Does the $500 fee change the pattern of resale?

[disneylandtour]

So quick question--how do others think that the new $500 fee will change resale patterns? For years, I've thought that the 50-75 point contracts were the most advantageous to hold as, if necessary, they could be sold quickly and at a a slightly higher per point price than larger contracts. Do others think that this most re-sellable contracts will shift up to around 100 or so points? $500 on a 50-point contract is $10 pp--which is a big add-on. On a 100-point contract, $5 pp--which seems more acceptable. Etc.

 

[ShaneDJ]

I think the $500 fee will strengthen the resale market by making the resale process more enjoyable by eliminating one of the biggest complaints with resale (the long waits).

 

[juliebee]

I think it might depend on how small the contract is. At many resorts a 25 point contract isn't super usable- one night a year in a studio- so I think potential buyers might just say they will purchase a 50 or 75 point resale instead. There will still be a market for the 50-75 point contracts as it's a way to dabble in a resort. My thoughts are that the $500 fee hurt the market of any contracts less than 50 points and encourages buyers to consider the next higher point level for a resale contract for the lower cost per point.

 

[disneylandtour]

I think the $500 fee will strengthen the resale market by making the resale process more enjoyable by eliminating one of the biggest complaints with resale (the long waits).

If that actually happens--and that's a huge if. When margins get tight again--and customers forget about the time when there was no $500 processing fee--I sorta suspect, in four or five years, we'll be right back to the four-to-five week wait for resale.

 

[Annabell]

Those 25 and 50 points contracts will lose their popularity. Owners that want to add points will think twice now as the overall cost is higher. Popularity could shift to the 100 points contract but I doubt it. Maybe people just stop adding on!
IMO, DVC is getting more and more unattractive to own.

 

[JamJam2021]

It used to be that 50 point contracts hold a premium per point right? Now I guess it will be a discount per point due to the $500

 

[Chili327]

I think the $500 fee will strengthen the resale market by making the resale process more enjoyable by eliminating one of the biggest complaints with resale (the long waits).

I think it affects the price per point, but that’s about all. It will probably just become a negotiation for most resorts.

I think it might depend on how small the contract is. At many resorts a 25 point contract isn't super usable- one night a year in a studio- so I think potential buyers might just say they will purchase a 50 or 75 point resale instead. There will still be a market for the 50-75 point contracts as it's a way to dabble in a resort. My thoughts are that the $500 fee hurt the market of any contracts less than 50 points and encourages buyers to consider the next higher point level for a resale contract for the lower cost per point.

Yes, but it could also boost direct add on. When looking for just 25-50 points.

If that actually happens--and that's a huge if. When margins get tight again--and customers forget about the time when there was no $500 processing fee--I sorta suspect, in four or five years, we'll be right back to the four-to-five week wait for resale.

Agree. That is a big IF.

Those 25 and 50 points contracts will lose their popularity. Owners that want to add points will think twice now as the overall cost is higher. Popularity could shift to the 100 points contract but I doubt it. Maybe people just stop adding on!
IMO, DVC is getting more and more unattractive to own.

Yep, I think it will slightly boost adding in direct, unless the seller is willing to take less for most resorts.

 

[maui22]

Spending thousands more to save $5 per point sounds like Disney math.

Won’t be many years before all dues reach $10/pt in dues. So a person buying 50 more points than they need would be paying $500 more every year.

Made plenty of Disney emotional purchases. This one feels less of a factor after paying nearly $5k in dues.

 

[muppets3d]

Intuitively it seems like it will erase any price premium that small point contracts carry on the resale market, because buyers will end up paying more on a per-point basis with this fee, since it's fixed at $500 per contract.

Eventually like everything it'll be part of the deal and maybe it'll stabilize, but in the near-term I expect sellers of small contracts will have to discount a bit to move them.

I have always felt like doing hokey-pokey when buying direct to help resale was a fool's errand, so this may just be my bias though.

 

[Frederic Civish]

So quick question--how do others think that the new $500 fee will change resale patterns? For years, I've thought that the 50-75 point contracts were the most advantageous to hold as, if necessary, they could be sold quickly and at a a slightly higher per point price than larger contracts. Do others think that this most re-sellable contracts will shift up to around 100 or so points? $500 on a 50-point contract is $10 pp--which is a big add-on. On a 100-point contract, $5 pp--which seems more acceptable. Etc.

It will have some effect, but not a lot, I don't think. Partly because the people who originally bought the smaller contracts have already paid extra to set them up - and it didn't stop them from doing it. A few years ago, I bought 325 Polynesian points, direct from Disney, on multiple contracts. I had heard about the 'Resale Benefits' of having smaller contracts, so I set them up, right from the beginning, as 6 contracts of 50 points each and one contract of 25 points. But I wasn't initally aware that this meant I was going to pay 'contract fees' and 'closing costs' on 7 different contracts. When I found out that it was going to cost me a couple of thousand, extra, I went ahead and did it anyway, because I figured I would probably recoup it on the other end, if/when I sold them. Well, I haven't sold them yet. Maybe I never will, but if I do, I think the advantage to the future buyer of getting a small contract will make up for the bit of additional cost.

 

[The Jackal]

I think the $500 fee will strengthen the resale market by making the resale process more enjoyable by eliminating one of the biggest complaints with resale (the long waits).

