Ebay Seller dochoa77

Robert D · May 10, 2010

Anyone had experience with this seller? I was going to bid on one of his auctions today that is a fixed week 26 (early July) that we couldn't use and asked if he could put it in another name if I rented it to someone. He said they charged $75 to make the phone call to change the reservation (the resort doesn't charge for this) and when I asked if he'd waive this fee if I was the high bidder, he said:

"No I am sorry, this is what we charge especially if you are getting a timeshare for $1.. not worth my time to spend time making reservations for buyers. There is no incentive for me plus this is a prime Summer week, shouldn’t have a problem selling this one tonight.. "

so I passed and just noticed that it didn't even get a $1.00 bid. I thought the guy sounded pretty arrogant and decided that there could be trouble down the road if he wouldn't even make a phone call, which he'd have to do to put the reservation in my name if the deal didn't close in time. I've bought a lot of TS's and never had someone want $75 for a phone call to change a reservation on a week that will soon expire.

abc31 · May 10, 2010

I bought a Royal Holiday Club from him & he actually did take care of making a reservation for me before the transfer went through. Everything went fine with the transfer. I didn't have any problems. I'm surprised to hear he won't do that for you.

philemer · May 10, 2010

If you do a "Search" for dochoa77 you'll find lots of interesting info.

He's been an ebay seller for quite awhile.

DeniseM · May 10, 2010

This is one of the two Ochoa brothers that have been on eBay for a long time - I bought 2 weeks from Thomas.

More info.

DaveNV · May 10, 2010

Doug is as reputable as Thomas. I've purchased from them both. I'd buy from them again.

Just do you due diligence, and make completely sure of what you're buying. And understand that they are a PCC, so it may take several months before the deal closes. They don't own what they're selling - so the actual owner needs to sign off on the deed as part of the process. If there is a usage week at stake, ask them to reserve or deposit the week for you if the transfer isn't likely to close before the week expires.

Dave

theo · May 11, 2010

Time is money too...

Robert D said:
He said they charged $75 to make the phone call to change the reservation (the resort doesn't charge for this) and when I asked if he'd waive this fee if I was the high bidder, he said:

"No I am sorry, this is what we charge especially if you are getting a timeshare for $1.. not worth my time to spend time making reservations for buyers. There is no incentive for me plus this is a prime Summer week, shouldn’t have a problem selling this one tonight.. "

As already stated above, the Ochoa brothers have been in the resale game for a long time and they know what they are doing and they generally do exactly what they say they will do. Since many (maybe most) of their sales are relatively low value PCC weeks, it is completely understandable (...to me, anyhow) that they don't want to spend their (valuable and irreplaceable) currency of time playing reservation games on the phone on behalf of someone else when they don't even own the week in the first place, being placed on hold, trying to find someone who understands the issue (and has the authority to deal with it), while listening to Muzak and twiddling one's thumbs while others scratch their heads in confusion.

A week with any value will likely sell upon relisting anyhow, if not on the first time around. While Douglas could perhaps have been more diplomatic and / or polite, his point is nonetheless valid. Truth is, he may well not have been willing to make that time consuming "reservation swap" call if you had bid and won. :shrug:

Arubarobert · May 11, 2010

I have done business with Doug as well. In my opionion, he was very professional, and I had done research prior to bidding on their auction. While I had no problem getting them to book me a reservation, the purchase price that I paid was far more than $1. If I was selling something for $1, I would need addtional money to do additional work. Anyone agree?

janej · May 11, 2010

Arubarobert said:
I have done business with Doug as well. In my opionion, he was very professional, and I had done research prior to bidding on their auction. While I had no problem getting them to book me a reservation, the purchase price that I paid was far more than $1. If I was selling something for $1, I would need addtional money to do additional work. Anyone agree?

I purchased from them without any problem also. I do agree it is not out of line to charge for additional service especially when they told you up front. You could adjust your max bid by deducting the service charge.

gmarine · May 11, 2010

If the fee wasnt listed in the auction make sure to let the seller know that your EBAY feedback left for him will be negative to reflect your feelings about the fee.

Arubarobert · May 11, 2010

It would all depend on what was listed in the ad. If the ad mentions no fees, then there shouldn't be any fees.

DaveNV · May 11, 2010

gmarine said:
If the fee wasnt listed in the auction make sure to let the seller know that your EBAY feedback left for him will be negative to reflect your feelings about the fee.

The problem with leaving feedback is the timeshare won't close till long after the timeframe closes for leaving that feedback. So your opportunity may not be there when you need it. And I won't leave "advance" feedback for a sale that may not close till weeks or months after the feedback period has ended.

Dave

gmarine · May 11, 2010

BMWguynw said:
The problem with leaving feedback is the timeshare won't close till long after the timeframe closes for leaving that feedback. So your opportunity may not be there when you need it. And I won't leave "advance" feedback for a sale that may not close till weeks or months after the feedback period has ended.

Dave

Very true. Feedback can only be left within 60 days of the end of the auction. However, if a buyer is unhappy at the start of the closing process they are free to leave negative feedback at that time.

theo · May 11, 2010

Huh?

gmarine said:
If the fee wasnt listed in the auction make sure to let the seller know that your EBAY feedback left for him will be negative to reflect your feelings about the fee.

