That just seems ridiculous to me and I can't fathom what they were thinking to not realize that resale would come in to play. They are probably most angry about pressure from above to perform better and are blaming the resale market rather than the reality of economy and outside market forces. And consider that it wasn't uncommon for part of the guide sales pitch to point out as a positive that you could resell later and for a good price.
Really though I'm doubtful about the ratio of direct to resale purchases being that great and also do not believe that every purchase lost to resale would result in a direct sale. By having a strong resale market you probably gain a few sales that otherwise wouldn't happen.
Tiered benefits to encourage retention of contracts and additional purchases for some who value the benefits and some judicious ROFRing seem much better for encouraging direct sales over taking away trade out options in a system that exists b/c of Disney theme parks.
I don't think that they ever discounted that resales would happen, but when the prices became too out of wack and there was no incentive to buy direct...they had to take action. I don't think the restrictions on resales will really change the resale market or prices, but it will create a perception that there is a benefit to buying direct. When all points were the same, there just was no incentive for someone to pay extra to buy direct.
I do think a lot of resale purchasers would have bought direct....at least eventually. By moving those purchasers in house, there will be more of a demand for points and you will likely see ROFR's increase next year. But time will tell.
Why would they give anything away to owners already? Can't see them being generous to us. We buy AP's because we come down for the winter. We can go the parks for a couple of hours several times a month and save a lot of money. Use our points to cruise. No matter what they do, people will complain. You can never make everyone happy as we can see from the CC tier program. We've had a 1,000 points for a lot of years and the value has gone down hill over the years as we use points to cruise. How many times can you go to WDW? We're beyond counting. The only benefit that would turn us on is to get a break on points to cruise.
They give things to owners for a few reasons. First, with a bad economy, even for owners trips to Disney can be quite expensive. They want add-ons and if people are struggling to justify the cost of extending or increasing the frequency of their trips (translates to buying more points) than it will hurt them.
The sales pitch is basically "by purchasing DVC you can gurantee your trip to Disney for the next 50 years and it is cheaper than booking nightly". With the glut of discounts being offered to cash guest, they are struggling to make the math work. With free dining moving from 6 weeks a year to almost all year, it is a huge sales hurdle. By offering these benefits they can tell a buyer "not only do you get a deluxe for less than a moderate, you can also get some % off your dining".
As Brian always states, DVC/Disney is a for profit company and ever decision will be based on a profit margin and what the return on that investment will be. Sometimes they offer things just to create pixie dust or some perception of Disney Magic, but even that has a return on the investment. Disney has been known for exceptional service and providing some type of extra magic....and many people strive to go their for that reason vs going somewhere else that doesn't have that "disney touch".
Sometimes it backfires and people feel they should have gotten more for their money or Disney failed, but for every guest that feels that way, someone is walking around in awe because they were given something extra (like a towel animal or a button or whatever).
nope.. 
cruise in Feb, and will stay for 1-2 nights (on points). A higher discount on the renewal would make it worth while, heck a bigger discount on the cruise would get me there too.. but otherwise nope.
