Timeshare
Does anyone know much about timeshare? I was surveyed over the phone a few weeks ago and today it came back to grab me.
The Lakeside Country Club at Numurkah, part of the Holiday Concepts group, wants me to attend a 90-minute seminar next weekend, in exchange for which they’ll provide a free family holiday.
I’m pleased to take a free holiday, naturally, but what’s the catch? My internet reading suggests the timeshare thing is a hard sell.
The fact they don’t want our babies in the seminar is a problem. They advised that childcare would be provided.
I’m inclined to forget about the free holiday and save a day’s drive to Numurkah and back.
Note: This was my most-commented entry in the old blog. Comments didn’t survive the transition, but I backed them up in Word and pasted them directly here:
35 comments already:
IT’S A COMPLETE SCAM. THEY TRY THE HEAVY
HAND AT THE END OF THE SEMINAR IF YOU DON’T SEEM TO KEEN ON THE IDEA. SAVE THE
FUEL AND ENJOY THE DAY AT PUNKAH.
by: DAZZ -
24 April 04 - 22:25
Yep, it is a carefully, skillfully managed
sell session. They can’t afford to have the parents distracted by children. The
timeshare product looks quite good and would probably give value if you are a
keen holidayer of the resort style. There are certainly some atttractive
options. But the buy-in price is about $22k (for 1 week/year for lifetime use)
so you need to be using it to get the value. You can stay at heaps of different
places for that week, and you can pick up extra deals that are good value. But
$22k? If you used it for 10 yrs that’s $2200 per year.
by: George
- 29 April 04 - 14:40
But it is not just 22K. You have to pay a
yearly maintenance fees of $495, RCI membership fee of $99 per year and then
you pay your discounted fares/costs etc. on the top of that.
To borrow the $22k initial investment capital at the personal loan rate of 8%
to 23% per year is huge.
I havent worked out a cost and benefit analysis of the whole scheme yet to see
the real cost picture.
Has anyone done it?
by: Wow -
16 May 04 - 09:20
We didn’t go to the seminar. I can’t see
how timeshare would stack up to a cost-benefit analysis unless you spend a lot
of money on family holidays every year.
An interesting point: We received the invitation letter about a week after the
seminar and it stated regarding the free holiday we’d have to puchase breakfast
and dinner at the resort on each day/night of our stay. Over the phone they
only mentioned breakfast. For a family of six to dine out for two or three
nights is pretty expensive. We tend to make our own meals on holidays or buy cheap
takeaway.
by: Michael
(link)
- 16 May 04 - 09:54
We went to a seminar yesterday in
intention of signing up. However, they had me convinced that it was too good a
bargain to miss. We were bombarded with positives, and special concessions for
signing up on the day. We signed up, but having done our figures in the cold
light of the next day, we have decided to withdraw (thank heavens for the
Australian cooling off period). we were offered a buy in at $17600 (8000
points), and all the benefits seemed too good to be true, especially when you
realize that you can on-sell your investment (possibly), if you want to get out
of the scheme.
We realized when we got home that $17600 should realize over $1000 per annum at
current interest rates + the maintenance fee of over $500, suddenly the
equation didn’t look quite so good any more. We were offered extras such as one
bonus free week per annum for 10 years, and three years pre-paid membership to
ICE and RCA which helped to sway us, but who is to say how easy it is to get
the accomodation that you want when you want
I (Merry) have worked out that over 10 yrs our 2 week prepaid holiday costs
$3710 pa before stepping out the door, booking flights or carhire and stops on
the way to destinations! Pretty pricey we think.
Doubtless the scheme is a wonderful opportunity for some, but we are going to
err on the side of caution, keep our hard earned cash, and do what we want to
do, when we want to do it.
by: Steve (
- 16 May 04 - 20:52
My wife dragged me to attend the seminar in
yesterday morning. We were told on arrival that it was going to be 90 mins
long. It took us from 9.30am to 2.35pm. The presenter was good and funny but
the consultant was assigned to us was trying his best to sell!
I kept on asking to cut the chase and give us the figures – the equity capital
etc. We were told that ASIC requires them to show pictures and photos before
the figures are discussed etc. What a load of crap!
I almost fell of my chair when we were shown the figure of $21,990k. Already we
were brain washed by numerous pictures and figures.
We were then given two options – sign today and pay $990 with plenty of
freebees and the remaining balance to be repaid at $57 per week OR join at a
later date for $1990 deposit (with no freebees) and 7 days to pay the balance.
This was a hard sell. We agreed to sign so we could leave early and (when we
were told that there is a cooling off period).
