Questions about buying direct vs resale

[slwprincess]

This is my first post so please bear with me. My mom is considering purchasing DVC membership. I knew that we needed to do some research on DVC resales before she made this investment. Needless to say, we were shocked at how much cheaper the resales are. So here's my questions...

1) So far, the main difference that I can see in buying resale vs direct is that she wouldn't be able to use points for DCL, Disney Adventures, and the Disney Paris/Tokyo resorts. But she would still be able to use it for the RCI properties. Is that correct?
2) From reading here, I see that most feel that using Disney points for the RCI properties is not as good of a deal as staying at the Disney resorts but even so, she would still like to have the option of using the points for non-Disney vacations in between our big family Disney trips. Basically, she's thinking she will use the points for a big Disney trip every 2-3 years but in between she will use some points for short trips to RCI destinations (she flies for free). Is this a good/bad idea? Why?
3) What about annual dues? Are those the same for resale owners as for direct?
4) Why would anyone buy direct when resale is so much more affordable? What am I missing?
5) Are there any pitfalls she should be aware of?
6) Any sites that you reccommend for searching DVC resales? We've looked at a couple just from a google search but wanted to see if one was better than another.

 

[DannysMom]

This is my first post so please bear with me. My mom is considering purchasing DVC membership. I knew that we needed to do some research on DVC resales before she made this investment. Needless to say, we were shocked at how much cheaper the resales are. So here's my questions...

1) So far, the main difference that I can see in buying resale vs direct is that she wouldn't be able to use points for DCL, Disney Adventures, and the Disney Paris/Tokyo resorts. But she would still be able to use it for the RCI properties. Is that correct?
2) From reading here, I see that most feel that using Disney points for the RCI properties is not as good of a deal as staying at the Disney resorts but even so, she would still like to have the option of using the points for non-Disney vacations in between our big family Disney trips. Basically, she's thinking she will use the points for a big Disney trip every 2-3 years but in between she will use some points for short trips to RCI destinations (she flies for free). Is this a good/bad idea? Why?
3) What about annual dues? Are those the same for resale owners as for direct?
4) Why would anyone buy direct when resale is so much more affordable? What am I missing?
5) Are there any pitfalls she should be aware of?
6) Any sites that you reccommend for searching DVC resales? We've looked at a couple just from a google search but wanted to see if one was better than another.

Yep the main differences are as noted, no AbD, no DCL, no Disney Collection (non DVC Disney hotels), and no Concierge Collection, which are some high end (very expensive both money & points) hotels. Resale buyers CAN exchange through RCI exactly the same as direct purchasers. Dues are the same.

As to why one would purchase direct over resale, when resale is so much cheaper.... Different reasons. Some feel "safer" buying from Disney. Some are unaware of the resale market, or the huge price differential. Some value (excessively so IMO) those few perks that have been restricted. If you can't guess, I bought resale.

There are 3 or 4 main resale brokers, the two mentioned most often on the boards are The Timeshare Store (board sponsor) and Fidelity. I used Fidelity with great results this past summer. GL

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards App, please excuse any typos or autocorrects!

 

[disneynutz]

A couple of things that you should know.

Disney is in the business of selling timeshares, they will change the rules to drive buyers to direct sales. The last major change took away all but RCI. They can take away RCI if they want to but RCI availability isn't guaranteed and of the 5000 RCI affiliations only 500 are made available to the DVC.

Dues are the same, DVC owners pay for everything from security, to transportation, to the entire maintenance of the property.

Keep reading here on the DIS and you will get a good feel of what ownership is all about.

Bill

 

[ELMC]

This is my first post so please bear with me. My mom is considering purchasing DVC membership. I knew that we needed to do some research on DVC resales before she made this investment. Needless to say, we were shocked at how much cheaper the resales are. So here's my questions...

I love posts like yours that are outlined in this way. It appeals to my desire to compartmentalize things I guess. Anyway, read on...

1) So far, the main difference that I can see in buying resale vs direct is that she wouldn't be able to use points for DCL, Disney Adventures, and the Disney Paris/Tokyo resorts. But she would still be able to use it for the RCI properties. Is that correct?

Correct.

2) From reading here, I see that most feel that using Disney points for the RCI properties is not as good of a deal as staying at the Disney resorts but even so, she would still like to have the option of using the points for non-Disney vacations in between our big family Disney trips. Basically, she's thinking she will use the points for a big Disney trip every 2-3 years but in between she will use some points for short trips to RCI destinations (she flies for free). Is this a good/bad idea? Why?

