Is it wrong to buy a timeshare at the ts presentation?

[barefootMom]

Hi--I am going to be staying at a Marriott villa in Jan. in return for going to the presentation. My husband is adamant that we wont buy anything that day even if it sounds great because he heard you should only buy those re-sale and that we would be overpaying. Is this true?

 

[tabby1881]

We bought both of our timeshares on the "used" market. We did save thousands of dollars by doing it this way. We're still very happy with our choices. You could look up timeshare resales on the internet. Look for a website that is called TUG (Timeshares Users Group) and check it out. The people on that site are very helpful. I would love to own a Marriott TS, but they are expensive even on the resale market. Great program though, from what I've heard. Good luck.

 

[sticker231]

We also bought resale and saved a bunch. We actually bought two weeks for less than what we could have got a week for at a presentation.

Shop around.

 

[mrsstats]

Is it wrong? No. If you want it and can afford it. If people didnt buy from the develope, there would be no resales. Is it cheaper to buy resale, yes of course it is.

 

[calgarygary]

Please, please, please, before you buy a timeshare, make sure you educate yourself on the topic. You can find a great deal of information at tug

 

[barefootMom]

Thanks everyone...I guess I need to do some research on that TUG site before I go to the presentation!

 

[TotoToo]

95 times out of 100 you can get a better deal for the same resort or system on resale rather than retail purchase. Even the 5 may be generous and are in very special cases - you wouldn't fall into the circumstances that makes retail a good buy very often.

In general it's safe to say that the best rule is look but don't buy at retail timeshare sales presentations. Once you see what you want find it resale and save not hundreds but thousands and often tens of thousands of dollars for the exact same resort or resort system. Your thoughts about learning before attending are right on.

 

[fakereadhed]

. My husband is adamant that we wont buy anything that day even if it sounds great because he heard you should only buy those re-sale and that we would be overpaying.

It is wrong if you want to stay married.

 

[cgcruz]

The only timeshare I could see worth buying from the developer is DVC. And thats just because Disney forces Right of First Refusal on all resales, so you wont get as great a savings through resale as other timeshares.

 

[tasha99]

There's a reason timeshare presentations are usually pretty high pressure. Once you leave and check it out, the offer probably won't hold up to scrutiny.

 

[disnymagical]

Your hubby is absolute RIGHT!! We bought our timeshare after having the speil! We bought our week in Tenerife £4000/$8000 dollars cheaper than what we were told it would be to buy whilst we were in Tenerife. We had been advised by some friends who had bough resale just four months before our trip.

We also advised some friends who did not take it and bought a week also in Tenerife but whilst they were there - it cost £2300/$4600 more than one resale. Theirs was a one bed whilst ours was a two bed.

I would say NEVER buy direct - always RESALE - but do your homework first.

Chris

Hi--I am going to be staying at a Marriott villa in Jan. in return for going to the presentation. My husband is adamant that we wont buy anything that day even if it sounds great because he heard you should only buy those re-sale and that we would be overpaying. Is this true?

 

[Brian Noble]

I'd say it's ill-advised to buy a timeshare without fully researching the purchase---either at the presentation, later from the developer, OR on the resale market.

Unlike many things you might consider purchasing, a timeshare has a *permanent* and *ongoing* cost to you, until you either sell it, or pass on to the great Magic Kingdom in the sky.

 

[Princess Minnie5]

Unlike many things you might consider purchasing, a timeshare has a *permanent* and *ongoing* cost to you . . .

Brain Noble is absolutely right and for this reason you should explore all options before purchasing. We bought into a timeshare once after a presentation. I got home and had "buyers remorse". So, I started to do some research on the net. I found that we could have saved some real money if we had bought resale, thousands worth. We had a 5 day cooling period and it was during that time that we canceled our membership.

Go to the presentation to see if it's worth buying into, but don't buy directly from them. If you want in, buy resale. Good luck.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Here are some great website to browse for resales. We bought ours from Holiday Group and love it though I admit it may not be for everyone.

http://www.holidaygroup.com/

http://www.timesharestogo.com/

 

[Julia M]

There can be, in a few limited situations, reasons that one would buy from a developer and not resale. Those can include wanting a new property (resales won't be aviailable yet) and from some "chains", such as Marriott, where buying from the developer gives you options that a resale won't.

Having said that, you should never buy from a developer (or resale for that matter), until you've done your homework.

Joining TUG is the best way to do your homework. I have been a member since 1999, and it's been worth every penny and then some.

We own two timeshares, and are extremely happy with both. TUG has helped us purchase the timeshares, learn how to maximize our exchanging (in our case, going with RCI was better than II), figure out where we would want to exchange (only members can read the reviews) and so much more.

Julia

 

[js]

I own two timeshares and love them.
The only and best piece of advice I can give you is:
BUY RESALE
Do NOT purchase from the developer.

If you are serious about purchasing a timeshare go to:

www.tug2.net and join. I think it is about $15, not sure. I am a member but don't know what I paid.
The money you spend to register will be very worth it.

 

[jeff968]

Don't forget eBay. I purchased my Cape Cod timeshare from a young man on eBay who got it from his Grandfather. He didn't want it. I paid about 20 cents on the dollar compared to the retail price of the unit and he was happy to get rid of it. The transaction went very smooth but you do have to be careful on the resale market so check things out carefully. Good luck. BTW, the Marriotts are fantastic.

 

[tiff211]

I bought from a developer a couple of weeks ago and am very satisified with my decision (as of yet). We bought from Sheraton and instead of buying a timeshare week you buy options that you can use numerous places without paying an exchange fee. We also can stay at Sheraton hotels for VIP rates and there are other perks as well. I had researched a little before going to the presentation and I was impressed with Sheraton's whole spiel.

 

[Loriannf]

Tiff:

Sheraton is part of Starwood and you DO own a week. There are StarOptions (for internal trading) and StarPoints (for the hotels). StarPoints are a really bad idea, and I hope you bought a unit worth at least 81,000 StarOptions or you probably won't be going anywhere.

I'll restate what a number of posters have already said - BUY RESALE and join Timeshare Users Group (TUG2.net). Tiff, the Sheraton/Starwood stuff is found on the Hotel-based bulletin board. It's probably too late for you to get out of your contract, but at least if you join TUG, you'll learn to maximize your purchase.

Oh, yeah, I hope you bought Mandatory and not Voluntary. Feel free to pm me if you have questions.

Lori

 

[MRussell]

We had a good experience with www.holidaygroup.com also. We had been to several presentations and as much as I wanted to own a timeshare I just couldn't justify the price. Now I can trade through RCI to any of the expensive resorts for a fraction of the cost.

Check it out before you go. Have a great vacation!