# Wyndham



## Jan5 (Apr 28, 2014)

I am looking at buying 308,000 points. Location is wyndham smokey mountains, sevierville, tn.  This item is listed by Sumdays Vacations on ebay.  Current bid is $425 and $127 per mo maintenance fee.   

My questions:

Is this a good deal?

Can I use these points to stay elsewhere?

If I use the points elsewhere, what fees will I have?

Can I split my points and use over two weeks?

What is the condition of wyndham smokey mountains resort?

Is Sumday reputable?

Thank you!!


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## DAman (Apr 28, 2014)

Jan5 said:


> I am looking at buying 308,000 points. Location is wyndham smokey mountains, sevierville, tn.  This item is listed by Sumdays Vacations on ebay.  Current bid is $425 and $127 per mo maintenance fee.
> 
> 
> Is Sumday reputable?
> ...



Sumday was very reliable for me. Very efficient transaction at a great price.  

I bought off of their website in 2012. I would purchase from them again.


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## got4boys (Apr 28, 2014)

Currently it is a good deal. Most likely it will go more than what the auction is at. It has one of the lower maintenance fees in the Wyndham Vacation Resort systems and people do look for that. Yes, you can use it at other resorts within the system.

The resort has been kept up and has been remodeled (Updated TV, linens, paint)

Sumday Vacation is one of the better resellers out there. Many tuggers have purchased from them. I have purchased from them in the past, had a couple of transactions that had issues - deed information incorrect and they did make it right.

Watch both their website and ebay. They do usually have a holiday sale (25% off) on their website.

I would purchase from them again.


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## Vacationfuntips (Apr 28, 2014)

*MY ANSWERS ARE IN BLUE

I  am looking at buying 308,000 points. Location is wyndham smokey  mountains, sevierville, tn.  This item is listed by Sumdays Vacations on  ebay.  Current bid is $425 and $127 per mo maintenance fee.   
*_ *
My questions:
* _*
Is this a good deal? Maybe - depends on the final bid price or their website price?
**
Can I use these points to stay elsewhere? Yes
* *
If I use the points elsewhere, what fees will I have? With Wyndham none as of yet - unless you use up all of your housekeeping credits (HC) ,  your 1  free guest confirmation (GC) or available reservation transactions (RT).   If you make any or all of your reservations including deposits to RCI on the same day then you use just 1 RT.  If you deposit points to RCI you need HK and 1 RT.  If you vacation exchange through RCI you will have their current $209 exchange fee to book online (unless they have a special). 
* *
Can I split my points and use over two weeks? Yes, you can!  Providing that there is availability , you can use your points any way that you wish following club rules and length of stay requirements.  You must have the points, housekeeping credits, and available transactions or you will be paying extra fees to do so. 
* *
What is the condition of wyndham smokey mountains resort? Recently remodeled**.

Is Sumday reputable?  I had a great experience with them.  I would buy from them again.  Many others have reported a positive experience with them here on TUG BBS too.
* *
Thank you!!         *


I purchased a smaller Wyndham Smoky Mountains contract from Sumday Vacations and they did an outstanding job!   They were very courteous and professional and answered my questions.   They did everything they promised to do and my transaction was great!  Within a months time I was able to use my new Wyndham points.  It was a very smooth transaction.  Wyndham did a great job too!  I purchased from Sumday Vacations directly off of their website.  Sometimes the prices buying direct from them are better than off of ebay.  Ask for an estoppel letter if you can get one?  It is always a good thing to have and reference so you know exactly what you are buying into. 

Check and compare their ebay price to their website.  Sometimes ebay bidders go too high and the Sumday direct price may be cheaper and a quicker transaction for you?  You should be able to find the identical item that is on ebay, also on their website.  Sumday Vacations has special promotions around the holidays with discounted pricing - sometimes it is good to wait for those specials which may be at a 25% discount off of their regular pricing?   Study and compare both ebay and their website to determine for yourself the best pricing or offer.  ebay sometimes has the better deal.  There are always deals - if one does not work out another one comes up.  There seems to be lots of Wyndham re-sale timeshare properties out there.  It is much easier to be a Wyndham timeshare buyer than a seller, so make sure you are buying what you want?  

