# Silversands New Trading Power



## jasad (Feb 3, 2011)

I have two deposits of my Silversands on file with RCI.  They have been sitting at TP 8 which is lousy.   Today I signed on and noticed they posted an extra credit on my account with 18 TP.  I called and asked about this and they tell me that Silver Sands just went online with RCI and they now have a better idea of it's trading power so the credit was to make up for what they gave me originally for my two weeks on file.

I was really excited about that!   Does anyone know if they are still trying to get GC status.  That could make them worth even more.


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## SilverSandsOwner (Feb 4, 2011)

I just checked mine.  

My 2008 deposit went to an 18 from 9.  

My 2009 deposits red peak weeks are now at a 10 and they were at an 8 as of a few days ago.

I also check my undepositted weeks for 2012 and they are still showing an 8.


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## Gary (Jul 20, 2011)

*No Improvement in TPU*

I crossed my fingers, but my Silversands weeks still sit at 8 TPU. I think it is time to sell.:annoyed: I used to get good trades for these weeks, but RCI has found another way to screw me.


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## Carolinian (Jul 21, 2011)

Points Lite (aka TPU) have little to do with how a week trades.  Look at the too low numbers for some of the ''rare'' resorts that one almost never finds online compared to the always availible dime-a-dozen resorts in the overbuilt areas.  Sometimes in RCI's numbers racket, your week is one where RCI has put its thumb on the scales in way that benefits you, and then it makes lots of sense to play their game as long as it lasts.  But if you are not in that camp, then it makes more sense to find another place to exchange or to get out of the exchange game completely.

Heck there is one overbuilt resort in overbuilt Orlando that by itself usually has about the same number of availibilities as all nearly 200 resorts in SA put together, yet that overbuilt resort, Vacation Villages at Parkway, gets the RCI goldmine while SA gets the shaft.   The RCI shell game is thoroughly corroupt and will be so as long as they publish the final numbers without the formula and base data to justify it.  Phony ''transparency'' can be worse than no transparency at all.


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## skimble (Jul 22, 2011)

Carolinian said:


> Points Lite (aka TPU) have little to do with how a week trades.  Look at the too low numbers for some of the ''rare'' resorts that one almost never finds online compared to the always availible dime-a-dozen resorts in the overbuilt areas.  Sometimes in RCI's numbers racket, your week is one where RCI has put its thumb on the scales in way that benefits you, and then it makes lots of sense to play their game as long as it lasts.  But if you are not in that camp, then it makes more sense to find another place to exchange or to get out of the exchange game completely.
> 
> Heck there is one overbuilt resort in overbuilt Orlando that by itself usually has about the same number of availibilities as all nearly 200 resorts in SA put together, yet that overbuilt resort, Vacation Villages at Parkway, gets the RCI goldmine while SA gets the shaft.   The RCI shell game is thoroughly corroupt and will be so as long as they publish the final numbers without the formula and base data to justify it.  Phony ''transparency'' can be worse than no transparency at all.



I've seen overly inflated points on Prime weeks, and undervalued in subprime.  
If we compare this with the Points system, then it's easy to see the disparity... I know of some poorly affilitated resorts where the management company must have thrown them under the bus-- allowing a Points contract where weeks are insultingly undervalued.  And, others, like Vacation Village (with 3 or 4 psuedonyms) is entirely overvalued.  
Sadly, there seems to be some correlation between high TPU value and the affiliated management company.  And, unaffiliated resorts are getting slammed.  
Get Silversands to sign on with a Wyndham management contract, and our point value will double.


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## Carolinian (Jul 22, 2011)

skimble said:


> I've seen overly inflated points on Prime weeks, and undervalued in subprime.
> If we compare this with the Points system, then it's easy to see the disparity... I know of some poorly affilitated resorts where the management company must have thrown them under the bus-- allowing a Points contract where weeks are insultingly undervalued.  And, others, like Vacation Village (with 3 or 4 psuedonyms) is entirely overvalued.
> Sadly, there seems to be some correlation between high TPU value and the affiliated management company.  And, unaffiliated resorts are getting slammed.
> Get Silversands to sign on with a Wyndham management contract, and our point value will double.



