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Do you know how RV consignment works? It’s a popular way to sell your RV, but navigating the process can be troublesome.
RV ownership can be a lot of work no matter your experience level. There’s a lot of maintenance you need to do, and it can get quite expensive.
As a result, there may come a day when you no longer want to own your RV. Instead, you would rather sell your RV and get some return on your investment.
However, you might not know how to approach the sale. After all, you probably are not a salesman, so you aren’t equipped with the skills you need to make as much money as possible. Therefore, you may turn to RV consignment dealers as a way to get top dollar for your coach.
RV consignment is taken advantage of by many RV owners of all experience levels. It’s a great method to make as much money as possible.
It also means that you don’t need to spend as much trying to make the sale. Instead, someone else will do all the work for you. So, you can sit back, relax, and make your money.
Getting rid of your RV is a big decision to make. You probably have owned this RV for years, so selling it will not come easy. However, if you believe it’s the right decision to make, you shouldn’t hesitate. You could have many reasons to sell your RV.
What Is RV Consignment?
If you’ve heard of the consignment of other items, RV consignment isn’t any different. It’s when you turn over your RV to another party to sell while you retain ownership. The person you give custody of your RV will handle the phones, appointments, and financing.
Then once the sale has been made, the person you hired will take a commission or percentage of the sale as payment. So, you won’t get 100% of the sale, but if you hire the right person, you’ll profit more than you would if you did the job yourself.
How Does RV Consignment Work?
When people choose to use RV consignment as a way to sell their RV, they could have several reasons. They chose not to go through the trouble of selling the RV themselves or they might not be confident they could do a good job.
Alternatively, they could live in a rural area where they would have a hard time finding customers. So, turning over their RV to a consignment dealer that has better foot traffic and marketing resources means that more people will see the RV. As a result, there’s a better chance that the coach gets a good offer.
Typically, when you hand over your RV to a dealer, they’ll start with a one to three-month consignment period. This is the amount of time they expect it will take to sell your RV. So, if you need to sell your RV immediately, this is not the selling method for you. However, if you are okay with waiting a few months, you should be perfectly fine with this method.
Once your RV is in the consignment dealer’s custody, they’ll get to work advertising and showing your vehicle to potential buyers. They’ll deal with all the needed day-to-day issues and only contact you when they have offers for your motorhome or travel trailer to see if you’re interested. Once the RV is sold, you’ll have the money transferred to you with a percentage taken out as a commission.
How Much Does RV Consignment Cost?
A big question many people have is how much does RV consignment cost? After all, since the dealer takes a percentage of the profit, there’s a worry that the expense isn’t worth it.
Some RV owners would prefer to sell their RV themselves and make all the money they can. That’s a totally valid way of selling your RV if you are willing to put in the time and costs associated with selling by owner.
However, you probably don’t have the resources of a dealership, so you’ll probably be unable to sell your RV for as much money as a dealership could.
RV consignment costs can be difficult to calculate as there are several factors that influence their rate. It obviously varies based on the dealership and how they structure their consignment fees. Before you can get a price for consignment, you need to figure out what’s the fair market price for your RV. You can get a suggested listing price from NADA Guides.
Typically, there are two ways consignment fees can work. The first is that you’ll pay a flat percentage of the sale price between 10 and 15%. Alternatively, you and the dealer will agree on a target sale price and the dealer will collect the extra as commission.
So, let’s say that you agree to list your RV for $85,000, but it sells for $92,000. In the first scenario, the dealer gets $9,200, and in the second they get $7,000. So, in this scenario, the second option is better for you. Yet, the consignment dealer may have a set payment schedule that they use.
Do You Need RV Consignment Insurance
Motorhomes and travel trailers will need RV consignment insurance while they sit in this state of limbo. Legally, you still own the RV, not the consignment dealer.
During a test drive with a potential buyer, the consignment dealer’s commercial insurance carrier covers your RV. When car dealers take you out for a test drive in one of their new or used cars, their commercial insurance policy covers the vehicle the same way.
But when your coach is sitting on the consignment lot waiting for a buyer, that’s when RV consignment insurance is needed. Most traditional RV insurance carriers don’t cover your RV when they’re with a consignment dealer.
Speak with your consignment dealer for recommendations on RV consignment insurance and how to proceed forward in the process.
Are There Other Fees When Selling an RV on Consignment?
If you don’t want to do anything else to your RV, there are no other fees. However, there are things you can spend money on to up the price of your RV. Many dealerships offer services such as detailing and tune-ups.
These services will obviously cost you money but getting them done could result in your RV being sold for more money. A lot of the time you can make more money back on the sale than you spent on the tune-ups.
