BB's that have been for sale for a long time

[Pete Masterson]

Bruce,

As you noticed, there are long-term birds for sale, usually at an excessive price. When I was shopping for my coach, I ran into several in that category -- and, one, even with some price reductions, it was on the market for more than 2 years after I had purchased a coach (that was newer and priced $50k less...)

A market price is reached when a willing buyer makes a deal with a willing seller. If the seller has unreasonable expectations for a higher price, then the coach will sit for a long, long time. Since RVs depreciate, then the seller, even with price reductions, may be chasing a sinking market.Of course, with the current situation, prices haveplummeted, and many sellers may not be prepared to lower their asking price to a level required to make a deal.

So, what to make of it? I suspect that these overpriced 'birds (and other RVs) on the market aren't being offered by _serious_ sellers. They may have mixed feelings about selling their coach, so they set a too-high price and they then have it both ways. Also, people tend to allow their emotions to be too wrapped up in previous decisions, even though it should be obvious that circumstances have changed. (My mom held on to a stock long after it should have been sold -- she said, "it'll come back" -- well, she had years of sub-standard returns when she should have dumped the stock and invested elsewhere. An emotional/psychological decision, not a financial decision.)

Pete Masterson

'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42

El Sobrante CA

"aeonix1@mac.com"

On Apr 19, 2009, at 6:57 PM, birdshill123 wrote:

While looking at that 93 on Ebay I noticed an 01 LXI for a "buy it now" of $325,000. This coach has been for sale for over 2 years. I looked at it last spring and the owner was asking the same price. It was and still is on Randy's site for $310,000. It is listed on every brokers site and can be found all over the net. A very nice coach but had absolutley no electronics: No satellite and not even a DVD player. When I looked at the coach I was ready to make an offer but the owner did not want to drop his price. I figured that in May of 08 it was worth perhaps $250,000. If I was correct it's value today would be less than $225,000. Why do sellers hang on to units for that length of time? I know I was the only serious buyer. Anything that is for sale is only worth what buyers will pay . Moral of the story is that after 2 years plus this seller should realize that his unit is overpriced in today's marketplace. I bet it will still be for sale next spring!!!