# What was wrong with this Worldmark points sale?



## Darren (Jun 17, 2008)

What was wrong with this?

Ebay item: 300233276068

15,000 points for $6997.00

What was wrong?

I was very interested in this, but when there was no other interest I thought I was missing something.

At the lowest bid, this would have sold for .47 / point.

The seller has a good reputation and has been doing this for a long time.

What did I miss?


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## DeniseM (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi Darren - I moved your post to the Worldmark forum where you will get expert help!


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## Darren (Jun 17, 2008)

Thank you Denise, much appreciated.

Darren


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## LLW (Jun 18, 2008)

Darren said:


> What was wrong with this?
> 
> Ebay item: 300233276068
> 
> ...



I went and looked at the auction. The account does not have any credits in it. New buyer would have to wait till August 1 for new credits, but has to pay now not only for the bid price, but also back maintenance fees and a closing fee of $299 - WM closings are really easy and usually do not need closing companies. Prices for WM accounts are usually quoted with 2 years worth of credits. $6,997 + $2,100 (=15,000 credits X 7 cents X 2 years) + $362 + $299 closing = $9,758 ==> 65 cents per credit. Most buyers want credits to use now. Seller also has a less than 100% positive feedback.


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## Darren (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi LLW, I'm not sure I understand your calculations.

Where does the $2,100 come from?

I figured that not being able to use the credits until Aug. was not too bad because it would probably take that long to close anyway.

Paying $362 for maintenance fees for the first half of 2008 seems unfair but that's not a deal breaker. Same with the $299 closing cost.

For the amount of business the seller does, the few neutrals and negatives seem acceptable; some of the neutrals are unwarranted.

Most of the resales I see for Worldmark credits are priced between .69 to .80 / credit.

How important is the actual resort location on the title when buying into a points system? I am within driving distance for this resort but would probably never actually go there as there are other Worldmark resorts closer to me that I would rather go to.

Even though there are no banked credits I would be comfortable paying $6997 + $811 ($7808) for 15,000 credits. 

Paying only $724 in maintenance fees every year for 15,000 credits each year seems pretty good.

Depending on how you do the calculations (most of the resales I see do not add the MF's and closing costs in when calculating the value / credits)  this sale is between .46 and .65 / credit.

Do you think that no banked credits is a deal breaker here?

Thank you,

Darren


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## LLW (Jun 18, 2008)

Darren said:


> Hi LLW, I'm not sure I understand your calculations.
> 
> Where does the $2,100 come from?
> 
> ...



To do an apples-to-apples comparison of price, you must adjust the price to make the deals comparable. Normal price quotes of WM points are of deals which include 2 years worth of credits, current maintenance fees, and no closing fees. That's why I added $2,100 (for 2 years worth of credits at market price of 7 cents), $362 for the maintenance fees that they want (see post #4 in the first link below for discussion on MF that laman34 charges), and $299 for closing costs. 

Regarding the seller's reputation, see the following TUG links:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47483&highlight=laman34

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16225&highlight=laman34


If the price is a great deal, some people might be willing to bid on this. When the price is something you can get at major reputable WM resellers, and the account has been stripped of any banked credits (for additional profit no doubt), informed bidders did not bid on this auction of this seller.  

I do not follow eBay auctions, so the above is just an educated guess.  

The resort location listed on the auction title is just something that eBay makes sellers list, and is not important at all for WM credits. You can book any WM resorts with your credits. If you would like to learn more about Worldmark, please go to www.wmowners.com and click on "Discussion Forum" in the left column.


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## Darren (Jun 18, 2008)

Thanks LLW, I get it now.

Thanks for your insight and the links.

I have been up all night reading about Worldmark. I can see now why no one wanted this.

The more I read about Worldmark, the more I think that's the way I'm going to go on my next timeshare.

I think I'll buy 6000 credits and "rent" more credits as needed. There are many good posts about going that route instead of buying 10,000+ credits all at once.

Darren


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## LLW (Jun 18, 2008)

Darren said:


> Thanks LLW, I get it now.
> 
> Thanks for your insight and the links.
> 
> ...



You are welcome.  

Actually, if you think you are going to use at least 7,000 credits a year, you might consider buying in at that size instead of 6,000. The maintenance fees for those are exactly the same. So you would pay 65 cents (if that's what you buy at) per credit for 1,000 additional credits up front ($650), and every year thereafter you will get to use 1,000 additional credits without paying a cent additional in MF. Check out the maintenace fee schedule in the sticky threads on the Timeshare Tips & Tricks forum on WMOwners. (You can't buy 7,500 credits because WM would only do it in 1,000 increments.)


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## Darren (Jun 18, 2008)

Excellent advice LLW. 

I did some research and found that ads for renting credits were not exactly as easy to find as outright sales but I think I've found enough that it shouldn't be a problem when the time comes.

Darren


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## cotraveller (Jun 18, 2008)

Darren said:


> Excellent advice LLW.
> 
> I did some research and found that ads for renting credits were not exactly as easy to find as outright sales but I think I've found enough that it shouldn't be a problem when the time comes.
> 
> Darren



You will find a lot of credit rental ads on the WorldMark forum.  http://forums.trendwest.com/ubb-threads/ubbthreads.php.  You have to be registered as an owner in order to see the rental section.  Only a WorldMark owner can rent credits, either as a seller or a buyer.


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## tracie15436 (Jun 18, 2008)

cotraveller said:


> You will find a lot of credit rental ads on the WorldMark forum.  http://forums.trendwest.com/ubb-threads/ubbthreads.php.  You have to be registered as an owner in order to see the rental section.  Only a WorldMark owner can rent credits, either as a seller or a buyer.


Also Ebay - Timeshare angels - sells rental credits.  I haven't rented from them, just have noticed that they rent them for around .065-.07 each.


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## Darren (Jun 19, 2008)

Thanks Fred, Tracie & Klaus.

I have a much better understanding of the Worldmark system now.

Darren


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