CURLEW - NEW AND USED MARQUEES

I am often asked if a marquee is going to sell quickly. And at what price.

The short answer is that there is no fixed price for a marquee. It's true price is as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

There are 100’s of factors affecting this, but here are some of the main ones. How does your tent score?

• Photographs
  The photos are the most important factor in selling your marquee
  
  10 = Photos of a stunning job, at a great location on a sunny day, in the last few weeks
  5 =   Photos taken on a grey day, with rubbish in the photo
  0 = No photos

   

• Apparent age
  What is the marquee's condition - does it look immaculate or grubby considering it’s age?
  
  10 = It looks great for it’s age
  5 = Average condtion
  0 = More damage than it's age would suggest

   

• How well it has been looked after
  Have the roof / walls been meticulously dried and cleaned after every use?
  
  10 = Yes they are clean
  5 = Cleaned every year
  0 = Never cleaned quite dirty

   

• Roof / wall storage
  Is it stored in it's own colour coded bag on labelled shelves? Or is it heaped in a random heap of tents?
  
  10 = Yes all bagged up
  5  =  All on the correct shelf tied with string and labelled
  0  =  Random heaps not tied up

   

• Consistency of stock
  Has the owner stuck to one make / system of tents or is the stock more a random mix of 10 makes?
  
  10 = All from one company
  5 = Always sorted into makes
  0 = A mix of suppliers jumbled up together

   

• Frame storage
  Is the framework neatly stacked with stacking battens or piled up in mixed piles of parts?
  
  10 = Stored like a work of art
  5 =  Neat and tidy 
  0 = Mixed piles

   

• Usable Condition
  Is there a mix of broken and working framework racks?
  
  10 = All as new condition - no repairs needed
  5 = Could do with some repairs
  0 = All need repairs or unsorted / mixed condition

   

• Periodic maintenance
  Has the frame been checked to see if everything fits each time it’s used, and have bent / damaged pieces been repaired or replaced?
  
  10 = Yes always checked for damage and replaced
  5 = Inconsistently checked
  0 = Needs doing

   

• Paperwork
  Does the owner / foreman have a bill of materials (a list of parts to make the marquee), flame retardency certificates and build manuals for every tent they hire out?
  
  10 = Yes all filed and ready for inspection
  5 = Some
  0 = No never heard of any of them

   

• Organisation
  How quickly could you assemble the parts for one tent? Or will you struggle to find all the parts?
  
  10 = In a few mins
  5 = Half an hour
  0 = Takes a long time, probably a day

   

If you score your marquee in all of these categories you get a mark out of 100.

So if you score 100% then your tent is perfect and easy to sell.

If you score 0% then your tent is worth a lot less and is more difficult to sell.

Obviously this list is only relevant to a marquee company, with more than one marquee.

However if your marquee is permenantly erected you could ask yourself:-

• If the marquee had any visible repairs?
• Is all of the marquee a matching age / colour / condition?
• Does the marquee need a clean?
• Does it need repairing?
• Is there rubbish in the marquee?
• Are there big ponds of water on the roof?
• Mildew on the lining?
• Can you arrange dismantling and erection?

If you just have one marquee then:-

• Do you know how heavy it is?
• How long is the longest component?
• Photos of it in storage?
• Who made it?
• It's age?
• Do you have a build manual?
• List of parts?
• Flame retardancy certificate?
• Can you help deliver it?
• Can you help putting it up?