# I bid very low on a Timeshare i didn't think i'd win



## Ridewithme38 (Aug 11, 2010)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200505373448&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

My top bid is only 102.50...There's no way i'm going to win this with no Closing Costs or Transfer fees right?  Why is this going so cheap?

If i win how good of a trader is Governers Green?  From what i can tell, 189k points gets a 2br pretty much anywhere in Wyndham right?  Does it matter what my home resort is, beyond the 13month booking window? I could book anywhere(at the 10month mark) and use that for exchange...Right?

I've got a 4yr old daughter who will be the only one i'm traveling with...so for a couple years..189k could amount to two weeks in a 1br? or am i being over confident in that guess?


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 11, 2010)

Yee, someone outbid you!  Quick, minutes left to up your bid.

Really, if that was your first Wyndham purchase, that would get you an II membership.  Many people think that is a better than RCI membership. And 189,000 pts is not a bad contract.

If you go for small contracts, you are paying more for each transfer and closing both when you buy, list to sell and to sell ... the in/out cost. (I read too it included the "in costs" when you buy).

Then buy an RCI Points week which would get you an RCI account. 

Governor's Green has a very nice indoor pool, pool room, computer room, activities room and outdoor pool. The units were big, too.  Newest of the Wyndham properties in Williamsburg.


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## brekkon (Aug 11, 2010)

If you want it detemrine your max anount you are willing to pay and wait until you are in the last minute and then put that amount in.  It gives other buyers less chance to drive up the price on you.

Bidding wars are bad for the pocket book.


I paid just over $300 for a 126k kingsgate auction a few weeks ago so you might need to go higher on this one.

With Wyndham points you dont need to worry if it is a good trader.

Basically other than ARP home resort doesnt matter.

189k could = 2 weeks in a 1 br depending on season and where you travel. For example 2 weeks in bonnet creek orlando florida in VALUE season for a 1 br is 84k  points.  But in high season you it is 126k and in prime season it is 166k for a 1 br.

We have a 6 yr old and still get a 1 br he just sleeps on the pull out couch.  You can also get deals last minute and switch yourself to a 2br for about the same price as a 1 br,


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## e.bram (Aug 11, 2010)

OP could be a shill for the seller.


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 11, 2010)

e.bram -
OP has been asking Wyndham TS questions for the past several weeks. Truly doubt he is a shill. Just a newbie bidding on an eBay auction for his first TS.

I myself would just love to have the II Wyndham account verses the RCI Wyndham account.  Go for it - it is only money.

If not, learn what brekkon is talking about - sniping! It has saved me dollars on my eBAY buys.


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## brekkon (Aug 11, 2010)

Yes sniping is the best.  


Wow that is amazing how cheap these are going for.  That one ended at $105.


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## theo (Aug 11, 2010)

*A good deal, imho*



brekkon said:


> ...that is amazing how cheap these are going for.  That one ended at $105.



For 189k points, that's quite a deal (particularly getting II instead of RCI). However, I couldn't activate the link after close of the auction to see what the maint. fees are. Anyone know? Didn't bid, just curious...

$1105, when I read the link properly...  That's *plenty*, but still not a bad purchase for a hundred bucks...


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## Passepartout (Aug 11, 2010)

theo said:


> For 189k points, that's quite a deal (particularly getting II instead of RCI). However, I couldn't activate the link after close of the auction to see what the maint. fees are. Anyone know? Didn't bid, just curious...



MF was listed as $1105, paid monthly. I think someone should be very happy with this purchase. 

Jim Ricks


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## kenie (Aug 11, 2010)

M/F is $1105.


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## am1 (Aug 11, 2010)

fees are on the high side.  There is no money to be made in being a shill for this listing.

If you won it then that is great as it is a cheap way into the wyndham system.


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## Rent_Share (Aug 11, 2010)

Is there a list of the II affiliated WVO properties


1. Governors Green
2.
3.


IMHO the annual maintenance fees seemed sky high


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 11, 2010)

Royal Vista, Star Island.

Royal Vista is all UDI. 
Star Island is a mixture of converted fixed weeks and UDI Points AND non Wyndham units.


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## Ridewithme38 (Aug 11, 2010)

I didn't win...i ended up going to lunch at the wrong time  

My general rule of thumb for bidding is nothing below 154k-189 points(Thats an average 2br on the east coast i think) and the m/f MUST be below $100 a month...So when i saw this had no closing or transfer fees i jumped on it...After doing the math

1105/189=$5.85 per thousand :annoyed: ....So thats why i stopped at $102.50(last bid i think from me was last night)...Its still in my general area when it comes to price and points...But the VERY upper end...i didn't realize this was II...But since in all honesty i have no idea how RCI or II actually work...it doesn't matter(Disney is RCI but bonnet creak is fine)

Honestly...if i had thought i could have got it for $120 i probly would have bid up to that amount(Or figured out Snipping)

Thanks for all the help and advice guys! I really appreciate it!


