Window of opportunity?

[bonrea]

We received a “Don’t miss this window of opportunity!” mailing today and have a question for you veteran Add On’ers. How often do you receive such flyers or offers to add on and does the cost increase each time you receive one; or did you ever receive an offer for a great deal?

Next week will be our first trip on our points (non construction points) and would love to have more points already but can’t afford more at this time and the economy isn't helping in that regard. We fear that we will miss these “windows of opportunity” and the price will go up.

Any advise would be welcome.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

It is well understood that the prices are going up in January for AKV.

 

[ILIKEWDW]

but they can always buy a cheaper resale.....

 

[dianeschlicht]

There are always special offers from DVC, and yes, the prices usually go up. That's why they need the special offers! We purchased at $62.50 a point back about 12 years ago, and thought we got a great deal until we found out we had "just missed" one of those "special offers". The point is, you only buy what you can afford when you can afford it. The cost of those maintenance fees are the REAL important things, so don't stress your economics with more dues than you can handle. Be smart about exactly how many points you need for each location and hold yourself to that.

It took us awhile to figure that out. We started with 230 and immediately figured out that wasn't enough, so we added on 150. That has served us well for 10 years, but last year we also knew we wanted AKV, since we always said we wished that would have been DVC to start with. When AKV came on board, we figured out exactly how many points we would need for an 11 month window booking there in our desired room type with 3 years worth of points. That's how we arrived at the strange number of 69 points for our AKV add-on. Did I want more? YES! Did I drool over wanting to get the minimum necessary to be on the founders tapestry? YES! Did I cave and buy more points than I needed? NO! I knew we couldn't handle the dues for that many more points, so I stuck with the 69.

 

[MommaX03]

Diane really is on point with this. Disney, in the past, has raised their price per point around the first of the year. I think there are three groups of DVC people: those who have enough points (minority), those who always want more points but cannot financially (majority), and those who want more points, can afford to add-on, and are on the fence for whatever reason. These promos help the latter get off the fence.

I added on during a winter promo a few years back because I needed the points for the long-term (as opposed to just wanting them) and I could afford to do so. For this year's promo, there will be no add-on because I want them (not need them), and I cannot afford it. Analyze needs vs. wants. Then crunch numbers with regard to money and the point charts (banking and borrowing). Be comfortable with your purchase. It does not make sense to stretch yourself financially and stress out about it. DVC will be there.

Recheck your feelings on this window of opportunity when the new annual dues are announced before the end of the year. Dues are a major factor to consider, and are often a buzz kill for add-ons.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I must be in the minority because we bought exactly what we needed and don't really have an interest or need to add more.

 

[Mtnman44]

I've only been paying attention for the last three years or so, but i believe the following will likely always be true for the forseeable future:

-There will always be some kind of "incentive" going on. Recently at AKV the incentives got better a few months after the initial sales got going.

-It will always be possible to buy at the newest resort a few months later as resales start hitting the market which ends up cheaper than the best DVC incentive promo.

Step back and make the best decision for yourself and don't get caught in the "need to buy now" sales pressure. Worst case scenario: say you need to wait 2 years to buy at BLT. Price then will likely be MAYBE $2 per point more than now with equivilant give aways. Big Deal. The resale could likely be $5 or more less than the current incentive price.

Bottom line, there is no critical time frame to buy now or lose out big time. It's a sales gimmick (a very successful one).

 

[MommaX03]

Step back and make the best decision for yourself and don't get caught in the "need to buy now" sales pressure. Worst case scenario: say you need to wait 2 years to buy at BLT. Price then will likely be MAYBE $2 per point more than now with equivilant give aways. Big Deal. The resale could likely be $5 or more less than the current incentive price.

Bottom line, there is no critical time frame to buy now or lose out big time. It's a sales gimmick (a very successful one).

I totally agree!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I find the audacity of them sending this kind of add out now to be apalling.....

The world Economy is in decline....the US could be facing Ten Million job losses by the time this thing shakes out....

The whole "get it now before it goes up" gag is in bad taste....even for Disney


just my opinion

 

[CheapMom]

I find the audacity of them sending this kind of add out now to be apalling.....

The world Economy is in decline....the US could be facing Ten Million job losses by the time this thing shakes out....

