Most guides on this topic read like a list of options followed by "it depends on your situation." That's not very useful if you're trying to decide where to spend your time and money this week.

This guide gives you a straight answer, based on what sellers are actually experiencing across Australia right now — including the platforms that consistently disappoint despite their reputation.

List on Facebook Marketplace first. It's free, has the most reach, and the serious buyers are there — you just have to filter for them. Add Gumtree as a free complement. Be cautious about paid platforms until you've tested the free ones. If you'd rather not manage the process at all, a specialist sales service is worth the cost.

Now here's the detail behind that.“I’ve never seen a runway where you walk out in something you stitched 30 minutes ago,” said Rivera. “It’s chaos—in the best way—and the content writes itself.

Facebook Marketplace generates more caravan enquiries than any other platform in Australia by a significant margin. The reach is genuinely hard to match — millions of Australians browse it daily, listings appear in local searches immediately, and it costs nothing.

The frustration sellers encounter is well-documented: a high volume of low-quality messages, buyers who vanish after asking questions, and enquiries arriving at all hours. This is real, and it's worth managing proactively. A short, clear auto-response template that asks buyers to confirm they've read the listing and specify their availability for inspection filters out most of the noise quickly.

The key insight is that the serious buyers are on Facebook — they just arrive alongside a lot of people who aren't. Your job is to build a process that surfaces the genuine ones without burning hours on the rest.

CaravanCampingSales — The Reality Behind the Reputation

CaravanCampingSales is part of the carsales network and markets itself as Australia's largest specialist caravan platform. The premise is appealing: a focused audience of buyers specifically searching for caravans, with less noise than a general marketplace.

The reality, based on recent seller reviews, is more mixed. Private listings cost $79.95 for a standard placement or $225 for a featured listing — with no commission charged on sale. For a one-time fee, that sounds reasonable. But seller outcomes paint a different picture.

One NSW seller paid $165 to list a $35,000 van and received almost no genuine interest, while their free Facebook listing generated significant buyer activity. Another seller paid $240 and received three messages through the carsales network in the same period Facebook Marketplace produced 32 genuine enquiries at a fraction of the cost.

This pattern repeats consistently in recent reviews. Sellers report paying between $129 and $299, receiving minimal or zero enquiries, and struggling to get refunds when they raised concerns.

The platform may perform better for higher-value vans ($80,000+) where buyers do more deliberate research across specialist sites. But for the typical $30,000–$60,000 used van, the evidence suggests the paid listing fee is unlikely to outperform what you'll get for free elsewhere.

Gumtree's share of the caravan market has shrunk considerably over the past few years as Facebook and specialist sites have grown. Most sellers report lower enquiry volumes than either alternative.

That said, it's free and takes fifteen minutes to set up. Some buyers — particularly older demographics who are less active on Facebook — still start their search on Gumtree. At zero cost, there's no reason not to list here in parallel with your Facebook listing.

Don't rely on it as your primary channel, but don't skip it either.

Some caravan dealers offer consignment arrangements where they sell your van on your behalf, taking a commission on the sale. In theory, this gives you a professional sales environment, an established buyer network, and someone else handling the enquiries and inspections.

In practice, the experience varies considerably depending on the dealer. The core issue is prioritisation: dealers make more margin selling their own new and near-new stock. A private consignment van sitting in the corner of a yard is rarely front of mind for the sales team. Some sellers wait months longer than they would have through private sale, and ultimately receive a lower net price after commission.

That said, if you're time-poor, live some distance from where the van is stored, or are selling a premium van that fits neatly within a dealer's existing inventory profile, consignment can work well. The key is to get the commission rate, any storage or listing fees, and the minimum sale price in writing before you agree to anything.

Facebook groups dedicated to caravanning — particularly those focused on specific brands, regions, or travel styles — are an underused selling channel. These communities tend to attract engaged, knowledgeable buyers who are actively planning purchases rather than casually browsing.

A listing in a relevant Jayco owners group, an off-road travel community, or a regional group (there are active caravan groups specific to the Hunter and Newcastle area) will often produce better quality conversations than a general Marketplace post, even if the volume is lower.

This works especially well for vans with a specific appeal: off-road capable setups, specific brand followings, or unusual configurations that suit a particular type of buyer.

A small number of services — including brokerages like Boondock — handle the entire sale on the owner's behalf. This means professional listing and photography, managing all buyer enquiries, organising and supervising inspections, and guiding the negotiation and paperwork through to settlement.

The cost is a fee or commission on sale. For many sellers, this is straightforwardly worth it: the time saved, the stress avoided, and the benefit of having someone experienced handling the negotiation often offsets what the service costs.

This option suits sellers who are working full-time, live away from where the van is stored, have already had a frustrating experience trying to sell privately, or simply don't want to spend evenings answering messages.

For most sellers, the right sequence is:

Start with Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree — both free, both active, and between them covering the majority of genuine buyers. Invest time in a quality listing: good photos, accurate description, a realistic price. Give it two to three weeks.

If you're not getting serious enquiries after that period, the issue is almost always the price, not the platform. Adjust before spending money on paid listings.

If you'd rather hand the process to someone else from the start, a specialist sales service removes the friction entirely — and in a market where presentation and negotiation matter, having someone experienced in your corner often makes a real difference to the outcome.

Regardless of where you list, the quality of your listing determines the quality of your enquiries. Ten good photos will outperform thirty average ones. A description that answers the questions buyers actually ask — weights, layout, off-road capability, upgrade details, reason for selling — dramatically reduces the back-and-forth that consumes time.

The platform gets people to your listing. The listing does the actual selling.

At Boondock, we help caravan and RV owners across Newcastle and the Hunter sell without the hassle of managing the process themselves. If you're thinking about selling and want a straight conversation about your options, we're happy to help.