Idea for the For Sale Forum

[muddywater]

Hey Trayder, if you are listening, here is an idea. I realize that this would be a bit of work, but if you were looking for ideas...

How about a standard form for people to fill out who are selling their boats. You can link it to paypal or whatever so they can simultaneously pay the posting fee. It could even include a control to attach a picture. It could generate a page that includes all the info and some interpolated from the data (like determining whether it is a Mosely, Potter, CSY, etc from the year). Alot of it could be drop down list controls. It could include:

Hull length (18, 19, 20, 21,23, 27) (if you only include the classics)
Hull ID
Hull Year
Have clear title for hull (yes, no, my state does not require titles)
Transom height(20", 25", 30", Full with bracket, other)
Transom condition (good, fair, poor, unknown)
Has bottom paint (yes, no)
Top (T-top, Bimini, tower, other, none)
Gas tank condition (new, good, fair, poor, unknown)
Steering (wire, hydraulic, Digital)
Trailer included (yes, no)
Type of trailer (galvanized, aluminum, painted steel, other)
Roller or runner?
Condition (good, fair, poor)
Have title for trailer (yes, no)
Narrative
Power type (Outboard, I/O, Inboard)
Engine HP
Engine Manufacturer (Rude, Johnny, Merc, Suzi, Yammi, Nissan, Tohatsu, Honda, Volvo-Penta, other)
Carb, EFI, or DFI
2S or 4S
Engine Condition (good, fair, poor)
Engine compression (not a required field)
Prop (Al, Stainless, Composite, other, none)
prop pitch (not a required field)
prop diameter (not a required field)
Boat location
Price negotiable (yes, no)
Contact Information
General Narrative

Anyway, just a thought. You are doing a great job! Thanks!!

-Muddy

[Fr. Frank]

Good Idea. Who here know html, xtml and java?

[Spidercrab]

Good Idea. Who here know html, xtml and java?

i lyke tha idear

i'm still tryin to fiqure out fortran and cobalt

sam

[Ikan Besar]

I've always found the last item on the list to be adequate: "general narrative".

[muddywater]

I've always found the last item on the list to be adequate: "general narrative".

Ikan, feel free to correct me, but it seems that this was true for you because you intended to scrap everything except the hull itself so none of the extra stuff mattered to you just so long as it was cheap and the hull was sound. How many people here can afford to go your route though? You are blessed. Some of us might actually want to use that old trailer or old motor. Some people might even want to buy an already restored boat, in which case they are going to want details. If they are like me and have to drive half way across the country, they are going to want details before they get in the truck and start driving. This could also potentially save the sellers alot of wasted time and phone calls for people trying to get information so they can decide whether they want to buy it or not.

[Ikan Besar]

Ikan, feel free to correct me, but it seems that this was true for you because you intended to scrap everything except the hull itself so none of the extra stuff mattered to you just so long as it was cheap and the hull was sound.

I drove 1,200 miles to buy my first SeaCraft, sight-unseen based on two paragraphs in boattrader listing what it had and what it didn't. I used it, as is, for six years. Let's not base my entire boating life on one redone boat. I've driven roundtrip from Oakland, CA, to NC for other boats so I think my driving-for-boats resume can hold it's own.

My point was that there are a lot of people posting boats on here that have 2 posts to their name total. If you make the posting template so detailed as to scare off some people, you will limit the amount of boats that get posted which hurts the membership more than a post with less details than some would want. We have email and telephones which can illuminate many extra details if the original post is interesting.

If Trayder wants to add these features, I'm sure it will go forward which will be very nice for the potential buyers. However, no amount of detail in a post will make up for a 20 minute phone call with the seller. We've become a highly automated society but some things still require a bit of human interaction