The whole "get it now before it goes up" gag is in bad taste....even for Disney


just my opinion

Every company needs to make money now- Disney included. There is nothing wrong with using tried and true sales tactics to do so. In fact, they would be disservicing their employees and shareholders if they didn't.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Every company needs to make money now- Disney included. There is nothing wrong with using tried and true sales tactics to do so. In fact, they would be disservicing their employees and shareholders if they didn't.

that's why i said "my opinion".....

it looks to me to be phony and distasteful.....

and as an fyi: Disney never ceases with the "need" to make money now attitude.
It would be nice if they would give it a break every now and then....to prove that they in fact have blood in their veins as opposed to hydraulic fluid

 

[CheapMom]

A company that doesn't have a constant 'need to make money now' attitude will fail.

Also- I would be disappointed if I went to add-on, only to find out that prices had gone up and I wasn't notified.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I really think the window of opportunity for a DVC purchase is really in the resale market.

You can't beat the price for SSR and OKW for approx. $70/pt. Wow! Has anyone seen that big juicy VB contract for $48/pt. Now those are tempting!!

 

[CheapMom]

I really think the window of opportunity for a DVC purchase is really in the resale market.

You can't beat the price for SSR and OKW for approx. $70/pt. Wow! Has anyone seen that big juicy VB contract for $48/pt. Now those are tempting!!

ITA! Resales are where it's at right now. I don't see how dvc can compete. Other than those who HAVE to own BLT and those ignorant of the resale market, I think DVD will have a hard time roping new customers or getting their base to add-on.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

ITA! Resales are where it's at right now. I don't see how dvc can compete. Other than those who HAVE to own BLT and those ignorant of the resale market, I think DVD will have a hard time roping new customers or getting their base to add-on.

I hope they do take notice....because they are starting to make bad decisions and it will begin to effect overall satisfaction in a big way.....

a little restoration of balance is needed from time to time....especially in WDW....as the powers that be tend to lock themselves in a room tracking monetary figures and in the process forget that it's atmosphere that sells the most....not the mass produced products...

In retail terms:

WDW (And all disney parks for that matter) should be operated like organic cotton baby boutiques.....not the baby section at walmart (that's what six flags is for)

 

[Anal Annie]

I understand that the prices have to go up periodically...what irks me with this latest "deal" is the timing and that they're raising the minimum add-on so dramatically from 25 to 100. IMO 50 would've been a better compromise if they wanted to start raising their minimum for add-ons. I am not looking for 100 pts at BLT. I would love to be able to add-on 50-something (57 to be exact) at BLT + another 50-something at AKV one day. There are enough of the smaller contracts floating around out there now for AKV - definitely a possibility for a re-sale one day...but there will NOT be very many small contracts to purchase on the re-sale market for BLT. This feels more like a threat than anything else just because of the nature of how it was handled. They have pushed the add-on ability at BLT out of reach for many of us and it's sort of sad...we have lost the dream of being owners at BLT.

 

[Mtnman44]

This may be DVC attempting to trim the competition in the resale market. The fewer small contracts in the resale market means x number of buyers not looking in the resale market any longer and just turning to DVC for simplicity.

A previous poster stated they didn't know how DVC could compete with the resale market. Well, this may be one step in the direction of getting in a better position (without having to lower prices).

 

[CheapMom]

This may be DVC attempting to trim the competition in the resale market. The fewer small contracts in the resale market means x number of buyers not looking in the resale market any longer and just turning to DVC for simplicity.

A previous poster stated they didn't know how DVC could compete with the resale market. Well, this may be one step in the direction of getting in a better position (without having to lower prices).

Great point- as there are really only 2 motivating factors that steer folks to resale- price and minimum buy-in. This move may take some of that resale business back.

 

[BrentR]

Unless DVC decides to make an across the board decision to limit add-on to 100 point min. I don't think they will have much effect on the resale market. To make this requirement for just one resort is silly if they want to try to cut into the resale market. However if they decide to make this standard practice for every resort going forward they my have an impact. But there are so many existing small contracts from current resorts it will take some time to make an impact unless of course they decide to buy every small contract under ROFR that comes up.

 

[bonrea]

OK… Here is another question for you all. It may seem naive to ask this but I am a new DVC owner. If Disney is under contract with all of us DVC owners and they cannot contractually raise the points per stay effectively raising the cost per point on us (I know it is more complicated than that, just think about what I’m saying) so why do they produce a new Vacation Planner guide each year and why do the point numbers change for each time of year for each year? Yes, different more busy times of year take more points and vice versa. I’m talking about the same month year after year. I know it isn’t much but it does happen. I know the book is to get more advertising in our hands, we all know there is too much advertising in the entire world. That said; do they shift the point requirements for a nights stay from one resort to another effectively lowing one while raising another? A balancing act?