DVC: Resale vs Direct

[Bmramaut]

Just out of curiosity where'd you buy direct at? RIV?

I haven’t yet. We are waiting to see if incentives get better after post DLH opening. We will be purchasing RIV most likely for priority on studios.

 

[Carol_]

Wow, that's new.

There's no indication to anyone that WDW APs are coming back. Pretty surprising they said this, really. Slimy and timeshare-y.

Resale is crazy low right now, and direct is not going anywhere. You can always sell your resale and buy in three resorts from now if your FOMO is crazy on that one in a few years. But you can't sell your direct without taking a big hit. Few people should buy DVC, even fewer should buy direct. Maybe that's you? We have no idea.

The justification that makes sense to me to buy direct is if you know DVC will be pried out of your dying hands. Then you don't care so much about the price difference and future resorts matter. That was never me, so direct never made sense to me.

I agree with all of this and we bought direct. And although DVC will be pried out of our dying hands, we’re less enthralled with Disney over the last few years for reasons we’re not allowed to discuss on these boards… We did what was right for us at the time. We’re happy with our decision for now.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I haven’t yet. We are waiting to see if incentives get better after post DLH opening. We will be purchasing RIV most likely for priority on studios.

Small point contract… want RIV and future resorts… seems like a pretty slam dunk case for direct to me..

 

[Ruttangel]

The difference in price between re-sale and direct is often exaggerated.
For good reason, re-sellers advertise "save 35-45% buying resale" --
But -- resale is a lesser product. You won't be able to stay at Riviera or future resorts. That makes the point inherently less value. And if you buy an older resort, you're getting fewer years than a new resort. You're forfeiting some discounts -- The discounts aren't enough to erase the price difference, but they do affect it.

But mostly -- Over the long term, you're not getting any discount on dues.

So let's say you buy with an intent to hold for 20 years.
Direct: $200 per point
Resale: $120 per point -- 40% off!
But now add 20 years of dues at $8 per point. Instead of $200 versus $120, it becomes:
$360 versus $280. -- Now it's just a 22% difference.

Planning on 30 years?
It's $440 vs $360 -- Only a 18% difference.

So for a 18% difference in price -- You lose the ability to stay at Riviera and future resorts, you may be getting a resort with fewer years remaining, you're giving up 10-15% discounts on a lot of food and merchandise, you're giving up special events like Moonlight Magic, you're giving up possible AP discounts.

There isn't a right or wrong answer, whether the savings are "worth it" -- Just appreciate a real picture of the degree of savings, and what you're giving up (or not giving up).

On the other hand if you are owning for less than 10 years that price difference is much higher and the way resale prices are dropping the delta is going up.
Resale owners want to save money and the goal of DVC is to be near the parks cheap as possible in comfortable rooms. The new resorts point charts are way higher than I can get. I've got 14 nights this summer studio for 161 points (AKV V and BWV STD) It would be 250 at RIV.
Can't just say you would spend same resale as direct, you might need 50 pts more buying at RIV, it’s going to depend on individual circumstances.

 

[Sunnyore]

If you fall for FOMO as much as I do, then you’ll want direct points. I started out with a resale contract because of the value but I just checked that I pretty much added on direct points within the month my first resale contract closed. There will be people that say the benefits are minimal but I found value in all the extras I’ve done so far in the 2 years I’ve been a member. I was lucky to be grandfathered in to an AP including that awesome DVC Gold pass that was available before. The Sorcerer pass isn’t discounted now, but I still save a couple hundred $$ not having to buy the top tier. I appreciate the Epcot Lounge and I love watching the fireworks from Top of the World. Got to preview Cosmic Rewind which was pretty amazing since it was going to be several months before my following trip. Got to watch Encanto early and did a brunch thing with Jodi Benson. Did my first Moonlight Magic last month at DCA and have a trip that falls on another one at WDW later this year. While they didn’t offer much difference, I loved my sparkly daily wristbands at Aulani and discounted popcorn. I’ll definitely be visiting the new DVC lounge at dland Tomorrowland when it opens. If none of these matter to you then definitely resale is the way to go. But I knew I would want to do all of this and also be able to stay at Riviera and any future resorts too so I bought in to at least lock in the benefits. Direct prices have gone up even higher than what I paid for so I have no regrets. I have added on more resale too though but will most likely add more direct points for DLH just to even out my points a bit. I think if you want the best of both worlds, I would buy the min for direct and the rest resale. Buy resale first so you can get the best deal out there and it’s easy to match uy for direct points.

 

[havoc315]

On the other hand if you are owning for less than 10 years that price difference is much higher and the way resale prices are dropping the delta is going up.
Resale owners want to save money and the goal of DVC is to be near the parks cheap as possible in comfortable rooms. The new resorts point charts are way higher than I can get. I've got 14 nights this summer studio for 161 points (AKV V and BWV STD) It would be 250 at RIV.
Can't just say you would spend same resale as direct, you might need 50 pts more buying at RIV, it’s going to depend on individual circumstances.