Instead we were lead off to see a man from the trust. Holy Moses! He spent
another hour explaining the same crap we spent 4 hours earlier listening to.
Tomorrow, this guy is coming over to my house to show us the website etc.
However, my wife and I have gone over some arbitrary figures and discovered
that it would take us at least ten years to break-even at a rate of $16,000
spent annually on holidays. We factored in the fact that the $21,990k has to
come from a personal loan and @ 8% pa fixed for 10 years, the cost of borrowing
(interest) is $1760 per annum. They never mentioned this cost to the buyer as
well.
We also discovered that the two / three bedroom luxury accommodation being sold
to us is collecting $1,121,490 from 51 buyers. Quite an expensive piece of real
estate.
by: Wow -
17 May 04 - 00:27
To ‘Wow’, at least you were told about the
cooling off period – we weren’t, the paper was shoved in front of us, without
explanation, to sign; probably in the hope that we wouldn’t notice. I have come
to the conclusion, that if anyone is pressuring me to sign a contract, with
generous incentives?, and allowing me to sign, knowing full well that I have
not read the documents that I am confirming that I have read, have to be at
least, a little bit shonky
by: Steve (
- 19 May 04 - 12:23
Yes Holiday Concepts, the hard sell went to
one of their sell nights, and idiot me signed up , once i sat down and read all
the papers at home, I realised what a rip off, then it took about an hour of
hard talking to get our money back, during the cooling off period. What a
releif to be out of thier grip.. This was 3 years ago, then out of the blue,the
other day they rang up for phone survay about holidays, next thing Holiday
concepts and ringing me again trying to sell time share again.. to what other
people have written both steve and wow are right on the ball. Yes once to sign
to get to read ALL of the details and not before, and after sitting down and
doing all the sums, yes you are being ripped off big time.
by: Don
- 20 May 04 - 08:34
My parents had the hard sell over weekend
and asked me to do some research. It is managed investment scheme and
accordingly licenced thru ASIC (check their website) but looks like they have
been in some trouble over the hard sell before see below with this extract from
ASIC. As for as my parents are concerned there in their mid 60’s and suggested
they take their $22K if there really interested in travelling and see a travel
agent.
What also concerns me is that your not guaranteed of getting accomodation you
want anyway!! especially if its HIGH season!! ??what’s High season!!
“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action against Holiday
Concepts in mid 1995 alleging misleading or deceptive conduct in the promotion
and selling of timeshare at the resort.
The ACCC alleged that sales employees told prospective purchasers they were
being offered a ‘special deal’, which was only available that day, when in fact
the purchase benefits were the standard offering at that time. The ACCC was
concerned that at the time some persons purchased their timeshare,
representations may have been made about rentals that could be obtained by
renting out timeshare and the potential re-sale value or investment potential
of timeshare.”
there are some other allegations, I suggest read the report! Regards
by: gus -
31 May 04 - 22:59
Have just received our refund cheque. No
problems, we sent our ‘cooling off’ withdrawal form (by certified mail) – rang
them a couple of days later to make sure they had received it – said, “yes they
had”, would be processing refunds the following next Wednesday. We received our
cheque on the Friday.
by: Steve
- 01 June 04 - 21:25
Hi, A couple of years ago I went on a trip
to
for very cheap and got a nice hotel and etc.. if you don’t mind going through
their speech and have some time you can get good free bees. I didn’t buy my
timeshare from them but, later I bought it from a friend much cheaper and I
being enjoy it but not for the price they are asking for. I pay every year $550
and plus need to pay the interval fees of about $200 so if you figure it out,
you can save about $500 since if you want to get a full kicthcen, one bedroom
place on the beach it will cost you $1200.
In any case I am willing to sell my time share for $3500, is in
Let me know if anyone is interested.
Thanks,
by: Rebbaca
- June 04 - 01:39
All of the people making comments of hard
sell are entirely mistaken. I have worked in timeshare sales for 5 years in
have hundreds of members who go on holidays, that people who dont own timeshare
only dream about. How can anyone say that a lifetime investment of 22k which
can be passed on to your family does not make financial sense. DO THE MATH 22k
For 4 good holidays in
1 maybe 2 overseas in crap accomadation. If This didnt work would we still be
around in
by: niggs -
17 June 04 - 11:23
This is to Gus The only glich from 1995,
please the company has been around since 1984 and still going stong in 2004,
and you can only find something from 1995, please get real and move on my
friend. Why dont you Contact A.S.I.C or the ACCC now. All the cowboys in the
industry are gone.
