Since spring 2020, the market for all things outdoors has been crazy, and used canoe prices have probably doubled or tripled. I have also seen a large increase in the total number of boats for sale, so I wonder if people who would have kept their boat in ordinary circumstances are cashing in. In 2021 there have also been many one-year old boats up for sale, so I suspect there are some people regretting their original purpose. The insane demand for boats has also incentivized nut-jobs to go nuts. Since this spring I have seen good quality Kevlar boats get bought and then almost immediately reposted for one or two thousand dollars above the first price. I also saw warning ads posted by a guy who was tracking a particular canoe flipper in Vanier, warning that “buddy” was selling canoes so fast that he wouldn’t be able to guarantee their quality. While I understand that our vigilante was doing what he thought was right with his warning post, I also know it takes about a half-hour to fully inspect a canoe. They are not complicated, nor are they regulated by the government. It is a bit scummy to profit that way, but it is totally legal. Deal with it.
On Saturday, June 5, 2021, I put an 18.5 foot, Kevlar canoe up for sale on Kijiji. I priced it at $2100 because that seemed fair while not so high that I was profiteering off people’s desperation to buy a canoe. By the end of the weekend I had gotten a glimpse into the sketchy, and at times, dangerous underworld of canoe profiteering.
A bit after 9pm on Saturday someone contacted me and offered $100 over asking if he could pick it up that night. I said yes, he was clearly trying to jump the cow. Ha ha, Norsk joke. After I sent him my address he didn’t response. When I was about to go to bed I realized I had a $2100 canoe in backyard and some random guy knew that, plus he had my address. That did not sit well with me. I got out of bed and went outside and moved everything inside, then I locked all the doors. Call me suspicious, but getting someone’s address and then ghosting seemed like a good thief tactic.
The next morning my canoe was not stolen, and another guy confirmed he was coming. He paid a deposit, so I knew he had skin in the game and was not some sketch artist. But I felt dumb for how I left myself vulnerable, so I posted a warning ad on Kijiji telling people they should seriously consider how they give out their personal info.
Only five minutes later someone contacted me, and we quickly confirmed that we had both had an almost identical experience with the same Kijiji profile, under the name RC. The other guy at least got a response about why he didn’t come, apparently RC’s house burnt down that night and he was unable to leave. I checked RC’s profile, and that morning he had posted a really nice canoe for $5,500.
Here’s the thing: two days ago I saw that canoe up for sale for $3,500. I am sure that it was the same canoe, when I posted my ad I was happy that the ad right before mine was for $1,400 over, it made my canoe look cheap. The guy who contacted me agreed that it looked like RC was a classic canoe flipper, he may have responded to multiple ads with a bully offer then went for the best one and ignored the others. He could have at least contacted me and backed out, I really don’t mind. Honesty is better than ghosting.
And then the fun began. Another guy contacted me and said he had received threats and been stalked by people who thought he was flipping canoes. Like me, he enjoys buying canoes, fixing them up, using them, and then selling them unless he really likes them. Some people wonder why I have 2-3 canoes at any given moment, I just like it. From what he understands, someone recognized that he had bought a canoe and then later resold at a higher point. Somehow they figured out where he lived, and then followed him when he went to pick up a new canoe. Seriously, this is stalking. Not good, even if you are mad that you can’t get a canoe while someone succeeded. And then they informed him that they have his information and know where he lives. I won’t share all the details because it was a private conversation, but now a guy who likes fixing up canoes is concerned for his family’s safety.
What the flip? Let the guy have his fun. There is something genuinely satisfying about taking an old, beat-up canoe and giving it another twenty years of life. Sanding down old, faded wood and then revitalizing it is like CPR for inanimate objects. Looking at a refurbished canoe and realizing you made it beautiful is guaranteed satisfaction and a good dopamine hit. It’s like My Fair Lady for guys. The ladies don’t find me handsome, so I have to be handy.
Unlike a lot of other people in the canoe market, I don’t care one bit if people flip expensive canoes. Nobody ever died because of a shortage of ultralight canoes. It is legal, they are just buying assets at the low end of the market and then selling at the high end. At the low end of the market (under $600) canoe flipping does price regular people out of the market, but they aren’t guaranteed a canoe either. I put up a canoe for $500 and got twenty responses in two hours. That means that 19/20 people were disappointed. If someone checks Kijiji every hour all summer they may only have a 10% of getting a canoe each time, if they are lucky. Ripping off regular folks who just want a plastic or fiberglass canoe is sort of scummy, but Kevlar canoes are a luxury.
And then later on yet someone else contacted me with their story. They sold a plastic Coleman canoe (the Canadian Tire canoe, which like everything else at that store is cheap and affordable and has a short lifespan) and the next day it was reposted for twice the amount. That slightly cheeses me off. The reposter added no value, and they priced out some family or angler who just needed a cheap boat.
Am I a hypocrite for not liking reposters who flip cheap canoes, while being totally fine with it happening to high-end canoes? Maybe. So instead I’ll say this: we are all part of the problem. Every person who tries to buy a canoe plays the same role in driving up the price. Just like every person on the road has the same responsibility for the traffic jam, you don’t blame the drivers at the front. And I can’t fault who sell their long-held canoes because the market is high, they can cash in whenever they want. I can imagine borderline hoarders who kept their junker around for years “just in case” but now when they realize that it is worth $300 they sell. But yesterday I had an uncomfortable night because I got suspiciously ghosted, and I know at least one other person in Ontario is uncomfortable because of weird behaviour. I never thought having a hobby like canoe repair could be dangerous.
On a side note, that $5,500 canoe was later reduced to $5,400, but is now posted at $5,600. Odd.
Ian Weatherall 