Price gouging?

[Canadian Tom]

Hello: After going through the posts on this board, there seems to be some people who are trying to charge Room rack rates for their points. I hope this doesn't catch on. I am concerned that this board's future may be in jeopardy if this practice continues. Don't buy from these people, in fact, I think this board should charge them a fee for advetising their business because that's what they are running. It will also hurt us all because these people will book up the rooms at prime/busy times just to sell them here and reap hugh profits. I may get in trouble for this, but I'd hate to see this excetional service disappear.

 

[DSNY FN]

Hi Tom I am a fellow Canadian from just down the 401 in London. Do you rent your points out? i know I do and the least amount of money I will take for my points is 10 bucks US and that is only for points I know are going to expire that year. I usually rent the res out on E Bay and get between 13 to 22 dollars depending on the time I book and the place. I think no matter what people do or say it will always be around I know I reap the rewards of being able to book whenever I want and rent out my points if I know I can't make a trip that year.

 

[Richyams]

And you don't feel guilty reserving prime holiday or other highly saught after reservations with no intention of using them yourself?


Wow, we have another poster on this board who feels the same way. I am disgusted by that sort of behaviour.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Richyams
And you don't feel guilty reserving prime holiday or other highly saught after reservations with no intention of using them yourself?


Wow, we have another poster on this board who feels the same way. I am disgusted by that sort of behaviour.

Count me in with you and Tom.

 

[msdis]

 

[DSNY FN]

So what you are trying to tell me is that if I am not going to go to WDW and I have some banked points that are going to expire or I know I am not using my current years points I should do nothing with them. Well that is where myself and a few others I know feel it to be a waste why not rent out your points to someone else who will be able to use them so I post them on E Bay and peopel want them so they bid on them and the price gets to be that of regular rack rate or higher,who am I to complain about that. I am not twisting anyones arm to bid that high now am I. Now as for when I vacation I go in Dec and have never had any problem getting a room any place and I only ever book at the 7 month window and usually go for the first 2 weeks I bought and paid for my points so why should it matter if every other year or so I rent them out to the highest bidder.

 

[nydizfan]

how can u talk about renting points and 9/11 in the same sentence.. thats insane.........dave

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by nydizfan
how can u talk about renting points and 9/11 in the same sentence.. thats insane.........dave

I understood her meaning, nothing insane about it.

 

[DSNY FN]

I wasn't even going to touch that topic I can see how she is trying to make a connection between two acts that are deemed to be horrible but sorry mine is on a much smaller and non violent scale. I honestly don't see the problem with it I mean by the sounds of it some of you would rather just have us all let our points expire rather than trying to let others use them. As I said before I don't make people bid on them they do that all on their own.

 

[jaysue]

After all why be responsible for the consequences of your actions

 

[Richyams]

I have no problem with selling a reservation on Ebay.

I think that using the eleven month window to secure difficult reservations to sell on Ebay is slimey.

 

[mamarobin24]

I may be just new to this, but I don't think the original poster is against renting out points, but against jacking the price up. Most people who auction things on ebay don't have much control over the top price, only the bottom one.

I am only a new member, so I haven't made many reservations through DVC yet. HOwever, I do know that the making reservations around the holidays to rent out to others has already affected me. When I called for availability at my home resort (VWL), they didn't have any - - but there were points on ebay and on the rent/swap board for that time. I have to say, that felt kind of unfair. . . .

so we're going in January for the marathon.

 

[Canadian Tom]

Hi Everyone: I guess I'm not alone or warpped. I am not against renting your points but the tying up o rooms at our resorts for non-members at the expense of members not being able to make reservations for themselves. Is there a possibility that Disney could stop members from selling reservations? I think I read here, that if you sell a ressie to someone and the room is trashed, that you and not the renter is responsibe for the cost of repairs, is this true?

A solution to this problem would be to only allow the transferring of point to other members and not the general public on this site or allow only the renting of points and not the selling of reservations. Disney could stop this buy not allowing the name on the reservation to be changed. If you can't change the name on the reservation, it's going to be tough to sell it.

Enough said, Thanks Everyone.

 

[DebbieB]

Originally posted by Canadian Tom
A solution to this problem would be to only allow the transferring of point to other members and not the general public on this site or allow only the renting of points and not the selling of reservations. Disney could stop this buy not allowing the name on the reservation to be changed. If you can't change the name on the reservation, it's going to be tough to sell it.

Enough said, Thanks Everyone.

