Would you rather win...

[bryanmc]

Cash or a boat?
Which is better? Winning 25k in cash and getting a 1099 for 25k or winning a "30k" boat according to the 1099 that you might be able to sell for 20-22k?

Seems to me cash is a better deal. What do you think?

[Skeeterman]

I rather would have the cash than try to sell the boat.

[Mark Hiser]

Yep, I would rather win!!!

Mark Hiser

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

If you didn't have a boat, winning one would be fantastic..Otherwise show me the money..Right now I would take a win of any kind..

mac

[Rich reeser]

I'M WITH MAC.........

[Bill K]

Always the cash. After tax's you can do what you want with it. Bill K

[Slippy]

id have to sat cash, boats seem to be tought to sell these days

[D.B.COOPER]

would you rather win or catch a 14 pounder and second place like some guys did last week at Clear Lake. Even with a 14 pounder a win is not guaranteed at a place like Clear Lake. Awesome fishery. D.B.COOPER

[Guest]

I'd rather win a boat. I need to upgrade anyway and there's something to be said about the number of boats an angler wins on their resume vs just pure money payouts.

[Gene Gray]

Cash and a boat I now have a Ranger!

[g-man]

Cash!

[NaCl]

Some boat brands hold their stated value better than others. It also depends on whether it is a certificate or actual rigged boat. Certificates often lack the cost of rigging and shipping so the boat is not really "free and clear". On the other hand, a certificate does allow the buyer to design his boat with the colors, upgrades and rigging he might like.

Which is better? A $45,000 Ranger boat with a Merc 200 and MinnKota 101 that you sell can at $32,000 is a whole lot better than $25,000 cash. Even if the 1099 is too much, it can be offset for tax purposes buy the actual sale price. But, take a "Brand X" boat with a Merc 150 (and $1200 bill for rigging and shipping) that would ordinarily retail for about $28,000...obviously, that is definately not as good as $25,000 in cash.

So, the answer is "it depends".

.....NaCl

[blackcloud]

NO bARAINER, CASH IS ALWAYS THE BETTER DEAL

[cleb19]

what a problem to be trying to solve huh? I wouldnt mind this dillema.


cleb

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

People who own a circuit that is successful enough to be able to give prize boats are not running these circuits out of the kindness of their hearts .
They need to make a profit. They need to earn a living just like most of the rest of us.
They buy the boats from the manufacturer at a discounted price and then award them to the owners at the full retail price. so the real question is would you rather get a $35,000 boat that you can keep for yourself or sell it for perhaps $30,000, or would you rather have a check for perhaps $18,000? This truly is a moot question and my numbers are probably not right but the real answer is that the tournament organization needs to make their profit or there is no trully valid reason for them to run the tournaments.
Fishing tournaments are a very transparent business. We all know how many contestants their are and we can add up the prize money. We then subtract the prize money from the entry fees and we think that we are being cheated by the tournament organization. The problem is that we dont know what all of the other costs are so we cant really do the math.
So what is really happening is that the tournament orgs are competing against each other for our entry fee money and are constantly struggling to get as many sponsors as they can. They have to pay as much as they can in prizes and money in order to get us to enter. The orgs that get the biggest fisherman participation are going to get the best sponsor deals. It is the same vicious circle as exists in all businesses.
Just like anything else----you pays your money and you takes your chances

[Jon]

I agree with Mac. If you need a new boat the boat is better. Been there. BUT you had better be ready come tax time to pay up. The value of the boat has the potential to kill you come tax time. 30% is a huge deal.

[big bass beckstrom]

CASH


Elliott

[plungers]

Jim covered most of it. The one thing that you really need to understand is SPONSORSHIP. Lets say (any boat name) is sponsoring a tourney circuit. What do you think thier motive is for sponsoring? Answer, To sell boats period. So do you think they want to give you $25k or a boat that cost them less to build?

The circuit pays a % of the boat and the manufacture covers the rest. It makes both partys look good that way. It makes the sponsoring boat manufacture look good and it makes the circuit alot more desireable to fish.

