Buying direct makes DVC better

[Countryrunner262]

Actually, sometimes people are just offensive. You cannot always place that on the other person. It is not a crime or anything. I have been accused of being offensive on this very thread (and I was, because I misunderstood someone's post). It happens. I do not think it is mean spirited and almost every time it was un-intended from what I have read. That does not mean it was not offensive.

When people ask for advice, I think this board is great. However, sometimes I see people give advice when never asked. I think that can become offensive whether the person intended it or not.

It is one thing to say "that car is junk" when someone is looking to buy it. It is another to run up to someone and say "your car is junk" when they never asked you about it. You can blame the other person for "chosing" to be offended and take comfort that the person gave an honest opinion. However, I just call it being offensive.

I'm actually glad someone told me the "car" I was about to buy was "junk". I would never have known about resale. It allowed me to make a well informed decision that worked best or us.

 

[Dean]

It is one thing to say "that car is junk" when someone is looking to buy it. It is another to run up to someone and say "your car is junk" when they never asked you about it. You can blame the other person for "chosing" to be offended and take comfort that the person gave an honest opinion. However, I just call it being offensive.

Agreed but I see essentially none of the latter.

 

[adminjedi]

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.

This particular instance was a resale purchase that we owned for 2 years.
However, we do own direct purchase contracts that we could sell now and come close to break even or very little cost.

 

[Dean]

I'm actually glad someone told me the "car" I was about to buy was "junk". I would never have known about resale. It allowed me to make a well informed decision that worked best or us.

And that is the intent, to make sure people know their options, limitations, risks and costs. What you do with that info is up to you. However, the issue of whether you (as this example) made a good choice or not is a different matter.

 

[Missyrose]

I'm actually glad someone told me the "car" I was about to buy was "junk". I would never have known about resale. It allowed me to make a well informed decision that worked best or us.

And something else that newbies to the board don't often consider is the lurker population. For every person who posts a question, there are often a dozen or so who might have a similar question but are too shy to ask. Those of us who have been around for a while (and my seniority pales in comparison to Deb, Dean and Jim), know that when you answer a question, the audience and those looking for that answer is often far larger than just the OP of a thread.

 

[nd43]

Agreed but I see essentially none of the latter.

Dean, it just happened yesterday. Just follow any thread where a person says "I just purchased DVC on a cruise / vacation / or anything with Disney" and read the thread. The absolute low was the one where the person requested "positive information about DVC" as a new member and a person suggested they cancel their contract. I am positive they felt they were doing the right thing but their input was never requested. The OP was just excited to be a new member.

That is very different (IMO) from someone that posts "I am looking for input...".

Perhaps I am just reading the DIS too much!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...It is one thing to say "that car is junk" when someone is looking to buy it. It is another to run up to someone and say "your car is junk" when they never asked you about it. You can blame the other person for "chosing" to be offended and take comfort that the person gave an honest opinion. However, I just call it being offensive.

I don't see the "your car is junk" posts. I see the "you bought this car, but I might be able to help you get it for a cheaper price and you might want to consider this advice" posts. Seasoned owners who no longer indulge in Kool-Aid. More like the "Consumer Reports" version on the DIS.

 

[nd43]

I don't see the "your car is junk" posts. I see the "you bought this car, but I might be able to help you get it for a cheaper price and you might want to consider this advice" posts. Seasoned owners who no longer indulge in Kool-Aid. More like the "Consumer Reports" version on the DIS.

<I removed this because it was poorly stated and rightfully offensive to other members>

 

[disneynutz]

Ok, I am having some fun here.

--snip--

Perhaps my new eyes just see it differently.

It may be that newer people don't see behind Disney's curtain like us old timers do. We have lived DVC for many years have been through many sets of executives and managers. We have lived the rules and policy changes, the trading company changes, the $95 dollar fee implementation, point reallocations and view categories being changed, the President of DVD/DVC being fired, the addition of several new resorts and the problems at those resorts along with the positives. Many of us may have had more than one Guide, we are on our third and each one had a different way of doing business and worked in a different unit with different purchase incentives.

We also have experienced the separation of sales and service. When buying some Guides are your best friend, after the sale some won't return your calls or the problem that they said they would take care of, they blow off to someone else.

With time maybe you will better understand where some of us old timers are coming from.