by: niggs -
17 June 04 - 11:39
I used to work for timeshare, trying to get
appointments, and it is by far the dodgiest company i have worked for, the
holiday package you get for attending is crap, u have to buy breakfast and
dinner, and breakfast starts at like 30per head and and dinner $50. So i would
only suggest you attend a seminar if you are keen on actually purchasing the
product.
by: sim -
04 August 04 - 17:31
I have to say we joined up Holiday Concepts
for $10 000 two years ago and a maintenance fee of under $200 each year. Yes,
it was a hard sell but we did our maths and were happy. So far, I’ve gifted a
week’s holiday to a friend who couldn’t afford one, my sister and I have been
away for a week, my hubby and I have had a week together and are looking
forward to another in December. All in different locations. The resorts have
been top class. We will definitely get the use from our investment and can will
to our children, too. BTW, we had a lovely week in
were no catches about buying meals, etc. The company is lovely to deal with and
everyone (apart from the initial salesman) has been very professional. No
regrets so far.
by: Libby -
19 August 04 - 08:25
The last few comments are obviously from
timeshare dealers. Especially the last one which sounds exactly like the pitch
I had.
The question I would ask is: If timeshare represents such good value, why is
there no re-sale market. If your circumstances change, there is no way to get
rid of it, you have to keep paying maintenance fees for something you cannot
use, or lose the whole thing.
If you really really want one, you are better of checking out the re-sale sites
om the net, which will sell you the same product at less than 30% of the cost
the timeshare company scammers ask for. These are rip off companies that do
hard sell, more people should complain to ACCC/ASIC.
by: Garry
(link) - 23 August 04 - 15:23
If you are interested in time share – buy a
week independently – we did at a cost of $4000. Maitenance depends on where
your unit is and how large. Our purchase has been good. We travel
internationally and swap our unit for an off shore one – plus we can buy bonus
units at well under the normal cost of OS rental – but you need to be flexible
about where you want to go and in some cases when.
For those with that type of fleibility they are good value – you need to work
out what suits your lifestyle etc – but have a look at buying them through
sites like e-bay and papers like the trading post – much cheaper than direct
from the companies.
by: Been there
- 05 November 04 - 17:28
As an ex-employee of Holiday Concepts, I
still believe that if the telephone operators have acted ethically (which is
encouraged, but obviously doesn’t necessarily happen as we were receiving
commission on every booking) then everything you’re told you’ll get, you will
get. Everything is in writing on your invitation. Insist that you receive it
before the session. Children detract, and that’s why they don’t want them.
Operators are instructed, and sign on every booking when they are doing it over
the phone, that the words ‘free’, ‘prize’, ‘win’ are not used over the phone.
99% adhere to this as the consequences are not good.
All in all, I would suggest the company is reputable most of the time, but do
expect a hard sell. So why did I leave? The bastards won’t pay me. I’ll be
contacting my lawyer about it today.
by: Dan
- 22 November 04 - 07:54
I went to a seminar in Belbrae (Near Bells
Beach and Torquay). Their techniques were interesting. They had a guy telling
jokes and throwing unsubstantiated data at you. Each couple sat at a table with
one personal councillor who mumble things in your ear like “This is really
good” and “Thats fantastic”.
But we weren’t allowed to ask questions of the presenter. I believe this is
because they believe that in an audience of 30 there will be at least one
person who could quickly do the maths. The whole concept is great but at the
right price. $20,000 and $500 a year is way too much.
When they realised after their hard sell that we weren’t going to buy they
quickly gave us our free holiday brochure and pushed us out the door. They had
another seminar starting in 30 minutes.
Our free holiday (for attending) wasn’t completely free but was still cheaper
than a normal holiday.
My brother had purchased timeshare, at The Beach House and loved it, and found
out with a bit of investigation that you could buy via a broker for a
significant discount.
I purchased a floating a week at the Beach House for $3000 (plus about $300
costs). We have since found out that it is being sold by the marketing company
for $16,000 thats about 5 times the market price.
The Beach House (at Coolangatta) is a great place for a holiday. Non-timeshare
holidayers fork out $1150 for a week in the off-season. At $491 (maintenance) a
year its great value but only if you fork out
by: Ken
6 December 04 - 11:45
We had our dose today. We were offered the
following by our phone contact:- – lunch. Which turned out to be stale scones
and tea or coffee(instant)which we served ourselves in dirty cups without
saucers The sugar was served from a dirty bag. – a 90 minute promotion. It took
much longer and we weren’t allowed to ask questions. – after the promo, we were
talked at by our sales rep who kept asking us to ask him questions, the answers
to which he then avoided.
