Why would one buy direct?

[nfouey]

So please no flames! I'm early in the research process in DVC purchase. Clearly resale seems to be the way to go for the initial purchase of 125-175 points for my family. Trying to understand why someone would choose to buy direct? There must be advantages for some people in some situations. I guess what I am getting at is...is resale too good to be true? How is it that poly points direct are $171 per point yet resale you can get the same poly contract (although rare to find)for $148?

Given that poly would not even be my first choice for home resort and my budget, buying direct seems to be out of the question. I just wonder there must be folks out there that do it, right?

 

[jordanri]

i believe, correct me someone if i am wrong, the perks of dvc are gone when you buy resale. i found an orlando sentinel artice about it from april, but i'm not dvc so i'm not sure but http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...embership-benefits-resale-20160404-story.html

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

It's indivual choice I believe at the end of the day. I don't think anyone can tell you oh you are silly to buy direct or resale if that is what works for you.

We have bought all our contracts direct. You can buy older resorts cheaper direct like SSR $140 or OKW if you add your name to the waitlist. It doesn't take long for them to pop up.

We bought VGF direct because it is a small resort and wanted in from the get go. We bought our SSR contracts because we like buying direct, it was quicker for us and easier. We got last years vacation points which we used saving us money. Also the perks of being able to buy APs etc but you probably shouldn't buy for that reason they can change the rules on extras.

Personally I would rather deal direct and I always feel people flame us for it but that is my wife and I choice. I would not judge or think anything wrong with resale.

 

[BillPA]

True, resale doesn't get all the perks a direct buyer would get. Also you can not use points for Disney hotels, the cruise or Adventures by Disney. But most will tell you these are not worth using your points for. You get about $6-6.50 a point credit where you can rent them for $11-15 a points and pay cash. Direct right now is the poly or Hawaii. Resale you can get what ever is for sale. Direct you get points quickly, resale takes up to 3 months. Direct you can purchase discounted Annual Passes, resale you can not get the discount.

 

[disneynutz]

People buy direct:
Because they don't know about resale or they are ignorant to the process.
They believe what Disney tells them due to Disney's history and reputation.
They are ignorant to the resale restrictions.
They need to borrow money and Disney makes it easy.
They want it now and Disney has designed the delays for resale to push people to buying direct.

Bill

 

[jscottnc]

I have bought both direct and on resale. IMHO you buy resale if you have (lots of) time; otherwise, by direct. The perks can be significant (e.g. annual passes, merchandise and dining discounts) depending on how you vacation, how you shop and how long you hold onto your contract. The price differential between direct and resale can dwarf the value of the perks.

I bought direct because I did not know about resale (though at the time we wanted VGF which was less than a year old). Buying direct is very convenient: no wait for ROFR, no wait for estoppel, almost immediate access to points and member services, and I could pay with my credit card (Frequent Flyer points -- I got a companion pass that year). Nothing like buying direct for immediate gratification.

It was not too long before we realized that we needed more points for the accommodations we wanted every year. We got very lucky with a resale the size that we wanted, same UY AND fully loaded at an asking price $20/point below what we paid. I paid the asking price (for the perfect resale contract one does not want to mess about).

 

[aoconnor]

As others have stated I think people buy direct for three main reasons: 1) convenience/ speed, 2) they are unaware of resale market, and 3) they believe the perks are valuable.

In my opinion the ONLY perk that has any value whatsoever is the annual pass discount. If you go to Disney multiple times a year or stay for extended periods, the annual pass discount of ~$100 is nice. However, in your case buying 150 points direct at AKV for $160 vs. resale at $85 is going to cost you over $11,000 more upfront. It's going to take many, many years of annual pass discounts to make up that difference-- 28 years for a family of four!

Many of the other perks-- dining, merchandise discounts etc-- can be obtained through the Disney Visa, which is free. While the member events have nice freebies, the chance that a member event will fall on a date during your trip is slim. Lastly, the price increases on Tables in Wonderland have greatly diminished the value of that perk to the point where, again, it only makes sense if you're going to go to Disney multiple times a year or for extended periods.

 

[BillPA]

If you really want the perks, take $3,500 of the savings you would have by buying resale and add 25 direct points. You will still be $7,500 ahead.

 

[disneynutz]

I wonder how many people take a 2nd vacation just to get 2 uses out of their AP? How much would they save if they only took 1 vacation per year?

Bill

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I bought direct for two reasons.
1) We really loved VGF and it was only available Direct at the time.
2) It was a material amount of money, and I wanted Disney standing behind the promises. If things did not work out as they said it would, I wanted a large corporation standing behind the representations who could "make it good". It is fair to say that I had a very dim view of the Timeshare industry, and I valued the Disney brand in making sure that this timeshare was all it claimed to be.

