This has always been the case, and usually the sale involves a boat that's barely been used, because the owner has discover one of the following:
- They've had some financial setbacks so the disposable cash fund has been drastically reduced so there goes the boat
- They never really used the boat, the kids' weekend soccer games, recitals, football, etc.
- They've just found out how much winterization/storage/spring commissioning cost and they've soiled their pants because they hadn't budgeted for that.
Bad for them, great for savvy boat buyers. Got my Eastern for less than 1/2 its purchase price when it was 3 years old with 60 hrs on the motor!!! It was an honest, "I can't afford NOT to buy this boat!!!!" event.
Problem now is that idiots are buying boats with trips, quads, & quints, with no other reason than "LOOK AT MY TOY!!" These folks are filthy rich, stock market gazillionaires who have no problem spending a million bucks plus on a boat to pull up to in their Lamborghini, a boat that few of us would even consider on taking as a gift. These spending trends will mean the pool of used boats useable for commercial fishing or desired by serious recreational fishermen, will start to dry up, and most here will be SOoL!
I probably only have a fifteen or so years left in my boating life, so I'll survive with what I've got, but I do feel sorry for my younger colleagues...