# Why Big Variance in Worldmark Selling Prices?



## Robert D (Oct 26, 2008)

There were two recent Ebay sales of Worldmark 7,000 pt. memberships. This one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300266951799&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020) sold for $2,275 plus an additional $299 closing costs or $2,574 (or $.368 per point) and this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270287370686&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017) sold for $4,150 ($.593 per point), or $1,576 more!  The higher priced one had an additional 7K points that came with it but I think you can rent an additional 7K points for a few hundred $'s. So, why such a difference in selling prices on the same membership that sold a few days apart??  There were only 2 bidders on the higher priced one and you can't tell how many on the other one because the names are private.


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## Jya-Ning (Oct 27, 2008)

cheap one starts at Oct 17th end at Oct 22th (6 day auction, end at middle of Weekday 6:54 pm Pacific time ), sarting bid is $1

Higher one starts at Oct 16th end at Oct 26th (11 day auction end at Sunday 5:00 pm Pacific time), starting bid is $3700

Look like the 1st bidder is after Oct 22th.  Guess there are not many auction going on at that moment.

Jya-Ning


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## richardm (Oct 27, 2008)

*Worldmark on eBay*

eBay has been actively removing WorldMark ads from their site due to a cease and desist demand from the State of California. Since it is a non-deeded club system based in the US, the state has proposed it should not be sold in the real estate section (therefore the timeshare section).. This has been going on for months now but is expected to be resolved soon.

If the ads are posted showing a specific resort in the item specifics- they will get past the eBay litmus test until they are reported by an individual.. According to my eBay rep- one of the resellers has started reporting other ads to have them taken down.. Periodically, this has resulted in the majority of Worldmark ads being removed... The reduction is only temporary- as the resellers are refunded their posting fees and normally just throw the ads back up again (giving them the opportunity to generate leads again for the same dollar!).

Just another fun day in the dirty world of eBay!


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## Bill4728 (Oct 27, 2008)

richardm said:


> eBay has been actively removing WorldMark ads from their site due to a cease and desist demand from the State of California. *Since it is a non-deeded club system based out of the US,* the state has proposed it should not be sold in the real estate section (therefore the timeshare section)..


IT IS BASED OUTSIDE OF THE US?? 

Since when is WM based outside of the US??


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## richardm (Oct 27, 2008)

Bill4728 said:


> IT IS BASED OUTSIDE OF THE US??
> 
> Since when is WM based outside of the US??



You didn't hear???? All US WM contracts have been converted to South Pacific to avoid the economic crisis!!!!  

Just kidding..    I corrected that prior post to say based in the US.. My mind and my fingers aren't on the same page today.


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## Robert D (Oct 27, 2008)

Richard, that's interesting but any idea of why there's such a large variance in price on the same WM membership on auctions that ended a couple days apart?


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## richardm (Oct 28, 2008)

*eBay results have always been inconsistent....*

I've seen WM offers stay in the $.50 to $.60 range for the last few months.. There has been a drawback from some current prospect buyers that have decided to delay their buy commitments- and also a slight influx of those buyers that feel a down market is the best time to get a great deal and are swinging for the fences with very low offers from $.25 to $.35 range- but other than a few exceptions the WM market as a whole has shown some consistency lately. 

WorldMark values are down significantly from early last year (from a $.70 to $.50 avg) as a combined result of more reseller competition and also more motivated sellers due to the economy. 

The low priced sale you mentioned is a great purchase if the property description is correct (always a risk with eBay).. But with eBay sales- there are always so many variables that can effect an item's final value it is almost impossible to come up with a defined reason for the inconsistency. 

Examples of this are:

Ad set up and wording used in the title & description directly effects view counts... Inconsistencies in the description and fees shown reduce seller validity.
Seller ratings and reputation always play a role in buyer confidence.
An early bidder could push up early pricing levels and diminish interest from other bidders/watchers, then he cancels his bids late in the game and the item finishes below expected levels. 
A less than honest seller artificially outbids others to push up values or keep an item from selling, resulting in inflated pricing levels...

I won't hide the fact that I'm not a fan of the eBay business model for the timeshare section at this point in time. It has changed so drastically from when we originally envisioned it- and I've never thought that eBay is a good indicator of actual values, simply because of the inconsistencies that are common there and the fact that you can rarely tell if the sale actually resulted in an ownership transfer. 

Hope I helped some...

Rich


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## LLW (Oct 28, 2008)

Robert D said:


> There were two recent Ebay sales of Worldmark 7,000 pt. memberships. This one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300266951799&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020) sold for $2,275 plus an additional $299 closing costs or $2,574 (or $.368 per point) and this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270287370686&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017) sold for $4,150 ($.593 per point), or $1,576 more!  The higher priced one had an additional 7K points that came with it but I think you can rent an additional 7K points for a few hundred $'s. So, why such a difference in selling prices on the same membership that sold a few days apart??  There were only 2 bidders on the higher priced one and you can't tell how many on the other one because the names are private.




I am a ebay novice, and don't intend to change that. So I am completely uneducated on the dynamics of ebay, and the following is just an uneducated opinion for explanation to myself.

My guess is that potential buyers were somewhat concerned with the hassle with buying from the seller of the first (lower-priced) auction. Not only are there 10 neutral or negative feedbacks in the last 12 months; if you search TUG with its name, and its name spelled backwards, you will find a lot of information on it.

Of course because it was an auction, people didn't know in advance that the price differential would end up being $1,576. For $1,576 some people may have been willing to deal with the hassle, even though they may not have been willing for $576. But they didn't know that it was going to be $1,576, and there could have been snipers in the last minute. And because it closed a few days before the other one, there was no going back. With all its Wyndham challenges, WM is still a great product to have, and buyers are still in the market looking for deals. 

Educated ebayers probably know of many more reasons.


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## Robert D (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm a pretty educated and experienced Ebay buyer of all kinds of stuff.  Richard makes a lot of good points but from what I can tell both of the sellers are pretty legit, especially on Ebay.  I don't know much about Worldmark and thought there might be a difference in the memberships that sold but from what I can tell, most all WM memberships are the same and not tied to a specific location but a points based system.  I disagree with Richard in that I think Ebay is a great place to buy TS's but you really need to know what you're doing and do your homework, although you're well advised to do this in buying on any venue.


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## Amy (Oct 28, 2008)

I am not sure that second auction (with the $4150 list price) ended up with a finalized transaction.  I had asked the seller a question on that auction but did not end up bidding.  I received an email after close of auction from the seller that said the high bidder mistakenly thought the seller would finance the deal.  (Go figure.)  The seller said he/she was going to give the buyer a short period to come up with the funds, but if the buyer does not come through then he/she will (1) check with the second bidder and (2) relist if second bidder does not buy.  I'm supposed to get another email if the sale gets finalized OR if the contract will be relists; I have yet to hear back from seller.  

Also, that second bidder ID is odd -- can't see feedback page to get info on the 1 feedback associated with the ID and bidding history shows he/she only bid on this auction in the past 30 days.


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## Robert D (Oct 29, 2008)

Amy, could be that the second bidder was a shill.


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## Amy (Nov 1, 2008)

Well, the sale for that second contract for 7000 points mentioned in the original post did not go through.  The seller has relisted the contract at a higher initial bid price.


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