Used boat market "Demand Destruction"

[Mcjenson]

I understand that there is a subset of the market that can easily afford boats, but let’s get serious, bass fishing is not a sport for only the elite class. That’s what I’m alluding to.

there’s a gap forming that I’m not even certain anyone is particularly conscious of because the demographic of people that buy boats is aging with the inflation bubble.

im not personally complaining, I’ve got a fully rigged tournament boat, but it’s 18 years old. I’m also considerably well off for a person my age, and I’m pointing out that I essentially am priced out of the market. Once again, I’m not attempting to gloat, I’m pointing out that I technically should be in “the market” to purchase boats. Yet not a single guy under the age of 40 in both my club and my personal life is purchasing boats unless they are 15+ years old.

it doesn’t come from a place of complaint, it’s reality there’s nothing I can do about it aside from get another job I guess…my point is that the same demographic of individuals who have historically purchased bass boats has essentially vanished due to the inflation in boat pricing that far exceeds the actual inflation rate.

im moreso curious as to what boat companies intend to do now that the period of low interest lending has ended. My assumption is we are going to see some manufacturers struggle intensely/vanish.

Didn't you say that you are dual income / no kids / no debts / heavy investor? You certainly are on a better financial path then the vast majority of people, but might be kind of a stretch to say you are priced out of the market. I'm guessing you could sell your boat, pick up a reasonably priced nitro / skeeter / triton, and pay it off within a few years if you scale back the investments a bit. I could be totally wrong, and it wouldn't be a great financial move, but I'm guessing you could pull it off if you wanted to.

[AKRISONER]

Didn't you say that you are dual income / no kids / no debts / heavy investor? You certainly are on a better financial path then the vast majority of people, but might be kind of a stretch to say you are priced out of the market. I'm guessing you could sell your boat, pick up a reasonably priced nitro / skeeter / triton, and pay it off within a few years if you scale back the investments a bit. I could be totally wrong, and it wouldn't be a great financial move, but I'm guessing you could pull it off if you wanted to.

You are correct, its a nice thought, but theres no way I could justify a $500/month payment for a bass boat instead of putting money away for retirement. Pensions are also a thing of the past so the best I can do is fund a RRSP (registered retirement savings plan)and trade when I have liquid cash. I actually realized I know of one guy who bought a boat, hes a union heavy equipment operator that lives in a small home far from the city. So his mortgage is reasonable, and he has no need to save for retirement.

Buying a boat would be financial insanity/suicide. So thats a funny way to go about it...bass boat makers are only marketing their products to millionaire playboys and people willing to commit financial suicide? See where Im going with this Im already worried about the payment for my next truck now that they have increased in price by approximately 75% over the past 7 years.

[ThomasD]

All this hoopla about the bass boat market. News flash, it's a lot smaller then you think. Over 330 million people in the US and less then 10k bass boats produced a year. Was never meant to be something that everyone could afford.

[Mcjenson]

You are correct, its a nice thought, but theres no way I could justify a $500/month payment for a bass boat instead of putting money away for retirement. Pensions are also a thing of the past so the best I can do is fund a RRSP (registered retirement savings plan)and trade when I have liquid cash. I actually realized I know of one guy who bought a boat, hes a union heavy equipment operator that lives in a small home far from the city. So his mortgage is reasonable, and he has no need to save for retirement.

Buying a boat would be financial insanity/suicide. So thats a funny way to go about it...bass boat makers are only marketing their products to millionaire playboys and people willing to commit financial suicide? See where Im going with this Im already worried about the payment for my next truck now that they have increased in price by approximately 75% over the past 7 years.

Man, either the incomes are lower in Canada or the bass boats are marked up there to an insane degree. While it's not necessarily a wise decision to buy one here, its far from a millionaire playboy / financial suicide type purchase. I mean it's an absolute bargain compared to the surf boats or saltwater stuff.

[BroWhoop]

I don't think it's that the price has gone up, it's how much they've gone up in a short time. Also it's not just boats there are other items that have done the same thing.