I read these boards extensively before we bought so as to understand the nuances of DVC and so I could get the right Use Year for us, etc. I found that 80 to 90% of the advice here was really good, but there is never 100% consensus, and I knew that if I got a bad deal due to my misunderstanding of the advice on this board, it would be all on me. No one here is going to reach into their pocket to make me whole for my misunderstanding, nor should they.

Now, having been a DVC member for 2 years, I understand things much better now, and I am able to separate the good advice from the bad advice. Even the bad advice is not necessarily terrible. It just fits someone else's situation and not my own. But now, I am totally confident in buying resale, and have added on some points through resale recently.

 

[disneynutz]

I bought direct for two reasons.
1) We really loved VGF and it was only available Direct at the time.
2) It was a material amount of money, and I wanted Disney standing behind the promises. If things did not work out as they said it would, I wanted a large corporation standing behind the representations who could "make it good". It is fair to say that I had a very dim view of the Timeshare industry, and I valued the Disney brand in making sure that this timeshare was all it claimed to be.

I read these boards extensively before we bought so as to understand the nuances of DVC and so I could get the right Use Year for us, etc. I found that 80 to 90% of the advice here was really good, but there is never 100% consensus, and I knew that if I got a bad deal due to my misunderstanding of the advice on this board, it would be all on me. No one here is going to reach into their pocket to make me whole for my misunderstanding, nor should they.

Now, having been a DVC member for 2 years, I understand things much better now, and I am able to separate the good advice from the bad advice. Even the bad advice is not necessarily terrible. It just fits someone else's situation and not my own. But now, I am totally confident in buying resale, and have added on some points through resale recently.

Great post and good information. We also bought VGF direct because we wanted a fixed week which isn't really available via resale.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So please no flames! I'm early in the research process in DVC purchase. Clearly resale seems to be the way to go for the initial purchase of 125-175 points for my family. Trying to understand why someone would choose to buy direct? There must be advantages for some people in some situations. I guess what I am getting at is...is resale too good to be true? How is it that poly points direct are $171 per point yet resale you can get the same poly contract (although rare to find)for $148?

Given that poly would not even be my first choice for home resort and my budget, buying direct seems to be out of the question. I just wonder there must be folks out there that do it, right?

Bill outlined it very well. I'm always amazed though at the up charge people are willing to pay because they just feel better buying from Disney. We have bought both resale and direct but either the direct was a new Resort we knew we wanted....uh, that's it. And the price differences weren't as extreme as they are now.

Looking at it another way is when would someone want to buy direct. Currently it's if they have to have Poly and nothing else will do. The other two reasons would be an owner needs a very small add on which can be difficult to find resale and lastly if someone bought the bulk of their points resale but was going to consistently benefit from the AP discount so they wanted 25 points direct to qualify for benefits.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Great post and good information. We also bought VGF direct because we wanted a fixed week which isn't really available via resale.

Bill

You think Disney would make it all good Bill?

 

[Matty B13]

I can give you 12,000 reasons to buy resale, that being said we still plan on buying a small direct contract for the AP discount which will save my family the difference in price over resale in only a couple of years. We are planners and will bookend our vacations to get two uses out of a gold AP. Everyone's situation is different so you are in the right place for "good" advice on DVC and what everyone's view point and experiences have been.

 

[ziravan]

I've bought both ways.

BCV resale and Poly fixed week.

New resorts are often better direct. The OP stated they didn't understand paying $171 when resale can be had for $148 at Poly.

Theres a promotion until Oct that pegs points in the mid-150's, so that makes the difference about $10. Now add in getting points immediately, getting 2015 UY points if you buy a later UY, and having those points count as developer points in the future and the $10 isn't worth saving to buy resale.

1. Immediate points vs 3 month wait.

2. Most of the Poly resale points are going to be at least partially stripped (at least one use before resale). If you buy a later in the current UY points, the prior year's points are part of the contract.

For example, if you buy an Oct UY today (Sept, 2016), it will come with 2015 points. That means if you buy 150 points that you have 450 points immediately available (bank, current, and borrow). You aren't going to find that in very many resale contracts.

3. Developer points. DVC seems determined to become "just another timeshare". The April changes indicate that direction. Many timeshares offer differentiated status based on points and resale points won't qualify.

