going to buy, but what can I get?

[Disneyholic]

As far as the other stuff, I do understand how disney works, and that they dont really need to give stuff away. That's why I dont understand why they've given me free dining for the past 3 years even though I was going anyway... but i'll take it.

You DO realize that when they GAVE you FREE dining that the recouped the cost by charging you rack rate for the room? Apparently you felt that free dining & paying rack rate was better for you and yours than getting a room discount. For us, the room discount always worked out better.

We bought DVC on our cruise in August. Because we were on the cruise they did offer incentives during their presentation, but just like FREE dining, I'm sure they made up for the cost somewhere else along the way. After all, we did buy the contract from them, so they did make money on us.

Looking forward to our 4 nights in a 1 bedroom at BLT in April 2013. ( Am on a waitlist for AKLV for a 1 bedroom concierge at Jambo hoping for some .)

 

[crisi]

You seem to be a guy who likes a deal.

Once you sign on the dotted line with DVC, the deals will disappear. Deb pointed out, you don't get free dining on points. You won't find discounts on points stays. We have some discounts available to us as members (right now, for a limited time only, there is a good deal on a PAP), but they are variable and subject to change.

A lot of DVC members who like the feeling of getting a deal are disappointed with their memberships because once you are in, its pretty cut and dried as to what you get. Be self aware - it may still be a good deal, but if it doesn't feel like one because someone else is getting a great package promotion you can't get with points - it might not be worth it.

 

[El&Asmom]

The very nature of your question and some of your comments implies to me that you may want to do a lot more research before your sales presentation next year.

Anyone not looking at the resale market given the high costs of points direct is insanity unless you have to finance. If you have to finance, not only will you be paying a premium to buy those points, (more than double in some cases), but you will be paying greater than 10% interest on the purchase. (At least this is what I last saw DVC was financing at, but in honesty am not in the market for points, so I haven't read many of those posts discussing purchasing to know what the actual interest rate is currently).

That said, you may want to understand the differences in what you can use your points for if buying direct vs resale. Their are restrictions on buying resale, but if you plan to use your points at DVC resorts than it shouldn't matter. If you plan to trade out, it will. My resale points were grandfathered in before the rule changes, so I am not current on the differences.

Since you stated that you go the same time every year, have you considered your use year? Something you may want to research.

Do you care where you stay? If you do, again do some research on the various hotels and decide if going resale may help you get into that hotel since you can easily book 11 months out if you go the same time every year. If you don't want to stay at BLT or AKL you may not want to buy direct.
If you want to stay at VWL, or BCV rather than the resorts they are currently pushing, resale will be a better option.


Lots of things to think about so you can make the most out of your purchase and hopefully enjoy DVC for years to come rather than regret it and be on the resale market yourself.



To be honest, dh and I never took a sales presentation. I did research here on the Disboards and a couple other sites for 1.5 years before we bought resale. You likely will get way more info here on the boards if you ask the right questions, and read the pertinent posts regarding the ins and outs of DVC. We have now owned for over 5 years and have been thrilled with our purchase and hope the same for your family.

 

[Dean]

lol. I'm not doing it to get a couple of fastpasses. I'm just trying to get as much as possible in the process.
Like i stated before, my experience with these guys is that they seem to get paid if they get you to go to the sales presentation. So they'll do whatever it takes for you to agree. But if Disney is different, then so be it. But I'm still going to try.

Just going to play good cop/bad cop with the guys in the booth.

As noted, DVC doesn't work the way other timeshares do when it comes to sales. The ASA's (booth's or OPC's as many companies call them) can't offer anything and DVC doesn't do the bribe thing when it comes to sales tours. Don't waste your time of their bargaining, you'll come across as obnoxious if you do. IF you're truly interested in buying, take the tour. However, as pointed out here, there really is no reasonable reason to buy retail in your situation unless you must own and use Grand Floridian routinely. You'll get a lot more and better info here about your choices than you will at a sales tour. It seems clear you don't know enough to make an informed decision, spend a few months getting educated and I'd suggest you NOT plan to buy on your Dec trip.

Plus the idea that you're going to put on over on timeshare sales staff is laughable. They'll win more often than not in one way or another.

 

[nanienamou]

We just did it in October and actually got 10 cards with 3 FPs on them (so that's 30 "magic" FPs for 2 people), 2 x 15 $ gift cards, free ice cream, a picture, Disney actually gave us 10 points more for purchasing and we received our points to use in 2012 - as opposed to 2013, so basically, a "free" vacation.

