I check used canoe listings on FB Marketplace and Craigslist several times a week. This summer, it seems like boats are sitting longer, and prices are lower.
It’s hard to tell, because I don’t know the sale details, but for example, I’ve seen multiple Old Town Packs, in good shape, for well under $1,000, and the ads stay up for a week or sometimes longer. Seems like last year they would have been snagged immediately.
Has anybody else noticed the same thing?
Yup. People have been squeezed for years. With the cost of gas and groceries…ans everything else…going up and up, all discretionary spending is under more scutiny. Fewer people eating out, buying cars, boats, etc. etc.
Perhaps people are getting lazier. Over a span of about 20 years, I notice how there are far fewer kayakers, and kayak trends seem to have made a transition from sleak sea kayaks to stubby sit on top recreation kayaks. Another trend is the proliferation of fishing kayak over all other kayaks. Most of the fishing kayaks are equipped with high end electronic and electronic motors. It’s ironic that I can catch and pass them with a paddle, but it take far more work on my part.
The most popular option seems to be groups on paddle boards. That’s hard work. So you have both ends of the spectrum - powered kayaks and stand up paddle boarders on the water for a work-out.
See that here too with kayaks…(BC Canada) Not prices going down, but listed for weeks on end… people asking too much? for the year…
ie used kayak 3 years old $1200. Now seeing 5 years old and $1200 same brand model. AND not selling.
I agree that aluminum, plastic rec and straight fiberglass canoes are not holding their value, but high-end composites are selling strongly at higher prices in the mid-Atlantic.