Redweek or Ebay?

[mommie2angels]

Ok ya'll what should I do? We really want to stay at Bonnet Creek? Found an OK deal on Ebay but an even better one on Redweek. Never used Redweek so how am I covered? I know on Ebay I am covered through paypal. Is Redweek safe? I really wanna take the plunge & do it but what if it's too good to be true?

 

[Hemlock]

Ok ya'll what should I do? We really want to stay at Bonnet Creek? Found an OK deal on Ebay but an even better one on Redweek. Never used Redweek so how am I covered? I know on Ebay I am covered through paypal. Is Redweek safe? I really wanna take the plunge & do it but what if it's too good to be true?

You can also use paypal to pay for your week on Redweek, however many people say that paypal does not really provide any safety. It makes me feel better using paypal, so I would recommend finding an owner who will use paypal to complete your transaction. I also recommend finding an owner who will accept a deposit of $100 and that the final balance be paid once confirmation has been received that the rental is in your name.

I feel better buying on ebay because of the feedback forum. Knowing that a seller has rented hundreds(or even thousands) of timeshares without issue makes me feel a little safer. That being said, I recently booked a week at Bonnet Creek through an owner that I found through TUG. Everything seems legit, but I will admit that a little part of me will not be sure until I am checked into my unit (in May 2011!!). When you are renting a timeshare through an owner (whether on ebay or Redweek...) you are taking a chance. I know that I have probably not been very helpful, but good luck with your search.

 

[kathy884]

I think that you take a risk in any transaction with an individual owner. They are often just people who have more timeshare weeks than they can use, not people that do a lot of renting and have sophisticated systems or are even on paypal. More and more people are on paypal these days, though.

That being said, though, I've done about six transactions on Redweek and had a great experience on all six. All my Redweek rentals were sending 1/2 of the money up front via check, getting the certificate in my name and checking with the resort to make sure they had a reservation for me for my dates, and sending the rest 30 days before my date. I always get the address and phone number of the owner too and talk to them on the phone. I usually call the resort again right before going to make sure there is still a reservation in my name. In reality, the owner, could at any time change/cancel the reservation and leave me cold, but that has never happened to me to date. My previous good experiences, the money I can save, and the money that I've saved through the years has made me willing to take this risk.

As for assurances, though, on all the rentals that I've ever done there really weren't any. They people sounded really honest and nice on the phone, but I'm sure a con artist could sound that way too. I've done lots of rentals from TUG too that worked the same way.

 

[verlee]

We just rented on Redweek. We have not used it yet so not completely sure. But so far we are super happy. We talked to the guy on the phone. He was nice and seemed trustworthy. We did not have to put any money down until we recieved a confirmation and we called to confirm it with Wyndham. We did use pay pal.