Here’s my experience:
I tried to sell my last aircraft myself, but it became tedious to take them up for rides, sometimes had to meet them in completely different parts of the state. Most of them were not serious and just wanted to get a very rough feel for the type of plane. Some of them were too serious – I remember doing a 2,5hr “shakedown” flight with a guy who demanded to do it all – slow flight, up to certified ceiling, night flight, landings, the lot. Then only to call me 24/7 and talk for hours and days on end, mostly about him building his house, only to finally hear he bought a Mustang! Which isn’t even in the same ballpark, so how serious was he to begin with?
All I can say is that plane selling is exhausting and there a lot of people out there with insane expectations. They’ve bought into the “I’m the customer and the customer is always right”-myth with no regard to anyone else’s time. One guy wanted me to provide the serial number of each part that went into the engine overhaul. I did it, but it took me, my mechanic and the overhauler days to assemble from various paperwork. What do you think happens? Never heard front the bloody guy again. Some other guys demanded I fly it across America for free to their mechanic so they could do a pre-pre-buy and have a starting point for price reduction. Some wanted me to install a GTN 750 on my dime. Others wanted me to pay for all the upgrades they wanted. And whenever you think you couldn’t possibly find any more logbook info to share, some dude always comes along and says “what is the flame retardant material used in the upholstery?”. Try to find that in 35 year old logbooks if you can. You can never win.
So that’s why I went with a broker in the end. Just to end all the BS and retain some sanity. Now it became his headache to weed out the tire kickers, the joyriders, the logbook nazis. In the end the sale was as farcical as it had started. A guy wanted it, but he wouldn’t buy it unless the A/C worked. I’d been clear in my listings that I didn’t want to pay for it getting fixed – it was the one item that was not working well. I’d already spent $8K on annual and fixes already, I’d already reduced price 4 times. He said, well I won’t commit until I have a fixed sum for it getting fixed. The sales agent says he can give a pretty good approximation, but without tearing into it and disassembling things and incurring costs, he couldn’t do an exact figure. “Then tear into it”, customer said. “But who will pay me for my time?” the mechanic said. “If you don’t like what you hear, you can just walk away and I’ll be stuck with the cost as Adam doesn’t want to pay for it”. In the end, he committed $2K to it and and the fix cost $2.6K, and I agreed to pay the $600. But it’s like this constantly.
If you have the stomach and time for all that stuff – sell it by yourself. If you don’t, let a broker deal with it. It’s worth the 4-8% they charge.
Another observation:
You won’t get money back on mechanical overhauls.
You won’t make money back on avionics.
But you will make money back on new interiors and new paint.
I have not yet sold an airplane (only bought ;-) … but I would have expected that a buyer would rather pay for good avionics than for paint or leather.
Flyer, it depends on why the purchaser is buying it. I have just bought, in Spain, and apart from a runner on the ground, who helped with language, have done it myself. Pat on the back…….now
1. It was exactly what I was looking for.
2. It was not flying, and a pre buy had been completed by the seller, with a firm quote to get it certified.
3. When I was on holiday, and in the area, I looked at it, met the seller, met the engineering firm who carried out the pre buy, and would complete the maintenance. I liked them, very important. I also checked them out thoroughly.
4. Completed all the bill of sale, and offers, myself, through a Spanish notary.
5. I hired the ferry pilot to get it up to the maintenance facility, 75 miles North, and completed on a ferry permit.
6. One trip back to Spain, where I completed everything, including funds transfer, all completed through lawyers and notaries.
7. Organised my NIF- Spanish Government tax on purchase.
It is ready to be ferried to the UK. A done deal, but it takes a committed purchaser, and a committed seller. It also takes a bit of trust and compromise on the purchasers part.
Here are some word of advice from Mike Busch:
http://blog.aopa.org/opinionleaders/2015/12/17/buying-the-right-plane/
They are aimed at the buyer but could of course also be used if you are the seller.
