Who has only purchased direct and why?

[BTSD]

All we want to do is present all the alternatives (including the ones your "guide" won't tell you about) so that you can make an informed choice. Personally speaking, my critiques of direct buyers only happen when they fudge the numbers to make them say something they don't, or misrepresent information. There are plenty of direct buyers that I've congratulated because after considering resale, they determined that it was the best way to go for them. I can respect that.

I would hope that you I would not accuse you of simply being a just as I would hope that you would not accuse me of being a .

I must be one of the lucky ones - we took personal responsibility, did our research, and actually discussed at length with our guide resale vs. direct - and he actually added to our examples of why we might choose resale over direct.
Running numbers is my job (yes, I am a boring analyst/accountant), and some of the logic is very good, but there is a non-tangible side to everything as well, not to mention the impact of the cost of a direct contract to a millionaire is not the same as to the Normal Joe (although I am a HUGE proponent of not financing).
FYI - I've never posted "Congrats" on anyone's wall so I wouldn't take offense, and I'm not calling you out either, but there are some Negative Nellies on here (maybe they have past experiences that have made them feel that way, but it seems to go a bit far in some postings).
That's the problem with the written word - people read things differently!

 

[Sammie]

When we purchased, 15 years ago, not much discussion about resale and the price with Disney was fine.

I personally would not do resale today, as I want to take advantage of everything that is offered. Plus I am not convinced that restrictions to resale will not happen again at some point. There are a lot of years left in our contract.

As to defending my choice, I rarely do that for people I personally know, certainly not going to worry about it on a public Internet forum.

 

[Andrew015]

I don't disagree with you when you say that some posts can be interpreted as condescending. However, I believe that is a function of the message and not the delivery. A question such as "Do you realize that you can save $8,000 if you were to buy resale?" is as straightforward as can be and is actually non judgmental. But I think that many direct buyers read that and take offense at the possibility that someone is saying that they overspent by $8,000.

If I'm being frank, I think there is a certain element of insecurity and doubt in a lot of direct purchasers' minds and whenever they read anything that highlights the drawbacks of a direct purchase, they take it personally.

I have simultaneous respect and disagreement with your position on buying direct for the perks. I think it's a bad idea. But I respect the fact that you think it's a good idea. I'll debate that with you all day long, but what I won't do is tell you that you made a bad decision. You made a decision that is best for you, regardless of whether or not I agree with it. In the end, I think the perception of condescension is a function of the reader, not the author.

Very well-written response.

 

[Dean]

I have 15 contracts I have purchased direct from DVC. I use my points for basically all my travel needs. Over the 15 years of being a member I have taken 20 cruises, stayed at DL (both VGC & PP), WDW DVC Resorts, II exchanges ( now a days that would be equivalent to RCI) and some nightly Concierge options. If I had bought resale all of those trips on points would not have happened.

Did I know about resale before I bought...you betcha! Do I regret buying direct...no way! Will I keep buying direct...count on it!

Everyone makes decisions for various reasons and I just wanted to add on a few reasons I have not seen posted by others already that played into my thought process.

Of course, certainly your choice. However, I'll point out that this approach for a new buyer is dramatically more expensive than buying the points they'll use at WDW and paying cash for the cash type exchanges and for the most part, the same can be said for most RCI exchanges.

I think it's great to be helpful and informative. It can definitely save people $$ and heartache. However, many of the posts in response to a new buyer come off condescending. That's how I've taken some of them. It's easy to be helpful without presenting it in a condescending tone. Again. Just my opinion. Other people may not feel that way and I completely respect that. I'm all about respect of other people's thoughts and feelings when posting on these boards.

IMO, one has to chose to be offended. I always intend my posts to be informational but I'd rather come off condescending than any reader (poster or not) fail to get the applicable information, if that's the alternative. IMO there are factual posters/readers and emotional ones and it's usually the emotional ones that are offended when non is intended. I'll reference the SSR bashing question.

 

[BestDadEver]

I know they always routine these threads with an "with all due respect" post . You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own .

At least that is the way it comes of in every one of these posts to me . Maybe some people don't realize the real market exists to be honest that should be the extent you are looking out for people . I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money , I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts , I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money . To be honest it's not my job to worry about other people's decisions .

 

[Missyrose]

I know they always routine these threads with an "with all due respect" post . You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own .

