Get FinancingFrom Nebraska To Alaska: RVUniverse Sells A Newmar In Only A Month
“We did a 6,000-mile tour of the West Coast, visiting families from Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, and Arizona,” says the former owner of a 2018 Newmar Bay Star Sport in Bennet, Nebraska. “We were gone for four weeks. It was great. We spent every night in the coach, and most of our meals, so we didn’t have to change our routines as far as eating and sleeping.”
His wife says with a laugh, “When we got home, I walked in the house, and I thought, ‘We lived a whole month in the RV without all this stuff, so what do we need it for?’”
A Full-Wall Slide-Out
The gasoline-powered, 2018 Newmar is a 50th-anniversary edition with a mere 13,000 miles. Its 2903 floor plan sleeps four and has a convenient, folding cockpit table. The Class A motorhome has new tires, batteries, awning, and GPS radio, among other new parts. The seller notes that people can still use its bathroom when both slides are retracted.
He describes the RV as “very spacious,” and explains, “The driver’s side slide-out was basically the length of the 30-foot coach, as far as from the driver’s seat back, and so it opened up the living quarters and the kitchen area and the bathroom … everything. And clear back into the bedroom, the second slide-out, the bed moved out to the passenger side. It gave plenty of room in the bedroom as well.”
But after 45 years of experience with various motorhomes, the owners reached a decision to sell the big Newmar.
“There comes a time,” he says. “We weren’t using it very much, and it was a lot of money sitting there not doing anything, so it didn’t look like we were going to use it anymore in the future. So it was time to sell.”
What Makes Editorial Ads So Effective?
Last autumn, the RV owner consigned it to a local dealer, who priced it relatively high at $89,000. “To the best of my knowledge, it got very little action or exposure.”
The following spring, he took a different tack and turned to RVUniverse. He priced the RV more in line with the market and bought a half-page editorial ad in the Western region of RVUniverse magazine.
Editorial ads are a popular option in Sandhills Global’s niche market publications, giving sellers up to two pages of space for photos, bulleted feature lists, and more. In addition, the online premium listing that comes with an editorial ad delivers top billing on RVUniverse.com, appearing at the very top of its RV category with an eye-grabbing blue border.
The RVUniverse advertising process was easy, the owner says, “other than the decision to spend that much money.” But he adds, “It was worth it.” The first lead came in the day after the Newmar went online.
Three Nibbles & A Bite
“There were about four responses that came in from that ad, and they were all definitely interested responses. Two of them wanted to see the unit, but they wanted to get back to me as to when it would work for them,” he reports.
“The third one lives in Alaska and bought it sight unseen, based on the write-up I had written.” The buyer discovered the 2018 Newmar via RVUniverse. “They currently were using a C-class motorhome, which is typically quite a bit smaller, and they wanted something bigger. Just the convenience of a Class A and getting in and out of it.”
The seller had originally listed the RV for $72,000 but dropped the price to $67,000 after a few weeks. “They said, ‘Would you accept $60,000?’ I said ‘No,’ and that was the end of it. Evidently, Alaska’s market for used motorhomes is much higher than in the [lower 48] states. They’re flying down to Nebraska week after next to come and pick it up and drive it home.”
Nebraska To Alaska
After selling their RV in a single month with RVUniverse, the former owners chuckled when asked whether it was going to be difficult to watch it drive away. “My wife is shaking her head yes. I’m saying no!”