Is there any benefit?

[disneynutz]

Disney knows the psychology of people and they use it to their advantage. Their brand is so highly thought of, some DVC buyers are willing to pay thousands more for a contract buying direct just because it's Disney.

You aren't an owner, you're a Club Member.

You don't buy from salesperson, you buy from a Guide.

It isn't a Timeshare, it's a deeded ownership.

Buy X amount of points and we will discount the price X amount. (Disney raised the price before offering the "discount").

We will get you an extra years worth of points. (Not really, you are buying points in your current UY, not the calendar year).

The benefits when buying direct are greater compared to buying resale. (Disney is who took away the resale benefits).

Bill

 

[klepton]

After talking with multiple people on my cruise who were DVC members, I have to agree that many of them don't do it for the savings. The guy who first turned me on to it did it because he was a work-a-holic and having the points forced him to take a vacation with his family every year. Another guy said he'd rather pay a little more, but not have to make the decisions to spend the money every year. Still another was proud to "own a piece" of disney. There are many people who don't count money among their most important reasons for doing it.

When I rescinded on my purchase, my DVC "guide" tried to talk me into buying for many of the above reasons. She even said:

"even if you ultimately spend more money using your points for cruises, it will still be nice not having to shell out thousands of dollars every time you want to cruise."

She wouldn't have tried that tactic if it didn't work on some people... there are many people with the "convenience over cost" mindset.

 

[ELMC]

There's so much at work to the psychology of buying DVC, and I think Bill hit on a lot of it. Disney is an expensive vacation, and quite frankly it is out of reach for a lot of people. DVC can potentially save you money in the long term* as compared to other on site booking options. However, when you buy a contract and finance, your net cash flow for year one is positive as compared to booking a direct stay because you are avoiding the lump sum buy in cost and instead simply paying a monthly payment.** People choose to ignore the fact that they are deferring the costs of today's vacation and spreading it out over the next 10 years and instead focusing on the joy the get from "ownership". We've seen it on here a lot, people saying that buying DVC direct and financing is the only way they would be able to afford to stay in Deluxe resorts. So long term implications aside, people do what they have to do to stay in DVC resorts right now. Whether this is good or bad, right or wrong is a value judgment that will certainly vary by individual.

I will say this though, there is a certain "satisfaction of ownership" that comes from owning DVC that is hard to put a price on. It's hard, but not impossible. For me, that price was laying out the $58 net price per point up front to buy BLT resale***. I'm totally thrilled with my ownership at this price and have no regrets. For others, it's $165 ($143 if they rent out the points they get at closing) a point for BLT direct. I have a feeling that those owners feel the same. Financially speaking, however, one of us got a better deal than the other.

Or....to put all of the above paragraphs into one succinct thought...people have a "gotta have it" mentality and will pay anything it costs to have what they want, regardless of whether or not it's a good deal. Again, no judgment, but that's what they're doing for better or for worse.

By the way, here are why I put *s in my comments above:

* I said that buying DVC can potentially save you money in the long term over other onsite booking options. However, I am really only talking about resale as I am not convinced that at today's prices, buying direct has any financial advantage whatsoever. Certainly not if you finance.

** It's a monthly payment. Another example of the terminology used to soften the blow is that people refer to this as a "mortgage". Technically a mortgage refers to a debt assigned against ownership of a piece of property. As a DVC owner you have a right to use for a limited period of time. In reality there is no real estate that you own.

*** $80 per point plus closing and maintenance fees for a contract that contained three years worth of points. I rented all three years worth of points out for $11 each, giving me a $34 net cost per point.

 

[ELMC]

Disney knows the psychology of people and they use it to their advantage. Their brand is so highly thought of, some DVC buyers are willing to pay thousands more for a contract buying direct just because it's Disney.

You aren't an owner, you're a Club Member.

You don't buy from salesperson, you buy from a Guide.

It isn't a Timeshare, it's a deeded ownership.

Buy X amount of points and we will discount the price X amount. (Disney raised the price before offering the "discount").

We will get you an extra years worth of points. (Not really, you are buying points in your current UY, not the calendar year).

The benefits when buying direct are greater compared to buying resale. (Disney is who took away the resale benefits).

Bill

You forgot one...

It's not a monthly payment it's a mortgage.

 

[disneynutz]

You forgot one...

It's not a monthly payment it's a mortgage.

On a property that you have to give back at contract end.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

On a property that you have to give back at contract end.

Bill

And even if you pay it off quickly, you still have to pay to use it each month/year depending on how much you can stomach those annual fees.