I asked if there was any written material I could take away and peruse at my
leisure. NO.
My partner asked ‘How much?” and was told that, thatis the last question and it
wouldn’t be answered yet.
We were shown many photoes of pretty places which , contrary to what the video
had inferred, we had to pay to visit.
Finally we were given two options
– 4 nights and 5 days FREE (oh yes, they used that word) accommodation at any
one of 100 resorts throughout Oz. No obligation, no catches. What we got was a
booklet offering various 2 for 1 offers and meals deals which worked out to be
in many cases, dearer than 2 for 1. We have to send a booking fee and a deposit
and our accommodation request in writing no less than 21 days before we want to
use it and we have to put in two choices.
by: lu - 27
December 04 - 20:31
We attended a seminar at Phillip Is today.
We were offered the following by our phone contact:- – a seminar at a brand new
and wonderful resort. It turned out to be a place that has been there for
around 10 years. – lunch. Which turned out to be stale scones and tea or
coffee(instant)which we served ourselves in dirty cups without saucers The
sugar was served from a dirty bag. – – 4 nights and 5 days FREE (oh yes, they
used that word) accommodation at any one of 100 resorts throughout Oz. No
obligation, no catches. What we got was a booklet offering various 2 for 1
offers and meals deals which worked out to be in many cases, dearer than 2 for
1. We have to send a booking fee and a deposit and our accommodation request in
writing no less than 21 days before we want to use it and we have to put in two
choices.
– a 90 minute promotion. It took much longer and we weren’t allowed to ask
questions. The promo suggested that we would be buying 4 weeks of time share
which we could swap and use at many beautiful and exciting places around the
world – for a minor handling fee.
– after the promo, we were talked at by our sales rep who kept asking us to ask
him questions, the answers to which he then avoided.
I asked if there was any written material I could take away and peruse at my
leisure. NO.
My partner asked ‘How much?” and was told that, thatis the last question and it
wouldn’t be answered yet.
We were shown many photoes of pretty places which , contrary to what the video
had inferred, we had to pay to visit.
Finally we were given two options:-
1. a promo. offer. $26,000 for a week at one of three t/s places and a variety
of convoluted sweeteners. We had to take this offer today or never.
2. a week at above for $26,000, minus the sweeteners.maintenance costs are
nearly $500 per yr, using the service that arranges for one to use other than
the basic 3 locations costs $110 p/week in Oz (more overseas) PLUS you have to
pay anyway ( around 2/3 of open market cost)
I asked if I could take my consultants sheets of info. on the promo deal. – No,
because it’s a today only offer.
Could I take the other sheet then? No, because no one would buy that anyway.
Could I take the only thing I’d seen that looked like a pamphlet about the
deals? – NO, that was my helpers copy.(I didn’t dare ask for a photocopy)
We did, however, win the raffle. A night at the Hilton. We are eagerly awaiting
the catch in that one – maybe we have to take our sleeping bags and camp in the
lobby.
A final word for those who have some time to spare and want to do something a
little different. Perform a naked a handstand in the corner of your lounge room
and put your nanna’s hat on your feet. Next, sing ‘we are the champions’ whilst
simultaneously farting in an attempt to blow nanna’s hat into the air. Your
chances of correctly performing this trick are fourteen times better than your
chances of getting a fair go from Holiday Concepts.
by: lu - 27
December 04 - 20:59
Boy how bad is timeshare, we got “ripped
off” 16 years ago, yes we have since found out we could have bought a resale
one cheaper, but we would never have found out if I didn’t go to a
presentation, we didn’t get a hard sell maybe because we were really
interested, we have had more holidays in that 16 years than probably everyone
who has emailed this site added together, now had we invested $8000 16 years
ago the interest we got wouldn’t get me one week anywhere now, we stay in
better accommodation in most cases than anyone I know, the last cruise we went
on saved us about $3000 but that was small compared to how much we have saved
over the years, the 7 weeks we have had over in New Zealand more than covered
the cost, yes you do have to want to go on holidays, yes it is better if you
are flexible, but the biggest shame for people who have emailed this site is
with the cost of airfares so cheap now most of you cannot afford to use them
because accommodation cost would be to expensive, whereas with us once we pay
our maintenance of $500 (and you can pay it off) we holiday while in New
Zealand we picked 2 weeks up for $NZ99 each what a bargain in resorts most of
you couldn’t afford to stay in, no we are not timeshare sales people I’m a
Motor Mechanic, when you go to a timeshare resort you meet people from all over
the world some paid more than others but all agree they wouldn’t be there if
not for a timeshare presentation, all I can work out if you people are getting
the hard sell, and none of the people who bought timeshare got a hard sell,
then maybe it is only hard if you are negative about it from the start, as far
as buying timeshare and then cancelling it is only normal for people to blame a
hard sell, buy a good car and “you bought it” buy a Lemon and “he sold it to
me” I can’t believe some of the things I read on this site is this the only
product you look at this way, Oh don’t buy a new car for $40000 cause it has no
resale value it goes down in price as soon as you drive it away, if you invest
$40000 or if you have to borrow you can catch public transport and taxis
everywhere same as buying a boat, I think you should wake up to the fact that
there are salespeople out there with a job to do and if you dont want to buy
something say so, I have been to timeshare presentations since, because you can
get cheap or free accommodation and I have never had a problem with salespeople
just by saying no, and that goes for all salespeople selling everything and
anything
by: Ken -
03 January 05 - 09:51
My wife and I would like to buy Time Share.
