Why do folks sell DVC?

[BestDadEver]

our last contract has put us in a place of either staying in a larger 1BR instead of a studio or making a decision between selling or renting. Interesting place to be - we hesitate to sell because life is so changeable.

We really enjoy our DVC. Many become dis-enchanted - after a few years the actual cost of stay becomes forgotten and people begin to feel their DVC is 'over priced'. I wonder how many sell and walk away versus sell and realized how expensive the deluxe rooms have become while they were staying in their DVC.

I don't think people take into account the dramatically inflated room prices these day not on purpose but out of site out of mind .

 

[BestDadEver]

We are going to sell our BWV contract (the larger of our 2 contracts). We have been members for over 10 years, bought resale. Our reasons:

1) Last stay at BWV was so bad that we won't rebook there until it's rehabbed. Therefore the 11 month window is now useless, and we have been unable to secure what we want at 7 months.

2) No availability for pretty much anything we want when we look, but yet easily find those dates on RCI for trade for a fraction of the cost

3) See no. 2. Ease and cheapness of trading in via RCI

4) After staying offsite at Marriott and Westin timeshares via trade we see that DVC has location but not much else for us. At this point, a DVC trade is a last resort for our family if we can't get Marriott.

5) Cost of dues makes no sense given how cheaply we can trade in, the fact that we can just rent points for not much more than dues, and the fact that we cannot ever seem to book what we want anymore.

All that said, we'll keep the 50 point vero contract for deals on APs as they seem to happen annually now.

I am confused so you have a marriott timeshare you prefer over DVC ?

 

[jarestel]

I can't speak to why others choose to sell DVC, but in my case it was just a case of "been there, done that - a hundred times!". After more than 10 years, we decided Disney trips no longer had the excitement factor they once did. Though we entirely enjoyed owning DVC and had many wonderful trips over the course of our DVC ownership, we never anticipated owning to the bitter end anyway and always knew a day would come when we would move on to other vacation options. And so we have, but will always regard DVC as a positive vacation experience!

 

[JimC]

We sold one contract to rebalance as our desired use changed. And we have bought more points - some where we want 11 month booking and the rest at OKW (which we use primarily to float among a number of resorts at seven months).

We also own Marriott and believe the two systems offer comparable quality. Marriott is much less expensive to buy and own, although they are not an "inexpensive" system. We have also sold Marriott to rebalance.

We foresee times when we might sell more or even liquidate. Likely reasons include changes to health, interests, finances and Disney vs other offerings.

 

[JimMIA]

2) No availability for pretty much anything we want when we look, but yet easily find those dates on RCI for trade for a fraction of the cost

3) See no. 2. Ease and cheapness of trading in via RCI

One thing this tells us (and I'm hearing this quite frequently now) is that despite the "conventional DIS wisdom" that DVC/RCI is not the greatest use of points, a LOT of DVC owners are finding exchanges they like.

I've always been kind of a contrarian on exchanges. While others like to microscopically examine the "relative value" of the lodgings, to me, any exchange you are happy with is a good exchange. Apparently a lot of DVCers agree with me.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I am confused so you have a marriott timeshare you prefer over DVC ?

We also trade into Marriott using a cheap timeshare we bought off of Ebay years ago. We much prefer Marriott to DVC. We do not own Marriott, but I could see buying a resale if we were ever to stop getting desireable Marriott trades.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

One thing this tells us (and I'm hearing this quite frequently now) is that despite the "conventional DIS wisdom" that DVC/RCI is not the greatest use of points, a LOT of DVC owners are finding exchanges they like.

I've always been kind of a contrarian on exchanges. While others like to microscopically examine the "relative value" of the lodgings, to me, any exchange you are happy with is a good exchange. Apparently a lot of DVCers agree with me.