I agree that making a reservation during a popular time with the sole intention of selling it is unethical. However, I would be against DVC changing rules because there can be extenuating circumstances. For example, a member could be stuck with holding points for a last minute cancellation or be unable to bank points after an unexpected cancellation. I would rather see the member be able to rent a reservation than lose the points.

 

[timC]

Tom. What would you consider "gouging" and "huge profits".

I don't see DVC as a particularly good investment, so I'd be curious to know exactly you've discovered.

The current market rate for DVC rental points if about $10. That's not gouging, given the upfront cost of about $70/point, plus maintenence $4, plus the expected deline in resale value over time, plus any interest on debt.

 

[OneMoreTry]

I don't rent points and don't plan to.

If it's ethical to sell points for $10 then it's ethical to sell them for $20. (As long as you're not using a phony ebay name to bid up the price.) That's the way it works here. Try to get the best price you can. No one is forcing the buyer to pay -- they're probably getting the room for less than they would through Disney's CR.

BUT

I get the impression that some people are actually using the points as a business and not just trying to recoup money for a vacation they had to cancel.

I don't think that's unethical if the seller goes by the contract with DVC, but it sure is DIRTY!!!

 

[lenshanem]

If a person owns DVC points and goes by the rules then they can do what they want.
I think securing ressies during hard to get times to only sell on ebay or whatever sticks cause yep, it will affect those of us who really want to try to get in to stay during these hard to book times, but really there is nothing that can be done. They have a right to use their points as they so please. Don't they?
I highly doubt I'll ever have extra points to have to rent out, BUT if something should happen and I have to rent out banked points that are about to expire or something like that renting might be a possibility if I can't find a family member or friend to use them.
I would think ebay might be an easy route to do this? You might get some money, but in all actually I don't think occasionally renting out from unforeseen circumstances will bring you any kind of huge profit. It is not a financial investment, correct? But, a personal one.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I don't think it's gouging either. Even at $20 ppt. a DVC unit can be comparable or less to what one would pay for a smaller unit/s. I have not read of anyone who is paying Rack Rate for DVC. DVC with a discount is still over $200 with a discount for the smallest unit. As long as there is a real savings to the buyer, that is not gouging.

Yes it is disheartening to know that members have to compete with others that may choose to sell their reservations, but I think that this allowance gives us all the flexibility we need.

DVC is very flexible and that is why I purchased. I would hate to lose the flexibility of the program because of a few.

I too do not agree with comparing the acts of 9/11 with capitalism. These people are not terrorists, just short sighted and maybe a little greedy.

I do understand what the OP is saying about not allowing the sale of ressies. If DVC stops this they would have to allow for another way to save those points for the member. T
Disney stopped the practice of people who were selling PS's for CRT, but those people didn't lose anything if they cancelled their ressie. DVC members would lose points and the ability to offload those points if there is no availability left in that use year.

 

[jjj623]

An interesting discussion... I just returned from BWV after having rented from a DVC member ($10/point through this site's Rent/trade board). The member was able to recoup her costs for points that would have expired, and I was able to experience Disney and the DVC at a reasonable cost. I'm currently in the process of making a purchase at SS. Part of the financial decision I made was that I would be able to rent any points I couldn't use.

One poster mentioned transferring points to another member rather than renting the points. That makes sense to me, but unfortunately Disney's policy "expressly forbids" any payment for a transfer (and allows rentals).

My 2 cents.

Out of curiosity, I'll start a separate thread "Poll on renting points" to see what others think.

 

[mikesmom]

To deliberately make ressies for a high demand time and then sell them is kind of tacky, but as one poster said, you can't set your final price on Ebay, only the beginning price. If a buyer gets points at say, $16 each and it's lower than what they would have paid then everyone is happy.

I've only rented points once, when a broken leg prevented us from using our reservation, and I don't forsee us renting again, but I'd sure hate to lose that flexibility. That being said, every year DH and I go down for the F&W fest and stay at our home resort (BWV). We go between 2 lecture tours that he does - there is a week between that is open. Next year there is some talk of moving the dates of one tour. So, I don't know whether to make ressies before the 1st tour, which would be mid Oct or the normal time - early November. The solution will probably be to make 2 reservations and cancel or rent out the one we can't use. So, will I be "gouging" if I hold 2 ressies for a relatively busy time? And then rent the one we don't use?

Just as an unscientific observation, it looks like a lot of folks who are upset about availability issues have left it rather late to make ressies for F&W, Thanksgiving or Christmas. I'm not sure any of us should feel obligated to provide low cost DVC accomodations to non-members who want to find a "bargain" at 3 or 4 months out.