Hot Topic Alert!!!!!

[dumbo71]

Commercial renting, you guessed it.


I am simply shocked at what a hot topic this is here in the Dis. Quite frankly many here wouldn't even know this existed if it weren't for the Dis.

Even funnier is that many simpy feel ALL renting should be done away with. Why do I find that funny? Well, it strikes me as funny HERE because this forum has a Rent/trade board. Expanding on the Rent/Trade board, I'm pretty confident that if the Mods. felt that renting was against the POS or against the newly announced "crack down' on commercial renting that they would pull that board from the Dis. I think it is fair to say that they know a bit more than we do and thus the survival of the Rent/Trade board shows me renting is going nowhere.

I spent a little time today familiarizing myself with the Rent/Trade board. A particular poster jumped out at me. This poster offered to help several people with large point needs. At first I felt that "wow this person has lots of points." They even stated they had points at all of the WDW DVC's as well as VB and could get whatever they needed. I pulled some prior posts from this poster and saw that they had recently requested and apparently recieved large transfers here on the Rent/Trade board. They also stated that distressed points were fine. Sounds like a little morphing going on or at the very least extending the expiration of those distressed transferred points. Sounds pretty commercial to me. Can't name names but for those interested it is right there in front of you.

Where am I going with this????? I fully support renting for sure but what responsibility does the Dis have when Commercial renters are right here on these boards? I realize there policies on this of staying out of it but where does that end?

Please sound off and vote in this poll.

Thank you.

 

[BCV23]

I voted for the one liners but was just being silly.

I think it is fine right now. I don't follow that board at all unless I see a reference to it here but from what little I've seen the DIS is doing a good and careful job with it. It seems to me to be a good service for those who have points that can't be used for whatever reason. Life happens.

 

[TomD]

I voted leave it as it is.

This is not the only board with a Rent/Trade board. This one is the most active but it is not up to the owners of this board IMHO to police it for commercial renters. That is Disney's Job and they do have people who come to this board.

This is after all the Unofficial disney board.

Just wanted to add I agree with what you are saying about commercial renting but shutting down the board is not going to stop it. They will move to a different board and you would not see it.

 

[CarolA]

Rinkwide and Greenban got my vote.

(In other words, I don't spend any time on the Rent/Trade board and don't really care! Howver, I actually do think that it would be nice if there was a way for the DIS to find the "professionals" and charge them for the service. I mean if you are running a business on the WDWInfo company servers shouldn't you PAY?)


Now the one time I did post on the Rent/Trade board I put a notice on my posting that said something like "your posting history will be reviewed and I will not deal with folks who rent/transfer etc on an extensive basis"

 

[mom2alix]

Leave it as it is. I like that I can rent my points if I need to. The year we spent our vacation time (and money) at the hospital having DS it was really nice that I could transfer my points to another member since we didn't plan to go for awhile.

OTOH - I personally MUCH prefer transferring just because I don't really want to deal with someone who doesn't understand how everything works. I also hope that if we decide to do a big family gathering one year and need more points than we can bank/borrow that I'll be able to find a nice member to transfer some points to me.

 

[dumbo71]

Thanks for the thoughts and the votes.

The post and poll aren't a condemnation of the Dis.

I've defended renting up and down and still do but I have to say what I saw over there on the rent/trade board I can see now why renting is a hot topic.

 

[3DisneyKids]

I voted that I would like to see the DIS get involved (and I know that this is beyond the scope of this site) only because of the "SAD" thread (Dani and Stacey, among others) and the Vogel thread. We know that there are scammers who have used the R/T board to commit fraud. This should not be tolerated.

 

[keys2kingdom]

I used to go over to the R/T board just for kicks but after the whole "mush" incident I can't even stomach browsing over there anymore. It's like a train wreck. For what it's worth I think there should be a fee for using it too, for everyone.

 

[RobDoc]

Interesting how a "particluar poster" jumped out at you as being "commercial" when you later nominated someone who has done the exact same things - plus making multiple reservations for rental purposes - as a moderator for the board.

How is one poster a "commercial" renter and one you suggest as a moderator not? Sounds pretty hypocritical to me - but to each his own.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I like to see it as only a transfer/trade board - internal to DVC members only.

 

[dumbo71]

Interesting how a "particluar poster" jumped out at you as being "commercial" when you later nominated someone who has done the exact same things - plus making multiple reservations for rental purposes - as a moderator for the board.

How is one poster a "commercial" renter and one you suggest as a moderator not? Sounds pretty hypocritical to me - but to each his own.

Well for one the "mod" suggestion was a joke. For another the suggested mods actually contribute to the boards. Also, I WOULD want someone who has done renting to be the Mod. for that board. I've seen you have a vast knowledge of WDW and DVC thus you make a great mod. for these boards. I would want someone with a similiar knowledge of renting/transfers to "police" that area. They would also need to have some higher level of moral character and I think the two mentioned fit that requirement.

It was a joke but it really isn't that crazy.

 

[Starr W.]

I voted for the one liners. I enjoy reading the R/T board for laughs, getting ready for the 11 month window for Xmas/NYE ressies . Then last minute Easter trips!


I personally don't like the idea of renting, but that's my opinion and while I have sold a lot of stuff on ebay and never ran into a problem even dealing overseas, you were dealing with a tangible product not points and ressies.
Perhaps if the need came up I would rather do a transfer.

 

[3DisneyKids]

I like to see it as only a transfer/trade board - internal to DVC members only.