So. If DVC were to decide that there is a tier where 160 points gives you 1 level of benefits and 400 points gives you more, then having developer points will matter. Not enough to pay a $50/point premium. But $10? Yes. This is a 50 yr product, and trying to anticipate potential changes is part of the calculation.

4. Fixed week - if I'm going to spend that kind of money to stay at Poly, I wanted a better guarantee of getting what I want. I will have at least a Fall Lake View studio each year. Guaranteed. Couldn't do that resale.

Direct isn't a good deal for an older resort. For a new resort, direct has advantages, and at least as important, resale doesn't have enough advantages to outweigh direct.

Historically, buying direct at new DVC resorts have been good decisions.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Small contracts (25-50 points) ad add-ons are often best purchased direct. Availability in resale can be rough, let alone lining up UY (if desired).

 

[ziravan]

What would tiered benefits look like?

My guess is they would start at 160 points because that was a long time minimum purchase level.

The current restrictions would probably be extended to this level - need 160 developer points to qualify. (This is why I believe that new resale buyers today should go ahead and lock down member status with a 25 point add on. I don't think that deal will last long.)

Then say 400 points is VIP status where extra things are created just for VIPs:

Some things I can think of just brainstorming:

1. Deeper AP discounts
2. TIW cards for free
3. Universal EMH hours (whether staying on property or not)
4. Extra FPs for everybody on reservation if member is on reservation.
5. Special VIP events that are serious up charges to current events: F&W private tastings, access to MVMCP and MNSSHPs, etc.

At $171/point, 400 points is $68,400. What would a company do to create $68,400 customers?

I think developer point differentiation is coming. That's one reason to buy developer points at new resorts instead of saving $10 bucks a point to buy resale.

 

[disneynutz]

What would tiered benefits look like?

My guess is they would start at 160 points because that was a long time minimum purchase level.

The current restrictions would probably be extended to this level - need 160 developer points to qualify. (This is why I believe that new resale buyers today should go ahead and lock down member status with a 25 point add on. I don't think that deal will last long.)

Then say 400 points is VIP status where extra things are created just for VIPs:

Some things I can think of just brainstorming:

1. Deeper AP discounts
2. TIW cards for free
3. Universal EMH hours (whether staying on property or not)
4. Extra FPs for everybody on reservation if member is on reservation.
5. Special VIP events that are serious up charges to current events: F&W private tastings, access to MVMCP and MNSSHPs, etc.

At $171/point, 400 points is $68,400. What would a company do to create $68,400 customers?

I think developer point differentiation is coming. That's one reason to buy developer points at new resorts instead of saving $10 bucks a point to buy resale.

You forget that in Disney's world DVC is nothing but some added revenue. They really do not support the perks and extras and I don't think that they will be adding more perks and for sure any tiered perks.

Bill

 

[nfouey]

What is a "fixed" week?

Learning so much about DVC options and my mind is really an open sponge at this point! I haven't ruled out anything!

Thanks all.

 

[Dean]

So please no flames! I'm early in the research process in DVC purchase. Clearly resale seems to be the way to go for the initial purchase of 125-175 points for my family. Trying to understand why someone would choose to buy direct? There must be advantages for some people in some situations. I guess what I am getting at is...is resale too good to be true? How is it that poly points direct are $171 per point yet resale you can get the same poly contract (although rare to find)for $148?

Given that poly would not even be my first choice for home resort and my budget, buying direct seems to be out of the question. I just wonder there must be folks out there that do it, right?

There are reasons to buy direct. They include when there are no real savings resale or when the item is not available resale and the extra costs are worth it for that option. This covers smaller contracts, new resorts not available at a sufficient discount to justify the minimal risk/aggravation and fixed weeks. Before the last change in resale benefits there was no reason to buy direct other than those stated as there was nothing where one should buy to use that wasn't included for resale such as DCL. Put another way, there's never been a time in the history of DVC where buying for DCL or any of the other cash exchange options was a reasonable choice. But now that there are perks that are not included, there are a few times where it's advantageous to have qualified points. Generally that means that one of 2 situations are reasonable, either buying small like 50 or less or buying resale and adding on 25 retail.

However, in this situation and looking at identivsl contracts othewise, I'm not sure $23 a point is enough to make it a no brainier. I could see saving a few thousand $$$ resale but having qualified points and instant access (possibly with a difficult to get first reservation) has some value. IMO it's more important to make sure one is educated enough to make a good decision on whether to buy DVC and the best home resort, something most new buyers don't do well. If one can find a fully loaded contract resale then that likely tips the scale that direction as retail contracts are never fully loaded though they can be fairly close if late in the UY. Remember resale will come with some delays and additional costs one should consider.