[bryanmc]

You sort of skewed the numbers in your well thought out answer...It wasn't 18k in cask or a boat valued at 35k you could sell for 30k. It was 25k cash vs a boat valued at 30 you could maybe sell for 20-22k.

[kb]

Bryan where do you propose the organizations come up with the $25K for the end of the year fishoff??? As both Jim's said sponsorships work in many ways and to just pay money instead of sponsor product is in many cases not an option.

If you win a boat that is 1099 at $30K and you sell it for 22K then you write off the difference as a loss.

If you win a boat remember the guys in second would probably trade you......

There is much more than most anglers know about involving sponsorships and tournament organizations.

Gary D has figured out what to do with about 39 boats so I guess the rest of us can figure it out if we are so fortunate.

kb

[Colebass]

It's a problem I haven't had! But winning the boat gives you more options depending on your tax bracket and the boat you win, so I'd take the boat.

[Gary Dobyns]

Here are some things to think about.

1. Who is giving $25000 in cash besides FLW ? I do not think this question was directed at FLW.
2. Selling the boat is no big deal, and you get a great tax benefit for the difference. This is a win, win.
3. The boats are donated by sponsors in most cases. If $25000 is going to be taken out of the payback, the rest of the field will not make much. Turn out will go down, and we will lose the events.
4. Saying you won a $30000 boat is more impressive than saying you won 25K. Heavy on the boat.
5. Most generally it's an 80% cash payback with a boat going to first. This is a win, win, for the anglers. How many circuits pay 80% cash and then throw in another 25K on top of the payback???
6. Here in the West we need a strong weekend pro-am circuit for the anglers that cannot take 8 to 11 days (with travel) off work for each FLW event.
7. Currently we only have Won Bass. It would be nice if they had an advisory committee (if they would listen) to make their events better. I am glad that they are going to give boats away at the events. That is a plus for the fishermen.

[bryanmc]

Actually the question wasn't directed toward any organization in particular nor was it asked to elicit an explanation of tournament organization finances.... It was merely a question.

As far as writing off the loss, I'm not a tax professional but, aren't you really only getting a percentage of loss. You don't deduct the amount of loss from the taxes you pay, just from the amount (total income) you pay taxes on at the end of the year.

[Terry Smith]

LETS see hmmm MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That way the wife is A LOT MORE HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Phil]

THE BOAT ALWAYS, PLUS A LITTLE CASH OR SPONSOR PRODUCT TO GO WITH IT, MAYBE A LITTLE CASH ! PART OF. I HAVE WATCHED A MAN WIN BOATS BOATS BOATS SINCE THE EARLY 90'S . HASN'T DONE THE MAN ANY HARM AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAS IT GARY !

JIGS

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

If you get $25,000 cash you pay taxes on $25,000 less any provable expenses that you have accumulated to put you in position to win the $25,000. You cant deduct more that the $25,000 unless fishing is your primary income which makes you a true proffessional. In which case you could claim a loss

If you win a boat that you get 1099ed for $30,000 for and you sell it for $25,000 then your taxes would be the same as above.

I have been informed of this by my CPA. If you win any taxable money you should talk to your own accountant. Do not take what I say to make your decisions. In the meantime save all of your reciepts for fishing related expenses

[Joe W.]

I hope one day I run into this "problem" and have to decide between the two. Seems like a great problem to have.

[ash]

I would rather take the cash in hand then have to broker the boat deal. I am not a proffesional boat seller and dont want to become one, however I am also not a professional bass fisherman so I dont need to worry about this hypothetical situation. BUT CASH IS KING!!!

[L Dub]

How about:

a boat on my first two wins. (one to keep, one to seel to pay taxes.)

Cash on the rest of my wins?

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

My point was that if the retail price of the boat is $35,000 my guess is that the tournament orginazation is getting it for perhaps as low as $18,000. so therefor the tournament org would be breaking even if he awarded $18,000 in cash. There is no room for profit if he pays out the same in cash as he paid for the boat

[Tobe]

Seems like a great problem to have.

I'm with ya Joe