At least that is the way it comes of in every one of these posts to me . Maybe some people don't realize the real market exists to be honest that should be the extent you are looking out for people . I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money , I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts , I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money . To be honest it's not my job to worry about other people's decisions .

And yet experience tells us that many, many people have come to this very board having not asked any of those basic questions before they bought. Disney does an excellent job of sprinkling pixie dust over prospective buyers and the simple whos and whys of the way the system works is sometimes left completely out of the conversation.

Feel free to assume all you want about the people who seek advice on this board. But there's an old adage about what happens when you assume...

 

[Dean]

I know they always routine these threads with an "with all due respect" post . You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own .

At least that is the way it comes of in every one of these posts to me . Maybe some people don't realize the real market exists to be honest that should be the extent you are looking out for people . I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money , I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts , I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money . To be honest it's not my job to worry about other people's decisions .

I can't speak for others but I couldn't disagree with you more and I feel you are an outlier in this regard.

 

[DougEMG]

To be honest it's not my job to worry about other people's decisions .

Not my job either, so I agree with you here, but on your other points I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you.

I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money.

Most people are bad at math and can't figure out exactly how much more the interest is costing them. Look at any financing sale pitch and they aren't telling you the total costs, but just how cheap your monthly payments are.

I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts.

All timeshares (Disney included) are sold with the promise of easy trading to other resorts and locations, reality doesn't always live up to that promise.

I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money .

Given that most people buy a timeshare on vacation when they never had any intention of doing so when they left for vacation, I'm betting that most people have no idea about the exact details of the system they are buying into.

I love owning DVC and I own a fair number of points. I've no problem if someone buys direct or resale, after all it doesn't effect me and everyone should be free to spend their money however they want. I happy to give my opinion and readers should feel free to ignore it if they don't like it.

 

[JimMIA]

I know they always routine these threads with an "with all due respect" post . You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own .

At least that is the way it comes of in every one of these posts to me .

With all due respect, I really don't see that happening much here on the DIS. YMMV.

Maybe some people don't realize the real market exists to be honest that should be the extent you are looking out for people .

You may have a point there.

I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money , I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts , I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money .

Two comments:

1. Those of us who have been here for a while have seen dozens of posts, probably hundreds, where the posters obviously did NOT know those things.
2. Secondly, there are two audiences here. One is the person posting a comment or question and the other (far larger audience) is the people lurking in the background, gathering information. We have a duty to both audiences which sometimes causes DIS posters to ignore a poster's request to join hands and sing "Kumbaya" and offer their honest opinion on the question asked. Sometimes that supports the poster's position, sometimes not. Such is life.

 

[k3chantal]

There's so much talk about buying resale and the consensus seems to be (from what I read here) that buying direct is a very bad idea. I bought direct for the ease and flexibility of it. Yes, it cost more. If you have only chosen to purchase your points direct from Disney, why have you made this decision over purchasing resale considering resale is so much cheaper?

We bought our points direct. Why? We were new to the timeshare world and did not realize that you could purchase any other way......we may have even been told that we couldn't buy the points any other way and since we were so naive, we didn't look into it. In our defense, we didn't and don't know anyone who owns DVC and I found out about this website by a friend who liked to cruise. I joined Disboards to gather info about Disney cruises but clearly spend a lot of time in the DVC section too.

Since our contract is paid in full, the additional money spent isn't staring me down every month and we love our contract so in our minds, it was money well spent. However, if we ever buy more points, it will most likely be resale.....

 

[Apps]

I found this website after going to Disneyland frequently with my kids. I didn't know about DVC and was searching for a way to buy direct...until I found this section of the website. It was a real eye opener. I did the math between direct and resale and of course resale presented a much better value. I thank all of the people that help populate the assumptions in my financial model I encourage the proponents of resale to continue educating everyone that comes onto the forums. I think in the vast majority of cases, resale would be the better choice for the buyer.

 

[BestDadEver]

And yet experience tells us that many, many people have come to this very board having not asked any of those basic questions before they bought. Disney does an excellent job of sprinkling pixie dust over prospective buyers and the simple whos and whys of the way the system works is sometimes left completely out of the conversation.

Feel free to assume all you want about the people who seek advice on this board. But there's an old adage about what happens when you assume...

why do you assume they know nothing , instead of something .Its different if they ask questions but you guys just offer it up

 

[ELMC]

There is so much wrongness in this post, and I could not possibly disagree more with just about everything you say here.

