We bid and won! EBay Auction..what now?

Thank you for all your previous postings and advice.

We just won an Ebay bid, at a fair price (final price below our maximum bid) for the Resort and week we were looking for months.

EBay seller has impeccable reviews/rating and works with a Closing company.
Pardon our ignorance, but first time we buy/win at EBay and we need more advice.

1. Seller asks for our details: name, address, etc to send us a contract. No problem, we will do that today.

2. Do we pay now? we will use Paypal (Amex) or do we pay after we receive and sign contract. (Seller says he will email contract to us with our names, etc.)

3. We do not want seller to think we are stalling if we wait until contract is received or signed.

Your guidance please! TS and week description we got is exactly what we were looking for. (1/2 the price of resale, and 1/4 of what developer sells TS for....not bad! for two rookies like us!

4. Anything else we should look into at this moment? or ask for?

Looking forward to your replies!

Who is the seller and closing company?

I would wait for the contract as that is the legal agreement which defines what you are purchasing. Sometimes a seller will have a mistake in the listing itself.

Seller is TimeshareWeb (endlesshorizon34) and closing company is Timeshare Closings Inc. of Orlando.

Thanks

If you don't mind me asking, what timeshare location did you win?

Some people do not like buying from them because they sell units that people paid to be rid of. As a buyer, that doesn't bother me as I consider the timeshare developer's to be the real thieves in this industry and I tell anyone who will listen how to sell by themselves, some folks make themselves victiims is the unfortunate reality IMHO. Ten minutes with Google and they would learn for themselves that pay me to take it is not the best choice.

I personally know them very well, bought one last week from them. Have purchased north of 2 dozen in the last few years from them. They have 6 "agents" who each have an EBay account selling for them. The parent organization is called Vacation Innovations Network and that is the name you will see on the contract.

I would verify that the details on the contract are accurate. Then send the money without fear. They are competant, as is Timeshare Closing Services. The couple of times there was an issue, they made good immediately, including giving me a full refund when a delay on their part made the unit unavailable for that year.

Payment information is frequently stated in the E-Bay listing. If not, you can always e-mail the seller and ask. Be sure to identify the property- either by e-bay number or their own identifier, 'cause they will have several listed. Trust me, they will tell you how/when they want to be paid.

You will get a contract to fill out and mail back, they will get seller's signatures and record the transfer of ownership with the county where the TS is, then those papers go to the resort who will change their ownership records and send you a packet of stuff. The process can take 8-12 weeks. Often, the sales/closing company can get you a 'Guest Certificate' to use your TS while closing is going on.

Welcome to TUG, and enjoy your new purchase.

Jim Ricks

Don't pay anyone a dime until you receive and thoroughly review the contract, particularly if it's one of the so-called "PostCard Companies".

Due to all of the "cutting and pasting" which the PCC's do in constructing their multitude of ads, correct info in one ad, when carried over to another ad, might then be completely inaccurate in the second ad. As a result, there might very well have been errors in the ad which you may not even detect until carefully reviewing the actual contract.

CAVEAT EMPTOR (Buyer Beware).

I now see confirmation that this IS a PCC. Proceed with caution.

johnmfaeth said:

I would verify that the details on the contract are accurate.

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This is my one gripe with VIN. I purchased my points TS from them. There listing stated that there were currently points "left over" from the 2006 use year that were a "bonus". It also stated my fees wouldn't start until 2007. Well the way RCI points works, it turns out that the "left over" points were actually not left over at all, but rather the 2006 use year went from 10/06 - 10/07 (so the points were the current points). I also had to pay the fees 1/07 which corresponded to the 2006 use-year, so my fees, while not paid until calendar year 2007 were actually for the 2006 use-year.

I still feel they basically hosed me out of a year's worth of points through misleading advertising and made no effort to make it right. My guess is that in the interim they rented out a unit obtained with those points.

Other than that, deed transfer took about 2 months, points account transfer about 6 months and then they tried to charge me for the RCI and resort transfer fees which had already been paid at closing (but they ended up getting that right in the end).

I might consider buying from them again. TSC is a legitimate (although affiliated) escrow company and I never felt my cash was at risk. In the end VIN delivered what they technically had offered and I got what I thought I was getting less one year's worth of points. I would be more careful about the details of the listing and ask questions if anything was unclear.

theo said:

Don't pay anyone a dime until you receive and thoroughly review the contract, particularly if it's one of t, he so-called "PostCard Companies".......I now see confirmation that this IS a PCC. Proceed with caution.

