Timeshare Presentations - How to act?

[PhotobearSam]

I'm not a crook...I just play one at timeshare presentations...

 

[DawnCt]

Originally posted by PhotobearSam
I'm not a crook...I just play one at timeshare presentations...

I know that but I wouldn't want to raise eyebrows, even as a joke.

 

[Hillbeans]

I wanted to ask the salesperson if he owned a timeshare there, but I just couldn't get up the courage to ask. Has anyone asked this?

 

[DawnCt]

Originally posted by Hillbeans
I wanted to ask the salesperson if he owned a timeshare there, but I just couldn't get up the courage to ask. Has anyone asked this?

One salesperson at the Sands of Kahana on Maui said that he did. I am sure he didn't buy it for what he was willing to sell it to me for.

 

[Hillbeans]

I would think most of them do own one...it'd be like being a BMW salesman and owning a Hyundai. It's one tough gig, but I saw a few people buying them during our presentation.

 

[wuv tigger]

If you are interested you can always get the same deal, so no worries about taking time to decide. With Marriott you can also call the telephone sales department if you do not want to talk face to face with someone.

We own two Marriott timeshares that we bought from them, and we have been very happy. Last year we spent 28 nights in great 2bd facilities for $1,602. If you can handle the initial outlay w/o financing then it can be a good deal.

Both of our salesmen do own them, but they get like a 20% discount.

As others have mentioned, you can also purchase resale for a significant discount. You can get more info at www.tug2.net

David

 

[shame711]

Personally we love our timeshare. We use it at our home resort for a two week Disney vacation every other year. With that said we bought it on the resale market for $4,000 while the developer was selling for $20,000. It’s not for everybody, but if you understand how it really works (not what the sales people tell you) it may be right for you. The best thing to do is to do your research before you go to any presentation.

On our last trip we did go on a tour or two for the freebies (Seaworld & Universal Tickets). One trick I use is to tell them that I really like the resort and ask if it’s ok to park my fishing boat on the grounds when I stay there, because I never go on vacation without it. Of course the answer is always no and I just say thank-you but in that case I am really not interested.

I do like the idea of saying I own at DVC, that just might work! But truthfully I think I am done using my vacation time with these people.

 

[Hillbeans]

Originally posted by shame711
Personally we love our timeshare. We use it at our home resort for a two week Disney vacation every other year. With that said we bought it on the resale market for $4,000 while the developer was selling for $20,000. It’s not for everybody, but if you understand how it really works (not what the sales people tell you) it may be right for you. The best thing to do is to do your research before you go to any presentation.

On our last trip we did go on a tour or two for the freebies (Seaworld & Universal Tickets). One trick I use is to tell them that I really like the resort and ask if it’s ok to park my fishing boat on the grounds when I stay there, because I never go on vacation without it. Of course the answer is always no and I just say thank-you but in that case I am really not interested.

I do like the idea of saying I own at DVC, that just might work! But truthfully I think I am done using my vacation time with these people.

Just curious here, how could someone sell it for $4 K when the value and what they paid was near 20K. It sounds like you got a real bargain. I'd imagine someone just wanted rid of it.

 

[DawnCt]

Originally posted by Hillbeans
Just curious here, how could someone sell it for $4 K when the value and what they paid was near 20K. It sounds like you got a real bargain. I'd imagine someone just wanted rid of it.

Because the "value" is closer to the $4000. Real estate is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Many people fall in love with the idea of a timeshare and then when they weigh the realitites of getting there, entertainment, annual dues, taxes, monthly payments, loss of principle, the image tarnishes quickly.
I have heard of people so anxious to dump their time share that they will literally give it away to get out from under the annual obligations. There are others that love their time share and feels that it compells them to take an annual vacation. Personally, I could never see a financial advantage to owning one.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Originally posted by ckr
Tell them that you never buy from the developer. You always buy re-sale for THOUSANDS less!
...
Then, if they don't catch on, start listing the things you didn't like about their resort that they cannot argue about... Finally, tell them you already own Disney Vacation Club and will probably just buy more points. That always shuts them down!

First part: my brother got hooked into one of these that his girlfriend (now wife) dragged him to, and he did not heed my warning that is is cheaper to buy resale!!!

Second part: one of the unarguables is if the place cannot guarantee an non-smoking room that you are allergic to. You forgot that one

As for DVC, we went to one where when we said we already belong to DVC, she sat back and said, explain to me how that works, I'm curious. I said I did not believe a professional timeshare salesperson in Orlando would not know all about how the DVC program worked, especially since their program was based on points and they must have gotten their idea from DVC in the first place. I told her it sounded like she was playing us.

The other thing we noticed is she acted all nice but her boss acted like a witch-with-a-"b" and demanded why we were there, and when I said it was because we had walked into a place that said Discount Tickets and it turned out to be a lie, it should have said Timeshare Presentations, so why shouldn't we go for the advertised discount tickets? We certainly paid with our time. They both stalked off as if they were so offended.

So someone who acts like your best friend while selling but acts snippy or worse after you say no is not the kind of person I would want to do business with anyway. They need to stop playing people and acting like jerks. It is so unprofessional. We tried not to waste their time by telling them to speed it up, but they didn't appreciate that we were doing them a favor.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Originally posted by Hillbeans
I wanted to ask the salesperson if he owned a timeshare there, but I just couldn't get up the courage to ask. Has anyone asked this?

Yes, that was one of the first things I challenged her with, is did she own it, and she said she owned a different brand! Then she bragged about how much her "property had increased in value," and I don't remember if I bothered to point out to her that resales go at a fraction of retail. I don't think so; I think I felt a little sorry for her.
(Btw, we bought our DVC resale, not retail. And as someone else pointed out, it is still only a good deal if you can pay straight out and not add on finance charges!

 

[Hillbeans]

Wow...I truly hope these sales people make tons of money because you couldn't pay me enough to do that as a career. It must be awful. When my boss tells me off I sulk all day. These people get told off 24/7, sometimes very deservedly so for the way they talk to you though.

Now that you mention it, our salesperson did use the below on us during our presentation -

Salesmen speaking to the "financial guru guy" - "They (us) bought these things called Unlimited Park Hoppers which means they can go park to park and they don't ever expire, so they'll be coming back to the area to use them". No Duh!

 

[shame711]

Originally posted by DawnCt
Because the "value" is closer to the $4000. Real estate is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Well said. Did I get a good deal? It’s about average for the resale market at my resort. But the developer “sells” you on the idea on what a great deal you are getting and will never fully admit that when you go to sell it the value diminishes. These resorts make a fortune, that’s why they there are so many of them in the Florida, and how they can give away tickets left and right. Like I said we did a lot of research and it works for us, but not for everyone.