I know they always routine these threads with an "with all due respect" post . You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own .

I often say "with all due respect" and I do so to soften the delivery of a statement that conflicts with a deep seeded belief that someone has, whether it be opinion or misinterpretation of fact. It's not meant to make anyone feel stupid, but to suggest that although I disagree with them strongly, I don't hold any animosity towards them. For instance, with all due respect, I think you are out of line suggesting that we are holding back from calling people idiots. To that end, there is a difference between idiocy and ignorance. To suggest that one is an idiot is incredibly offensive. However, to suggest that someone is ignorant is not (to someone who knows the true meaning of the word). Ignorance suggests a lack of knowledge pertaining to a particular subject. The fact of the matter is that many posters on here are ignorant about DVC. It's important that they know what they don't know, but pointing that out can be touchy. That's another reason for using phrases such as "with all due respect".

At least that is the way it comes of in every one of these posts to me .

To be frank (is this better than "with all due respect") your posts meet a lot of resistance because they are frequently factually inaccurate or in defiance of logic. Nobody is calling you an idiot, and I am sorry if you feel that is the case. But I disagree with most of what you say, and the nature of these types of boards is to share opinions. I can flip it back on you and say that you disagree with much of what I say. That's fine. I don't take offense to it and I would hope that you don't either.

Maybe some people don't realize the real market exists to be honest that should be the extent you are looking out for people .

I think we'll agree to disagree on this one. If you're suggesting that we simply mention that resale exists and not provide any information on it, how it works, the pros and cons, what choices they have available or how securing a contract works, then I don't think you are being very helpful at all. Last I checked, I was not getting paid for my time or advice. But I've had many people thank me for my help, and even point out the money they have saved acting on information that I have provided. That makes me feel good, to have helped someone in that manner.

I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money ,

I think they need to be told how much extra it costs, because nobody else is telling them that. How many people have you seen that just look at the monthly payment and are completely unaware of what the interest charges do to the true cost of ownership? I think if it were presented differently, such as "you can buy this contract now for $10,000 or you can pay for it over ten years for $18,000" I would wager that fewer people would finance.

I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts , I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,

Honestly, why wouldn't you tell them these things? What do you stand to gain by not sharing this information? We've seen plenty of people who leave DVC sales presentations not having a clue as to how DVC actually works, because their "guide" was so busy spreading Pixie Dust that they didn't actually explain the nuts and bolts of the system. I don't blame them, really, as nuts and bolts are not flashy and they don't sell timeshares. But someone has to tell people these things, especially when they ask those very questions. To not share this information comes across as spiteful.

cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money .

That's not a wise assumption to make.

To be honest it's not my job to worry about other people's decisions .

True, I guess. It's not your "job" and I don't think "worry" is the right word. I don't think it's my job to help people on these boards by answering questions and offering advice when appropriate. But I do think they benefit from it, and that is a good thing to do for others. At the end of the day, I don't worry about the decisions they make, because I can't control what others do and it doesn't directly impact me at all. But don't you think there is value in doing something nice for someone else, even if you stand to gain nothing?

 

[ELMC]

why do you assume they know nothing , instead of something .Its different if they ask questions but you guys just offer it up

That's easy. Because people don't know what they don't know. If they have no idea what questions they should be asking, how could they possibly ask them? So we offer as much information as we can, and let them decide what to do with it.

The bigger question is this...why are you so offended by this?

 

[dcfromva]

It took us 10 years to decide to make the first DVC purchase, so we were aware of the resale market. What influenced us to buy into DVC was BCV. We had fallen in love with BC and when we found BCV was being built we made plans to buy.

We have purchased several contracts direct from DVC. With the exception of BWV, all were purchased when DVC first opened sales so there wasn't a resale option for the resorts we wanted.

Here are the reasons we bought direct:
1. Even if we had gone with an older resort, there wasn't that much of a price break to buy resale (back when we were in the buying mode).
2. We could get exactly what we wanted from DVC with a phone call.
3. For later purchases, we could charge the purchase to our Disney CC, get 0% financing for 6 months (and 1% Disney rewards).
4. We would get the full compliment of points when buying direct.
5. We could make immediate reservations with the points.
6. DVC was always offering incentives to sweeten the deal.
7. We didn't have to pay closing costs by going direct (this has changed, however).
8. The Disney Collection was a factor for some of our first purchases especially SSR. We bought SSR mainly to use at Disneyland Hotels. But, since we bought VGC we haven't used points for the Disney Collection... (And it isn't as important of a factor to us anymore).