 

[cc_nike]

We just did it in October and actually got 10 cards with 3 FPs on them (so that's 30 "magic" FPs for 2 people), 2 x 15 $ gift cards, free ice cream, a picture, Disney actually gave us 10 points more for purchasing and we received our points to use in 2012 - as opposed to 2013, so basically, a "free" vacation.

Yes but I would bet those perks came because you bought and not just for the tour. Which means you paid thousands more than you should have.

 

[disneynutz]

We just did it in October and actually got 10 cards with 3 FPs on them (so that's 30 "magic" FPs for 2 people), 2 x 15 $ gift cards, free ice cream, a picture, Disney actually gave us 10 points more for purchasing and we received our points to use in 2012 - as opposed to 2013, so basically, a "free" vacation.

Disney didn't give you 2012 points, you bought them. This is a Disney marketing fib that they are trained to tell new buyers who don't know any better.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just did it in October and actually got 10 cards with 3 FPs on them (so that's 30 "magic" FPs for 2 people), 2 x 15 $ gift cards, free ice cream, a picture, Disney actually gave us 10 points more for purchasing and we received our points to use in 2012 - as opposed to 2013, so basically, a "free" vacation.

So you have a Dec UY? You got the points you were owed for 2012. You don't get current 2013 points until Dec 2013. You can borrow them into your 2012 UY though.

 

[TheDalys]

This is ridiculous. Is Disney (or any company) not going to try to get as much out of me? Trying to get the best deal possible, in any situtaion, is just part of doing business.

It's disney,,, they already got you. You are going to Disney World, they got you. If you have the thought of Dvc, they got you.
You want the best deal, buy resale. We did and saved over $10,000, that is better than any fastpass or dvc hat. You do not have to waste your trip at the dvc presentations, it is all done through emails.

 

[tb1972]

We received two $50 gift cards for taking the DVC tour - it paid our trip bar tab at AKV! We ended up buying re sale.

 

[bumbershoot]

Which means you paid thousands more than you should have.

*Could have*, not *should* have. come on. There are people out there who WANT to buy direct, and that's OK. Leaves more resale inventory for others, right? Could have.

 

[Lizard Valley]

I learned about DVC about 2 years ago, just before heading out to WDW. I then spent the next year or so learning everything I (thought) I could about it, including researching resale vs. direct. I read various forums, figured out my best UY, how many points I needed, and got an idea of where I would like to stay. I would look every now and then on the websites of the top 4 resale companies to get a feel for resale asking prices of the various resorts, and look at the ROFR thread to get a feel for what was passing and what was not.

A year later (last year), we did the tour at the SSR sales centre. By then, I pretty much knew the ins and outs of DVC, and knew what questions to ask, including why I would buy direct when I could buy resale. The guide didn't have a good answer, other than that I'd be restricted from DCL and CC (which we had pretty much ascertained that I would not be doing anyway).

I liked seeing the rooms, and we got 15$ gift cards for each of us (myself and 3 kids), so a total of 60$. I told the kids they could buy whatever they wanted with them at DTD after the presentation (Star Wars Lego ), I got a break from the kids (after 2 days of dealing with travel delays, 12 hours of sitting in an airport, and an unscheduled overnight in Toronto, I needed it!), and free ice cream

Then I said thank you, went home, and bought resale.

Note, we were also offered 3 FP's each, but I didn't see the point. Plus this was just before they started enforcing FP return times, so the regular FP's worked just fine for us

 

[lilpooh108]

Just for the sake of discussion (since this is from before), in 2004 I received a Disney mailing for a 3 night stay at Port Orleans, with 3 day parkhoppers for 2 people for $199. It was an INCREDIBLE deal. Yes it was Disney. Yes, the offer was from DVC (and not Mariott or any other company). The stay was at Port Orleans, with a required preview of SSR.

I reserved MLK weekend for 2005, but had to cancel at the last minute because I was hired at my preferred job (at the time).

When I called to cancel, the lady basically told me I was INSANE and that they never offer this kind of deal and asked me how I got on the list (I was apparently on some awesome list that kept getting me cheap Westin & Marriott [we did the Maui Ocean club preview for $499/week twice] timeshare previews, and eventually got the Disney SSR one).

I still regret cancelling it. I was so distraught, that in February 2005 we simply Priceline-d a hotel (the Hilton in DTD) and flew there for Valentine's weekend to remedy our missed trip. 6 years later we bought DVC (resale).