It all depends on individual circumstances and how you subjectively view the benefits of direct.
But, I will say... if you're plan is to only own for 10 years, you may not save money at all versus just renting points. It will become very dependent on the price you can resell your property for.
So if buying a 2042 property now, with a plan to resell in 2033, if the re-sale value drops a lot -- which is very possible -- Then buying direct or re-sale might both be wasteful.

 

[sethschroeder]

How much of an incentive do you really feel the perks being a direct member vs resale?

We have APs so there is a large benefit.

If APs don't return and we drop them next year likely I will end up just selling DVC at that point since APs are a significant cost reduction in our trips. I can't see renewing APs next January with no plans to visit again for another 12-18+ months after that.

We are basically "ahead" already just on the AP ticket savings. That being said without DVC I am not sure if we would have spent more or less in total on vacations.

I am not sure I would agree APs are returning until they actually return. I would wait wait wait until it happens.

Anything else doesn't really matter. Basically a tiny discount that you get but Disney Visa gets you partly there. Moonlight events which you may never actually be at WDW for unless you are a local.

 

[E2ME2]

If you fall for FOMO as much as I do, then you’ll want direct points. I started out with a resale contract because of the value but I just checked that I pretty much added on direct points within the month my first resale contract closed. There will be people that say the benefits are minimal but I found value in all the extras I’ve done so far in the 2 years I’ve been a member. I was lucky to be grandfathered in to an AP including that awesome DVC Gold pass that was available before. The Sorcerer pass isn’t discounted now, but I still save a couple hundred $$ not having to buy the top tier. I appreciate the Epcot Lounge and I love watching the fireworks from Top of the World. Got to preview Cosmic Rewind which was pretty amazing since it was going to be several months before my following trip. Got to watch Encanto early and did a brunch thing with Jodi Benson. Did my first Moonlight Magic last month at DCA and have a trip that falls on another one at WDW later this year. While they didn’t offer much difference, I loved my sparkly daily wristbands at Aulani and discounted popcorn. I’ll definitely be visiting the new DVC lounge at dland Tomorrowland when it opens. If none of these matter to you then definitely resale is the way to go. But I knew I would want to do all of this and also be able to stay at Riviera and any future resorts too so I bought in to at least lock in the benefits. Direct prices have gone up even higher than what I paid for so I have no regrets. I have added on more resale too though but will most likely add more direct points for DLH just to even out my points a bit. I think if you want the best of both worlds, I would buy the min for direct and the rest resale. Buy resale first so you can get the best deal out there and it’s easy to match uy for direct points.

I share your take on this. When we bought Direct in 2010 we had no idea that there was a resale market.
I stumbled on to the disboards while chatting with someone on a cruise chat site. I am so glad that I did, but I have no regrets in making that initial Direct purchase. Having those benefits have saved us quite a bit since 2020, with APs, MM events, even gave me the opportunity to book early for SWGS when it opened last year. I have added on several times, both resale & direct, and I agree that buying the best resale contract first makes it easier to match use year direct. However, our first DVC guide (Rafael Massa) was thorough and knowledgeable, and suggested our use year based on our preferred travel dates, and that has been a blessing. I would not have thought to do that on my own. We use DVC a little differently than a lot of folks, in that its primarily for snow-birding as retirees. We head south for winter every year, and its been working out very well. This year we spent 50 consecutive nights in studios at AKV & SSR. We have 49 Nights booked for 2024, and are waiting to close on our newest resale so that we can tack on another 2 weeks annually, and stay at WDW until mid-march. Best retirement option for us. We show up via DVC, hop from resort to resort, and head home when we're done. No utility bills, no property taxes, no insurance, no property management fees, and no worries about possible storm damage. Prior to our retirement, however, we used DVC for 10-12 Nights vacation each year, and we still believe we saved money over vacationing the old-fashioned way.

 

[tom1944]

I share your take on this. When we bought Direct in 2010 we had no idea that there was a resale market.
I stumbled on to the disboards while chatting with someone on a cruise chat site. I am so glad that I did, but I have no regrets in making that initial Direct purchase. Having those benefits have saved us quite a bit since 2020, with APs, MM events, even gave me the opportunity to book early for SWGS when it opened last year. I have added on several times, both resale & direct, and I agree that buying the best resale contract first makes it easier to match use year direct. However, our first DVC guide (Rafael Massa) was thorough and knowledgeable, and suggested our use year based on our preferred travel dates, and that has been a blessing. I would not have thought to do that on my own. We use DVC a little differently than a lot of folks, in that its primarily for snow-birding as retirees. We head south for winter every year, and its been working out very well. This year we spent 50 consecutive nights in studios at AKV & SSR. We have 49 Nights booked for 2024, and are waiting to close on our newest resale so that we can tack on another 2 weeks annually, and stay at WDW until mid-march. Best retirement option for us. We show up via DVC, hop from resort to resort, and head home when we're done. No utility bills, no property taxes, no insurance, no property management fees, and no worries about possible storm damage. Prior to our retirement, however, we used DVC for 10-12 Nights vacation each year, and we still believe we saved money over vacationing the old-fashioned way.

I have a vision of taking a month from the day after MLK Day until the day before President's weekend using DVC points.

That will not happen for a few years though since I need to accumulate points.