We were told you can but cheaper through someone who has one so you dont ever
pay ful price. Is this true. Can someone tell me the CHEAPEST way to but Time
Share
Brian
by: Brian
(link) - 26 February 05 - 16:00
We attended
last week. Looked at the whole thing thought the sweeteners for the day great
however $26.000. blew us away.
We had no idea re time share…The sales person said your buy for life…life of
who ??? The offer which you could take away & think about said 33 years… is
this the life benifit that we can pass on in our will…they couldn’t answer
this… I found the guys very nice….the accom package was explained on the
phone….the phone survey guy…very hard to understand…the girl on follow up call
was so excited she spoke 100 miles an hour then when I was put through to
reception to confirm appointment it was as though I was a little girl & had
to ask my husbands permission if we could attend…boy this really annoyed me so
I said if you can’t take my word that we will be coming forget it…they soon
rang back but had to confirm with my husband….give me a break!!! We are in
2005.
by: jo - 28
February 05 - 18:55
Never ever buy timeshares off a developer
or promoter as you will pay far too much. Timeshares dont hold their value.
Look on ebay, or http://www.timeshares.com.au
its far better value. The idea is to get into timeshares at the lowest price. I
have attended seminars such as these in
so dont get sucked it.
by: Anthony
01 March 05 - 08:59
I need to sell my Worldmark Timeshare… Can
you help
I am from Victoria Austrlia
by: Carlo
Verzeletti (
11 March 05 - 02:28
Hi, I want to attend Time Share (Resort)
presentation if its available in
Hoping for your reply……..
Regards
rakesh
by: rakesh
- 15 March 05 - 15:27
I bought into Timeshare at Terranora
(NSW)approx. 13 years ago. It was a “pressure” job done on us. We had several
good holidays and then the Timeshare went bust—so did our money. The Directors
changed their assets in the names of their families and now after many years of
legal and court fees we find that the Directors declared themselves bankrupt.
Caught once—never again.
by: Brian
21 March 05 - 18:01
I checked out http://www.timeshares.com.au this is
best site I have found anywhere on the net related to Australian timeshares
by: Tony
March 05 - 16:27
I am an Australian living in HK now. I was
trapped by a timeshare representative to next morning around 2 o’clock.
Interesting that I received a phone call only telling me to attend a seminar
concerning the airflight and accommodation but never telling me it was a
timeshare sales seminar. After a pressure job to midnight, I signed the
contract. The rep did not even tell me which timeshare company they were
representing. They only told me what it was worth and showed me irrelevant
photos of different accommodation around the world for exchange. That morning
before work, I read through the contract and knew that it was a trap. The
contract stated that I had to pay in full before I could use the accommodation
and I had to pay the maintenance fee which was more or less equal to the hotel
price (I had checked the hotel price for the accommodation). The contract even
stated that if the payment was due, I had to pay the legal charge for any
subsequent action. After checking the correspondence of the timeshare company,
I find out that the address is a solicitor’s address in
solicitor to handle all the complaints. What a sham!
by: Bill
1 April 05 - 12:46
3 things are important.
a) Where is PDS (product disclousure statement)
b) What ever you buy for 1wk multiple by 52. Is this property worth this amount
c) Every one wants same popular weeks. Some property shown may not be available
for years to come for a specific week. Are u willing to wait and plan like
this?
by: Tom
04 April 05 - 17:26
If promotors also have share. Why would
they leave good properties at good times for you. No wonder they are right when
they say they had best holidays with these schemes
by: Tom
04 April 05 - 17:30
“3 things are important.
a) Where is PDS (product disclousure statement)
b) What ever you buy for 1wk multiple by 52. Is this property worth this amount
c) Every one wants same popular weeks. Some property shown may not be available
for years to come for a specific week. Are u willing to wait and plan like
this?”
