In my opinion - and I have no facts or experiences to back this up - I think you can negotiate a price with our
DVC guide.
In my opinion - DVC is crazy if they think they can sell points at 'retail' when they are available for a significant amount less on the resale market. That's what makes me think that you can negotiate a lower price - more than likely if you are a current member.
We bought our first points thought DVC directly at AKV because when we bought at AKV the price per point was almost identical to the resale market - PLUS we got a 'matching set' of Developer Points at Saratoga Springs to use until AKV- Kidani was completed. So we got an extra week added to our purchase on the front end our contract - which we loved!
Then when we thought about adding on we one again decided to buy directly through DVC at Bay Lake Tower because we got a free 7 night cruise as a promotion. We did the math - and we came out ahead buying through DVC because of the promotion - AND $x.xx off per point. So we bought BLT at a great price - with great promotions.
Then when we wanted to add on again about a year later - the amount of points that we wanted to buy at SSR wasn't available through DVC at the time with our use year - and there weren't any promos or price cuts on that amount of points (under 100) so we bought on the resale market.
The only difference that we noticed by buying resale was it took a little longer and it wasn't quite as 'deluxe' if that makes any sense. No fancy packages in the mail - there was confusion as to how many points we would 'actually' be getting immediately (the previous owner didn't really understand DVC I guess) - and the communication wasn't as good - but it was good enough to know that we were in good shape and there wasn't any 'funny business' going on.
Really it's all about comfort - and experience. Did we LOVE buying in the DVC center? YES - it was fantastic! Did we love saving money through resale - YES it was fantastic!
So.... was there a difference - yes - but did the difference matter - not really (in the grand scheme of things)
To touch on a question that you ask earlier about the expiration difference - the only resort that DVC has extended an offer to lengthen the 'life' of the contract was at Old Key West - and that option was either $9.00 or $10.00 a point to add 15 years to their contract - from 2042 - to 2057.
If you have questions

- this is the place to ask them!
If you have any questions this is the place to put them out for an answer!