Yep, and in the UK it is largely also independent resorts no longer in developer sales that are also significantly underpointed in Points Lite.  I think this is definitely a part of why so much has been underpointed in SA.

In the wacky world of RCI published valuations, the term ''sold out resort'' has a sinister double meaning.


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## vckempson (Jul 22, 2011)

Gary said:


> I crossed my fingers, but my Silversands weeks still sit at 8 TPU. I think it is time to sell.:annoyed: I used to get good trades for these weeks, but RCI has found another way to screw me.



If you can't beat them, join them.  Try a deedback of your Silversands.  That's what I did for my Mount Amanzi.  Then start looking for a holiday week lockout in Orlando or near the ocean.  You can pick them up for almost nothing now.  After replacing my 3 Mt Amanzi's I went from 30 TPU's a year to 115.  The MF's barely changed, about $1,000 a year total.  Don't wait.  As Nike says, "Just do it."


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## Carolinian (Jul 22, 2011)

vckempson said:


> If you can't beat them, join them.  Try a deedback of your Silversands.  That's what I did for my Mount Amanzi.  Then start looking for a holiday week lockout in Orlando or near the ocean.  You can pick them up for almost nothing now.  After replacing my 3 Mt Amanzi's I went from 30 TPU's a year to 115.  The MF's barely changed, about $1,000 a year total.  Don't wait.  As Nike says, "Just do it."



Any South Africa owner is well aware of RCI's tendency to move the goalposts without warning.  That makes relying on RCI doing the same thing they do today tomorrow foolish.  They are without question the exchange company most prone to abrupt changes, meaning something that has worked great before suddenly does not any more.

The supply / demand fundamentals do not justify the number of points lite being handed out in Orlando.  That increases the risk factor that at some point RCI may decide to abruptly change its numbers.  As to a holiday week at a lockout resort, a Tugger reported some months ago that week 52 over a year out was availible online to trade into for 10 points lite, although RCI was giving 50 points lite for deposit of the same week.  Are such artifical values as those given to such a deposit really sustainable and for how long?

It is not hard to look ahead to see what the next big change at RCI will be, and that will be when they merge their two points programs, Points and Points Lite.  My guess is that it will be at least three years before they do so, but more likely five or six, but it could be more or less.  I think they are still testing things right now, and indeed may make some other significant changes as the do further tests in the interim.  The final system may end up looking more like Points or more like Points Lite or something entirely different.  I don't think RCI knows yet, but I would bet dollars to doughnuts that it is coming.  And that is coming from the guy who first posted on TUG that RCI was going to start renting spacebank inventory to the general public.

The key though is that every time RCI makes a major change to the system, they are prone to move the goalposts and scramble relative values of different weeks.  They makes buying to trade with RCI something like building on quicksand.

Personally, I am adjusting my portfolio to trade with independents, but I am also keeping an open mind to buying an II trader, as historially II has been a more stable trading system without all the goalpost moving that has happened at RCI since Cendant took over.  Right now, the independents are doing just fine for my exchange needs in Europe, but at some point I probably want to get back to the Caribbean.  Of course the other thought is just watch the air sales to the Caribbean and match those up with cheap RCI timeshare rentals there.


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## Dottie (Jul 22, 2011)

I usually deposit my Silversands into weeks and then transfer it to points.  That seems to be a good solution since the levy is still low.  However, this year I deposited it into DAE in order to exchange to an Aussie week at my home resort in Australia which I never expected to see, much less visit.  We are headed downunder next year and look forward to seeing it.


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## e.bram (Jul 27, 2011)

RCI knows that a US SA owner is not going to use so they can give you what they want in TPU. But an Orlando owner can go there or give to friend or maybe even rent. Options not open to SA owners. They got you by the you know whats.


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## Loes (Nov 18, 2011)

vckempson said:


> If you can't beat them, join them.  Try a deedback of your Silversands.  That's what I did for my Mount Amanzi.



Anyone on this forum who did try a deedback of his Silversands week?

Louise.


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