 

[Missyrose]

That's easy. Because people don't know what they don't know. If they have no idea what questions they should be asking, how could they possibly ask them? So we offer as much information as we can, and let them decide what to do with it.

To elaborate on this just a little... I would rather tell someone something and risk have it be something they've heard before, than risk letting them go on without the information they could use to make the best decision for them.

I like helping people with their DVC questions because the folks like Dean, Deb, Jim, Bill and countless others went above and beyond to show me the ropes as I researched my first DVC purchase. I spent months reading this board before I ever asked my first question. So I know there are others doing the exact same thing right now. They don't have all the info they need and you never know when that extra piece of info they read in an answer to a question that someone else asked will be exactly what they were looking for.

I genuinely like interacting with people on this board. And if I can pass forward just a fraction of what I've learned from this community, then I feel like I've helped give back just a little.

 

[k3chantal]

That's easy. Because people don't know what they don't know. If they have no idea what questions they should be asking, how could they possibly ask them? So we offer as much information as we can, and let them decide what to do with it.

The bigger question is this...why are you so offended by this?

This is completely accurately. My husband and I didn't know what we didn't know about timeshares and specifically DVC. We had no frame of reference to ask any questions. And more importantly, even if I had stumbled onto this website with no prior knowledge, I would have not taken the information as seriously as I do now. I would have wanted the information from the original source (Disney). Now that I have had 6 years of using my points, I can access my prior knowledge about DVC and compare it with what I learn here; validating most of what I read.

 

[Msmithmd]

I know they always routine these threads with an "with all due respect" post . You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own .

At least that is the way it comes of in every one of these posts to me . Maybe some people don't realize the real market exists to be honest that should be the extent you are looking out for people . I don't think people need to be told interest cost extra money , I don't think they need to be told they can't get certin reservations if they don't have specific home resorts , I don't think they need to be told the basics of how the DVC system works ,cause ill assume they had the decency to ask before they spent a large sum of money . To be honest it's not my job to worry about other people's decisions .

You do realize that you're on a discussion board, posting to the discussion board, criticizing people for posting on a discussion board- for replying to other people who have posted on a discussion board in the first place, right? I mean, it's both amusing and bizarre.

Presumably if these OP people didn't want to discuss their purchase decisions with others in a public anonymous forum, they wouldn't post here in the first place.

And when someone does post a topic, the entire point of the board is for people to discuss it- from both sides. Otherwise why have a discussion board at all? It would be kinda like having political debates where only one side is allowed to argue, and all the other side can do is post emoticons and say "yay" "cheers" and "good vibes" ...not much of a discussion at all IMO.

Now yes, it is certainly appropriate for people to be civil and respectful in their debates. To a point. That point gets blurred when someone is stridently advocating the virtues of spending money paying interest on a luxury purchase, or using magical thinking and calculations to justify a financial decision.

Sometimes, in those situations, a blunt response is EXACTLY what is appropriate even when it isn't what a poster might "want" to hear. Their real life friends are probably not going to tell them the things they will be told in this board. So it's a good thing the anonymous people here can do that. If you want only one side of the story, then just read the Disney parks blogs.

And if you don't like hearing the "other side" in a given debate on the Disboards- well, I don't really understand why you would continue to read these forums and post actively. Maybe it's time to get a different hobby???

Speaking for myself, I learn something or other almost every time I read the posts. Or I hear an old topic looked at from a different point of view and find that insightful.

So again, if one doesn't want to hear varied perspectives, then it's just hard for me to see why a person would feel the need or desire to participate in a discussion forum. But your opinion may vary from mine.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...You may as well put after that phrase you an idiot cause you couldn't have possibly thought of the things I am about to tell in this post on your own . ....

If I posted to every post that I thought someone was an idiot, I'd have 51,000+ posts instead of just 41,000+ posts.

 

[bakerworld]

(Incidentally, only Fidelity charges that $195 administrative fee. None of the other brokers charge the buyer anything.)

good to know - I thought I had read that there was a fee charged by the title search companies. So when looking at resale all I need to be seeing is the cost plus who pays the MFs - no other fees charged (except thru Fidelity)?

We're still looking for 45 pts at Boardwalk and than that should finish us.

All of us are adults now - and my extended family doesn't really get Disney - they're more into skiing and beach.