I certainly don't profess to know a whole lot about eBay, but are you suggesting (or stating outright) by the above statement that one could / should somehow actually leave negative feedback about a seller when the "complainant" (i.e., the OP in this thread) never even bid on the item in the first place?

aliikai2 · May 11, 2010

Doug is a little more

of a truth stretcher in some ways than Thomas. I was making him an offer on a 50K RHC membership, and he told me he sold it for $13K.

I congratulated him, and about 2 weeks later it was relisted, I bought it for $199 including closing, transfer and the current years points.:ignore:

They both do a great job and in today's give away market, I would also be charging a fee to make reservations before the closing occurred.

jmho,

Greg

gmarine · May 11, 2010

theo said:
I certainly don't profess to know a whole lot about eBay, but are you suggesting (or stating outright) by the above statement that one could / should somehow actually leave negative feedback about a seller when the "complainant" (i.e., the OP in this thread) never even bid on the item in the first place?

No, what I'm saying is that if the seller imposes a fee that wasnt included in the original auction, the buyer can certainly leave feedback to reflect that.

EBAY is very much geared to favor the buyer. For example, a buyer can back out of an auction and still leave negative feedback for the seller.

And sellers are not permitted to leave negative feedback for a buyer.

capital city · May 11, 2010

How could you leave negative feedback when he wants to charge you for an extra service that you want. Does his listing say "will make any reservations under any name you want for free". If not then he has a right to charge for it.

Robert D · May 11, 2010

Couple comments. First I didn't bid on the item and it didn't sell, even for $1.00. If in fact they are a PCC, didn't they get paid upfront to take the week off the hands of the owner? If so, isn't anything they make on the sale (which in this case would have included $250 of closing costs and a $299 transfer fee that I assume but do not know would be charged by the resort) gravy? I've bought over 10 TS weeks, all but two of which were on Ebay, and never had an issue with the seller making a reservation, especially if the week is within 60 days of check in. If they wanted me to take them off the hook for the 2010 maintenance fee on a week that will soon expire, it seems the least they could do is make a reservation. Just MHO.

gmarine · May 11, 2010

capital city said:
How could you leave negative feedback when he wants to charge you for an extra service that you want. Does his listing say "will make any reservations under any name you want for free". If not then he has a right to charge for it.

If you are familiar with buying resale timeshares you would know its a standard practice for the seller to make a simple phone call and secure a reservation. If the unit being sold includes usage in the current year sometimes the only way to get a reservation is to have the seller make a reservation during the closing. If an extra fee is required to make a reservation it should be listed in the auction.

A buyer on EBAY can leave negative feedback for ANY reason.

sjuhawk_jd · May 11, 2010

With some exceptions, these sellers are arrogant, ignorant about the product they are selling (and do not own), and lack basic business sense. And just like airlines, they want to charge for everything to pad their pockets:

(1) They want to make money on exorbitant closing costs. Even for Mexico non-deeded membership contracts, I have seen these sellers listing $80 recording fees, when there is nothing to record.
(2) They want to make money on making reservations for you.
(3) They want to make money by charging the current year MF, which may already be paid by the owner and the owner is most likely not getting reimbursed.

The problem is that they have the product that we want at the prices that we love, so we have to live with them :wave:

am1 · May 11, 2010

If you do not like how someone does business then do not buy from them. It is that simple.

Ask yourself if the total cost you are paying for a timeshare is worth it to you. Does not matter how much the owner has paid them to sell it or if they have paid the years fees already.

theo · May 12, 2010

Clarification...

Robert D said:
If in fact they are a PCC, didn't they get paid upfront to take the week off the hands of the owner?

This thread / topic has now been pretty much beaten to death, but I just want to point out that Doug Ochoa is not actually a PCC himself (nor did anyone imply otherwise). He sells weeks acquired by PCC's on behalf of PCC's. An unimportant distinction perhaps, but a fact nonetheless.

DaveNV · May 12, 2010

theo said:
This thread / topic has now been pretty much beaten to death, but I just want to point out that Doug Ochoa is not actually a PCC himself (nor did anyone imply otherwise). He sells weeks acquired by PCC's on behalf of PCC's. An unimportant distinction perhaps, but a fact nonetheless.

Sorry, my reference to him as a PCC could have been more clearly stated. My larger point was that he doesn't own the weeks he's selling, and things can be delayed waiting for the actual owner to sign off on the deed.

Dave

jimmy44 · May 13, 2010

he's good to do business with.

irish · May 14, 2010

i purchased from one of the ocha brothers (think it was tom) and had no problem with the actual purchase.everything was as promised( did my own due diligence also). when the transaction was taking longer then promised, i contacted him directly and then things went really fast. i would purchase from them again if they had something i wanted.

rickandcindy23 · May 14, 2010

I had problems with their closing company, who insisted my Foxrun purchase was really a Fairfield Mountains purchase. I had an argument with two people over the phone, then I had to contact VRI, and Jeanette at Foxrun straightened it out with them herself. They were stubborn about the entire mess, and Jose never apologized for their mistake. I don't like dealing with people who NEVER apologize, so I likely won't buy again from either Ochoa.

And by the way, Thomas isn't even using his ebay name anymore, it's someone else using it for the same company. He wouldn't answer any of my emails to him about the ordeal, then finally the new seller emailed me and said my complaint needed to be addressed by Jose at the closing company.

No one takes responsibility for bad information anymore, and I am sorry, but when you are being paid that much for the simple typing a deed, without any kind of insurance attached for the high price, you should know what management company to contact.

Ebay Seller dochoa77

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