I didn’t hear them say it was going to any faster. Did I miss something. I think they use the waiting towards their advantage. You want points in a few hours, come buy direct.

 

[BruinEd03]

I didn’t hear them say it was going to any faster. Did I miss something. I think they use the waiting towards their advantage. You want points in a few hours, come buy direct.

They didn’t explicitly say it, but that’s the assumption based on a few observations:

1.) ROFR decisions have accelerated drastically since right before this announcement. To the point some people heard decisions with a few days or the same day. Now that could be because of Christmas, but I think the acceleration has been faster than even in past Christmases.

2.) Prior to this announcement this service was a cost and did not have a supporting revenue source. E.g., the cost was being pushed onto the new sales side. If there was more resale contracts - there was no specific mechanism to justify hiring more staff. More resale volume was not tied to more new sales volume. Now the cost is tied to a specific revenue source - the specific fee that’s tied to resale volume. Thus, it’s much easier to hire more staff based on the revenue from the resale volume. As there are more sales, and more revenue, they can hire staff to keep up with the expanded volume.

 

[juliebee]

Yes, but it could also boost direct add on. When looking for just 25-50 points.

Agreed. For instance, a Poly resale contract for 25 points would average $171 (per Fidelity's low point contract stats) plus the $500 fee-- $4775 plus standard closing costs

Direct 25 points at Poly would be $235 currently $5875 plus standard closing costs and you would get the points immediately and in the use year you want and can be used anywhere.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I do think it will affect the cost of the 25-30 point contracts as the difference between resale and direct will be so small otherwise. I’m not sure how much affect it will have at 50 points. The gap is larger there and I sort of suspect a lot of people want about 50 more points or just a small starter contract. Maybe it doesn’t drop the price so much, but the prices of those may not increase as fast (if the overall resale prices increase at all). Or possibly nothing changes?

 

[Stank]

Short-term, it’s causing a rush and depletion of resale inventory prior to Jan 1, 2026. Once Jan 1 hits, inventory will climb as panic buying was front loaded. Grand Cal surged to $330 resale a couple years ago with VDH tax announced. Then Grand Cal crashed almost $100 months later as the panic buying backed off. It’ll take a while for the market to realize there’s this $500 additional fee as the remaining buyers in Q1 2026 weren’t aware of it, otherwise they likely would’ve been in the Q4 2025 rush. I expect a very sluggish Q1 and for inventory to just build. Demand was pulled forward quite a bit.

Longer term I think it doesn’t matter. People have become detached from value the past 10 years. Companies used to be very reluctant to raise prices for fear it’d crash demand. So long as consumer credit is plentiful, people just don’t balk at the price of anything anymore. People are spending $30 to have fast food delivered to their doors.

Until there’s a credit crunch, a $500 fee will be just borrowed. Everything has been internalized as a monthly payment for the buyer. Annual passes keep going up because people don’t have to drop $1500 in a lump sum. It’s spread out at just over $100/month. That’s why everything is getting more expensive, because everything you buy can be spread across payments vs. all up front. It’s why when you go to a car dealer, they don’t want to talk about the sticker price, but “how much do you want to pay per month.”

Unfortunately, society is in the mindset of buy now, pay later (or never). And that’s made people willing to pay really any price.

 

[airjay75]

I think it will affect the way people on this board think about resale contracts. We'll probably avoid 25 and 50 point contracts because we'll think the effective price per point just isn't a very good deal anymore. But, I think we forget that for a lot of people, they are looking at the overall cost of the contract and something less than $10,000, even with a $500 fee built in, is still less than a $20,000 or a $30,000 contract. And, as long as you're still getting a big discount over going direct, people will buy them. And, because they will cost less total money, the market for such contracts is inherently larger.

I was thinking about this recently browsing some confirmed reservations on a broker website, and I thought to myself, you know, the average person looking at these has no idea how many points each reservation costs. They just look at the dates, the room, the resort, and the total cost (and, if they're smart, compare to booking on cash direct with Disney).

I wouldn't be surprised if many potential buyers browsing a website like the site sponsor look through listings and then look at the total cost more than they do the price per point. And, of course, I have no doubt that brokers will continue to say that small point contracts are in high demand and will move fast, so you better make competitive offers.

 

[JamJam2021]

I’m starting off with a 50 point contract myself to see how it goes. So I think there will always be a reasonable market for contracts under $10000.

 

[walt34]

I think it will affect the way people on this board think about resale contracts. We'll probably avoid 25 and 50 point contracts because we'll think the effective price per point just isn't a very good deal anymore.

I assume prices for small contracts will adjust a bit, the small contract premium will disappear and then everything will continue as before for the most part.

 

[Sandisw]

I didn’t hear them say it was going to any faster. Did I miss something. I think they use the waiting towards their advantage. You want points in a few hours, come buy direct.

The implied that you that they would be adding staff and such to streamline the process.

And, we are seeing evidence of it already in very quick turn around times.

So, I think that is the main reason behind the fee…and that resale buyers should be seeing points much sooner.

 

[Sandisw]

Honestly, in a few months, it will just be a cost that buyers accept and/or negotiate into their offers.

Now, where you might see a difference is those buying direct who split contracts smaller might decide not to go that low anymore and pay the extra.