Bill

 

[z28wiz]

It may be that newer people don't see behind Disney's curtain like us old timers do. We have lived DVC for many years have been through many sets of executives and managers. We have lived the rules and policy changes, the trading company changes, the $95 dollar fee implementation, point reallocations and view categories being changed, the President of DVD/DVC being fired, the addition of several new resorts and the problems at those resorts along with the positives. Many of us may have had more than one Guide, we are on our third and each one had a different way of doing business and worked in a different unit with different purchase incentives.

We also have experienced the separation of sales and service. When buying some Guides are your best friend, after the sale some won't return your calls or the problem that they said they would take care of, they blow off to someone else.

With time maybe you will better understand where some of us old timers are coming from.

Bill

Very well said!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[NoleFan]

As a newbie myself, I appreciate the feedback of those with experience with DVC. There is no substitute for experience.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Ok, I am having some fun here.

Do you guys not see this? Perhaps my new eyes just see it differently.

Oh, come on . . . are you serious!?! Raising a child is so much easier than owning DVC!

 

[JimMIA]

Dean, it just happened yesterday. Just follow any thread where a person says "I just purchased DVC on a cruise / vacation / or anything with Disney" and read the thread. The absolute low was the one where the person requested "positive information about DVC" as a new member and a person suggested they cancel their contract. I am positive they felt they were doing the right thing but their input was never requested. The OP was just excited to be a new member.

That is very different (IMO) from someone that posts "I am looking for input...".

Perhaps I am just reading the DIS too much!

Or not enough.

Here are the two posts:

Hello everyone we just joined DVC on the final night of our cruise. This was our 3rd cruise w/Disney in 3 years and we have sat thur the sales pitch every time. We have 3 children and would love to visit WDW. We are from CA so we have spent lots of time at Disneyland. We are super excited! We received $1,000 off purchase price and joined w/125 points AK. They gave us 2012 points/125 and also $3 per point. We are a military family retiring in 2 years in Alaska (currently in NJ) hoping to vacation in Hawaii a lot with the club!!! Please post some positive things about the club based on experience. I have been reading a lot of posts that are very negative and I hope we have made the right decision to join.

I don't know how to respond to this thread. I'm trying to be helpful but I have a feeling I might come across as insensitive. That's not the case, so I'll apologize in advance if it seems that way. Obviously there are lots of things that we love about owning DVC, and that is why we own. But I don't think that's the issue here. The reason there are negative posts on here is because there are some very real pitfalls when it comes to owning DVC.

It sounds like you're looking for someone to reassure you that you did the right thing, and I'm not so sure that's our place. DVC is a wonderful product that helps plenty of people have wonderful vacations. But it's not right for everybody. Quite frankly, there are three or four things you said in your post that make me think that DVC might not be right for you. In the end, however, only you can be the one to make that decision. But if you're coming on here looking for reassurance, that might be your gut trying to tell you something.

One thing that I will say is that by Florida law you have 10 days from contract signing to change your mind. If you are within that time frame maybe that is something you might want to consider.

Honestly, nd...if that response offends you, you are really way too sensitive. There is not one word there that is mean-spirited; in fact, the responding poster goes out of their way to sugar coat the fact that they think the OP might have made a big mistake.

There are several red flags there which DVC owners who have used their points over the years to stay in DVC resorts -- and understand what DVC is, and is not -- have found troubling. Not just the first response, but several responses thereafter by experienced DVC fans. The reason those items are troubling is that they indicate the OP may have no clue what they just bought.

To that, we can respond one of two ways:



or

"Florida law provides a 10-day rescission period for all real estate purchases. If you are not completely sure what you bought is in the best interests of your family, you might want to consider rescinding."

For those who are new -- in ANYbody's timeshare system, on ANY timeshare discussion board -- the standard, and best, advice anyone can give is: if you have any doubts whatsoever...consider rescinding. If you don't fully understand what you bought...rescind.

If you read through the subsequent responses, you will see two teams.

One is composed of experienced DVC folks -- FANS, mind you -- who agree with the advice to consider rescinding.

The other is composed of people who either don't own DVC yet, or those who only read the "tell me sweet things" part of the post.

The advice given is sound -- whether you and the OP wanted to hear it or not. It's good advice.

 

[JimMIA]

deleted

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Ok, I am having some fun here.

So, we are very experienced parents. When a new mom comes to us and says "We just had our first baby! We are so excited!". We say, "Congrats! We are so happy for you. What is the name?"

Around here, some of the senior members would say:

"Well, have you considered how much college will cost?"
"Are you sure this was the best time for you to start a family?"
"Have you considered adoption, you really do not appear to be ready for such a child? I think you have 10 days to turn it over to the state."

