Resales

[GOUSFBULLS99]

I apologize if this info is already on this board. If it is, maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

I am looking into becoming a member and purchasing points either through Disney or a resale.
1- What is the catch of buying a resale?
2- If I buy a resale, do you deal with Disney once the purchase is approved or do you continue to deal with the timeshare company for the life of the contract?

 

[chalee94]

1 - long-story-short:

resales are cheaper for new members
resales can be bought for fewer than the direct-from-DVC minimum of 160 pts

resales take longer to process
resales can be bought out from under you by DVC if the price is too low (ROFR)
if you love AKV, resales can be harder to find

2 - once approved and in the system, you are a full DVC member and deal directly with DVC. this is true even if you only buy a 25 pt resale contract.

 

[magicaldisney]

If you will want/need to make a reservation right away with your points, you will want to make your purchase through Disney. With resales, you will need to wait a while before being able to make any ressies.

 

[DVC Mike]

1- What is the catch of buying a resale?

Initial Purchase from DVC

• You can get the exact number of points that you want (although you must buy a minimum of 160)
• Faster than resale (you will be in the system and have your points and be able to make reservations much faster than resale)
• No worries about the purchase if Disney executes ROFR, since that only applies to resale purchases
• More expensive cost per point than the resale market
• You can finance through DVC, and Disney doesn’t report the loan to credit reporting agencies
• You can pay with a Rewards credit card and get points/cash back
• The full set of points you buy will be available immediately, versus a resale contract which may be “stripped” of points.
• If you don’t want the resorts they are currently selling (AKV/SSR), you may have to do some firm talking to a guide to convince them you really want an older resort.

Initial Purchase via Resale

• You may not get the exact number of points you want
• You can purchase less than 160 points for your initial buy-in to DVC (Disney won’t let you buy less than 160 points).
• It will take much longer to get into the DVC system and have your points (resales typically take 6-8 weeks)
• Disney may exercise ROFR and you may loose the resale and have to start all over (When buying resale, one of the potential pitfalls to try to avoid is making an offer that will cause Disney to exercise it’s Right of First Refusal)
• Resale is typically less expensive then buying from DVC
• You can’t finance through DVC, although most resale brokers will recommend a finance company
• A resale contract may be “stripped” of points where the user has used many of the current year’s points, and may have borrowed some or all of next year’s points. Just be aware of “stripped” contracts on the resale market.
• Easier to pickup large point packages at any of the older DVC resorts.

 

[GOUSFBULLS99]

Thanks for your help!

I have one more question. Is there a benefit of buying one resort over another? I understand the annual fees are higher at certain resorts and you can book 11 months in advance at your home resort vs. 7 months.

 

[chalee94]

Thanks for your help!

I have one more question. Is there a benefit of buying one resort over another? I understand the annual fees are higher at certain resorts and you can book 11 months in advance at your home resort vs. 7 months.

that's basically it.

if you can plan at least 9-10 months out, the general rule here has been either "buy where you want to stay" or at least "buy where you don't mind staying." there's a risk that you won't be able to switch from (say) SSR to BWV at 7 months, so don't buy SSR if you'd hate getting stuck there.

if you can't plan that far in advance, at 7 months, points are points...(except that some cost more in annual dues.)

 

[Disney_Daddy]

Love your name. DW and I are USF Alum's.

We chose to purchase directly from Disney. It allowed us to take a trip less than a month after paying our deposit. It also allowed us to purchase exactly the number of points we thought our family needed (of course I was WAY off and added on six months later).

I will likely add on in the future through resale. The points cost less and I feel like we have enough experience with the dvc system to know what we want.

 

[GOUSFBULLS99]

How hard is it to book a Disney hotel outside of your home hotel? It sounds like its not as easy as I think to use your points at another hotel.

 

[PSC]

Booking outside of your home resort isn't any more difficult than making a reservation at your home resort at the 7 month (or less) window. You simply contact member services and make your request. If there is a room available, its yours. The difficulty lies in finding availability at certain resorts during certain times of the year. Christmas week for example is difficult to book at some of the smaller resorts. Food and Wine festival times may also be difficult at some of the Epcot resorts. Thats why the advice of buy where you wouldn't mind staying is given. If you book your home resort at 8 months and try to transfer to a different resort at 7 months and are blocked out, at least you are still going to be staying at a nice place in WDW! You can request to be wait listed at the preferred resort - many times it works out anyway.

Welcome to the DIS DVC boards!

 

[nunzia]

...Plus there are no closing costs at Disney after you are a member, while resale companies charge closing costs, admin fees, etc., that may eat up any cost per point savings.
Resorts have different yearly fees, not a huge difference, but if you have enough points it would add up.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

resales are cheaper for new members

not always. Carefully look at the total number of points you will get over the life of the contract and the total you will pay for the contract (points price plus closing costs and fees). Divide, to find the actual cost of each point. There are a few scenarios right now where it is cheaper through disney.