Where to Price a Cedarwood Pal

[ozarkpaddler]

Long story, but just added a new medical problem to my repertoire. Probably going to part with my Pal. Never could find her birthdate, and since the previous owner is deceased, I guess I never will? It is a Cedarwood, made from a Chestnut mold in Fredrickton, NB. Here's a few pics. I'll be at work the next 3 days and won't have access to my computer, so I'm not ignoring you'all. Thanks.

 

[pklonowski]

There's a great discussion of what a wooden canoe is worth here: http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57-How-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth

Might not be the answer you were looking for, but it's a start. Check Craig's List, eBay, and the Classifieds here to see what the asking price is on similar canoes. Good luck!

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Folks look for "deals" on eBay (where deals tend to be few and far-between these days!) and craigslist. But those venues can involve waiting... and waiting... and if you need money now, I'd suggest posting the canoe for sale in several places, including the classifieds on this website.

I once had a very pretty, completely restored canoe that I had to sell for financial reasons, and my guess is your situation may be similar. My canoe sold through Antique Boat America, which took 10%, so when listing it I adjusted what I wanted a bit upward to compensate for that. I have no interest in that company and my experience with them happened a few years ago. My canoe sold fairly quickly... within a month, as I recall. The company arranged transportation and a fellow came to our house with a huge truck... he was traveling all over, picking up canoes to take East. We put him up for the night, and had an interesting visit. Anyway, it was a positive experience, except for regretting that I had to sell the prettiest canoe I've ever owned and wishing I still had it!

Kathy

 

[ndevlin]

You may have sold this boat already, because it is awfully pretty. Myself, I wouldn't price it under $2,500 Cdn, and would be happy with a sale in the $2200-2300 range.

Cheers,

- N.

 

[Howie]

Since retiring my hobby is to restore old canoes. And to fund this I sell most of them when completed. So I've been watching w/c canoes on eBay for a few years now to see what prices people are getting for their canoes and how quickly they sell. While there is no shortage of w/c canoes listed on eBay I've seen very very few actually sell. Seems to me that the problem is that people price them too high. So if you need to sell I'd recommend keeping the price well under $2000. And be prepared to wait for a long time. This may well be different for those folks who have reputations in the field- no doubt they can command higher prices. But it's different for guys like me with no reputation or for the average guy selling his canoe.

 

[Dan Miller]

While there is no shortage of w/c canoes listed on eBay I've seen very very few actually sell. Seems to me that the problem is that people price them too high.

In addition to high, perhaps unrealistic, expectations, sales of canoes via Ebay are hindered by the (usual) inability to inspect a canoe first-hand prior to bidding, and the difficulty encountered while stuffing it into an envelope for shipping.

 

[Howie]

Very true Dan. But surprisingly just about half my sales come from people out-of-state who buy sight unseen. Maybe I just take really nice pictures.

 

[Dave Osborn]

IMHO, Craigslist is perhaps the best. It reaches local people....and it's free.

 

[ozarkpaddler]

I love this boat and am going to try to hang on to it. Too nice of a boat to let go for a temporary cash infusion. The "Bargain hunters" will have to wait for now, as will the hospital et al. I WOULD, however, like to figure out if there is a "Birthdate" on her? Thanks all!

 

[Howie]

Yup, I agree Dave - every canoe I've sold (be it ever so few), save one, has been through CraigsList. It's great for buying/selling. A few months ago I sold one to a 'Picker' from Illinois who was checking CraigsList because he knew he'd be traveling through the area and saw my add. I check it myself for basket cases whenever we're traveling. Problem is you can't ever tell what actually sold nor for how much.