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 11, 2010)

Best to figure out SNIPING before your next auction ... trust me, sniping will save you money!!!!!

As for II, Marriotts are II as well as Westins and Starwoods. 45 days out all the filters are removed and if it is available, you can get it for the exchange fee and whatever is your deposit (like a STUDIO - 28,000pt Wyndham deposit).


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## love2vaca (Aug 11, 2010)

on the topic of sniping...

here a free sniping service  @ www.gixen.com worth looking into. 

I checked for gimmicks, read reviews on it and seemed legit.

I have only used it twice and got good results with it, if it does not work for you, dont hold me to it   happy bidding


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

*more information requested.*



vacationhopeful said:


> Yee, someone outbid you!  Quick, minutes left to up your bid.
> 
> Really, if that was your first Wyndham purchase, that would get you an II membership.  Many people think that is a better than RCI membership. And 189,000 pts is not a bad contract.
> 
> ...



Hi - another question - what do you mean "Buy an RCI Points week"?  I too am looking on ebay at the wyndham properties.  So are you saying if I buy $154,000 (e.g.) points at a wyndham resort, it might not get me into RCI to trade?

Thanks
Don


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

Hi - 
What does "ARP" mean?

Thanks

Don



brekkon said:


> If you want it detemrine your max anount you are willing to pay and wait until you are in the last minute and then put that amount in.  It gives other buyers less chance to drive up the price on you.
> 
> Bidding wars are bad for the pocket book.
> 
> ...


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

am1 said:


> fees are on the high side.  There is no money to be made in being a shill for this listing.
> 
> If you won it then that is great as it is a cheap way into the wyndham system.



Hi - we are looking at picking up a timeshare or two through ebay.  Is there any reason not to buy the ones for $1 - $100 versus the steep priced ones (like WYndham Canterburry in San Fran - for over $1800)?  Are point points?

Thanks!

Don


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

*what is  sniping?  Bidding at the last minute?*



vacationhopeful said:


> Best to figure out SNIPING before your next auction ... trust me, sniping will save you money!!!!!
> 
> As for II, Marriotts are II as well as Westins and Starwoods. 45 days out all the filters are removed and if it is available, you can get it for the exchange fee and whatever is your deposit (like a STUDIO - 28,000pt Wyndham deposit).



what is sniping?  Simply bidding at the last minute?

Thanks!
Don


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

saw the post on "gixen" thanks!!


vegaslaw1998 said:


> what is sniping?  Simply bidding at the last minute?
> 
> Thanks!
> Don


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## jjmanthei05 (Aug 12, 2010)

Don,
      I will try and run through all the answers your looking for.

I personally wouldn't buy any timeshare for more than a few hundred dollars. Most people on here (including myself) go by the Points are points theory and don't care where they own. They just look for the lowest MF. When looking for the lowest MF 2 things to be careful of are 1) resorts still in sales since Wyndham will keep MF low to help sell property and 2) FL timeshares. In Florida taxes are not included in the MF so there will be a separate charge for those at the end of the year.

ARP stands for Advanced reservation priority. It means you can book your resort from 10-13 months out with only the points you have at that resort. At 10 months out points are points.

RCI Points is a separate product from RCI weeks. You get a free weeks account with your Wyndham purchase. You can have access to RCI points through Wyndham with the purchase of Plus Partners for around $2500. This will give you access to RCI Nightly stays so you can do intervals at resorts other than full 7 nights. Also I think this is probably the only chance that anyone with Wyndham points could possibly get DVC (not including within 45 days) but I am not 100% sure on that. 

Jason


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## Ridewithme38 (Aug 12, 2010)

jjmanthei05 said:


> RCI Points is a separate product from RCI weeks. You get a free *weeks account *with your Wyndham purchase. You can have access to RCI points through Wyndham with the purchase of Plus Partners for around $2500. This will give you access to RCI Nightly stays so you can do intervals at resorts other than full 7 nights. Also I think this is probably the only chance that anyone with Wyndham points could possibly get DVC (not including within 45 days) but I am not 100% sure on that.
> 
> Jason



I didn't know this either...Thank you Jason...So if i buy a wyndham points timeshare..the free access i get to RCI, is Weeks? and i'd have to pay another $2500 for access to RCI Points...Good to know

Thanks again to Everyone!


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## Ridewithme38 (Aug 12, 2010)

vacationhopeful said:


> As for II, Marriotts are II as well as Westins and Starwoods. 45 days out all the filters are removed and if it is available, you can get it for the exchange fee and whatever is your deposit (like a STUDIO - 28,000pt Wyndham deposit).