On the good/bad spectrum, this idea falls on the bad side, in my opinion. DVC points are best used for DVC stays. DVC is one of the more expensive timeshares out there, so odds are that if you trade through RCI you will be trading down in value, not up. It would be much cheaper to buy a $1 timeshare contract on eBay for stays outside of WDW. If your mom's plan is to visit once every 2-3 years, I would suggest that she buy a smaller contract so that she could combine points from two years to pay for one vacation.

3) What about annual dues? Are those the same for resale owners as for direct?

Yes.

4) Why would anyone buy direct when resale is so much more affordable? What am I missing?

In the past, the difference between direct and resale prices was much smaller. The ease and peace of mind that accompany buying directly from Disney was worth the small price difference to many people. With today's prices things are different. The three main reasons that people buy direct these days are:

1. Ignorance: Many people simply do not know that the resale market exists.
2. Lack of resources: Many purchase direct through Disney because they cannot afford the purchase otherwise and Disney financing is easy to get.
3. Fear: Many direct buyers are afraid of resale. They're afraid of the process, they're afraid that they will be treated differently, they're afraid that there will be further restrictions, they're afraid of a lot of things. To them, the peace of mind that comes with buying direct is (apparently) worth any cost. I respect their opinion but I could not disagree with it any more than I do. Fear based decision making is a terrible strategy.

5) Are there any pitfalls she should be aware of?

Stick with a major broker (The Timeshare Store or Fidelity) and you can successfully navigate any issues that come up.

6) Any sites that you reccommend for searching DVC resales? We've looked at a couple just from a google search but wanted to see if one was better than another.

See above. Both have their own advantages and perhaps some disadvantages too. TTS has great communication and their sellers are well informed, which makes for an easy transaction. However, prices there tend to be a little higher than Fidelity. Fidelity presents the opportunity to get a great deal on a contract, but they also charge a $195 buyer's fee which adds cost and they are only open M-F 9-5.

Great questions and good luck with the process!

 

[lovin'fl]

4) Why would anyone buy direct when resale is so much more affordable? What am I missing?
If you need a small contract with same UY that you already have, it's easier to buy direct than wait/hunt out the right contract (small contracts get grabbed up fast). Plus, direct doesn't charge much in closing costs...way less than the closing costs with resale. If you include that in the price, direct and resale are close (that's for small contracts like 25-80 points-ish). I have no clue why folks are buying the AKV direct from Disney at those prices. I can only guess that they don't know about resale (we are currently buying 100 AKV points for $66/point). And then there are the folks who want the newest resorts and will buy as soon as they open up sales and there aren't resales for those places yet (there are many folks on these boards who admit they are waiting for the GF to open up sales and they will buy right away).

5) Are there any pitfalls she should be aware of? DVC can change up the rules at any time. They also increase annual dues a tad every year.

6) Any sites that you reccommend for searching DVC resales?
There are the big 4 that people use...the 2 mentioned by the PP and then there are 2 more, but one can't be mentioned on the Dis and the other is Shontell (I think I read that we can say her name). I have used TTS and the one that cannot be mentioned and they are both great...very quick to respond and get things done (like PP mentioned Fidelity doesn't work late nights or weekends and many folks have mentioned poor communication with them). I tried to use them recently to buy and it didn't go well, so I am now buying again through the one I cannot name. And I won't ever use Fidelity.

 

[LisaS]

1) So far, the main difference that I can see in buying resale vs direct is that she wouldn't be able to use points for DCL, Disney Adventures, and the Disney Paris/Tokyo resorts. But she would still be able to use it for the RCI properties. Is that correct?

There is one other restriction: DVC members who own only resale points purchased after March 2011 are not allowed to go on the DVC member cruises, even by paying cash for their cabin. These cruises are held once or twice a year and feature special guests and lots of giveaways. They also cost more than regular cruises.

3) What about annual dues? Are those the same for resale owners as for direct?

Resale owners pay the same dues as those who bought directly from Disney. Dues vary from one resort to another and go up every year. Here is a chart showing the dues at each resort over the years: http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-for-beginners?task=view&id=51

 

[lovin'fl]

There is one other restriction: DVC members who own only resale points purchased after March 2011 are not allowed to go on the DVC member cruises, even by paying cash for their cabin. These cruises are held once or twice a year and feature special guests and lots of giveaways. They also cost more than regular cruises.

Resale owners pay the same dues as those who bought directly from Disney. Dues vary from one resort to another and go up every year. Here is a chart showing the dues at each resort over the years: http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-for-beginners?task=view&id=51

On that chart...what is VB and VB(s) and ADV and ADV(s)?

 

[LisaS]

On that chart...what is VB and VB(s) and ADV and ADV(s)?

The "s" stands for subsidized. There were issues at both VB and ADV that caused Disney to have to subsidize the dues of the initial buyers.