Peeling back the layers of the onion…
As a buyer, especially in today’s supply rich environment, it is easy to look at thirty aircraft in a specific market and consider them all the same. But, the truth is that below the surface they can be very different. For example, we are selling a Gulfstream GIV. On the surface this aircraft is just another 10,000 hour Gulfstream IV. However, if you look a layer deeper, this GIV has a full engine program, an upgraded APU and great avionics including HUD and triple FMS to name a few items. Peel back another layer and you will see that it has almost every ASC modification ever issued complied with. Another layer still, it has been owned since new by one of the largest most well respected flight departments in the country, it has no real major damage history and the cosmetics are in very good condition. Once you have peeled back the layers, this GIV is no longer lumped with the rest, but when all of this value is combined with the price that we are asking it shines as one of the best aircraft and best values in the market.
As a seller it is incumbent on our firm to help peel back the layers of the onion for the buyer so that our listings don’t get lumped in with the rest. A similar story applies to a Falcon 2000 that we are currently selling. When the onion is whole, the story is no different from the rest; it is just another 6,000 hour 1999 model Falcon 2000. One layer at a time, however, the aircraft story unfolds….it has a full engine program. It has a ten passenger interior. It is loaded with avionics including HUD. It has one of the highest levels of service bulletin compliance of any Falcon 2000 in the fleet. It has been owned by the same very large public company with a large global flight department since new and used for worldwide operations. It has no major damage history. The cosmetics are good. And, the owner has its replacement aircraft in service and they are ready to sell at the right fair market price.
It is hard to describe true aircraft value in a spreadsheet, but if we are going to help the “value buyers” who I described in my last posting find the true value aircraft, it is incumbent on us as aircraft sales professionals to help peel back the layers. As a buyer’s agent, it is equally important to help our clients look past the outside skin to the sweet inside and identify the best value in the market, not just the least expensive. In the long run the best aircraft and best value will prove to be the best investment. That is exactly what we try to do for every listing we represent and in every conversation we have with a prospective buyer – look past the outside skin to the inside layers and to identify the true value of an aircraft. The value buyers are coming back and now we can sell the true value aircraft. We are on the right path and it feels good!
Email This Post
Print This Post