Is this just a II Thing or does RCI do this also??

Esentially if i only wanted to plan my vacations 45days or less out...i would only need to buy a 28,000 point Wyndham contract(I haven't seen anything below 77k yet) thats part of II and wait for something to pop up?  Does anything pop up between weeks 26-34?

How much is the Exchange fee

This definatly changes my way of thinking..I thought i NEEDED 154-189k points for a 2br...and most years i don't care where i vacation...so the 45 day out thing maybe perfect for me


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## am1 (Aug 12, 2010)

28k is a very small amount of points.  The program fee would be very high per point.  Probably be able to find one that offers free closing.  Keep in mind that it would be very hard to even give away if you decide you do not want it.  

Most 28k if not all contracts are converted fixed weeks in the lowest season.  The maintenance fees would be high on these as well.

I doubt the 3 II Wyndhams have 28k weeks.


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 12, 2010)

Okay, newbie lesson on Wyndham and external exchange companies:

You are looking at buying *your 1st (first) Wyndham points contract*.  The Wyndham deeded location which you buy at could either be affiliated with RCI or II. This first contract establishes the external company for your Wyndham Member Number - which this and all future Wyndham Contracts will be associated with for YOU -Joe & Mary Smith.  Buying where-ever for your 2nd or 15th contract does not matter. It is only the first contract which establishes the Member number external exchange affiliation.

Both II and RCI have quirks.  RCI has RCI Weeks and RCI Points. Wyndham pays for your RCI Weeks account. RCI Points is paid for IF 1) you buy from the developer and receive the Plus Partners feature or 2) You buy Plus Partners from Wyndham for $2495.  Plus Partners has a subset version of RCI Points called "Nightly Stays".
II has some very nice resorts (Westins, Marriotts, Hilton, Starwoods) associated with them. Used to have DVC, but that is now in RCI Weeks and RCI Points.  RCI Weeks and II have exchange filters - Wyndham is a lowly trader. RCI Points takes RCI Weeks units 45 days before checkin and allows you to "grab" these at a cheap RCI point value between 7,500-9,000 RCI Points plus the exchange fee.  II simply removes the "filter" at 45 days out for all available weeks for on season and unit size, so the lowest of low Wyndham deposits (the Wyndham pt deposit of 28K) can get it on exchange.

Like I said, Nightly Stays is a subset of RCI Points. It may or may not "get" the discounted point valued RCI WEEKS at the 45 day out via the Wyndham account. (My impression is "it does NOT get the discount back into RCI Weeks").

Buying a 28K Wyndham account (RV has some) is not a smart buying decision. IN/OUT costs, higher CWA (Club Wyndham Access) fees for 1 external trade a year ... why even learn Wyndham - all that pain for so very little benefit? Just rent!

Which comes back to my prior post.  Get a Wyndham II account to use as your external exchange company - if you like going to really nice places on the last minute 45 day out exchange. Then get a cheap RCI Points TS, to trade use RCI Points to "raid" the 45 day inventory of RCI Weeks (7,500-9,000RCI Points costs plus exchange fee). Use Wyndham Points to plan vacations 10-13 months in advance within the Wyndham system (154,000-231,000 pts for each 1 (one) 2bdr week week vacation). And learn how ARP can be important for summer and holiday vacation needs before you buy also.

Reading and learning is important before buying any timeshare. The more experience you have in these different systems, the more interesting vacationing options there are without spending any more money.  Plus, if you are not already a paying TUG member, you should be - the Sightings/Distressed Thread is a treasure trove of finds.  I have booked DVC twice using RCI Points and Manhatten Club, too --in the last 10 months via the Sightings posts. TUG members even post request for resort or area Sightings, too.

Balancing your TS Portfolio for options in vacationing is smart. No one system goes everywhere or does everything. Plus, it is fun.


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## jjmanthei05 (Aug 12, 2010)

vacationhopeful said:


> Like I said, Nightly Stays is a subset of RCI Points. It may or may not "get" the discounted point valued RCI WEEKS at the 45 day out via the Wyndham account. (My impression is "it does NOT get the discount back into RCI Weeks").


Linda,

You are correct. Nightly Stays do not get the discounted rates within the 45 day window but there is also no fluctuation in points required for the same room at different resorts. For example a 2 bedroom red for a week is always 154K whether 10 months out or 2 days before, at DVC or Hole in the Wall timeshare. It doesn't matter. 

