talk to me about the $1 on skyauction

[guera]

So I've never booked through Skyauction before, but all I have read is positive. Right now there are several $1 auctions for resorts that I have not heard of but look great in the photos. Calypso Cay, Silver Lake, Star Island, Parkway International , ect.. I know not all resorts are created equal, so why are the mostly $1? I did read the details and understand that some have the $299 incidentals fee, but $300 a week for a resort seems to good to be true.
Which places on skyauction do the DISers recommend? Are there verified sellers (like on ebay)? Would there be any hidden fees or timeshare presentations?
Give me the lowdown!

 

[BigredNole]

I do not know about the specific resorts you listed, but read the details. You have listed some of the incidental fees. What they also hide is specific week price increases. You'll see an add for $249 for the room then buried in the details is Weeks 1-12 add $399, Weeks 13-25 add $699, etc (made up numbers). There are tons of places to stay and all are competing for the Disney/US dollars. In many cases you are giving up amenities and service for the price. You also bring into play locations that are not as safe and you else get a different level of clientele at the super cheap places. I don't know about Calypso Cay specifically, but I see it is right next to a Super WalMart. Super WalMarts are put in low rent areas.

 

[janicept]

We stayed at Star Island once with my mom's timeshare and it was not good. We made the mistake of getting a one bedroom and it was a ground floor and you still had to walk down 3 or 4 steps to get into it. It was one of those that was next to a two bedroom and could be opened up to a three bedroom. This was about 6 or 7 years ago so they may have upgraded by now but I would not stay in that room again. Now we did walk around the resort and saw many other areas were newer or more updated. It's a good location off 192 if I'm recalling correctly. I guess for $300 a week it is worth it but not more than that.

 

[bankr63]

Skyauction inventory is generally unused trade inventory from RCI or II. The low price is because it is a last ditch effort to use up weeks that would otherwise sit idle. As @BigredNole says, there are often premiums charged over the bid price depending on the time of year for the week you want to rent. This is disclosed in the fine print of the listing. The exchange company is happy to get a few more dollars out of the inventory, but then the underlying maintenance fees have already been paid by the owner, and they are making money off of all the fees they charge their membership. It is pretty low risk really.

Silver Lake is a nice small resort on the south-west side of Disney property, abutting Animal Kingdom. Half the property (Silver Points) rates Gold Crown on RCI, and the other half rates Silver Crown and reviews and scores are pretty good. It lacks some of the amenities of the larger resorts, but still has a tuck shop and poolside bar/snack bar, games room etc.

 

[bearzabout]

We have booked over 80 weeks at Skyauctions low prices all over the country. We are very fussy about unit size and resorts. You have to read reviews and know what you are getting into. Some resorts are great, and others (we would not stay most of them even if they were free) are to be avoided. Some room sizes at most resorts should be avoided. You must do your homework before booking resorts through Skyauction.

No tour is required. There can be fees tied to certain dates in addition to the $299 added fee so be very careful and read all the details. The resort wants to fill its rooms that would otherwise sit empty with potential customers. They will try to get you to sign up for their shakedown at checkin and with annoying calls during the week, often at 8-9am. Just say no thank you at the desk and don't answer the phone.

We always keep a low profile at the resort and almost never discuss with owners how little we paid for our week. We don't want to upset an owner. We try to be as kind as possible to the staff and even the timeshare sharks.

Skyauction will often not send the reservation details to the resort until the day of checkin, so we are often not in the resort's reservation system. Our names are on a separate sheet they have to find then review, which can cause delays in the check in process. One time it took hours.

We have paid as little at $149 per week with an average price of about $260. Prices are creeping up higher now.

Do your homework so you are not disappointed and remember the reservations cannot be cancelled or refunded unless the week you want is no longer available by the time the auction ends. It is a bit of a gamble, but can work out well depending on your expectations.