I love morons!
a) From a reputable company – given to you before the presentation
b) Never – You’re missing the point
c) So empty nesters want school holiday weeks huh?
Think before typing huh!
by: diamond
- 06 April 05 - 12:38
I think those who are not morons tell what
they have to offer first before commenting on others. Don’t worry about who is
morons. It will be worthwhile if u can make your own contribution
by: Tom -
06 April 05 - 15:00
The price is like this. Any one is
interested?
AUS$10,000 for one bedroom. The share is 1/104, i.e. one week for every two
years. Maintenance fee is AUS$599 every two years. One week free one-bedroom
accommodation for every two years.
by: Bill
11 April 05 - 16:37
Tags: timeshare
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I bought a timeshare of a sort with ACCOR Hotels a few years back. Yeah they did put the hard sell but at the same time I wanted to buy. Their was plenty of people that said no, and left it at that. The thing is with this mob is that you aren’t buying 1 place. You buy shares in a number of Units and rooms in selected ACCOR Hotels and Resorts… Anyway I’m a single bloke, and I holiday when families aren’t and I have had no problems getting a room. No advertising but http://www.APVC.com.au
I have RCI Points timeshare and think it is great. My wife and I travelled around Europe for 9 weeks and stayed in some great resorts and hotels. Now our circumstances have changed and we need to sell our RCI Points timeshare. We currently have 30,000 points available which will get you 2 weeks in any of the 3,700 resorts anywhere in the world. You also receive 13,000 more every year. The fees ($640) are paid up until July 2006. In the package you have FREE exhchanges for Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa and lifetime RCI membership. We are selling this at a significant discount. We paid over $18,000 three years ago and I understand that this package is worth over $21,000 now. The price we are looking for is $9,500 which is a bargain. Be quick as these don’t last at this price.
RE: RCI timeshare for sale by Scott, 5th June 2005 If anyone has any queries please contact Scott at shaggerty@repco.com.au
We bought a timeshare week privately 3 years ago for $3000. At this price,good value. Buy from a broker-don’t buy from high pressure sales teams. The real value is in the bonus weeks. You can get these for friends. And very cheap. Annual maintainace can be expensive.
We have a Bellbrae Resort share but have never actually been there to stay. Had plenty of other holidays in other resorts, great to give away as gifts as some others have said. I do think they are overpriced and now that our circumstances have changed, we are going to sell ours for far less than the $18,000 we paid for it. As far as breakfast and dinner is concerned, the great thing about these resorts is that they are so well equipped. Unlike being in a Motel, where you cant cook anything. The facilities in these Resorts mean you can feed your family as usual and not have to pay big restaurant bills if you don’t want to. If anyone is on the market for a great value timeshare, contact me.
I work for an online timeshare resale company, so I suppose I am qualified to comment on this subject. Though the last comment was posted a while ago, this dialogue is still quit Googlable (which is how I found it).
Over half of any new timeshare’s initial asking price goes toward marketing expenses; free gifts, training those infamous salespeople, and all that nonsense. That is why resale timeshares are so cheap- they don’t have the costs from the resort developer tacked on to the price! If you want a good deal, don’t even attend one of these timeshare presentations unless you are dying to buy timeshare at this new resort- whatever the cost. If that is the case I wish we were in the same income bracket
Also, you don’t need to pay the commissions and appraisal fees associated with a brokerage. Timeshares were not appraised when they were first sold, and they certainly don’t need to be on the resale market. No appraisal or Comparative Market Analysis is necessary- apart from an informal glance around the web to see how much similar timeshares are going for. The key to a successful timeshare sale (apart from advertising the timeshare somewhere where people are going to see it) is pricing the property competitively- at or below the current market value for the property in question.
Our company has recently started a Timeshare Owner’s Blog, the intent of which is to provide information on a variety of subjects of interest to first-time buyers as well as long-time timeshare owners. We noticed there was rather a dearth of information on the subject (and a surfeit of outrageous spam) and so we wanted to do something about it.
I’ll post the link below, but I don’t want to appear like I’m spamming. Therefore, Mr. Gorey, I will not be offended if you choose to delete this link. However, I think that the information in our blog can prove helpful to those posting herein, so I submit this link and leave the matter in your hands.
We are also looking for guest bloggers…
http://timeshareownersblog.sellmytimesharenow.com/public
Michael Gorey comment: Ian, the link is fine. Thanks for asking.
