When does direct make sense?

[ELMC]

Ended up having to buy direct after not finding a 25 point contract for UY August at OKW. Looked around for awhile and could not find one, got tired of waiting.

Probably not a bad decision. Even if you did find one, the odds of it making it through ROFR are not very good right now. Enjoy your new points and the additional vacations they will get you.

 

[nunzia]

I bought all my points direct for VGC. It made sense to me because when I bought, VGC was new and there were no resale points. It also made sense when I did all my add ons direct since I wanted very specific contract sizes in my same use year and that is very difficult to find resale. Also, when I bought there were no closing costs if you bought direct so that was a big savings on a small contract. I also got all my points on specials for close to 100 pp. I am thinking of adding on and will definately buy direct as I'm again lookiong for certain size contract in my use year. Also, to me, the purchase price isn't the killer, it's the MF so for a small contract it doesn't make that much sense to try and try for the perfect resale, then hope it all works out.

 

[DougEMG]

Ended up having to buy direct after not finding a 25 point contract for UY August at OKW. Looked around for awhile and could not find one, got tired of waiting.

That is certainly a good reason to buy direct. I was so close to having an Aug OKW contract then lost it to ROFR

 

[JimMIA]

I think it makes sense to buy direct if you want your points to be unrestricted...

Personally, I think buying direct to get "unrestricted" points is one of the biggest mistakes anyone could make.

First of all, the restricted uses of those points are not good values generally. Sure, if you want to use points occasionally for one of those things, fine. But to pay DOUBLE for your purchase for that purpose fails the "makes sense" test for me.

Even more important, those restricted uses are NOT GUARANTEED to direct purchasers. They are current benefits, which could be removed at any time with one swipe of the Mouse's pen. To pay DOUBLE for something that could go away on a marketing kid's whim is really dumb...IMHO.

There are many people on these boards who will let you know that it is not the best use of points to exchange them with RCI or for DCL but my personal experience has been very positive with doing both of those things.. and I would have missed out on two very wonderful vacations if I hadn't used my points for Hawaii or my cruise.

There are also a lot of people on these boards who don't know what the restrictions really are. RCI is not restricted for ANY owner, no matter how you purchase.

A resale owner could get the same Hawaii exchange you got. And an owner of a different timeshare could get it much easier with dozens more choices.

 

[crisi]

I think the small add on is probably the only good reason to buy direct. They can be hard to find resale. They tend to have a price premium resale. And because you aren't buying many points, the difference doesn't multiply out into a substantial figure.

 

[Dean]

I think the small add on is probably the only good reason to buy direct. They can be hard to find resale. They tend to have a price premium resale. And because you aren't buying many points, the difference doesn't multiply out into a substantial figure.

I agree, this has always been the case. Sometimes the specifics will affect the exact break point which is currently in the 50 pt range for most options I suspect. The other reasons to buy might be for a specific option you can't find otherwise and for a new resort that one values. The only other possible situation is with a discount such as the CM discount though I think it'd need to be the 25% and not 15% to move the needle.

 

[ELMC]

I think the small add on is probably the only good reason to buy direct. They can be hard to find resale. They tend to have a price premium resale. And because you aren't buying many points, the difference doesn't multiply out into a substantial figure.

I agree. And when you add in the difference between resale closing costs and direct closing costs, it narrows the gap by an additional 5-10%.

 

[dwight16]

its just not like it was during the rescission when tons of people were during to dump their time shares. i am on the look out for 100 points max to add on and its dry out there.

 

[bakerworld]

Personally, I think buying direct to get "unrestricted" points is one of the biggest mistakes anyone could make.

First of all, the restricted uses of those points are not good values generally. Sure, if you want to use points occasionally for one of those things, fine. But to pay DOUBLE for your purchase for that purpose fails the "makes sense" test for me.

Even more important, those restricted uses are NOT GUARANTEED to direct purchasers. They are current benefits, which could be removed at any time with one swipe of the Mouse's pen. To pay DOUBLE for something that could go away on a marketing kid's whim is really dumb...IMHO.
There are also a lot of people on these boards who don't know what the restrictions really are. RCI is not restricted for ANY owner, no matter how you purchase.

A resale owner could get the same Hawaii exchange you got. And an owner of a different timeshare could get it much easier with dozens more choices.

Some of the re-sale pricing I do not understand - there was a stripped contract (no pts until 2014) and the seller thought $70 was a good price. In that case, buying direct would be optimal.

 

[Dean]

Some of the re-sale pricing I do not understand - there was a stripped contract (no pts until 2014) and the seller thought $70 was a good price. In that case, buying direct would be optimal.

Possibly, if those 2 options were the only choices. In this case the best option is actually the one not listed, look for a better contract.

ETA: there have been some contracts on ebay recently as well. One that just sold was for 270 VWL points, a bankruptcy sale. No points until Dec 2013 but buyer has to pay the current (past due) fees plus next years fees, an overpayment of 2 years of dues and loss of current UY and the 2012 UY points as well. It sold for around $30 a point but by the time you add in the other costs it's between $40-50 a point depending on how you value it, it's too much with a bankruptcy situation, IMO. Interesting that it was originally listed and "sold" for significantly more then relisted within about 2-3 days. I'm pretty sure it was shill bidding the first round.