I love this idea. And now that DVC is enforcing the 1-trade policy, it would definitely not be members getting points transferred to them for the purposes of commercial renting in another venue. (It could be, yes, but those instances would be few and far between, I think.)

 

[dianeschlicht]

I say leave things as they are. The board has plenty of safeguards in place, and operates well. It should not be the responsibility of the DIS to determine how much or what kind of rental activity any individual is doing.

 

[RobDoc]

.... I would want someone with a similiar knowledge of renting/transfers to "police" that area. They would also need to have some higher level of moral character and I think the two mentioned fit that requirement.

It was a joke but it really isn't that crazy.

So, we need a fox to guard the chicken coop? Someone who does not rent to others can't effectively moderate that board? ... and someone who has used the Rent/Trade Board for certain transactions "sounds pretty commercial" to you - yet you state that another poster who has done those same things (and more) has a "higher level of moral character".

Interesting set of values.

 

[kidsister]

I went to the Rent/Trade board because I had some 'HOLDING" points to get rid of. (Boy, do I hate holding points.) What I noticed was that posts would explicitely state things like ' 24 points must be used by march 1, cannot transfer'. And yet, newbies would respond with 'can you get me a ressie at the DL for 10 nights using points?' 'Do you have 135 points for Aug, 2008 to rent me' 'Will you take $1 for all your points because I have a sick dog?" I'm exaggerating a bit, but it wouldn't hurt to have a sticky that might explain to newbies just a wee bit about renting?

I voted for Greenban and Rinkwide too! I doubt we can ascertain the 'moral character' of anyone completely just from their postngs on the boards, but if there are people renting out their posts who have 12 posts total and they are all about renting OR people whose posts are usually katty or pompous OR people who post " I'll buy anything, even distressed points" and then we see them offering points for rent at a higher price.....well, those types of posters tend to make you think something just isn't right with them. Rinkwide makes me laugh (tho I didn't know he rented points) and Greenban acts both professional and respectful when one is dealing with him as a renter, which I have done. And both have a sense of humor, which I appreciate.

I think, as it is, the rental board provides a good service, but it is hard to navigate, at least for me, so I wish it was better organized so that I could find what I needed more quickly. But I'll be the first to say that , as it is, is better than not being! And I sure wouldn't want to have to moderate it.!

 

[Mtnman44]

I know I'm kinda new to all of this, but I haven't yet been able to fully understand how renting points hurts any of us, even if somebody is doing it as a business (which seems costly and time consuming and risky anyway).

What I mean is, there are still the same number of points being used at the resort. The points are still going to be used whether by one family that owns a bunch or by 10 renting families. Why does it matter to us? And, doesn't it actually make our ownership more valuable, even if we never rent out our points ourselves?

 

[dumbo71]

So, we need a fox to guard the chicken coop?

Yes we do actually IMO. We have had people being scammed on these very boards. I see that as a problem, morally and otherwise. We've also heard directly from DVC regarding commercial renting. Not doing anything to change the boards seems to be ignoring DVC's wishes. Why is Ebay and those with their own websites the devil but the Dis Rent/Trade board is OK?

Someone who does not rent to others can't effectively moderate that board? ... .

I'm sure they could but the reverse CAN be true also. Someone that rents/trades could certainly police that board.

Really from what I've seen in my brief read of the Dis board it should be shut down, period. I'm not even sure it could be policed properly. If you want to question my moral compass or if I'm a hypocrite, fine, but I question this same board that quotes from the POS and other WDW rules yet chooses to ignore what is going on beneath their feet.

 

[bcvillastwo]

..................nor do we plan to rent but it's an option.

Since we don't rent we aren't all that familiar with the rules but we know there are rules and we are aware that some abuse the system. But, I'm not for throwing the baby out with the bath water. Let DVC police the system. Frankly, I think the rent/trade boards should be left just like it is.

 

[RobDoc]

Yes we do actually IMO. We have had people being scammed on these very boards. I see that as a problem, morally and otherwise. We've also heard directly from DVC regarding commercial renting. Not doing anything to change the boards seems to be ignoring DVC's wishes. Why is Ebay and those with their own websites the devil but the Dis Rent/Trade board is OK?

We have NEVER had anyone scammed who followed the suggestions in the FAQ for the Rent/Trade Board. The only problems I'm aware of involve people not following due diligence and, in some cases, common sense. "WE" have not heard directly from DVC regarding commercial renting (and I don't believe that is a term even used by DVC). DVC has issued a statement to members reminding us of the contract language about personal use. Unlike eBay and those with their own websites, the DIS gets nothing from the Rent/Trade Board. It is provided simply as a service and "Caveat Emptor" is an important component of transactions as each person who chooses to use the board is totally responsible for the agreements they enter into.

I'm sure they could but the reverse CAN be true also. Someone that rents/trades could certainly police that board.

I would agree, but this is very different then your prior statement where you suggested that you want a renter to "police" the board.

Really from what I've seen in my brief read of the Dis board it should be shut down, period. I'm not even sure it could be policed properly. If you want to question my moral compass or if I'm a hypocrite, fine, but I question this same board that quotes from the POS and other WDW rules yet chooses to ignore what is going on beneath their feet.

Your opinion has been noted. I'm not clear what you feel is improper about quoting the POS, as that is the basis for much of the discussion here - but the DIS does not ignore anything - it is an internet message board and those who post here are responsible for the content beyond the guidelines for the site. You've certainly been allowed to speak your mind. If you feel site guidelines are being violated, feel free to report those violations - we receive many such reports every day. I've even had some about this very thread.

If you don't care to use the Rent/Trade Board that's fine. That's also the beauty of the site.