Buying direct makes DVC better

[nd43]

Given the amount of energy spent on this board telling people to buy resale, I thought I would point out an obvious fact for those that have purchased direct or might purchase direct in the future. This is not a slap against our resale pushing friends, it is just a more balanced post for others that browse here.

Your purchase is what makes DVC work and is the fuel that will make DVC better in the future.

Everyone benefits when Disney opens new resorts. For instance, many on this board are almost giddy about the idea of a DVC location at Poly. Of course, none of this can happen without people buying direct.

So, if you can afford it, you did the right thing by buying direct if you want to be part of making DVC a more vibrant system in the future. In fact, all the people on this board that might question your decision are actually directly benefiting from your decision. Without you, DVC would die and no new locations would happen.

So, thank you. Honestly, I hope Disney comes up with new ways to make that decision even better. As the spread between resale and direct has widened, the need for more benefits for buying direct appear needed IMO. I hope Disney responds.

It makes me angry to hear that people "feel bad" for buying direct after reading posts on these boards. Frankly, because of you, these boards even exist. Never apologize for making DVC better for everyone.

 

[Countryrunner262]

But some buying direct end up in foreclosure because they can't afford it. Trust me, no matter which way people go, Disney is making money!

 

[Countryrunner262]

I do not think there is one way that is better than the other. It depends on what the person needs. If someone is wanting to save money, resale is the way to go. If you want instant access to your points (to AKV since its the only one not on wait list) buy direct. Like you mentioned, maybe if there were some better incentives or perks, more would buy direct.

 

[nd43]

But some buying direct end up in foreclosure because they can't afford it.

Thus, my statement, "if you can afford it"...

Trust me, no matter which way people go, Disney is making money!

Lets not get past the basic facts here. No direct buyers - no new resorts. DVC does not expand without direct buyers. Without new resorts, DVC has a far less vibrant future for everyone. Honestly, I was just trying to show a little gratitude to direct buyers that often feel a little beaten down on this board. This is not a slap against resale buyers.

 

[Countryrunner262]

Thus, my statement, "if you can afford it"...

Lets not get past the basic facts here. No direct buyers - no new resorts. DVC does not expand without direct buyers. Without new resorts, DVC has a far less vibrant future for everyone. Honestly, I was just trying to show a little gratitude to direct buyers that often feel a little beaten down on this board. This is not a slap against resale buyers.

I get that, and it's great some buy direct. We considered it ourselves. I just think the price increase and the lack of incentives hurt the direct market. Hopefully they change it around some so more do buy direct.

 

[stmize]

I bought direct in 2010 and am very glad I did. Esp since they changed the way resale points could be used. I'm sure that I will buy more points in the future and will buy direct again in a heart beat.

 

[Chic]

There will always continue to be a surplus of direct buyers, even with the resale market available. Why? People visiting the Parks are having the time of their lives and they see the "Heard about Disney's Best Kept Secret" advertisements posted on the buses and in the Parks. They decide to inquire, get picked up in the shiny clean DVC vans, are taken to Saratoga Springs, given free ice cream, and never told that a resale market exists. I think there is a harmonious balance of resale and direct buyers which works to everyone's advantage. Those who can afford buy direct. Those with less budgets available, but the desire to own a piece of the magic, buy a resale and save the other person who is having financial difficulties. If you have the money, direct is much less stressful and an efficient way to purchase. Those with less buying power can play the waiting game and enjoy the rewards in the end.

 

[lodge]

OP made me think of this in a bigger perspective. I've bought a lot on ebay.... without that original purchase, there'd be a lot less items available (for such a discount). Win/win!!

 

[bighoo93]

Lets not get past the basic facts here. No direct buyers - no new resorts. DVC does not expand without direct buyers.

Yes...but that isn't usually what people are talking about in the direct vs. resale discussion, because you can ONLY buy points at the newly opened resorts direct (by definition, there is nothing to resell until it has been sold in the first place). So while it is technically true that without direct purchases there would be no new resorts, it also, I think, kind of obscures the issue that people are talking about.

I don't care a lick whether people buy resale or direct. But I would like them to fully understand the differences in terms of costs and benefits. Pretty much everyone who buys resale knows of the direct market, but the same is not true for everyone (or maybe even most) who buy direct knowing about the resale market. So it makes sense that there would be more information and writing about the resale market in places like this.

 

[bighoo93]

So, thank you. Honestly, I hope Disney comes up with new ways to make that decision even better. As the spread between resale and direct has widened, the need for more benefits for buying direct appear needed IMO. I hope Disney responds.

Personally, I don't agree with this, and I hope they don't. The fact that DVC was able to recently raise prices on direct points strongly suggests that there is no such "need" to provide additional benefits. People are already willing to pay, for whatever reasons. The DVC business appears to be extremely healthy. If that does become a need, I have no doubt that Disney would be the first to know and that something would result out of it. But there will be drawbacks to creating a "second-class citizen" segment of customers, so hopefully they would take that into account before doing anything as well. I'm guessing that they do, and this is why they have done relatively little to distinguish between direct and resale purchasers.

 

[dcfromva]

As a direct buyer, I am grateful for a robust resale market. Without it, I would not have bought direct, so it is all good.

My first purchase was about 11 years ago and last add on was about 4 years ago. If there had been as big of a price difference between direct and resale as there is these days, I probably would have gone resale...

