If you have done a search for boat auctions at all online then you’re probably well aware of the often touted boat bargains available from Uncle Sam. Government sources like the U.S. Marshals Service or the General Services Administration (GSA) regularly liquidate surplus or seized boats as well as about any type of forfeited or surplus asset via. internet or via. state or local auctions houses.
What’s usually the case however, is that many of the sources the Government uses to sell off their assets are what I call ‘transparent’ market places. These types of markets unfortunately easily permit bidders to compare the seized asset with a similar asset and thereby decide very quickly about how much they will bid. And often times they overbid. For example one of the transparent sources you frequently find government boat auctions is bid4assets.com Since there are already hundreds of other non-Gov’t yet similar assets being auctioned away on this site to the general public it’s difficult to really get a worth while since everyone has clear view of the market.
What I’ve tried to do is to identify state and local Government auction sales close to home that auction off boats Live, on site and with few attendees. These would include local Police and DEA auction events. The reality is that most don’t realize that each day across the U.S. a landlord, business owner, or some creditor is issued an order from the court directed to the local sheriff, requiring him to seize the debtor’s asset or property so it can be promptly liquidated at auction. The intent of course for the proceeds isto pay down the creditors as much as possible. Surprisingly whoever attends these ‘must sell’ sales events (and they come and go all the time) will usually have opportunity to walk away with an extremely cheap asset.
With regards to finding these Gov’t boat auction sales take a deep breath…you can attempt to keep up with sales events on your own. Agency websites and newspapers advertise when they are scheduled to occur. However, there are legitimate membership auction database sites that keep up with that on a daily. I’ve found them a significant time saver. These sites offer their members access to their regularly pruned auction sales data banks for a nominal, one-time fee.
I have signed on to five of these sites since most tend to focus on a specific broad or deep range of assets. Alternatively, others focus on particular types of auction venues. Strangely most membership sites are only Government related ..which severely limits the variety of auctions available across the U.S..
In the end the key with any auction is to once and for all pick your particular asset, focus on it by consistently exposing yourself to listings so you can make suitable comparisons and offers. When it comes to finding a steal at any Government auction sale or repo boat auction event, you have to be able to really know when you’ve come across a super deal. And you can only do that by constantly comparing assets so as to recognize an undervalued asset when you see it.
