I have been musing on as a first time buyer - how much to ask for and how much to be absolutely required. I too am frustrated by the lack of the most basic information in a lot of the ads. The more info in the ad, the more likely I am to take any interest to the next step, particularly if not in the "local" area when the costs of the investigation and transaction go up (postage, long distance phone, travel/delivery). Ads missing the most basic stuff, or are not straightforward about it, are suspect - they will have to come up with it sooner or later, why not be upfront? I will only investigate those when other options are exhausted.

What I would add to Don's list is to compile e-formats of all the info into a complete data package. Along with a description, a list of modifications & the vendors of those mods, as much of the service history as known, scans of the logs, pictures that document and enhance the written or verbal description, the FAA info. The results of a current title search would be a nice bonus and could possibly shorten the transaction time. ( If anyone is reluctant about copies due to possible fraudulent use, they can be electronically "watermarked" as copies or with the aircraft serial number). An analogy would be a prospectus for an investment.

This can then be disseminated, quickly, in the format the interested party can handle - web page(s), direct transfer like e-mail or fax, or burned to a CD or printed out for mailing.

Keep in mind as a buyer that it is still not a "buyer's market" per se. I am seeing airplanes listed for 6 or more months without moving on the price, however and this may be an indicator of a move downward, but others would disagree and say that due to the high price of new aircraft, older birds will continue to hold or gain in value.

That said...it brings out a couple of points. Ad's in TAP and some other publications cost money, and many do not provide for the level of detail you are requesting for browsing purposes. Add to that the fact that probably a full 90% of "buyers" are tire kickers and have not seriously defined their mission and KNOW what they want. My first two airplanes I was fully engaged and approached the purchase from that basis. Once that was communicated to the buyer (whether body language or what nature of questionsing I don't know) many, but not all, buyers will rise to the occassion and provide strong support in supplying documentation. Look at Bill's recent purchase. This guy was more agile than Circe de Soliel in meeting Bill's requirements of a purchase.

Finally, if you are serious...step up to the plate yourself. Order the $10 FAA CD which will answer your chain of ownership and many (but not all) of your paper trail questions on the airplane. Why should the seller have to provide that to each and every tire kicker.

I am currently a buyer (well sort of...still kicking tires as I have not finalized my mission profile going forward), but have been a seller twice now. Both need to bend a bit to make things happen. Buying an airplane is not like buying a car...it is much more like buying real estate. Big investment, one you don't want to duplicate (if for personal use), so you are cautious and careful.

Have wanted to respond to here but the home ISP is "out to lunch" and have not been able to do a full reply here at work (dashing it off just doesn't work for me). So unless I get lucky, it will be at least Tues. after the tech visit until I can post all I have rattling around the empty space upstairs. These kinds of negotiations are not my strong suite, so I can use all the input I can get.

Thanks,

I don't think I have mentioned how I found this airplane? I put an ad into Barnstormers requesting information on a STOL aircraft with good payload for under $25,000. I received responses every day, mostly from Tripacer and Pacer owners. A few homebuilts. And then it became quiet. A month or so later, here comes an email from this guy selling a 150/150. You all already know the rest of the story.

So my advice for buying an airplane? Place an ad with your price and requirements. Then sit back and let the sellers come to you!

First off-- there's Trade-A-Plane and then there's everyone else. If you want to sell, start with TAP.

Most ISPs will provide you with a personal web site.
Purchase an ad with TAP. Reference your own site.

My site for N714JN is still running. Have a look. [home.comcast.net]

Basically, I wanted the buyer to know all of the
things that I cared about when I was buying.

The concept worked. The plane sold within days.

I was looking at your pics and noticed the one that had paint missing from the wing, it looks like the heads of the rivets were ground off. Am I seeing that correctly?

http://home.comcast.net/~smayotte/images/ext4.jpeg