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I have bought a number of Weeks from PostCard Companies who close using TCS. Chances are you are dealing with a cash outlay including closing costs of less than $2,000, maybe even less than $500. Thus my advice:

1) Read and reread the Ebay listing. Be sure you know exactly what you are buying
2) Read all the documents they send you carefully.
3) If the documents they send you and the Ebay listing are in sync, do exactly what they ask including sending them money.
4) If there is some representation as to the location of a Fixed Week Unit(for example 2nd floor beachfront) or you question the MF quoted, call the resort and verify with them. They will usually help you.
5) Sit back and relax. More than likely you will have your Deed in less than 90 days

What you have at risk is the money you send to them. What they have at risk is their Ebay Feedback Rating. My experience is that they will do anything legitimate not to get Negative Feedback.

I have probably purchased 15 weeks on Ebay over the last 3-4 years following my own advice with one minor glitch which was taken care of. The transaction will work smoothly if you follow their instructions. It is when you try to deviate from what they ask that things get messed up.

Remember, I'm talking low cost Weeks. If the Week I was buying cost $10,000 or $15,000, I'd probably rethink my own advice. But I'll never have that problem because I'll never again spend more than $1,000 for a Week

GEORGE

Thank you

Thank you, for all your replies and advice. We hope our first transaction goes on smoothly.

Congratulations, Madex! Welcome to the crazy and exciting world of timeshare ownership!

Did you snipe your bid?

Dave

Closing Company is the key

Hi,

I am an experienced Ebay buyer and have bought and sold over 35 units...

The closing company should be bonded and insured as well as licensed. They will act only with agreed instructions from both of you. The funds should be sent to them if the deal is large enough to cause concern. The way I worked it was if the deal was over $1,000 I would send a small deposit to the Seller and the remainder to the closing company..

The sales contract should lay this all out...It is just like buying real estate...each state has a few different requirements but the Deed process is very similar. If it is Points or a Right to Use there are different details as well.

I usually took title insurance for a deal over $2,000...

Good luck and email me if you have specific questions I can help with...

John Fornal johnfornal@yahoo.com

JeepGuy, we used the method (like real men do, according to some of you), the old index finger. We knew before hand how much we wanted to bid, so we put a max, and just refreshed the screen...every 10 seconds?? guess we were excited! so, no sniping (we've just learned the term last night, at this forum).

We do not know who the owner is, as all is handled by this Timeshare company (we are waiting for contract, hopefully will arrive today). Do you at any point find out who was the previous owner.

Now after all, we realized our gain, was somebody else's loss. Corny or not, gosh, somebody got a beating and lost a lot of money selling this timeshare. How sad.

Thanks again for the kind welcome and advice.

As noted in previous posts, be sure to read/double check/read again the contract they send you - then contact the resort to double check. We purchased a ts thru this same company and they stated the week was a floating 1-52 week. Turned out it was - but only if I paid an additional $50 to the resort to reserve a prime week. After contacting timeshareweb, we did get a refund for our purchase of the unit and got to retain the week. Since we travel during off times, wasn't a big deal for us, but still felt the ebay ad was misleading.

madex said:

We do not know who the owner is, as all is handled by this Timeshare company (we are waiting for contract, hopefully will arrive today). Do you at any point find out who was the previous owner was?

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The previous owners name should be on the closing documents that you will receive. Once you receive them you should have contract information and call the resort to confirm details about the week and contract.

madex said:

Pardon our ignorance, but first time we buy/win at EBay and we need more advice.

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It's good that you are asking questions, but these are questions that should have been asked and answered before you bought, or the terms should have been clearly spelled out in the Ad and you should have retained a copy of it.

You probably won't have an option of how you make the payment. Many companies do not want to accept a credit card payment or a Paypal Payment because the seller has to pay the fees associated with these methods of payment. You will most likely have to send a certified check or pay the Paypal fees on top of your payment.

Make sure all funds, except maybe a small deposit, go to a reputable escrow company. Read the contract word by word and make sure you understand it before you sign it. If you don't, email the seller and ask, and print out and save his answer as documentation. If there are any errors in the contract, ask them to revise it and send you a new one. I recently bought my 3rd ebay week and the contract listed a different type unit that the one I bought.

Best of luck!

Advice I haven't seen yet.

Make sure you get an estoppel letter. It will cost another $25 or so, but it is independent verification of mf amounts, monies due if any, and weeks available or unavailable.In short, it makes sure the seller's claims match the resorts.

Too often we've heard about previous owners who have banked weeks and used the trade already, had overdue mf's, etc. The owners may have forgotten or haven't told the pcc, and it's too late after closing to get those weeks back!

cluemeister said:

Advice I haven't seen yet.

Make sure you get an estoppel letter.

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Isn't that the escrow company's responsibility?

madex said:

JeepGuy, we used the method (like real men do, according to some of you), the old index finger. We knew before hand how much we wanted to bid, so we put a max, and just refreshed the screen...every 10 seconds?? guess we were excited! so, no sniping (we've just learned the term last night, at this forum).

