What Should Be in an RV Consignment Contract?

A fair RV consignment contract should spell out five things in writing: a hard end date, the exact commission structure, who pays for prep and marketing costs, the exclusivity terms, and what it costs you to pull the RV out early. If any one of those is vague, verbal, or missing, you're signing a document that protects the lot, not you.

Most sellers never read a consignment contract clause by clause — they skim the commission number, nod, and sign. That's backwards. The commission is usually the smallest risk in the paperwork. The real exposure sits in the clauses nobody explains out loud: the renewal language, the exclusivity reach, and the early-termination fee schedule. Here's what to check, line by line, before you hand over your keys.

TL;DR: The Five Clauses to Check First

• Term length and expiration — is there a hard end date, or does it quietly renew?
• Commission structure — flat percentage, tiered, or a "net number" deal?
• Who pays for prep — detailing, safety checks, repairs — you or the dealer?
• Exclusivity scope — does it cover just the lot, or every buyer who ever saw it there?
• Early termination cost — what does it cost to walk away if the lot isn't performing?

1. Is There a Hard Expiration Date?

Consignment agreements typically run somewhere in the 90-to-180-day range, and some lots push for six months or longer. A contract with no fixed end — an "indefinite" term — is the single clause most likely to hurt you, because once your RV is on their lot, the dealer has no clock pushing them to sell it. Your rig becomes lot furniture: parked, listed, and quietly deprioritized in favor of newer consignments or lot-owned inventory.

What to look for: a specific number of days, written in the contract, with the renewal terms spelled out separately. If you want flexibility, a shorter term with an optional renewal beats a long term locked in — you can always extend a good relationship, but you can't easily exit a bad one.

2. What Is the Actual Commission Structure?

There are three structures you'll run into, and they are not equally fair:

Percentage-based. The straightforward version — the dealer takes a set percentage of the sale price. Rates vary by lot and by unit age or price point, and some dealers will negotiate the percentage down on higher-priced units if you ask.

The net-number structure. The dealer agrees to pay you a flat number regardless of what the RV actually sells for, then keeps everything above that. This structure sounds simple, but it hands all the pricing leverage to the dealer — they have every incentive to sell high and no obligation to tell you what the buyer actually paid. If a contract is offered this way, you're negotiating a number, not a percentage, and you have no visibility into the final sale price at all.

Tiered structures. Different commission rates kick in at different price points, which can work in your favor or against you depending on where the breakpoints fall. Read the tiers, don't just take the dealer's summary of them.

Ask directly: is this a percentage, a net number, or tiered? If the salesperson hesitates to answer plainly, that's information too.

3. Who Pays for Prep, Service, and Detailing?

A contract should state, in writing, whether safety prep, repairs, and detailing come out of the sale proceeds, out of your pocket upfront, or out of the dealer's margin. Don't assume these are included in the commission — on many contracts they're billed separately and deducted at closing, which means your final check is smaller than the headline commission number implied. If you're weighing whether this kind of deduction is worth it against doing the prep work yourself, our guide on how to maintain an RV while it's for sale walks through what actually needs attention before a buyer walks the lot.

4. How Far Does the Exclusivity Clause Reach?

Exclusivity means that while your RV sits on the lot, the dealer is entitled to a commission on any sale — even one you arrange yourself. If a buyer walks up and offers you cash directly, you can still owe the dealer their full commission under most standard consignment agreements.

The part sellers miss: some contracts extend exclusivity after the RV leaves the lot, often for a set window of 30 to 90 days. If a buyer first saw the unit while it was consigned and later buys it from you privately, the dealer can still be owed commission under that tail clause. Read the exclusivity section for two things specifically — how long it runs, and whether it survives after you pull the unit.

5. What Does Early Termination Actually Cost?

If the lot isn't moving your RV and you want out, the contract should tell you exactly what that costs. Typical early-termination charges include a marketing and storage fee, the full retail cost of any service work already performed (not a prorated or discounted amount), and detailing fees if the work is done — sometimes on top of a flat termination penalty written into the contract itself.

Read this clause before you sign, not after you want to leave. A seller who hasn't checked it can find early termination costing far more than they expected, on top of having gotten nothing for the time the RV sat unsold.

A Simple Way to Use This Before You Sign

Print the contract. Highlight five things: the term length, the commission structure, the prep/service cost allocation, the exclusivity scope and tail, and the early-termination fee schedule. If any one of them is missing, vague, or only explained verbally by the salesperson, ask for it in writing before you sign anything. A dealer who won't commit a term to paper is telling you how that term will be enforced against you later.

If you're still deciding whether consignment is worth it at all versus selling the RV yourself, the trade-off is time versus money, not good versus bad — FSBO means you handle buyer messages and offers directly, including situations where you get multiple offers at once and have to sort out which one to take. Get My RV Worth is an independent FSBO marketing service — not a broker or a dealer — built for sellers who want to keep that decision, and that equity, in their own hands. Our RV Valuation Report gives you three real market-based prices (a sell-fast price, a suggested market price, and a strong ask price) for $19.99 for a single report or $47 one-time for lifetime access on every RV you ever own, so you walk into any consignment conversation already knowing what your RV is actually worth before a dealer tells you.

FAQ

What should be in an RV consignment contract?

An RV consignment contract should clearly state the term length and expiration date, the commission structure (percentage, tiered, or net-number), who pays for prep and service work, the scope and duration of the exclusivity clause, and the exact cost of early termination. If any of these five items is missing or vague, treat that as a red flag before signing.

Can I sell my RV myself while it's under a consignment contract?

Most standard consignment agreements include an exclusivity clause, which means the dealer is typically owed commission on any sale while the RV is on their lot — even one you arrange directly. Some contracts extend this exclusivity for a window after you remove the unit, so check both the scope and the tail period before assuming you're free to sell it yourself.

What does it cost to end a consignment contract early?

Early termination typically involves a marketing and storage fee, the full cost of any service work already performed, and detailing charges if that work is done — sometimes along with a separate flat termination penalty. The exact numbers are set by the individual contract, so read that clause specifically before you sign.

Is a percentage commission or a net-number deal better for the seller?

A percentage commission is generally more transparent because you can calculate your proceeds directly from the final sale price. A net-number deal pays you a flat amount regardless of what the RV sells for, which gives the dealer the pricing upside and removes your visibility into the actual sale price — it favors the dealer unless you've negotiated the number aggressively.

How long should an RV consignment contract run?

Consignment terms commonly run from 90 to 180 days, with some lots pushing for longer. A shorter term with an optional renewal gives you more flexibility than a long term locked in upfront, since you can always extend a contract that's working but can't easily exit one that isn't.

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