Purchasing DVC resale through Disney

[albertotahiti]

I recently took a trip to Disney, and I spoke with a guide at one of the DVC kiosks in Hollywood Studios. Resale came up, and she mentioned something about people who purchase DVC through a third party aren't really "members". That, of course, is not accurate. But, she did tell me about purchasing resale THROUGH Disney. The cost per point is still rather high, though. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

 

[ELMC]

I recently took a trip to Disney, and I spoke with a guide at one of the DVC kiosks in Hollywood Studios. Resale came up, and she mentioned something about people who purchase DVC through a third party aren't really "members". That, of course, is not accurate. But, she did tell me about purchasing resale THROUGH Disney. The cost per point is still rather high, though. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

Yes, I think you were lied to. The comment about resale buyers not really being members is completely misleading, a bit insulting, and not at all surprising. Yes, there are restrictions to resale points, and I would even go so far as to say that resale members are not allowed all the benefits of membership. But resale buyers are still members, and the points still book the same at DVC resorts.

The second lie is that you can buy "resale" directly through Disney. The very definition of a resale is that you are buying a contract that someone has purchased and is now trying to resell. While you can buy any resort you like from Disney (even the "sold out" ones...which I think is what she was getting at), you are buying directly from them and are paying Disney prices. To call it a "resale" is either an innocent misrepresentation or a bold faced lie, depending on the person's intent and knowledge base. Either way, it's incorrect to call it a resale. Hope this helps.

 

[dmunsil]

By the language used around here, Disney can't sell "resale" since everything you buy from Disney is by definition "direct." But Disney can sell points in any resort they own. They acquire more points for older resorts via foreclosures and exercising their Right of First Refusal (ROFR) rights on some resale transactions.

However, buying an actual resale contract (i.e. from someone other than Disney) will always save you money over buying from Disney. You lose some perks that are financially basically worthless, but provide some level of convenience and flexibility.

Disney will let you trade in your points for other (non-DVC) Disney accommodations and trips if you buy direct from them. If you buy resale, you can rent your points for cash through a broker and make enough money to buy the same accommodations and trips for cash and have money left over.

The other issues with resale is that the process is more complicated than just plunking down your credit card or signing a mortgage contract with Disney, and it can take a while before you can actually book a trip. When you buy from Disney, you can book right away if you buy at a resort they have stock in right now. If you buy from Disney points at a resort where there's a waiting list (i.e. all the older resorts) you have to wait until your waitlist comes up. That could be a few months or a lot of months.

Basically, read all the FAQs and guides here and elsewhere. Get informed about the pros and cons of resale. Decide for yourself what's right for you. Disney will try to sell you the resorts they make the most money on, which right now is Aulani and Animal Kingdom, with Villas at Grand Floridian coming in a few weeks. If what you want is to stay near Epcot, you want to hold out for one of those resorts. Likewise for the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Minniesgal]

This is not the fist time I have heard someone talking of buying "resale" through Disney meaning buying one of the older sold out resorts direct from Disney. I wonder if this is language the guides are now using to muddy the waters.

 

[Missyrose]

Salespeople take their verbal cues from your language. So if you bring up resale, they'll parrot that term back to you to make you think you're getting what you want while still paying direct prices. There is no such thing as resale through Disney.

 

[sweetdana]

It isn't a club....


It is a time share..


You own something very specific... points at a specific resort to be used for vacation...

resale.. or direct.. there is no club... there is no guaranteed perks.. there is an annual fee on your points, and aside from staying at the resort you purchase it is nothing else. Though it is true resale may be slightly more limited, that doesn't make direct perks in stone.

 

[Minniesgal]

To be honest there is limited value in talking to Disney guides about resale at all. Gather the information on DVC, make your decision direct or resale but only talk to the guides about a direct purchase

 

[bakerworld]

It isn't a club....


It is a time share..


You own something very specific... points at a specific resort to be used for vacation...

resale.. or direct.. there is no club... there is no guaranteed perks.. there is an annual fee on your points, and aside from staying at the resort you purchase it is nothing else. Though it is true resale may be slightly more limited, that doesn't make direct perks in stone.

IMO the 'club' part is that you get to use your pts at other DVC resorts without paying a fee. So if we feel like a beach resort we can choose between Hilton Head or Vero without an extra ding.

 

[GottaluvStitch]

Salespeople take their verbal cues from your language. So if you bring up resale, they'll parrot that term back to you to make you think you're getting what you want while still paying direct prices. There is no such thing as resale through Disney.

At least some of the sales folks are using the term "resale" spontaneously now. When I was at DHS in November, I was just curious of what they were promoting at the moment, and I asked one of the guys at the kiosk what they were selling now besides Hawaii, and he said "Animal Kingdom and lots of Beach Club resales." I did not mention "resale." (I knew that he meant direct points that Disney had reaquired so I thought it was interesting that he said "resale.")

 

[dmunsil]

there is no guaranteed perks.. there is an annual fee on your points, and aside from staying at the resort you purchase it is nothing else.

I think that they can't take away the ability book at other resorts. It's in the contract in plain language that owners can book at every resort in the system, with a priority period of at least 1 month for their home resort. And while they can amend the contract unilaterally, they can't do so in a way that would materially impair the owners' contractual rights. So giving or taking away perks that aren't in the contract are completely at Disney's discretion. And they could change the home/non-home booking periods as long as the home resort owners get at least 1 month more to book at their home resort.

I also think they can't take away RCI booking, since that's also in the contract. But they could take away from some owners or just resale:

- Dining discounts
- Annual pass discounts
- Other misc discounts
- Ability to purchase Tables in Wonderland
- Saying "welcome home"

 

[tjkraz]

IMO, most of this is purely semantics. When the DVC rep spoke of "resales", it's pretty obvious she was referring to the older, sold out properties.