 

[adminjedi]

As a direct buyer, I am grateful for a robust resale market. Without it, I would not have bought direct, so it is all good.

My first purchase was about 11 years ago and last add-on was about 4 years ago. If there had been as big of a price difference between direct and resale as there is these days, I probably would have gone resale...

We didn't buy thinking we could later sell and make money or break even, we bought calculating that our Disney vacation stays would be more economical.
We just sold a contract and after factoring all actual costs and point usage, we basically paid only $10 per night to stay at Aulani, and approx $5 at other resorts! Can't beat that!

We have another contract that if we sold we would actually have been paid to stay!

 

[BTSD]

I don't care a lick whether people buy resale or direct. But I would like them to fully understand the differences in terms of costs and benefits. Pretty much everyone who buys resale knows of the direct market, but the same is not true for everyone (or maybe even most) who buy direct knowing about the resale market.

If people don't have the intellect to do their research before spending their hard earned money, it is on them. I bought direct the first time, I did my research and looked at resale, but I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. Self responsiblility....seems to have gotten lost in our society.

 

[ELMC]

I think there is a significant difference between buying direct at opening prices and buying direct at Disney's current (and ridiculously overinflated) prices. People who bought SSR and AKV at initial offering suffered a minor hit on the cash value of their purchase should they need to resell. But generally speaking they are holding up ok. People who bought VGC and BLT at the initial offering look like geniuses because they can easily get most or all of their money back, which means they vacationed for only the cost of the maintenance fees. Same can be said for the earlier resorts.

However...people who are buying AKV direct today will most likely never be in this position. So while I appreciate the intent of your OP, I think it is important to differentiate between buying direct at initial prices and at prices that are 60% higher. A lot of us resale advocates fail to do this as well.

The big question is whether VGF will track like BLT or AKV or worse. Personally I see a situation similar to AKV being the best case scenario. I am reluctant to buy direct at VGF thinking that I will be able to escape with the majority of my money should I need to.

 

[ELMC]

We didn't buy thinking we could later sell and make money or break even, we bought calculating that our Disney vacation stays would be more economical.
We just sold a contract and after factoring all actual costs and point usage, we basically paid only $10 per night to stay at Aulani, and approx $5 at other resorts! Can't beat that!

We have another contract that if we sold we would actually have been paid to stay!

Was this on a direct purchase or a resale purchase? I have to say that if you are talking about a direct purchase I find that very hard to believe.

 

[nd43]

As a direct buyer, I am grateful for a robust resale market. Without it, I would not have bought direct, so it is all good.

I agree. That is why this was no slam against resale. Just a simple thanks for those buying direct.

 

[nd43]

If people don't have the intellect to do their research before spending their hard earned money, it is on them.

This is, unfortunately, the exact "spirit" of the problem for certain people that buy resale and post around here. They appear to think they must be smarter then everyone else that purchased direct. It is just sad. People who buy direct created the DVC system you now enjoy. The least you could do is not insult them. That is not asking a lot. You can be happy with your decision but do you need to insult other people to feel better about it?

 

[nd43]

I think there is a significant difference between buying direct at opening prices and buying direct at Disney's current (and ridiculously overinflated) prices.

In terms of possible financial return, I completely agree. However, that was not my goal for saying "thanks".

In terms of contributing to the future of DVC, it is all the direct buyers from opening to sell out that are important. If Disney could not "sell out" a resort, they would not continue to build new resorts. They needed all the direct buyers to make that happen.

 

[ELMC]

This is, unfortunately, the exact "spirit" of the problem for certain people that buy resale and post around here. They appear to think they must be smarter then everyone else that purchased direct. It is just sad. People who buy direct created the DVC system you now enjoy. The least you could do is not insult them. That is not asking a lot. You can be happy with your decision but do you need to insult other people to feel better about it?

While I understand where you are coming from, I don't think you have the necessary perspective to make these observations. You've only been on here a month. I think you need to give it some time to get a feel for the landscape before making sweeping judgments about the discourse that occurs on here.

One other thing, while I see the intent of your thread, it could also be interpreted another way. If one wanted to, they could read it as if you were thanking everyone for overpaying by buying direct so that we can get good prices on the resale market when they realize what a mistake they made. It's sort of like a thank you to everyone who overpaid by buying the last 5% of BLT at $165 a point because if they didn't, then we wouldn't have the opportunity to buy at initial prices at a new resort. Intended or not, that's kind of what you are saying.

 

[disneynutz]

This is, unfortunately, the exact "spirit" of the problem for certain people that buy resale and post around here. They appear to think they must be smarter then everyone else that purchased direct. It is just sad. People who buy direct created the DVC system you now enjoy. The least you could do is not insult them. That is not asking a lot. You can be happy with your decision but do you need to insult other people to feel better about it?

IMO no one means to insult anyone. Many of us have purchased direct and resale over the years depending on several factors and I say that owning 26 contracts.

Yes direct sales feeds the Disney pocket book and causes Disney to build additional resorts but my goal is to let people know that direct isn't the only way to buy and that some of the info presented by Disney isn't necessarily in the best interest of the buyer.

When buying, the $5,000 to $10,000 cost difference between resale and direct can be the deciding factor between buying or not buying. Disney makes more money on locking in long term Disney vacationers than they do selling timeshares. If Disney wanted to stop all resales, all they would have to do is ROFR every contract.

In addition Disney supports resale and has a business relationship with Fidelity a resale broker.

Bill