Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 04-02-2020, 04:12 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
MountainBikeRoamer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: OrangeCounty, CA
Posts: 1,275
Garage
Poll/Opinion: Is it good time to sell SMB?

As the title of this thread states....
What do you guys/gals all think?


With everything going on in the world (and Nation) right now.....
.....is it a good time to try to sell an SMB?*

On one hand:
It makes sense that with the economy in stand-still, and many jobs in jeopardy (or already lost)...that far less people are possibly willing (or able) to spend the money it takes to buy one of these rigs. So that would mean it might be a terrible time to try to sell an SMB.

But on the other hand....
...There may be (I imagine) plenty of people motivated (and able) to buy an "apocalypse ready" van that sets them up to go "off the grid" if they so desire. Guessing that (maybe?) these "prepper types" (no offense meant with that term) might have cash reserves....and be possibly ready to pay full price to be able to buy a van ASAP. So that would mean....it's a good time to sell an SMB.


So which is it, do you all think?
Really curious what the collective opinions / thoughts / on-the-ground reality of this "good time to sell?" question might be from you all.


And whether you're home, or if you're out there roaming...stay safe, everybody.

*As is implied by the nature of asking such a question.....yep, we have an SMB for sale. (No, we're not getting out of the SMB thing --- we just happen to have *two vans* at the moment, and one of the two was always earmarked for sale....though it was "on hold" until the second of the two had its build-out completed. (It's now finished.....so the other van is ready to sell now.)

__________________
Mike T
___________________
'95 Ford E250 RB30 PH
MountainBikeRoamer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 04:39 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
BrianW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 4,198
I’m going to list mine next week. I’m on the East Coast so not sure how quickly it will sell, but figured I’ll get it out there. I guess it depends on the price point. High $$ ones may be a hard sell.
BrianW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 04:45 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Bozeman MT
Posts: 270
If you want the two cents of someone in their early 20s...

I think there is "nothing to lose" by listing it currently. If you expect to get top dollar and ask way far over what people deem is 'fair market value', it might be a hard sell, don't think anyone is running around with their pockets lined and money burning a hole in their pocket.


The markets currently are down pretty far. They very likely will rebound again, perhaps introducing more buyers into the van market. As someone who can hold out for the right buyer, I think this puts the odds more in your favor. You can list it now, all the people who can't afford it will see it, hopefully the stock market comes back up to free up some money, and you might get a buyer that way.



In short- Yep, you should list it, probably for slightly above market value (Edit: And by 'market value' I don't mean what it's worth today. I mean what it was worth when the economy was doing pretty well, before the markets took their ~30% slide.) to leave some room for negotiation and that you can still get what you want out of it. I probably would not expect a buyer to appear overnight, but it doesn't sound like you're exactly needing a buyer to appear overnight, either.

$0.02.
__________________
1997 Quigley E-250
Offroading_is_Fun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 05:03 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Steve C's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: West Central Mountains, Idaho
Posts: 475
Garage
IMHO, I'd guess that the "value" of our vans has decreased by at least the percentage of the equities markets. Maybe you'll get lucky and sell your van at premium, but if I was in the market to purchase, I'd wait for another month or two and start offering sellers the market downturn minus 5-10%. What we have are luxury items and tend to suffer accordingly under recessions.

Stay safe!
__________________
2001 Sportsmobile RB50 7.3
West Central Mountains, Idaho
Steve C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 05:13 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
carringb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Corvallis, OR
Posts: 5,300
I think the market for affordable camper-vans is strong right now. Probably at least as strong as last year.

Higher-$ builds, maybe not so much, now that large RV dealers are selling new units for 45% off MSRP. Give it another month, and I think you'll start seeing them being offloaded for over half-off. Class-A's will be discounted the most initially, but that'll eventually push down other RV prices.
__________________
2000 E450 dually V10 wagon
carringb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 05:53 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Twoxentrix's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,338
Garage
I would agree with "just list it" - You only need one interested party to make a deal.