As for the other comment, OP wasn't clear enough to really judge IMO. Comment posted was: "mentioned something about" resale buyers not really being members.

If the comment was along the lines of resale buyers not being "full members", I would probably agree with that since some benefits are withheld. Hard to critique based upon vague recollections.

DVC reps are paid to schedule tours and close sales. Any ASA or Guide who openly encourages resale won't have a job for long. Personally I don't see anything particularly egregious here.

 

[albertotahiti]

Thanks for all the responses. I've been looking into the resale market for a couple of years now and doing as much research as I can. Just wondering, if someone purchased after the March 2011 resale changes, are they still eligible for:

DVC member annual pass discounts
Dining discounts
Shopping discounts

And, has anyone used RCI? I'm still a little vague on that one.

Thanks!

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks for all the responses. I've been looking into the resale market for a couple of years now and doing as much research as I can. Just wondering, if someone purchased after the March 2011 resale changes, are they still eligible for:

1. DVC member annual pass discounts
2. Dining discounts
3. Shopping discounts

And, has anyone used RCI? I'm still a little vague on that one.

Thanks!

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

 

[tjkraz]

And, has anyone used RCI? I'm still a little vague on that one.

RCI is essentially a trading facilitator. Many timeshare owners "deposit" time at their resort while looking to "withdraw" a stay at someone else's resort.

The process is complicated by factors like popularity of the resort / destination you wish to trade into, time of the year, how far out you begin looking, how flexible you are (multiple resorts, multiple arrival dates can help dramatically), etc.

It's also wise to research each potential destination carefully because many are not up to the quality level that a frequent Disney guest may expect.

To oversimplify, there are a lot more people looking to trade their timeshares in the Smokies or Branson, MO area for a summer week in Hawaii than there are owners looking to go in the other direction. It's usually not as simple as doing a quick search on-line and booking your desired destination within minutes. Ideally you want to begin a search more than a year out, be flexible in your travel dates and have multiple resorts into which you will accept a trade.

Fortunately DVC resorts do have pretty good trading power within RCI. But you're not going to get Myrtle Beach over Spring Break (or Hawaii, or a Colorado ski lodge in the winter, or any other prime vacation destination during its tourist season) on 4 months' notice.

 

[lorie13]

I recently took a trip to Disney, and I spoke with a guide at one of the DVC kiosks in Hollywood Studios. Resale came up, and she mentioned something about people who purchase DVC through a third party aren't really "members". That, of course, is not accurate. But, she did tell me about purchasing resale THROUGH Disney. The cost per point is still rather high, though. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

The irony of the guide saying this is that if there was not "resale" out there, Disney would not have contracts to ROFR and if they did not ROFR contracts they would not have contract (sold out resorts) to sell to members who buy "direct" from them and since Disney does not buy back contracts from members who choose to sell... Well you see the picture.

It is just annoying that they would say that!

 

[albertotahiti]

Also, has anyone noticed that price per point has been going up for certain DVC resorts? Boardwalk is going for nearly $80 a point, and I've seen some Old Key West listings for almost that much.

Thoughts?

 

[albertotahiti]

I didn't let this person know that I was aware of the resale market. I just wanted to see what she would say about it. But, my response to her remark about resale buyers not being "real members" was if I'm going to be paying maintenance costs, then I'm a REAL member!

 

[LisaS]

I didn't let this person know that I was aware of the resale market. I just wanted to see what she would say about it. But, my response to her remark about resale buyers not being "real members" was if I'm going to be paying maintenance costs, then I'm a REAL member!

The comment about not being "real members" does apply to the DVC Member cruises. If you do not own any points purchased directly from Disney, they do not allow you to book a members cruise, even if you would be paying cash and not using points.

 

[dmunsil]

The comment about not being "real members" does apply to the DVC Member cruises. If you do not own any points purchased directly from Disney, they do not allow you to book a members cruise, even if you would be paying cash and not using points.

Wow. I did not know that. I have no interest in this cruise, but man, that is cold.

I like to hope there are some people at DVD who believe that a decent resale market is actually a good thing for Disney. But maybe not. If they really don't think resale is valuable to them at all, then it's unclear why they wouldn't just cut off all the resale buyers from every perk they're not legally obligated to provide. More trouble than it's worth?

I'm hoping that they're trying to thread a needle; make it attractive to buy direct while not alienating resale buyers who presumably are Disney customers who will buy tickets, t-shirts, churros, etc. If that's the case, then there are limits to how much they are willing to treat resale buyers as second-class.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm hoping that they're trying to thread a needle; make it attractive to buy direct while not alienating resale buyers who presumably are Disney customers who will buy tickets, t-shirts, churros, etc. If that's the case, then there are limits to how much they are willing to treat resale buyers as second-class.

There are limits but it's going to be a tug-of-war between different departments which will be played out over a number of decades.

Sure all Disney customers are buying park tickets, shirts and churros. But the head of Disney Vacation Club doesn't get compensated / credited / promoted based upon churro sales. DVD/DVC is evaluated based upon timeshare sales.

That said, I suspect higher-ups won't allow DVC to pull out all stops in a manner which could cause damage beyond their realm. Still, the reasonable expectation is that philosophies toward direct / resale will change many times in the coming years.

Right now, the resale market is pretty healthy. Listings are low. Prices are on the upswing. The threat it poses to direct sales is as low as it's been in the last 5 years. And DVC is poised to cash-in on VGF sales.

At present there's no real reason to consider added resale restrictions.

But what happens during the next economic slowdown? When DVC starts missing those lofty sales projections or is stuck with a lot of lackluster inventory (Aulani, perhaps), then all bets are off. Don't underestimate an executive who senses his career may be in jeopardy.