I agree with this! It's so funny though. We had the toughest time checking into OKW on our most recent exchange a few weeks ago. They kept insisting that it was a member points reservation while I kept saying that it was a trade. Yes, I'm a member, but it's a trade. Anyways, at one point I got peeved and said that I'd love to be here on member points but those are all but impossible to book with these days so I have to go on RCI where I can easily and cheaply trade in. The CM actually told me that RCI rents those reservations and then trades them out "to keep our dues down" Um, no...those are member trades OUT. RCI isn't renting units from Disney to give them away for a $200 exchange fee

 

[chalee94]

One thing this tells us (and I'm hearing this quite frequently now) is that despite the "conventional DIS wisdom" that DVC/RCI is not the greatest use of points, a LOT of DVC owners are finding exchanges they like.

I've always been kind of a contrarian on exchanges. While others like to microscopically examine the "relative value" of the lodgings, to me, any exchange you are happy with is a good exchange. Apparently a lot of DVCers agree with me.

i thought LoveBWVVBR was just talking about trading in to DVC through RCI...not trading out of DVC through RCI.

trading in has always been a great deal due to DVC's high upfront costs and high annual dues. but trading out is still not the greatest use of pts, for the same reasons...

but if you've got the pts and wanna do it, sure, go ahead. i wouldn't advise people to buy a lexus so they can trade it for an old pickup truck...but there might be a few times when the pickup can do the job better...

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

i thought LoveBWVVBR was just talking about trading in to DVC through RCI...not trading out of DVC through RCI.

trading in has always been a great deal due to DVC's high upfront costs and high annual dues. but trading out is still not the greatest use of pts, for the same reasons...

but if you've got the pts and wanna do it, sure, go ahead. i wouldn't advise people to buy a lexus so they can trade it for an old pickup truck...but there might be a few times when the pickup can do the job better...

Yes, this is what I was talking about. I apologize if I was confusing. We have found trading INTO DVC to be much cheaper and much easier than booking with our DVC points since DVC switched from II to RCI. I would not trade out because for me personally that is not a good use of points. However, my points have proven all but useless this year, so I'm not sure WHAT I am going to do with them at this point

 

[chalee94]

I am confused so you have a marriott timeshare you prefer over DVC ?

i'm in a similar situation as LoveBWVVBR. i have a $1 (or less) timeshare from ebay that i use as a "poor man's marriott." i've traded into marriotts in the caribbean (st kitts), vegas, newport beach in california, 2 in orlando and a couple in hilton head.

the marriotts i got in hilton head were directly on the beach. most of the marriotts were higher in quality than DVC except for the VGF (maybe VGC - i haven't stayed there).

but they are not onsite at wdw, which i why i own DVC as well.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

i'm in a similar situation as LoveBWVVBR. i have a $1 (or less) timeshare from ebay that i use as a "poor man's marriott." i've traded into marriotts in the caribbean (st kitts), vegas, newport beach in california, 2 in orlando and a couple in hilton head.

the marriotts i got in hilton head were directly on the beach. most of the marriotts were higher in quality than DVC except for the VGF (maybe VGC - i haven't stayed there).

but they are not onsite at wdw, which i why i own DVC as well.

My DH thinks we need to add to our holdings at our "poor man's Marriott" resort lol. BLT isn't higher quality than the Marriotts I've stayed at. I haven't seen VGF yet so maybe those are comperable to Marriott. The other ones...no way. I'll take Marriott any day over those. DVC has become our last resort when we can't get a Marriott trade. That is how I know it's time to sell.

 

[JimMIA]

i thought LoveBWVVBR was just talking about trading in to DVC through RCI...not trading out of DVC through RCI.

They were.

My point is the flip side of that trade. There would be no RCI trade IN unless some DVC owner had found a trade OUT they liked. And for all the talk we hear about RCI trades not being the best use of points, apparently a lot of DVC owners use that option.

 

[BestDadEver]

One thing this tells us (and I'm hearing this quite frequently now) is that despite the "conventional DIS wisdom" that DVC/RCI is not the greatest use of points, a LOT of DVC owners are finding exchanges they like.

I've always been kind of a contrarian on exchanges. While others like to microscopically examine the "relative value" of the lodgings, to me, any exchange you are happy with is a good exchange. Apparently a lot of DVCers agree with me.

That cause most people here are Disney nuts . People that realize that they will grow out of Disney should find value in trading out , even if monetarily it may not make sense .