[GEEBASS2000]

I don't understand why so may guys sell a boat that's one to four years old and always paying for a new one? I see boat ads all the time and the boats may be practically new and they say selling because new one is on the way. I just don't get it. Unless they are mega wealthy seems they are throwing a ton of money away they could be putting towards retirement or just getting ahead. Please help me understand....

The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up. The guys that sell every year put 200 plus days per year in the boat and for the most part they have between 150 and 200+ hours per year on the outboard, the trailers get about 30,000 miles per year in tow. They can not choose to not go out and run across the great lakes in 6 and 8 foot waves stripping many screws out of the fiberglass, these boats get beat and beat hard.

I actually should not say it's not possible, the problem becomes the rig spends so much time at the service trailer and repair shop it makes it not cost effective to keep a rig beyond a year or two. Keep in mind most anglers selling a two year old boat also guide around tournaments getting $600 to $750 per day so if they are down for a week they are out thousands. When they are down in a tournament it could cost them their career.

[Mcjenson]

The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up. The guys that sell every year put 200 plus days per year in the boat and for the most part they have between 150 and 200+ hours per year on the outboard, the trailers get about 30,000 miles per year in tow. They can not choose to not go out and run across the great lakes in 6 and 8 foot waves stripping many screws out of the fiberglass, these boats get beat and beat hard.

I actually should not say it's not possible, the problem becomes the rig spends so much time at the service trailer and repair shop it makes it not cost effective to keep a rig beyond a year or two. Keep in mind most anglers selling a two year old boat also guide around tournaments getting $600 to $750 per day so if they are down for a week they are out thousands. When they are down in a tournament it could cost them their career.

Running a two (or maybe 3?) year old triton for Matt Robertson certainly didn't work out for him this year. He had a bunch of problems.

[Grizzly]

You should be able to get at least $51,100 for your boat on Ebay

[mossie3]

"The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up."

So the pro knows his rig won't hold up another year, but wants to sell it to me for $90K.

[Mark Perry]

The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up. The guys that sell every year put 200 plus days per year in the boat and for the most part they have between 150 and 200+ hours per year on the outboard, the trailers get about 30,000 miles per year in tow. They can not choose to not go out and run across the great lakes in 6 and 8 foot waves stripping many screws out of the fiberglass, these boats get beat and beat hard.

I actually should not say it's not possible, the problem becomes the rig spends so much time at the service trailer and repair shop it makes it not cost effective to keep a rig beyond a year or two. Keep in mind most anglers selling a two year old boat also guide around tournaments getting $600 to $750 per day so if they are down for a week they are out thousands. When they are down in a tournament it could cost them their career.

Or they just want to take advantage of the contingency programs that some manufacturers offer.

[Johnnyred]

"The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up." So the pro knows his rig won't hold up another year, but wants to sell it to me for $90K.

[GEEBASS2000]

"The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up."

So the pro knows his rig won't hold up another year, but wants to sell it to me for $90K.

Correct they offer the 2nd hand owner a large savings ($125,000 New $90,000 10 months old $35,000 savings"vs new knowing that the 2nd hand owner is going to put 1/3 the miles on the trailer that a tour guy would and less than half the hours per year on the outboard. Most 2nd hand buyers will not put the miles or hours on a rig in 5 years that a tour guy will in 9 months. It will last and hold up for the second hand owner but not the guy that is towing or fishing 200 plus days per year.

[dean c]

Pros have traded out rigs every year because in the past it hasn’t cost them much money to do so. They might have even made a small profit on their rigs. The current market may change that. In any case I feel like the OP is vastly underestimating the lifespan of even a heavily used rig. Might require a little more diligent care, but there’s time between events for that.

[Roddy]

Man, either the incomes are lower in Canada or the bass boats are marked up there to an insane degree. While it's not necessarily a wise decision to buy one here, its far from a millionaire playboy / financial suicide type purchase. I mean it's an absolute bargain compared to the surf boats or saltwater stuff.