The reason for this response? Well, we are experienced parents and we no longer drink the kool-aide around having children and felt compelled to share all of our concerns. After all, we are just being helpful. They "chose" to be offended.

Do you guys not see this? Perhaps my new eyes just see it differently.

That is hilarious. But not in a good way.

 

[ELMC]

For those that prefer DVC dies on the vine and no longer grows, again, my apologies for buying direct and causing DVC further success.

Out of curiosity, why are you choosing to buy direct and pay double the price of resale? Is it so that you can support DVC or do you have another reason?

When people ask for advice, I think this board is great. However, sometimes I see people give advice when never asked. I think that can become offensive whether the person intended it or not.

It is one thing to say "that car is junk" when someone is looking to buy it. It is another to run up to someone and say "your car is junk" when they never asked you about it. You can blame the other person for "chosing" to be offended and take comfort that the person gave an honest opinion. However, I just call it being offensive.

What you are missing is that sometimes people don't know what questions to ask. Many prospective direct buyers come on here asking specific questions about their potential direct purchase. Sometimes if we just answered their specific questions they would leave without ever knowing about resale. Makes sense, right? If they don't know about another option how can they ask about it. I think to not give as much information as possible is doing someone a disservice. Let's say they came back on here three months after spending $145pp on AKV and said "how come you never told me I could get it resale for $65pp?" What would I say, because you never asked?

This particular instance was a resale purchase that we owned for 2 years.
However, we do own direct purchase contracts that we could sell now and come close to break even or very little cost.

This makes sense, especially on resale. On the direct purchase it's a little harder, I think your best case scenario is probably vacationing for the cost of maintenance fees only.

 

[Dean]

Dean, it just happened yesterday. Just follow any thread where a person says "I just purchased DVC on a cruise / vacation / or anything with Disney" and read the thread. The absolute low was the one where the person requested "positive information about DVC" as a new member and a person suggested they cancel their contract. I am positive they felt they were doing the right thing but their input was never requested. The OP was just excited to be a new member.

That is very different (IMO) from someone that posts "I am looking for input...".

Perhaps I am just reading the DIS too much!

Your statement is a good one to reiterate the point. A newbie needs information and a thread starter only controls the direction, not the content of the rest of the posts per common BBS etiquette. Sometimes providing the info a person needs but doesn't really want is still important. Obviously every situation is different to a degree. As I said before, that person would have to choose to be offended even if they didn't want that input. Plus as Missyrose says, there are more people than just the OP to consider.

As I read that thread, I did not see that the OP was ONLY looking for positives but that they were trying to evaluate both the positives and true negatives. If the post that Jim quoted is what you're referring to as possibly offensive then I'm not sure there's anything else to discuss because we're on different planets speaking different languages.

Ok, I am having some fun here.

So, we are very experienced parents. When a new mom comes to us and says "We just had our first baby! We are so excited!". We say, "Congrats! We are so happy for you. What is the name?"

Around here, some of the senior members would say:

"Well, have you considered how much college will cost?"
"Are you sure this was the best time for you to start a family?"
"Have you considered adoption, you really do not appear to be ready for such a child? I think you have 10 days to turn it over to the state."

The reason for this response? Well, we are experienced parents and we no longer drink the kool-aide around having children and felt compelled to share all of our concerns. After all, we are just being helpful. They "chose" to be offended.

Do you guys not see this? Perhaps my new eyes just see it differently.

This post speaks for itself in an absurd way.

 

[nd43]

I'm quite sure many here would find this little bit of "fun" profoundly offensive.

Well, I certainly apologize then.

Unfortunately, it is not the first time in this thread I had to apologize for starting a thread trying to thank people.

I have also been accused of being over sensitive.

So I have managed to be offensive (due to lack of sensitivity) and over sensitive in the same thread.

Can we call a truce on this one? It started by me just trying to thank some people. Obviously is has spiraled from there.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Well, I certainly apologize then.

Unfortunately, it is not the first time in this thread I had to apologize for starting a thread trying to thank people.

I have also been accused of being over sensitive.

So I have managed to be offensive (due to lack of sensitivity) and over sensitive in the same thread.

Can we call a truce on this one? It started by me just trying to thank some people. Obviously is has spiraled from there.

You are better off creating a new account with a different username

 

[nd43]

You are better off creating a new account with a different username

Would ND44 be too obvious?

I honestly just call uncle. The funny thing is, I really do appreciate the board and have found it very helpful (from everyone). I just really stink at sharing my thoughts on boards. It is just slow and painful watching me take a dive on this one.