Buying orlando timeshares on ebay

[FutureRN]

I am thinking about buying a timeshare on ebay. Have any of you ever done this? If so did you have any trouble making a trade with another resort in another place. I just think this would be a good ideal for my family because we have five kids and love to travel. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Detailor]

I am thinking about buying a timeshare on ebay. Have any of you ever done this? If so did you have any trouble making a trade with another resort in another place. I just think this would be a good ideal for my family because we have five kids and love to travel. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated

I've never purchased a timeshare through ebay but have a couple of timeshare weeks that I purchased from owners and they worked out well for my family and me.
A couple of things on trading...
1) It really depends on the resort, the week that you're considering buying and what trading power the exchange company (RCI or II) gives the week. Please know that one week at a resort won't necessarily trade as well as another week at the same resort (generally, higher demand = higher trading power). So, if you're buying a week 4 or 5, late January/early February, at a timeshare resort that doesn't have a lot of resort amenities then maybe you won't get a great trader. But if you buy a week that's in the summer or during spring break or Easter then you'll probably have something that works better if you're thinking about trading.
2) You should consider where you think you might want to trade into and what inventory might be available through an exchange company - it varies between the two major exchange companies - II and RCI. You can go to the exchange companies' website and look at their resort directories to see at least what's out there for possibilities. And then you'll also need to know which exchange company deals with the resort that you're purchasing. It doesn't mean that you'll have enough trading power to trade into all of those options but it's a starting point.

Also consider going out to the Timeshare Users Group website (tug2.net) to get some background on timeshare ownership. I studied the information at that website for about 2 years before I made my first purchase.

Good luck,
Dick Taylor

 

[kathy884]

Depends on your week, of course. In general, though, Orlando is overbuilt, so easy to trade into, but does not necessarily have has good trading value as other locations. I also recommend joining TUG2.net for $15 a year and getting information from there and from there forum (very educated people there who know so much about timeshares).

 

[Brian Noble]

What Kathy said. With a very few exceptions, Orlando resorts don't trade particularly well.

That said, Week 52 at one of the better resorts, in a 2BR or larger, is one of those exceptions.

 

[JimMIA]

You have two questions which are so broad there's almost no place to start. Therefore the place to start, as others have suggested, is TUG.

Buying timeshares generally
You have a steep learning curve ahead of you, because every timeshare is different -- both in terms of resort(s) and the operational details that will make it work, or not work, for your family. I'd suggest that you narrow the industry down to 2-3 of the top companies and then thoroughly research all of them until you really understand what they will provide you, how they work, and what they will cost you, both initially and each year.

TUG is the best place to begin gathering that information. Here on the DIS, there are a number of very knowledgeable and helpful members who can also help. When I was doing my research, I relied heavily on DIS members whose posts here I'd read for years and had great confidence in.

Buying on eBay
The default position for almost every experienced timeshare owner is buy RESALE, never direct from the developer. (And, like every rule, I'm sure there are excepetions -- I just haven't found one yet.)

eBay is one of the places to do that, but not the only place. On TUG, you will find several realtors who sell timeshares resale and also a number of direct sales offered by owners.

I purchased my Wyndham contract resale on eBay. Buying on eBay requires going to school on how eBay timeshare resales work. Generally, the price is set in the last ten seconds of an auction by automatic bids and everything that happens prior to that is just noise (unless the bidding indicates the contract will sell higher than your acceptable range). It's very important to set an upper limit and not get carried away by the excitement of an auction.

There are people out there who shop on eBay for you and they have some expertise in that process. They can be a great help in imposing discipline on the auction process. I don't know what they charge; I did my purchase alone.

No matter how or where you buy, you should NEVER, EVER pay any upfront fee to anyone. A deposit with an offer, yes, but you should not pay any fees in advance of an actual purchase. If someone asks you for an advanced fee, it will be a scam 99% of the time.

Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[JimMIA]

There is one consideration that pertains to buying an Orlando timeshare specifically.

Depending on the timeshare company and the exchange company they deal with, there are often local or regional blocks. For example, you might be able to stay in your particular family of timeshares in a particular area, but you might be blocked from exchaning into other companies within 30-50 miles or more of your home resort. So if you owned XYZ timeshare in Kissimmee, for example, you might be blocked from exchanging into DVC or Wyndham Bonnet Creek because of the proximity of your home resort.

With Orlando resorts, that is a double-whammy -- for the most part, you're getting pretty low trading power anyway, and then you may also be blocked from trading locally.

And of course, everything with timeshares is a moving target. Your particular timeshare may not have any blocks right now, but that could change to your detriment next week.

 

[jeff968]

We purchased a cape cod MA timeshare on eBay back in 2004 and the transaction went fine. The seller inherited it from his Grandfather and just wanted to get rid of it. We go every year, same week (July 4th) and never trade. I love the Orlando timeshares but would never purchase one due to their high maintenance fees. I have always found rentals at less then the annual fee. Of course, if you own you can lock your week and not have to worry about it which is worth something.

 

[utahkennedys]

I have purchased 2 non-Orlando timeshares on eBay without any problems. If the seller is reputable seller with loads of positive feedback you should be fine. That said, I wouldn't buy a timeshare in Orlando unless it is DVC. It is SO incredibly easy to trade into wonderful Orlando resorts with even a mediocre and cheap trader. We trade into Marriotts consistently with a $26 eBay timeshare with low maintenance fees. The only exception would be if you needed a fixed week each year and knew you would be in Orlando and didn't want to mess with exchanges or additional costs.

 

[jeff968]

That said, I wouldn't buy a timeshare in Orlando unless it is DVC.

I don't know. i could never buy a DVC timeshare as they are not deeded. They get to take them back after 40 years. I have a problem paying all that money and annual fees only to have them get them back for free!!! Granted, I'l be old by then but it is the principal. Marriotts and Hiltons are all deeded.

 

[JimMIA]

I don't know. i could never buy a DVC timeshare as they are not deeded. They get to take them back after 40 years. I have a problem paying all that money and annual fees only to have them get them back for free!!! Granted, I'l be old by then but it is the principal. Marriotts and Hiltons are all deeded.

Well, there are two sides to that coin. Yes, DVC contracts expire between 2042 and 2060 depending on resort.

However, I can tell you there are a LOT of timeshare owners out there who wish their timeshares expired! That's why there are a lot of $1 timeshares for sale on eBay, and also why some owners PAY to have someone take them off their hands or donate them to charity. They just want to get out from under the annual maintenance fees on timeshares they don't use enough to make them worthwhile.

 

[jeff968]

They just want to get out from under the annual maintenance fees on timeshares they don't use enough to make them worthwhile.

You could say that about a DVC owner as well but you don't have to worry, Disney will take your $25K+ investment back for free!!!

 

[JimMIA]

You could say that about a DVC owner as well but you don't have to worry, Disney will take your $25K+ investment back for free!!!

Actually, they don't do that unless they have no option but to foreclose. They're wallowing in foreclosures and give-backs and DVC has to pay the dues on all those points. Most of the time, they're just referring owners in trouble to a resale broker who splits commissions with them.