 

[LSchrow]

while staying on my points (about 3 years ago - our birthday/grad gift to her), my friend was offered a $100 disney GC to take the tour. she did wind up buying while there (with CM discount which they knew about when giving the GC), btw.

when the same friend and her friend went last month (staying on points), her friend was offered a $100 GC to take the tour. she didn't buy.
both times, they also rec'd a few FPs.
apparently, if one is staying on someone else's points, the incentives are much better.

personally, we first bought about 13 years ago, then did 2 add-ons: all when they had great direct deals, and all with additional CM discount.
now, we would only buy direct if we decided we had to have the GFV and were able to get another great deal (doubt it), else we would buy additional BWV resale.

btw, buying early DVC direct saved us a lot of money over the years.....unfortunately, i don't think the savings are anywhere comparable for those currently buying direct.

enjoy

 

[bakerworld]

Am tired of hearing all the resale people bash direct buyers. There isn't only one right way to purchase and for each buyer it's a different option for different reasons.

We're direct buyers - we like instant. I'm not from a 3rd-world country and don't like to barter (yes, moderator - I know that's an ethic slur - it's just meant as an adverbial adjective). We like certainty. We purchased and instantly walked away with our membership cards/number and points available to reserve our first stay. We didn't have to wait months - only about 45 minutes.

So to each their own - some and some use a dryer.

 

[Dean]

Am tired of hearing all the resale people bash direct buyers. There isn't only one right way to purchase and for each buyer it's a different option for different reasons.

We're direct buyers - we like instant. I'm not from a 3rd-world country and don't like to barter (yes, moderator - I know that's an ethic slur - it's just meant as an adverbial adjective). We like certainty. We purchased and instantly walked away with our membership cards/number and points available to reserve our first stay. We didn't have to wait months - only about 45 minutes.

So to each their own - some and some use a dryer.

There is no bashing, only realities both financial and otherwise plus these discussions generally center around someone asking about buying or usage. If paying twice as much as something's worth financially is worth it to you, that is your choice. My goal is to make sure you know those realities going in, most don't, even the ones that think they do. The reality is that all timeshares are first sold retail and the difference with most (but not all) timeshares is that they are worth pennies on the dollar when you walk out. For DVC, it's only 40-60¢ on the dollar but only a few years ago it was closer to 80¢ on the dollar.

 

[Lizard Valley]

Post deleted by poster

 

[Lizard Valley]

Am tired of hearing all the resale people bash direct buyers. There isn't only one right way to purchase and for each buyer it's a different option for different reasons.

We're direct buyers - we like instant. I'm not from a 3rd-world country and don't like to barter (yes, moderator - I know that's an ethic slur - it's just meant as an adverbial adjective). We like certainty. We purchased and instantly walked away with our membership cards/number and points available to reserve our first stay. We didn't have to wait months - only about 45 minutes.

So to each their own - some and some use a dryer.

I think the message here is that buying DVC should be an informed decision. That includes the financial aspect of it.

Consider the situation:

I just bought 200 SSR points resale. Cost. $12,000
The same 200 points direct: $22,000.

I had to decide if waiting 2 months for my points was worth saving $10,000. Or was I willing to pay $10,000 more to get my points NOW. In my case, saving $10,000 was very worth it.

The point is that buyers need to know that a resale market exists. I find it unfortunate that many buyers only learn about resale AFTER they've bought in. The people here just want to help others have all the facts necessary so that they can make an informed decision.

Ten thousand dollars is not "spare change" for most. And it would likely feed a whole family for a year in the third world. It's all about perspective.

 

[CarolAnnC]

It sounded to me from the OP's postings that he already did the tour once.

Used to be that once you did the initial tour, they assigned you a DVC Guide and therefore, any subsequent visits were not the "initial tour" that they provide a new prospect.

In our case, when we showed up the second time, they told us our Guide would come out as soon as she was available, and after meeting with her, we had an ice cream on our way out. When we finally did purchase (after keeping in touch via telephone) we left with the picture and more ice creams. This was pre-fast pass days.

So, I would be surprised if his plan works out the way he thinks it will.....

 

[mousefan1972]

There is no bashing, only realities both financial and otherwise plus these discussions generally center around someone asking about buying or usage. If paying twice as much as something's worth financially is worth it to you, that is your choice. My goal is to make sure you know those realities going in, most don't, even the ones that think they do. The reality is that all timeshares are first sold retail and the difference with most (but not all) timeshares is that they are worth pennies on the dollar when you walk out. For DVC, it's only 40-60¢ on the dollar but only a few years ago it was closer to 80¢ on the dollar.

Not all direct purchasers pay twice as much, though. We initially bought BLT in April 2010 and paid $106 pp for 450 points. We've since added on another 250, with the bulk of those at $108 pp. There was little to no resale market for BLT back then, and that was the only resort we wanted. We also did not finance. So for us, buying direct was "financially worth it".