Timing is a burden you shoulder (but also remain in control of): What are you willing to let it go for, and how motivated you are to unload ??? If it doesn't sell in a reasonable time, pull it and go through the motion again later - and/or drop the price.
__________________
TwoXentrix
"AWOL"
Twoxentrix is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 06:10 PM   #7
REF
Senior Member
 
REF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Boulder, CO.
Posts: 2,551
Send a message via MSN to REF
That all being said....you might be blasted by the bottom feeders all sitting at home now with nothing else to do but to scam CL ads, be prepared to field a LOT of their Q’s with no real intention of ever purchasing the rig, just something to pass the time, and we all got more of that these days!

The other point is, if you do find a viable interested party, do you really want to meet up with them? Have them come to your house? Poke around the van or be prepared to go for a test drive with them under the current situation?.....HELLS NO!!
__________________
'03 Ford E350 7.3L Diesel
(de)SMB'd Custom RB-50
Quigley 4X4 w/Deavers & Agile Offroad's R.I.P. package
CCV High Profile Pop Top
REF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 08:28 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
MountainBikeRoamer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: OrangeCounty, CA
Posts: 1,275
Garage
Many well-considered/valid points here....

REF nails a big one for me —
The idea of meeting up with a slew of potential buyers to have them look the van over, learn about it top-to-bottom, test-drive it, etc....in this era of absolutely-mandatory social distancing (and other self-preservation tactics) - I AGREE, I don’t like the idea of having to deal with any of that either.

Had been thinking that due to this, perhaps an auction website might be the best bet. (Get it sold without ANY contact except for the hand-off of the van to the auction winner.)

The points made about just going ahead and listing it, regardless of what one might think or believe about the market — and simply see what the market actually produces as far as a buyer - these are also great points. You’re right....one really only needs to find one buyer!

My rig-to-sell isn’t a high-dollar build, so from the sound of things, you guys are collectively helping build a feeling that.....why not? Might as well put the van “up on the block” and see how it rides.
__________________
Mike T
___________________
'95 Ford E250 RB30 PH
MountainBikeRoamer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2020, 09:18 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Bozeman MT
Posts: 270
Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer View Post
... Perhaps an auction website might be the best bet. (Get it sold without ANY contact except for the hand-off of the van to the auction winner.)
I've never used it, but BaT might be an interesting idea if you are considering an auction. Seen a handful of vans pass through there. Can't recall off of the top of my head what they went for (Wouldn't be surprised if BaT holds logs of all of their past auctions somewhere...). I don't think I've seen any "modern" E-series ('92+) pass through there, but I think I have seen a 4x4 previous-gen pass through.

Anyways- whatever you end up deciding upon, best of luck


Edit - BaT links:
https://bringatrailer.com/vans/
A 4x4 E-series, the only one I could find. (Several more 2wd conversion vans were there, however) (Edit2: And looking at what this sold for.... I think the owner got screwed).
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...d-econoline-2/
__________________
1997 Quigley E-250
Offroading_is_Fun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2020, 12:33 AM   #10
Member
 
porschedpm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 77
IMHO the market for all SMB-type van conversions has dropped, including the market for the Sprinter and Transit based conversions. Older Sprinter and Transit conversions may now be affordable to wider market which places additional price competition on the E350 conversions. That being said though, if you're not in a big hurry to sell, go ahead and list your vehicle for what you want and think it's worth but don't get too frustrated if it doesn't sell quickly. If your vehicle has unique features that people want and set it apart from the others someone will pay you what you want. It just may take longer in this market.

I retired last year from the US subsidiary of major sports car company and even in the worst economic times their top of the line low-production models always sold out. Seemed there were always a handful of people out there that wanted something no else had and were willing to pay the money.
__________________
2006 E350 SMB RB50 6.0 PSD
porschedpm is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:26 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.