# Advice on Ebay sellers [Buying Wyndham]



## Catira (Aug 15, 2008)

I am attemtping to buy a second timeshare. Have been looking at several sites as well as Ebay. What would be a couple of questions a buyer can ask to verify that what they are selling is actually legit? Is there a way of contacting Wyndham and verfying seller info but buying an auction? I am interested in obtaining a wyndham points resale. Thanks for your advice and suggestions.


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## DeniseM (Aug 15, 2008)

Welcome!   I am going to move your post to the Wyndham forum where you will get expert help.


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## Catira (Aug 15, 2008)

Thanks Denise!


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## Jya-Ning (Aug 15, 2008)

Catira said:


> I am attemtping to buy a second timeshare. Have been looking at several sites as well as Ebay. What would be a couple of questions a buyer can ask to verify that what they are selling is actually legit? Is there a way of contacting Wyndham and verfying seller info but buying an auction? I am interested in obtaining a wyndham points resale. Thanks for your advice and suggestions.



everal ways, these are what I know

1.Ask them to provide you a contract number, and call resort, that way, you will verify everything.  You may get it before the bid, or may get it after you win the bid and when they ask you to send the money.  The problem is, sometime, resort does not have to do that unless you also get current owner's approval.  And a few times, the seller does not willing to provide the contract number unless you win the bid.

2. See who is the closing company, if it is good, then just make a copy of eBay ad, and ask seller to verify what you think is important before you bid through eMail, than after bid, ask the closing company to make sure that is what get delivered.

3. make a copy of eBay ad, and ask seller to verify what you think is important before you bid through eMail.  Wait till you pay and get the contract, read everything in detail to make sure that is what you bought.  It should have Wyndham contract number, than call resort and verify it.  Most of the time, the closing company should have an estope letter to state what you bought, which should be the formal legal document the closing company ask the resort to verify, you can just read that.  If anything wrong, point to the seller and closing company and cancel the whole process.  

4. make a copy of eBay ad, and ask seller to verify what you think is important before you bid through eMail.  Wait till you see a deed copy that actually ask you to sign and notified.  Then you can check with the local government.  If anything wrong, ask the closing company to return the money.  This is workable even if it is a lousy closing company, but you make get the money after a while though.

Generally, when at step 3 and 4, some seller or closing copmpany may ask you to pay certain fee, just report that to BBB or real estate governor body where they reside.  Since this is not your fault, you should not pay anything.

Jya-Ning


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## kzewill (Aug 15, 2008)

Catira,

One of the key things to look at on eBay is the feedback rating of the seller.  But that alone is not sufficient.  You have to also consider the number of transactions the seller has completed.  Several of the more reputable sellers have hundreds of sale transactions completed and 95% (positive) or higher feedback ratings.  This tells you that they have a good long-term record with buyers.  You can also look at the feedback individually to see if there is a recent trend.

Also when considering eBay purchases, make certain that the seller will maker proper arrangements to escrow your payment until the deed transfer is complete and the resort has recognized you as the new owner.  The reputable sellers generally all do this.  Most also provide estoppel letters, which basically verify that there are no outstanding liens, taxes or other balances due on the unit you're buying, other than those that have been specifically disclosed to you in the contract (like maintenance fees, etc).

Finally, and perhaps most important...read as much as you can here on TUG before you launch into a buying search.  You can save yourself from many headaches if you get familiar with the content here.  As a relative newcomer to TUG, I can tell you that this site and the sage advice from members helped me a great deal in my recent eBay transactions (and probably saved me several thousand dollars).


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## Jya-Ning (Aug 15, 2008)

JMHO, although eBay's sellers in most of the time does try to be a good businessman or woman, there is nothing guaranteed.  I have saw people with over 1000 great feedback disappear.  And I have learn people with over 3000 feedback is shared id.

The 1st rule should always, bid with the money you can spared and with cash in your hand that you do plan to spend it anyway.  So if everything went bad, you can take the loss.  You will care only if this is the week you like and can enjoy, and how you plan to end your usage of that week.  Don't bid if you have no idea what you want to do with the week, or you haveno idea what is Wyndham's point.  You get lucky not to buy from retail, so do your homework upfront, thus can reduce your chance get burned and reduce the possibility you waste some honest guy that try very hard to sell on eBay to keep the resell market going.  

