Timeshare is not a "Win Win" proposal

[GateKeeper]

The latest news release by SellMyTimeshareNow.com gives the illusion initially that the Timeshare Resales market is booming! The news release goes on to tout how much activity there is in the resale sector. There's only one problem in all of this; anyone who thinks that timeshare resales is a a win-win for the buyer and seller is seriously mis-lead.
When was the last time you bought something and as soon as you finished signing on the bottom line found out that it was worth "a fraction of the original cost"? I wonder how many unsuspecting vacationers would actually sign up for anything like it if they knew that they would never sell their unit for anything more than the down payment they just spent.
The problem starts with the developer. They have to recover their marketing costs, as would any business, right!? The logical thing to do is to add these costs back in to the cost of the product. All those quick getaways that people go one, and attend 90 to 120 (or more) minute presentations, incur expenses by the companies promoting them. If one in 20 people that attend one of these getatways is converted into a buyer, what happens to the cost of the other 19? Logically they have to consider pumping up the price to cover that cost.
No matter what they tell you in the sales pitch, timeshare is never going to appreciate beyond their original cost, simply by the mere fact that 50% of the original cost has nothing to do with the property itself.
And while on the subject of "property". I wonder if timeshare should even be consdiered "real estate". Considering that no one would ever buy a house that is going to depreciate to a fraction of it's selling price as soon as the deal is done, then why should we think that timeshare stands any better chance long-term of maintaining this illusion.
Let's face it folks, there is nothing glamourous about selling your timeshare and knowing that it's only worth a fraction of what you paid for it. More times than not, the people that contact me here at TimeshareGateway.com are not happy owners, and even less so when they find out what they're going to have to price their unit for to get it sold. Sure timeshare resales is here to stay (as pointed out in the new release), as long as the companies that promote them can continue to use seductive methods to lure in unsuspecting buyers, there will always be someone who for one reason or another will need to sell. This is when the buyer gets the wake up call.
There's nothing glamourous about being involved in the timeshare resale business either. Websites pop up everyday with the sole purpose of tapping into the pockets of the same people who are only finding out now that their "investment" in timeshare was anything but an investment. I'll bet SellMyTimeshareNow.com won't consider a results based advertising system. Why, because a huge number of ads, regardless of where you place them or how much you pay for them will go unanswered. It is only through sheer desperation that you find people spending the money they do to try to promote their unit for sale. For the 100 offers/day touted by them, how many ads are they taking in, and how many of them are going to wait a long time only to find out they will have to significantly reduce their price in order to sell their unit. For the unsuspecting owner, paying a fee to advertise seems logical. You traditionally have had to pay to sell a car in a newspaper, or to put an item up for auction on eBay. But we're talking about Timeshare, a concept that still has not hit mainstream, other than the negative conotations the name carries.
We didn't put TSG online as a way to make money; we don't charge membership fees, unlike the non-profit sites that claim to be your "friend". We don't charge a fee to place an ad, we'd just be joining in the race to take more money from the folks that already feel ripped off. We try to recover our costs through online advertising, and a commensurate fee when we are able to generate some interest in the ads that are placed on the website. Imagine how little interest there would be in online advertising for timeshare if every site was required to only take a fee when an offer is made. They'd dry up overnight. The concept of the "nominal" fee is interesting and self serving for the sites that believe that nibbling away at this market is a "safer", "consumer friendly" approach. Let's face it, whether you pay $15 or $150 for an ad, it's still money up-front, and it's no doubt that someone will be able to put a slant on the sales statistics to make resales look like a booming market. It may very well be, but not for the right reasons. JMHO

[wanderer]

So true, so true.

Too many people got lulled into thinking that they could flip their ownership and come out ahead. The truth about the real value hurts. Nothing like finding out you overpaid BY MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to give that queasy feeling.

And then, yes, enter the desperation phase, where unsuspecting people that were duped once, get duped again by the promise of a quick sale, "at or above the original price!" and pay more money for a listing with "a broker" for 2 - 600 dollars!

Win-win? Not for people who got hustled into the purchase, but maybe for those who knew of resale before they ever bought. It's become clear to me that buying and selling timeshares is most efficient on a Do-It-Yourself basis.

It can't get any easier or economical to put an ad here, FREE, and only pay when I get an interest.

[epic37311]

Originally Posted by wanderer

.

Too many people got lulled into thinking that they could flip their ownership and come out ahead. The truth about the real value hurts. Nothing like finding out you overpaid BY MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to give that queasy feeling.

I was led to belive that this week, while on my honeymoon in Myrtel Beach, I was told the market value goes up by 20 to 30 percent, that it was win win with it paying for its self in a couple of years. I am a whiz at math and it figured up wrong while I was calculating my cost.

I went to 3 places looking at the different plans and they all had a "discount" if you bought right now or it was 40 to 50% more if I waited. 2 of the 3 had another guy coming in as his "Manager" with this incredable deal that they couldn't belive they where offering.

It reminded me of the Home Shopping Network selling baseball cards or coins when they where talking. Very loud and such unbelivable deals. It won't last long and it is increadable
Or the manager coming in was like a used car salesman.
The last one I really liked he was older and he wasn't throwing such a hard sales pitch.

What turned me off on the whole thing is that is in the price range of a moderatly priced new or high end used car and you just had to make a decision.

Why not let someone think about it over night??

Needless to say I didn't buy from any of them.

I would like to join sometime but I am not going on impulse to buy something like that.

[GateKeeper]

Sounds like you made some good decisions. I can't believe that in today's age of regulations and laws that these sales tactics are still allowed, and for "Real Estate", a tightly controlled industry.
If you are really interested in buying a timeshare, shop all of the resorts you want, and let them "treat" you to a few nights and dinners. When you've picked the one you want, LEAVE. And then get on the Internet and check out the prices for the same resort for sale by owner. You'd be surprised what you will find available.
Good luck.

[GateKeeper]

We submitted this article to a number of online article websites, but this topic fits here, too. Here is a link to the article on why you should not borrow money to buy timeshare.