Advantages of Selling an RV on Consignment
So, you have gotten this far and are probably running what the reasons are to sell your RV on consignment. The biggest reason to utilize RV consignment is to avoid the hassle of dealing with advertising, handling inquiries, and showing your RV yourself. Not needing to deal with all these things is worth losing a small percentage of the money on the sale for many people.
Additionally, although you will lose a little bit of money on the sale, there is a good chance you sell it for more on consignment than you would otherwise. This is because a dealership can get more exposure for your RV than you would ever be able to. You will also be able to consider buyers who need financing since the dealer can manage that aspect of the sale.
Finally, dealers are motivated to sell your RV as quickly as possible. Even if you are committed to doing that yourself, you will not be able to do it as fast as a dealer. They have more resources than you and can sell it quicker and for more money than you will be able to.
Disadvantages of Selling an RV on Consignment
Although all the advantages above may seem appealing, consignment is not free of drawbacks. The biggest downside to selling your RV on consignment is that you need to pay a commission fee.
So, there’s a chance that you end up with less money in your pocket than you would if you sold it yourself. You will also probably need to get RV consignment insurance, that’s a little more money down the drain.
Furthermore, you’ll need to pay for extra services like cleaning and prep fees. There’s also a chance that you’ll lose a lot of money on the RV consignment sale if you aren’t savvy.
Additionally, while you are under contract, you are not allowed to sell your RV anywhere else. As a result, if you get a better offer elsewhere, there is nothing you can do to accept it. You will need to direct the buyer to the dealership if you want to get their business.
Finally, you cannot use your RV while it’s consigned. So, if you want to take your RV out for one last time before it’s sold, you don’t have the ability to do that. It will stay in the dealership until it sells or your contract expires.
Is Consignment the Best Way to Sell an RV?
There’s no best way to sell your RV. However, RV consignment is certainly one of the best options available to you. It’s an especially good option if you’re not an experienced salesperson and you don’t have many resources available. If this is the case, you’ll probably be able to get a better deal using consignment than you would selling your RV yourself.
The best way to figure out if you should use RV consignment is to figure out whether you can make back the money you’ll spend on fees from a better sale. Although, you’ll probably make more money on a sale while your RV is on consignment than you would if you sold it yourself.
However, you also need to spend money on RV consignment insurance, the dealer’s commission, and other fees. So, you need to calculate how much all those fees are going to cost. Once you have that number, you can figure out how much more money you expect to make on the sale while the RV is consigned.
If you think you are going to make more money than you lose from fees, there’s no reason not to use RV consignment. However, if you’re not going to make all that money back, you need to assess whether the time you gain from not needing to do the selling yourself is worth that amount of money.
That’s a decision you need to make yourself, and one that will be different for everyone. For some people, it will be worth it, but for others, they’d rather make as much money as possible, and that’s okay. Whichever you choose is the decision that’s best for you.
Make as Much Money as You Can by Selling Your RV on Consignment
After reading, we hope you’ve all the information you need regarding RV consignment. We know there’s a lot of information to absorb, but this is a complicated subject and there’s a lot for you to learn. Everything that you learned should help you make the decision of whether to use RV consignment or not.
RV consignment is something that’s taken advantage of by many RV owners. Most RV owners are not interested in spending a lot of time selling their RV themselves. As a result, RV consignment is a good alternative where they make plenty of money without breaking a sweat.
However, with all the commission and insurance fees, there’s a chance you’ll not end up with as much money in your pocket as you would if you sold it yourself. You need to figure out if that extra money is worth the headache of selling your RV yourself.
We wish we could tell you whether RV consignment was the best option for you. Unfortunately, everyone has different preferences and financial situations, and for us to assume we knew yours would be irresponsible.
However, if you do choose to go down that path, make sure that you take your time picking the right dealership. You want to make sure that you’re picking the best RV dealer possible so that you can make as much money as you can.
Why do you want to sell your RV? What type of RV are you selling? Do you think you’ll use RV consignment? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks Mike.
very helpful. thank you joe.
Hi Mike & Susan.
Terrific and helpful article about RV consignment. We would like to invite you and your followers to take advantage of our Free and valuable online consignment tool at RetailMyRide.com. We are the first and only national directory of consignment dealerships (1,148 dealers in 48 states, including RVs, Autos, Motorcycles). RV owners use RetailMyRide.com to easily find and connect with nearby licensed, approved dealership that offer professional consignment services.
Hi Jim,
RetailMyRide looks like a very good resource for RV owners to sell their RVs through consignment!
Mike