More easier to deal with the closing company.  Most has to register with state, most are regulated.  

Once you win the bid, pay with a credit card, so you get 2 month to dispute it.  Then focus on the closing to make sure at least the deed part is transfered within that time frame.  The resort transfer is just time consume but not as deadly as the deed.

If you have any hestate, either don't bid, or ask seller to let you close with a closing company you can trust.

Jya-Ning


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## Catira (Aug 16, 2008)

What closing companies would be recommended? Thank you for all the helpful information.


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## Jya-Ning (Aug 16, 2008)

Try read this thread
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44

It has listed several closing companies.  Some of the sellers in eBay will use their own.  You can also do a search on the closing companies name.  `You do need to know where these closing companies is registered.  Otherwise, unless they allow you to use your own, I will just make sure the eBay's ad and what the closing company put in the contract and the deed are the same.  If it is Quitclaim deed, I will want to check the TS registered county to make sure whoever's name on the deed is really own the TS.

Jya-Ning


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## carlbarry (Aug 18, 2008)

Make sure you find out if any back MF or taxes are due from the seller.  I purchased a timeshare on ebay, and when I finally got my first bill from Wyndham, it turned out there was $65 in back taxes owed.  It was a small amount, yet I still feel ripped off by the company selling the timeshare.  And be aware that feedback on ebay in this instance may not be accurate, as it takes so long for the sale process to be completed that feedback must be left before the property is actually transferred.  In my situation, I had already left positive feedback by the time I found out I owed unexpected funds.  And of course, the selling company was not responsive to my complaint.  So the bottom line is, look for a company that not only has good feedback, but has also been in business for a long time.


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## Jya-Ning (Aug 19, 2008)

carlbarry said:


> Make sure you find out if any back MF or taxes are due from the seller.  I purchased a timeshare on ebay, and when I finally got my first bill from Wyndham, it turned out there was $65 in back taxes owed.  It was a small amount, yet I still feel ripped off by the company selling the timeshare.  And be aware that feedback on ebay in this instance may not be accurate, as it takes so long for the sale process to be completed that feedback must be left before the property is actually transferred.  In my situation, I had already left positive feedback by the time I found out I owed unexpected funds.  And of course, the selling company was not responsive to my complaint.  So the bottom line is, look for a company that not only has good feedback, but has also been in business for a long time.



In theory, the closing company should have an estope letter state these.

Howeve, with the closing delay so long, it is very hard to tell what happen in keeping MF updated.

If you saw a MF, make sure you know what it covered, I usually saw MF covered to a range that point does not given, like cover Jan to Oct 2008, yet the point is start from Oct 2008.  And it will not cover enough time for closing and all the transfer.

It happens to some big eBay sellers also.

Jya-Ning


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## photosmike (Aug 19, 2008)

Recently I had a auction that I won from one of the Post card sellers go bad.  Looking back the one thing I would do differently is ask the seller to agree to use a third party closing company, not their captive one.    I would do this before I bid and if the seller would not agree, I would not bid.

If the purchase is of high value ($$$$),  I would only buy from Angel England or Tom Cornelius.

JMHO

Mike


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## richardm (Aug 19, 2008)

*eBay feedback can be misleading...*

Be careful trying to rely solely on eBay feedback ratings.. This can be misleading.. As stated in this thread- often feedback has to be left before the closing actually completes and what may have seemed good doesn't always turn out that way.. Also, it seems to be a common practice to "set up" a seller profile long before it starts dealing in timeshares. You'll often notice weird feedback notes (the link goes away after a while so you can't see the listing any longer) that refer to non-timeshare related items..  I remember a RCI Bidtime franchise that sold underpriced golf balls for a very long time before ever selling a timeshare! Needless to say they started with a great feedback score- but disappeared very quickly once the negatives started to catch up with them..

eBay can be a very scary place to buy timeshares... Be careful- and if you aren't sure- don't buy it...


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