Hi,
My husband and I own 1 week of prime time at Marine Cove at Goolwa SA and have owned now for some 15 years. We have had many happy holidays with our family all over Australia, have given weeks to our friends and family and have received a great benefit out of our timeshare. They are ideal especially for families with children as these resorts are so well equipped. Unlike being in a motel, where you can’t cook anything, these have full kitchen facilities. The facilities in these Resorts mean you can feed your family as usual and not have to pay big restaurant bills if you don’t want to. You can also get extra weeks for holidays at other resorts for a mere fraction of the price (for instance, my husband and I stayed an extra two weeks at a resort in Victoria for $89.00 per week at one time). It was great.
However, as we are getting on in years and our family is all grown up we have decided to quit ourselves of our timeshare in favour of a caravan so we can travel around to see more of Australia’s outback. The timeshare at Goolwa is much sought after and we are prepared to let it go for $6000 + transfer costs. Should anyone be interested you can email me at crowsmile@aapt.net.au. It doesn’t really matter where you own because you can book holidays through your timeshare all over Australia and worldwide.
When we went to the initial introducttory meeting we listened, went home, received our complimentary present and then at a later stage decided to buy. This can be easily done and you are under no obligation to buy. You just have to be strong and you will get a free holiday or whatever they are asking.
Regards
Gwen
I am the owner of a timeshare resale company, so I am qualified to comment on this subject.
Timeshare resales are so cheap- because in order to sell on the resale market the timeshare owner must compete with the resorts asking price. Ther is no such thing as a used timeshare, if you buy from the resort or if you buy from someone who already ownes a timeshre you are buying a used timeshare! You an 51 people a year use the week so it is used no matter wh you buy it from. So realistically you should be able to sell your timeshare for close to the same selling price as the resort. However the reason people to come to the resale market is to get a bargain. So therefore if you want to sell on the resale market you have to price the unit in a bargain price range.
Also with the internet today people can just log on and start shopping timeshare resale properties. So it is a very competive market and if you want to sell in this highly competive market i must be priced right.
Our comapny has a Timeshare Owner’s Blog in order to provide information on the timeshare resale market! Here you can keep up with everything in the timeshare and the timeshare resale market.
http://www.timeshareownersblog.com
I have just read this discussion on timeshare. Everybody is right! My husband and I bought in 1998 and yes, it was a hard sell and we didn’t like the salesmen. We had explained that payment would be delayed for a fortnight but every day someone phoned to ask where the money was and every day I would give them an explanation and assure them that we had not changed our minds. Finally the money arrived and we paid and heard no more from them at all, no acknowledgement by phone that payment was received. Initially the service was rather poor. However, the service has improved greatly over the years and we find that staff are very helpful and friendly now. The reason we purchased despite not really liking the people we were dealing with is that my husband is a workaholic. Having timeshare “forces” him to take time off work and have a holiday. This has worked very well for us and we have travelled all around Australia. We usually have two weeks holiday a year and also some half weeks, being able to buy last minute getaways has been really useful and cheap for us. My only regret is that we didn’t have timeshare when the kids were young, but we couldn’t afford it then. The facilities at the resorts are great and there are always activities available. The free holidays meant that we could take our parents on a holiday and we also used the booklet of “freebies”, which are not totally free but usually one meal, either breakfast or dinner has to be purchased. We found that even with buying meals the holiday was very cheap. We have since attended other presentations and we didn’t think they were as much of a hard sell as in 1998. Also for attending or sometimes for answering a survey we have been sent another booklet of non-freebie “freebies” and we enjoy using them to see other parts of Australia. We have been given these booklets even though they know we already own a timeshare week with them.
If we were to do it again I would buy on resale, probably two weeks. We didn’t know at the time that there were resale properties. One thing the salepeople did stress was that one doesn’t buy timeshare as a financial investment, either with the view to letting out the week or for resale. I do not think our holidays are cheap, but they are good value for people like us who don’t care to eat out very often and who like the privacy of our own apartment or unit. Iva
Hi,
I own at Jimbarran Hills club,Bali, 2 bed floating week. (RCI GOLD CROWN RESORT).
I have put it up for sale at £1900 in Britain, but I believe Australia is really the best market for it.
