Is Ebay safe to rent DVC points from?

[larissawbb]

I have seen a few Saratoga Springs and Old Key west rentals on Ebay at a good price. The sellers have 100% feedback that goes back to the 1990's. Does anyone have experience renting DVC reservations off of Ebay or heard of a seller named paul12321? I hope this is the appropriate forum to ask these questions.
Thanks!

 

[GAN]

I'm not sure of EBay -I use them sparingly and never for DVC, although I remember looking before I owned. Have you looked at the DVC Forum here under the Rent/Trade board? I've rented prior to owning and have rented my points several times now that I do own -all with no issues. Just read the sticky note on safely renting points. Most owners should be able to provide you with references.

 

[MAO]

ah. hmmm. The price on the Saratoga Springs reservation I looked for is, indeed, excellent. I would strongly urge you to take a hard look at the stickied posts in the DVC forums, particularly in the Rent/Trade area. Find the post(s) regarding contracts and keep them in mind when dealing with the Ebay seller. Make sure you understand what is and is not included but it certainly seems worth pursuing.

 

[ValpoCory]

Wow, This eBay auction is for $1,500 for 7 nights in a 1 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs in July. That room at that resort at that time costs 241 DVC points. So you are getting that at $6.22 per point. The average private rental rate is $12 now. Sheesh, what a deal.

I'd vet the owner offline before pulling the trigger. Ask for references, check references. Check the Orange Country Comptroller website to verify they are a DVC owner, etc.

Here's a red flag but not in itself a deal breaker ... "Although not included, renter has the option of purchasing a Disney Dining Plan package directly from Disney. "

In fact, Renters can't purchase a DDP directly from Disney. They must work with the DVC owner. Now, once the DVC Renters arrive to their resort and check in, they can buy the DDP at the resort, but I don't think that that's what the eBay seller was talking about.

 

[chalee94]

Wow, This eBay auction is for $1,500 for 7 nights in a 1 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs in July. That room at that resort at that time costs 241 DVC points. So you are getting that at $6.22 per point. The average private rental rate is $12 now. Sheesh, what a deal.

I'd vet the owner offline before pulling the trigger. Ask for references, check references. Check the Orange Country Comptroller website to verify they are a DVC owner...

$1500 for 7 nights is not a DVC owner. They are trying to unload an RCI rental (which violates RCI policy and can be cancelled by RCI if they become aware of it. )

Here's a red flag but not in itself a deal breaker ... "Although not included, renter has the option of purchasing a Disney Dining Plan package directly from Disney. "

In fact, Renters can't purchase a DDP directly from Disney. They must work with the DVC owner. Now, once the DVC Renters arrive to their resort and check in, they can buy the DDP at the resort, but I don't think that that's what the eBay seller was talking about.

Again, a DVC owner would know this.

The 7 night length is a tipoff. Whether it's in the ad or not, RCI rentals are also charged an additional $95 fee at check in.

 

[ValpoCory]

Thanks chalee94 for that good info. Yep, I'd stay away, as unloading an RCI rental violates RCI policy.

 

[aprincessatlast]

We did it years ago and I would say I would not recommend it. While we got our stay (best Disney trip by far) it was touch and go for awhile. It was just too much stress worrying about wether we would have a room once we got there. I would rent again but from a reputable source.

 

[SUSIEQ]

$1500 for 7 nights is not a DVC owner. They are trying to unload an RCI rental (which violates RCI policy and can be cancelled by RCI if they become aware of it. )



Again, a DVC owner would know this.

The 7 night length is a tipoff. Whether it's in the ad or not, RCI rentals are also charged an additional $95 fee at check in.

That's EXACTLY what it is!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm not sure of EBay -I use them sparingly and never for DVC, although I remember looking before I owned. Have you looked at the DVC Forum here under the Rent/Trade board? I've rented prior to owning and have rented my points several times now that I do own -all with no issues. Just read the sticky note on safely renting points. Most owners should be able to provide you with references.

I agree. We have rented several times through Dis-ers and had great experiences.

 

[supersnoop]

Strange; he doesn't list the $95 fee, and actually states that there will be no additional fees. It sure seems like an RCI exchange, but the details don't add up.

