Which is better????

[Brian Noble]

Who is to say that at some point Disney won't say "no more renting out points"?

Cross that bridge when (if) you come to it---and I think it is a big if. A million things could happen. If you planned for all of them, no matter how unlikely, you'd never buy at all.

 

[gray52]

I'll sugar-coat this as best I can.

You'd have to be brain-dead to pay $140 per point for BLT when you can buy it (if you want to buy it at all...which is another interesting question) for $55-60 per point less.

... and that's pretty well sugar coated!

I completely agree. We're waiting another year to add-on via RESALE because the price just keeps getting lower.... $140/point??? The higher they go with price per point, the more buying direct becomes absurd.
Take a $100 bill... put in your pocket. Walk to the top of the highest building you can find. Pull that $100 bill out and throw it to the wind. Now do that 99 more times. That's the difference between buying direct and resale.

 

[DenLo]

... and that's pretty well sugar coated!

I completely agree. We're waiting another year to add-on via RESALE because the price just keeps getting lower.... $140/point??? The higher they go with price per point, the more buying direct becomes absurd.
Take a $100 bill... put in your pocket. Walk to the top of the highest building you can find. Pull that $100 bill out and throw it to the wind. Now do that 99 more times. That's the difference between buying direct and resale.

There's a saying if you can take a $100 and flush it down a toilet without flinching you're ready for a Disney vacation.

Those other expenses for WDW vacation do not end just because you purchase DVC points. And if you really do not care about using your points except for your DVC resort, then definitely buy resale. If you have your heart set on trading your points for DCL cruises or for other Disney properties you better buy direct. It will take you many more trips to recoup the cost of the initial purchase with a direct purchase rather than if you buy resale, because you can easily spend thousands more.

 

[goofytiggerfan]

Wow Thank you all for your input. It would seem that my best bet would be to go through resale. I am looking at prices throught the timeshare store for DVC contracts and am seeing a significant savings as you have all shared, but I am wondering if the fact that I can use points for the DCL is worth going through Disney. But as I am thinking about it my Brother in law is buying SSR points through Disney this year so if it comes down to us buying resale I could just swap points with him for the DCL and he can use my points for a DVC vaction if he needed to the same year. Make sense? Does anyone have advice for someone who may not be able to finance due to credit issues?

 

[cloudnut220]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't financing the reason people still buy through Disney? When DH and I bought two years ago (at BLT, for MUCH lower prices) we needed financing. The value of our house had dropped so a HELOC wasn't really any option. I'm sure it's even less of an option for people now and I think banks probably are wary about lending for a timeshare purchase.

The other reason I can see buying direct is for small contracts. I would really like a 50 point AKL contract. But everytime I look at TSS, it seems like all of the contracts available are for many more points. Am I missing some secret list with all of the small contracts?

Okay, please don't attack me for being "stupid" and buying direct...

 

[chalee94]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't financing the reason people still buy through Disney?

yep - the ability to pay 12% or so to finance an asset that depreciates 30% or more the minute you sign the paperwork.

it's nice to have options but it's hard to recommend that one.

if the alternative is buying resale and financing with a home equity line - putting your home on the line if bad news hits and you are unable to pay for your timeshare - maybe financing with disney is the "less bad" option.

But everytime I look at TSS, it seems like all of the contracts available are for many more points. Am I missing some secret list with all of the small contracts?

yes, you'd need to get on their email list. many of the small contracts are spoken for shortly after the email goes out. (several years ago, i called 10 minutes after i got the email and wound up 2nd in line for the contract i liked -fortunately the first buyer backed out.)

 

[kristenrice]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't financing the reason people still buy through Disney? When DH and I bought two years ago (at BLT, for MUCH lower prices) we needed financing. The value of our house had dropped so a HELOC wasn't really any option. I'm sure it's even less of an option for people now and I think banks probably are wary about lending for a timeshare purchase.

The other reason I can see buying direct is for small contracts. I would really like a 50 point AKL contract. But everytime I look at TSS, it seems like all of the contracts available are for many more points. Am I missing some secret list with all of the small contracts?

Okay, please don't attack me for being "stupid" and buying direct...

Nope, you're not stupid for buying direct...

We had been looking for an HHI add-on via resale in the 30-80 point range for MONTHS! I didn't want to mess around with a different UY so what we needed was fairly specific...points, resort and UY all had to match up. Even if we'd found a HHI around $55/point for a 50-pt contract ($2750) plus closing costs ($425), our total cost would have been $3175. Then, we'd have the 6-8 weeks to wait to close. After waiting...and waiting...and waiting...without luck (and, yes, I was on the mailing lists...the contracts were all pending before I could get an offer in), I decided to spend an extra $825 and buy 50 points direct. I called my guide, gave my credit card number for the deposit and my points were in my account the next day. Plus, since I bought just 8 days before the end of my UY, I was allowed to bank those current points. I wasn't thrilled about financing, but we opted to do it for now since it is only about $50 a month. We're planning on paying it off within 1-2 years.

In the end, you need to decide if the convenience and "perks" of buying direct outweigh the cost savings of resale.

 

[Dean]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't financing the reason people still buy through Disney? When DH and I bought two years ago (at BLT, for MUCH lower prices) we needed financing. The value of our house had dropped so a HELOC wasn't really any option. I'm sure it's even less of an option for people now and I think banks probably are wary about lending for a timeshare purchase.

The other reason I can see buying direct is for small contracts. I would really like a 50 point AKL contract. But everytime I look at TSS, it seems like all of the contracts available are for many more points. Am I missing some secret list with all of the small contracts?

Okay, please don't attack me for being "stupid" and buying direct...

Financing is often the reason but there are other options for financing including on a resale though IMO, one shouldn't finance such a luxury purchase.

 

[supersuperwendy]

Our two current contracts were direct....the next one will be resale for sure if the price per point stays so low. It probably won't be for a year or two so we'll see where the prices go.