I agree, there is a $300k surf boat in my son’s garage and his boss just paid over a Million for a center console. In that respect l, bass boats are cheap. I no of a would sell as new absolutely loaded Caymus (5 12” units etc) for $75k seems like a bargain in todays market.

[skeeterator]

The guys that sell every year or 2 years can not keep a boat for 3 years, it's not possible the rig will not hold up. The guys that sell every year put 200 plus days per year in the boat and for the most part they have between 150 and 200+ hours per year on the outboard, the trailers get about 30,000 miles per year in tow. They can not choose to not go out and run across the great lakes in 6 and 8 foot waves stripping many screws out of the fiberglass, these boats get beat and beat hard.

I actually should not say it's not possible, the problem becomes the rig spends so much time at the service trailer and repair shop it makes it not cost effective to keep a rig beyond a year or two. Keep in mind most anglers selling a two year old boat also guide around tournaments getting $600 to $750 per day so if they are down for a week they are out thousands. When they are down in a tournament it could cost them their career.

You ever actually look at all of the boat for sale ads? There's only a couple hundred actual pros in the various tours combined yet there are thousands of 1-3 year old boats for sale every single year. Lots of guys simply like to "upgrade" to the latest and greatest when in reality the new hull does nothing the 1-3 year old hull can't do. This entire thread is full of nonsense.

[MCIPinkie]

skeeterator hit it on the head. This entire thread is full of nonsense.

New boats are expensive. Good used boats (guess what) are expensive. Some people keep buying them. Some of them have money and want nice things. Some of them don't have money and still want nice things.

Some people are smart, some ain't.

Nothing changes.

[Mark Perry]

You ever actually look at all of the boat for sale ads? There's only a couple hundred actual pros in the various tours combined yet there are thousands of 1-3 year old boats for sale every single year. Lots of guys simply like to "upgrade" to the latest and greatest when in reality the new hull does nothing the 1-3 year old hull can't do. This entire thread is full of nonsense.

You are making entirely too much sense.

[Mcjenson]

You ever actually look at all of the boat for sale ads? There's only a couple hundred actual pros in the various tours combined yet there are thousands of 1-3 year old boats for sale every single year. Lots of guys simply like to "upgrade" to the latest and greatest when in reality the new hull does nothing the 1-3 year old hull can't do. This entire thread is full of nonsense.

I think the used market is a little more stocked than normal, along with new inventory, but we got used to the covid craziness where you couldn't hardly find a boat for sale anywhere so it appears worse than it is. That said, slowdowns are certainly happening in the industry, and it wouldn't surprise me to see some brands go under.

[AKRISONER]

skeeterator hit it on the head. This entire thread is full of nonsense.

New boats are expensive. Good used boats (guess what) are expensive. Some people keep buying them. Some of them have money and want nice things. Some of them don't have money and still want nice things.

Some people are smart, some ain't.

Nothing changes.

I think the point that you are overlooking, is that the "group" of individuals who fell into the "smart" group has shrunk..or perhaps remained the same, but the availability and reasonableness of purchasing a boat for the smart group has shrunk significantly. Inflation is a son of a...especially when that inflation exceeds the actual inflation rate by a significant margin.

[GEEBASS2000]

I think the used market is a little more stocked than normal, along with new inventory, but we got used to the covid craziness where you couldn't hardly find a boat for sale anywhere so it appears worse than it is. That said, slowdowns are certainly happening in the industry, and it wouldn't surprise me to see some brands go under.

Your post " and it wouldn't surprise me to see some brands go under". 100% spot on, the industry has overpriced way more than the rate of inflation, it is straight up greed when a boat manufacture price is up more than 2:1 to the CPI. The definition of demand destruction is when you price a product soo high you ruin your own market. In our case there is a good chance it will take out a sport making it so who can afford the cost will be the anglers qualifying for either the MLF tour or Elite not necessarily the most talented anglers.