 

[MAO]

I would not assume that a week long stay is always an RCI stay. Certainly it's one of the things a potential buyer would want to ask about, but I can make a DVC reservation for just about however long my points would buy. If I were to purchase a significant amount of points, planning on making a profit by selling reservations, I too would probably make them for a week at a time before putting them up for sale. It's a good point, that people *do* get a reservation at a Disney resort via RCI and then try to sell them to others, but it's hardly 'obvious' nor 'certain' that this is the case. OP - if you're interested (and, for that price, I can well imagine that you would be) I'd read the threads (as suggested before) and look for the information on how to determine if a person is an owner of DVC. Then you could contact the Ebay seller and ask for the information you'd need to verify that they do, indeed, own DVC. You could also ask for references as it certainly seems as though they've been in business, as you said, for a while - and contact those people, asking them if there was any additional fees.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Our first stay was with points renting on Ebay. No issues at all.

 

[Nennie]

My first DVC stay was via ebay! Only problem, was that we liked it so much, we ended up buying DVC! LOL!!!

 

[larissawbb]

WOW! Thank you to everyone who responded to my question. I am really glad that I posted here. I had no idea what an RCI exchange was or that people even could do that. After researching what you guys said I will be proceeding with extreme caution to make sure I am dealing with a legit DVC owner. I would hate to arrive only to find I don't have a reservation. At least now, I know what questions to ask and I can check the rental board too.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I don't think a dining plan can be added to a DVC reservation at check in. I think it must be purchased at least 3 days prior.

 

[ValpoCory]

I don't think a dining plan can be added to a DVC reservation at check in. I think it must be purchased at least 3 days prior.

I booked a DVC rental for some friends for a December 2014 stay. They had bought all these Disney Gift Cards with Target Gift Cards from the Black Friday promotion, and they wanted to buy the DDP at the last minute. I told them the "official" rule that you state, the 2-3 days prior rule. But I also told them to talk to the front desk/concierge when you check in at Bay Lake Tower to see if they can assist you. Perhaps they were lucky and caught a nice CM, for they were able to add the DDP at check-in.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I booked a DVC rental for some friends for a December 2014 stay. They had bought all these Disney Gift Cards with Target Gift Cards from the Black Friday promotion, and they wanted to buy the DDP at the last minute. I told them the "official" rule that you state, the 2-3 days prior rule. But I also told them to talk to the front desk/concierge when you check in at Bay Lake Tower to see if they can assist you. Perhaps they were lucky and caught a nice CM, for they were able to add the DDP at check-in.

They were extremely lucky. Since they were not the member, they shouldn't have been able to buy the plan at all.

That Ebay reservation also said there was a chair bed in the SSR one bedroom. That's wrong. They don't have that.

That seller on Ebay has lots and lots of resorts for sale. They are either a broker for RCI or own tons of timeshares.

 

[eliza61]

A couple of additional questions that only you can answer.
1). If some thing goes wrong whats your recourses. DVC WILL NOT get involved.
2) If some thing went wrong, what would this do to your vacation? could you still go?
3). How are you at handling stress?


As a general rule I would not book some thing so important as my families vacation on he whims of EBay. but i have had bad experiences with
them before.

I'd skip, even at a great deal my nerves wouldn't handle the stress. lol, ive got enough stress in real life dont need it from strangers

 

[mountdew1]

Any time you rent points, the owner of the points is the one who "owns" the reservation. They are the only one who can make changes to it, from things such as adding guests or cancelling the booking. So renting points is usually best done with someone you know and trust, or someone who offers you a legal framework to stand behind the transaction. The respected brokers stand behind their transactions and will usually make it right if something happens. Buy eBay won't help to fix your vacation if you show up and the reservation is cancelled. It all comes down to the level of trust you are placing in the owner.

 

[disney*mom*82]

I have seen a few Saratoga Springs and Old Key west rentals on Ebay at a good price. The sellers have 100% feedback that goes back to the 1990's. Does anyone have experience renting DVC reservations off of Ebay or heard of a seller named paul12321? I hope this is the appropriate forum to ask these questions.
Thanks!

I've bought WDW trips and our yearly summer trip to TN both off EBay for years now. We have used a few different people, but have one we have used several times. We have never had an issue. Much cheaper than renting points or goi
ng through WDW.