Personally I don't see the wife and I going to Disney alone when the kids are grown then we can either sell or use it to trade to places we would liketo go .

 

[JimMIA]

The one caution I always offer is not to use the ability to exchange via RCI (or any other exchange company) as even a tiny factor in a DVC purchase decision.

And the obvious reason is that it's not guaranteed, and could well change during a prospective buyer's ownership.

 

[judydvc]

I recently sold my 150 point BWV contract that I found I wasn't using most of the points. My family has changed and I haven't been taking week long vacations at WDW for a while. I do have 2 other small contracts: 50 points at WLV and 60 points at VGC which I use a lot. I find. I go to DL more and will use it even more when I retire out West. I think a lot of people sell when they find things have changed and they don't need as many points especially with the high maintaince fees.

 

[Cheeky in TN]

Is there a good place to learn about the Marriott trades and everything? I have seen others mention this and buying off eBay, just not sure where to start. Need to brush up some so I can look around for some other timeshares to maybe use for beach vacation. Buying SSR also, as we tend to take annual Disney trips. Looking for the "poor mans marriott" for beach trips or other trips.

 

[aclov]

I had two contracts - BWV and VWL, I sold the Wilderness Lodge contract which was smaller due to financial reasons. If I were to sell Boardwalk would be due to having outgrown Disney, but just haven't had the heart to part with it and have enjoyed giving family members the opportunity to visit which they may not have been able to without my DVC.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Is there a good place to learn about the Marriott trades and everything? I have seen others mention this and buying off eBay, just not sure where to start. Need to brush up some so I can look around for some other timeshares to maybe use for beach vacation. Buying SSR also, as we tend to take annual Disney trips. Looking for the "poor mans marriott" for beach trips or other trips.

tug2.com

That site will teach you everything you need to know if you spend enough time on there.

Watch out, though...the "poor man's Marriott" trades will spoil you for anything else We didn't start thinking seriously about selling DVC until we started getting 2 and 3 bedroom Marriott trades regularly at some high-end Marriotts. That ruined DVC for us as there is just no comparison for us.

 

[chalee94]

Looking for the "poor mans marriott" for beach trips or other trips.

for fuller disclosure, i am not limited by school schedules so i can travel on short notice and during shoulder seasons (hilton head in september, southern california i november - i wanted to see the holiday decorations and unique holiday overlays for haunted mansion and small world at DLR).

so while i'm able to trade a non-branded timeshare summer week in a 1BR for 2BRs at different marriotts, i am trading down in terms of season. if i were hoping to trade for a summer week at a marriott in hilton head, i would have to hope i was lucky enough for something to come up on short notice (a month to a few days ahead of time)...but i would typically expect to be disappointed...

it's also a situation of "buying to use" - reselling (i.e. "giving away") my non-branded timeshare would be a lot harder than selling my DVC. but i'm hoping to keep it several more decades so that's not a concern in the short term.

i agree with LoveBWVVBR: TUG can give you a better sense of what is possible for other timeshares.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

for fuller disclosure, i am not limited by school schedules so i can travel on short notice and during shoulder seasons (hilton head in september, southern california i november - i wanted to see the holiday decorations and unique holiday overlays for haunted mansion and small world at DLR).

so while i'm able to trade a non-branded timeshare summer week in a 1BR for 2BRs at different marriotts, i am trading down in terms of season. if i were hoping to trade for a summer week at a marriott in hilton head, i would have to hope i was lucky enough for something to come up on short notice (a month to a few days ahead of time)...but i would typically expect to be disappointed...

it's also a situation of "buying to use" - reselling (i.e. "giving away") my non-branded timeshare would be a lot harder than selling my DVC. but i'm hoping to keep it several more decades so that's not a concern in the short term.

i agree with LoveBWVVBR: TUG can give you a better sense of what is possible for other timeshares.

I'm 100% constrained by the school schedule and I already used my "poor man's Marriott" to secure a trade at Marriott Lakeshore Reserve in a 2 bedroom checking in next July 4th (just got it within the past week) believe it or not. I start my ongoing searches more than a year in advance and check every morning in live inventory also when I am looking for a match.