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What you did is how I do it. Set the minimum and maximm bids to the range you want to see, then keep refreshing the screen to see where the bidding is at that moment. Then, when you think it's the final moment to strike, you hit that Enter key and let the chips fall. You did fine. From the sound of it, if you got the exact TS you wanted, at a price that fits into your budget and plans, then you did well. Everything else is relative. Congrats!

madex said:

Now after all, we realized our gain, was somebody else's loss. Corny or not, gosh, somebody got a beating and lost a lot of money selling this timeshare. How sad.

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This issue is the double-edged sword of buying timeshares on the resale market. But I fgure that some people are just ready to get out, and don't do their own research to find sales opportunities. If they jump when a postcard company calls, then it's not my fault. But when t comes time for ME to sell, I won't use a postcard company. I've learned the process, and know better.

As for buying on eBay for so much lower than what the developer rips people off with when they sell (some would say they are the true crooks in the industry), I figure if I can buy that TS for a relatively low price, I'm more likely to actually buy it. If I had to spend developer rates to buy a TS, I'd never have purchased any. So by getting the three I own off of eBay from postcard company resellers for very low money, I'm actually doing the owner a favor, by getting the TS out of their names. Most postcard companies don't transfer ownership until there's a new owner. But regardless, you did well.

Dave

Yes Denise, we are new to timeshare buying in Ebay, but we have done some research, and read your postings. This company has 100% rating in EBay, and takes paypal, all fees were spelled out. We have exchanged a few emails with all our questions answered by seller, and they responded promptly (even on a Sunday pm). Questions were asked, at least we have some experience by having bought and sold our home (s) 5 times, so documentation/back-ups are in order.... but timeshares are different, that is why we are asking for more information.

The estoppel letter just surprised me Cluemeister. How do you proceed with that? Can timeshare seller (it is a web company) refuse to do it. Is it really necessary? I've seen estoppels used but for commercial buildings only. Could you elaborate a little bit more how did it apply in your case? or your experience?

One last question, in the meantime, the 12 weeks that take approx. to do all the closing/transfer, can the original owner bank a week or do something like that, or does the timeshare company retain full ownership?

Thanks!

madex said:

The estoppel letter just surprised me Cluemeister. How do you proceed with that? Can timeshare seller (it is a web company) refuse to do it. Is it really necessary? I've seen estoppels used but for commercial buildings only. Could you elaborate a little bit more how did it apply in your case? or your experience?

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With the closing company I'm using, they provide an estoppel letter for $25 extra (the closing cost is $300). They contact the resort to verify that mf are current, and whether or not the current year's usage is available. The estoppel letter is then sent to the buyer for approval before the deed is sent in to be recorded.

Glorian

TSC will send you a letter basically say they verify the owner owns the TS and that is it.

Read the contract, make sure the name is right, the TS is as described. That contract will have the true seller's information as well as the contract number assigned by the resort. Call the resort, verify the TS is as described, the MF is current, the SA is not there or is there as described.

Other than that, they are more eagerly to get rid of the TS than you want to take it, so they will not run away.

Jya-Ning

Timeshare Closing Service did the paperwork on three of our ebay deals. The last one was very screwed up with us ending up with an extra week at Eagle Crest. We bought this in April and it took until late August before we recieved title. The Mexico ts closing went way faster than this. Sometimes they are fast, sometimes they are slow and sometimes they just screw up. We didnt realize that they put two seperate contracts into our names (recorded) until the resort sent out a reservation to us that the previous ower made.

Update!

We received the papers from Timeshare Closing and we decided to check with resort about MF or if owner has banked any weeks. We were told by resort that owner is not up to date with 'certain' payments, so late payments were assessed, etc. and they could not tell us anymore information about amount, what type of late fees were, what years were due (if any) as we are not the owners.

We called immediately ebay seller and were told that the original owner had not disclosed to them owing any money to the resort, but not to worry as if there are any pending fees, they would be paid to resort from sale proceeds before trasferring ownership to us and/or paying owner. Closing Co. guarantees clean title.

I was surprised owner did not disclosed that info to closing company. That makes me uneasy. Closing company told us, this sometimes happens, owners are not aware of any late fees, if they paid theif MF late.

I feel it is lack of honesty on the part of the owner, but maybe I am wrong.
Please any comments or suggestions on what to look for.

I expect after this behavior from owner that they could even try to bank any weeks in the meantime, but Resort management told us, that if not up to date with late payments, penalties, etc, owners cannot do anything.

Thanks again for comments.

A little help, please

Any comments?? Thanks