Jason


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

jjmanthei05 said:


> Don,
> I will try and run through all the answers your looking for.
> 
> I personally wouldn't buy any timeshare for more than a few hundred dollars. Most people on here (including myself) go by the Points are points theory and don't care where they own. They just look for the lowest MF. When looking for the lowest MF 2 things to be careful of are 1) resorts still in sales since Wyndham will keep MF low to help sell property and 2) FL timeshares. In Florida taxes are not included in the MF so there will be a separate charge for those at the end of the year.
> ...



Thanks Jason - very helpful.  Just so I understand completely, if I buy 305,000 points from a resale (deeded in Hawaii for example), I would then have to buy the Plus Partners membership in RCI in order to bank my points and use them for stays of less than 1 week at other RCI resorts - is my interpretation correct?  As to the Wyndham Canterbury - it was $2500 for 500,000 points deeded in San Fran.  Seemed like a good deal.  Someone bought it directly from the seller so they pulled it from ebay.  I would think 500,000 points would exchange well after paying to join Plus Partners (assuming my interpretation above is correct).  Alas, its gone anyway, but now I have my eye on 305000 points in Kona.  Again, seems like a good deal and only have to pay closing costs of about $600.  Thanks again for your time and knowledge.

Don


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## vegaslaw1998 (Aug 12, 2010)

LInda and everyone - thanks for the information.  After reading Linda's post, it would seem I am good on 1/2 of the equation.  We currently own 1 TS, which we unfortunatley bought 6 years ago in Maui for $15,000 (Banyan, 2BR, lockout, floating week).  We bank with II.  So given that I have an II account, I assume then if we buy a wyndham, we can bank with RCI and for the $2495, get the points account.

Another question and maybe this is reserved for a differnet thread - Wyndham versus other companies - Westin, Marriott, etc. - On ebay, Wyndham is very cheap - frequently less than $100, But Westin and M are typically $2000 or so.  I don't see that Westin and M have "points" - so how do those exchange into RCI?  I assume some conversion factor.  That said, perhaps buy the nicer resort (e.g. Marriott Ocean Club in Maui), versus a Wyndham.  That's the answer I just can't get a wrap around.

Thanks

Don


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 13, 2010)

Don,
Perhaps you need to read more.  RCI is an exchange company. There are two different sections of RCI; one is Weeks exchange and the other is Points exchange. Marriott and Westin exchange only with II; they don't do anything with RCI (nothing).
Wyndham has resort which have Wyndham Points, fixed weeks, RTU, floating seasons, etc. If you don't own Wyndham Points (either UDI or converted Fixed weeks to points), you exchange thru your external exchange company by depositing YOUR week which determines your "pull" with the exchange company. 
If you own Wyndham points, you are assigned an external exchange company and you determine the size of your deposit based upon SEASON and UNIT for a "cost" of a deposit of points. Wyndham corporate selects the actual unit to deposit and YOU are "stuck" with the "whatever" - if generic, it is a "blended" value and you must callin to do a search; if a visible, it is a specific week from somewheres within the Wyndahm world allowing you to search RCI online. 

A basic concept which you seem to not understand is: there is no "euro" or currency conversion between the various points systems. Wyndham, Hilton, RCI, etc are their own little world. Each has a separate contract with either RCI or II or both to foster exchanging. 

As for RCI Points and Wyndham's Nightly Stays RCI Points option - they are NOT EQUAL.  Nightly Stays is a subset! A weak subset.  And for $2495, you could buy a cheap RCI Points TS and pay MFs for 2+ years (or lease an RCI Points ownership for several years).

If you buy a Wyndham points affiliated with II, Wyndham would PAY your yearly membership fee and your Banyan L/O would/could be traded thru that account.

Just having a check list is not enough.  You can't take someone else's plan and say that is the ONLY right way to do it. Age, part of the country one lives in, family makeup, style of vacationing, are some factors which need consideration.  I see you live in Vegas: have you looked to see where Wyndham Points resorts are located.  You might be happier with Wyndham OTHER product called WORLDMARK. Worldmark is another points system. 

And no, there is no conversion of Worldmark points for Wyndham Points.

Keep reading.


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## JimMIA (Aug 13, 2010)

Ridewithme38 said:


> I didn't win...i ended up going to lunch at the wrong time
> 
> Honestly...if i had thought i could have got it for $120 i probly would have bid up to that amount(Or figured out Snipping)


eBay bidding is tricky.

I'd suggest you take some time and watch the bidding on several items similar to what you want before you bid.  And by watch, I mean watch them throughout the day the auction ends, and stay at the computer for the last 10 minutes or so.  My experience is that contested auctions don't really start until the last 10 seconds or so of the auction period, and they are decided by automatic bids.

If you don't have the time to do that, I'd use a sniping service. (I've never used one, so can't offer any recommendations.)  The good thing about sniping services is they take the emotion out of the auction process.  I've seen some folks get carried away with auction fever and pay WAY too much!


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