If any one is interested I would be like to hear from them
We own four timeshares, all bought resale. Timeshare is the best way to travel for a family but ONLY if you buy resale. We first found out about timshares through a presentation. Got rippped off and misled but eventually got our money back after threatening legal action having contacted ACCC, ASIC, ATHOC and a good lawyer. Since then we have bought the 4 resales and exchanged our weeks for resorts in Spain, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando (Disney World), NZ, Fiji and several other places in Australia, as well as used our home resorts. Just google timeshare resales or sales and even check the Trading Post online under both "time share/s" and timeshare/s" for resales. Also, visit these two sites for everything you want to know about timeshare exchange companies (Resort Condominiums International, Interval International, Interchange, Dial An Exchange, and more), timeshare developers, resalers, purchasing resales directly from owners, and more answers to questions you never knew you had. http://www.timeshareforums.com/index.php and http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php? All the best to all of you and may you enjoy many years of special and precious holiday memories with your family.
(If you join the message boards, put me down as the referrer. I don’t get anything but just know how many people join, not who, just how many.)
Sydney
On this past weekend we went to an Accor Premiere Vacation Club presentation on the Gold Coast. Primarily we went to get half price Dreamworld tickets which they were offering to get you to attend their pitch, but we were very impressed with the concept
While the presentation was slick and the company is professional, and what the presenter was saying seemed to make sense, a deeper analysis shows the numbers just don’t add up. Investing the asking price of $17,000 for 1 weeks worth of points at ING Direct will earn around $1,000 a year - add the yearly maintenance fee of $350 and that’s $1,350 a year you are forgoing to earn your “free” holiday every year. Invest the money somewhere smarter and you forgo a hell of a lot more.
The presenter also said joining the club is an investment. We accepted that at face value but now we are back at home and have had a chance to look at the resale sites, the “investment” doesn’t look too healthy.
Factor in also that every holiday we stay at the newest resorts - the APVC resorts won’t be getting any newer and in 20 years time who knows what sort of condition they’ll be in.
Well, we haven’t read the PDS yet but after we’ve read it we’ll update this post.
Cheers
How do I get rid of my timeshare? i went to one of those crappy long boring seminars, even fell asleep on their presentation, and when we didn’t want the timeshare, they still made us stay and try to give us a better deal. They never told me about the 7 day “cooling off” deal, so I had cancelled about a month later, since I just could not afford, and i was supposed to share the expense with the EX, but since we are no longer together, I just can’t do it on my own. It’s been about two months now, and I even got a letter stating they cannot cancel it, despite the fact I had told them I cannot simply do this on my own. There’s got to be a way out of this, and I’ve even considered complaining to the Better Business Bureau. I live in Washington, USA, and the company is called Trendwest Resorts, Inc., among other names they so call themselves. Any suggestions for someone in the USA? Thank to you all!
Sorry you’ve had such a bad experience with your resort. Though the industry as a whole is moving away from deceptive practices, we still hear tales of dastardly doings.
One option would be to resell your timeshare. Keep in mind that, on the resale market, you are only likely to get back half of the original purchase price.
In order for your property to sell, two things need to happen:
-It needs to be priced competitively; at or below the average price of a similar unit at the same location.
-It needs to be advertised where people can see it! This means the top of the search results. Do a Google search using a search term such as “Trendwest timeshare in Washington” and see who comes up first.
If you opt to resell your timeshare, you can advertise it as a rental while you’re waiting for buyers. This way, the timeshare helps pay your costs.
Don’t pay an upfront fee to advertise your timeshare UNLESS(!!!) the resale company you are dealing with can demonstrate top results. Before signing up, also check out each company with the Better Business Bureau.
Also, check out Timeshare Vacations for Dummies by Lisa Ann Schreier. Written by a timeshare sales insider, this is possibly the best book currently available on the subject of timeshares.
Hope this helps,
Ian
READ CAREFULLY
Hi to all, My name is angela and im one of the reservation of TIMESHARE here in the Us. As you know people are trying to break other timeshare comapny just by giving false info to the public. You know what dont you ever give any comment by just reading some text on the sites that saying TIMESHARE is a scam or whatever. TRY IT BEFORE YOU JUDGE. TRY IT BEFORE YOU COMPLAINED. I’m saying this and leave a comment to this sites coz some people are trying to break timeshare industry, come to think of this one. If ever timeshare has been gone in this world, How about those people who work hard for this job. Let us not put the judgement on other people. If you think that timeshare is bad you can sue that comapany. Be HUMAN, I work in a timeshare industry im proud IAM ALSO HUMAN like you. This is my email tell me whatever you want to tell i will accept all words that youre going to say this is my email aguilarangel88@yahoo.com
I loved to read youre reaction BAD OR GOOD. BUT ONE THING I LEARNED FROM MY PARENTS, BE GOOD< POLITE TO OTHER. and DONT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER, come and see it for youre self.
Thank you for reading this comment. Im not here to support or to protect one comapny but im here as a HUMAN.