From my experience late winter and early spring are the most competitive time to find a boat for sale because there are lots of shoppers. This is the worst time when looking in conventional channels for a boat, however reverse ad’s do not face the same competition as conventional channels so they are still effective.
This said, reverse ads generally work well year round however there are sweet spots throughout the year that present great buying opportunities. From my experience the ultimate bargains come between September and december. This in part is directly related to the boating season in the North East region of the US where the season basically ends in October. You can adjust your practices based on your local boating season. This presents urgency for owners who need to pull, winterize and store their vessels. They either need to unload the boat or commit to expenses relating to another year of winter storage and winterization . This creates a decision point and has produced some unreal deals for me when reverse advertising during these months. I have purchased boats for 20 to 30% of their fair market value during these periods from owners who were ecstatic to unload their boat .
The next lucrative period is early mid December. This is a stressful time for a lot of folks who need cash for the holidays. I hate to be an opportunist, however there are boat owners who need to unload their boat for quick cash, however there are little or no shoppers in the remote off seasons. Your reverse ads can produce very good results from sellers who have a boat to sell in a very dead market.