That’s a good article IMHO, especially the bit about a run-out engine making it a good buy.
OTOH he is an expert; most buyers are not and will be swayed by stuff like a freshly “overhauled” engine.
Never having sold only bought; my current plane. Would it fly (be appropriate) that you expect payment for a flight if no sale is concluded? For instance, 250 Euros/hr including landing fees.
The price would have to be for more than what the buyer could rent a plane for otherwise it would be cheaper for him to fly your plane than to rent one.
Here’s my thoughts. I’ve sold 50+ aircraft as a broker and many of my own aircraft also. My own opinion is that most of the vendors I worked with were badly positioned with their technical knowledge and would be stumped dealing with buyers queries on things like AD’s, VAT, Mandatory vs Discretionary maintenance and actual sales prices of similar types. A clever buyer could run rings around them. I normally charge 4% and have done it for less in other cases, my most expensive sale was 700k. There is a huge amount of work in dealing with potential buyers and only an experienced seller knows there is a world of difference between;
a) An enquiry
b) Offer
c) Sale Agreed
d) Sold
The other aspect that is overlooked is most private sellers only assume there is “one buyer” out there for their aircraft, but in reality there are dozens. I have in many cases got the seller a profit on their aircraft, which is an unexpected twist. I have worked on the other side in some acquisitions and got aircraft for less than half of what they were worth when dealing with private sellers. It cuts both ways I guess. In 2016 I don’t plan to take on more brokered aircraft as it is double the work dealing with both the buyer and the seller. I have started to buy my own stock for resale which is less work and pays better. I can’t see how you have anything to loose in using a broker for X months to try market your aircraft. If they can’t get a deal there is no fee payable. The downside is limited to the risk they will put people off the aircraft, gauge the interest and buy it off you cheaply when you loose hope. I’ve felt the guys in Aradian Aviation were very good, my UK partner Flying Fox Aviation are excellent at off market sales. Some of the European guys like K-Aircraft seem very professional. There are a huge amount of “wife sales” out there i.e. the owner has been telling his wife the airplane is worth $400k for the last 5 years and has it for sale at that figure, nobody is biting and he is doing his best in his wife’s eyes. For a broker sellers like that are too hard to work with. I have gotten offers that were every cent of the aircrafts 2015 value and the vendors have refused it. Thats why I’m taking a different tack for the new year.
Best,
William
There are a huge amount of “wife sales” out there i.e. the owner has been telling his wife the airplane is worth $400k for the last 5 years and has it for sale at that figure, nobody is biting and he is doing his best in his wife’s eyes
Now I know why I have seen several TB20GTs for sale at GBP 200k 
I actually suspected it was a stunt, for the wife, for the soon to be ex-wife, or for the bank which sometimes insists that the guy shows some sacrifice before they lend him the millions he’s after.
I am surprised at the 4%. I have heard of 15% being paid to a broker. OTOH 4% of 700k is a lot more than 15% of 30k…
The other thing is that IMHO at least 50% of people do not want to advertise that they are selling. They presumably regard it as a loss of masculinity. And in some cases publicity may lead to forum posts identifying the aircraft as having had a crash or other mishap. You cannot (in most cases) remove forum discussions but you can try to offload the plane quietly. I know of a case in a certain type specific forum where a new visitor posted a “looking for” enquiry and he got PMs from a whole load of long term residents who would have never admitted openly that they are looking to sell their TB20s and buy SR22s 
Would it fly (be appropriate) that you expect payment for a flight if no sale is concluded? For instance, 250 Euros/hr including landing fees.
If it was me, I would judge this on the basis of how many people want a ride, and their apparent “quality”.
Inevitably, charging for a flight can be seen as greed.
But probably a token amount is right… say €100 for a 1hr flight. That will stop a total p1sstaker.
Some of the European guys like K-Aircraft seem very professional.
William, would agree, Klaus is excellent, good that you are generous with your peers.