I have read that not all bids (including the winning bid) go through on ebay because someone can buy directly from them before your ebay auction finishes.  Be careful, and read below:

Sumday Vacations states: *"THIS  ITEM IS ALSO ADVERTISED ON OUR WEBSITE AND LOCALLY, THEREFORE THE  AUCTION MAY BE ENDED AT ANY POINT DUE TO A SALE OUTSIDE OF EBAY.  IF THE  EBAY AUCTION IS IN THE LAST 12 HOURS IT CANNOT BE ENDED DUE TO EBAY  POLICY, BUT THE HIGH BIDDER WILL BE NOTIFIED THAT THE ITEM IS NO LONGER  AVAILABLE."

*I would buy from them again.  They are one of the best!

Good luck!

Cynthia T*. 



*


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## vacationhopeful (Apr 29, 2014)

Jan5-
Perhaps by the questions YOU asked, you should do more reading and asking of questions BEFORE you buy anything. Both in terms of questions about both timesharing and Wyndham. 

I know MOST (including me) brought timeshares before finding TUG. Of my first 2 purchases, I have sold BOTH. The one resort is great, but the week was not a time I wanted. The other was an okay resort, but not my cup of tea.

If you are certain about buying Wyndham, spend the time NOW reading the Member's Directory. Read about HOME RESORTs and Advance Reservations Priority. Understand what CWA verses CWP is ==> would this suit your needs better? 

Wyndham's TOP resorts - as for desired locations and WHEN you want to go there - do you need to be deeded there for ARP? Will you even then GET a reservation there, if you are fighting all the other (deeded) owners to book there?

Size of units. Season for those units. Particular views - will they cost more in terms of points (almost all the newer resorts get more points for best views).

Timesharing is basicly "prepaying" for a vacation stay - swapping for cruises or airfare (bad use of points) is NOT available to resale owners. Will you be driving or flying to resorts? Can you plan 13 months in advance of your desired checkin date? Will you be doing the FRI/SAT (with a limited resorts of SUN) check in days and staying 7 nights? Doing THU thru TUE costs more money for fees and your booking window will not be as good. Will RCI be the acceptable exchange platform as your exchange company?

Buying is easy off eBay. Selling (dumping) a timeshare is harder.


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## staceyeileen (Apr 29, 2014)

Jan5 said:


> I am looking at buying 308,000 points. Location is wyndham smokey mountains, sevierville, tn.  This item is listed by Sumdays Vacations on ebay.  Current bid is $425 and $127 per mo maintenance fee.



The price will definitely go much higher.  Here is the listing on their website.  If you do really want it, you can contact them and negotiate a price.  I have had several  great experiences with Sumday.

http://sumdayvacations.com/proddetail.php?prod=SV34716-25752


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## uscav8r (Apr 29, 2014)

staceyeileen said:


> The price will definitely go much higher.  Here is the listing on their website.  If you do really want it, you can contact them and negotiate a price.  I have had several  great experiences with Sumday.
> 
> http://sumdayvacations.com/proddetail.php?prod=SV34716-25752



It'll go higher, yes, but I don't see it going for $3200 out the door. Maybe $1800-2200... but that is just a WAG.


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## MaryBella7 (Apr 29, 2014)

uscav8r said:


> It'll go higher, yes, but I don't see it going for $3200 out the door. Maybe $1800-2200... but that is just a WAG.



I agree with your assessment.  Since it is getting closer to summer and people are thinking vacation, this one will go pretty high and there is still the 298 transfer fees they list.  If I were the OP and was willing to spend within that range, I'd contact Sumday to make an offer since on their site they don't charge the 298 on top of it.  It certainly wouldn't hurt.


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## staceyeileen (Apr 29, 2014)

uscav8r said:


> It'll go higher, yes, but I don't see it going for $3200 out the door. Maybe $1800-2200... but that is just a WAG.




Oh, I agree!  I didn't mean to imply 3200 was a good price.


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## uscav8r (Apr 29, 2014)

lhumes7 said:


> I agree with your assessment.  Since it is getting closer to summer and people are thinking vacation, this one will go pretty high and there is still the 298 transfer fees they list.  If I were the OP and was willing to spend within that range, I'd contact Sumday to make an offer since on their site they don't charge the 298 on top of it.  It certainly wouldn't hurt.




I always quote total cost including transfer fees, so with the ~$300 in fees, then $1500-2000 for actual final bid. 

Hey, we could make a game out of tracking and guessing final bid prices! Heh...  


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MaryBella7 (May 5, 2014)

2600 - wow!


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## ronparise (May 5, 2014)

lhumes7 said:


> 2600 - wow!




I havent been watching a lot recently but a few months ago I saw prices for Wyndham contracts creeping up.  Purchase prices for the really low mf contracts (Bali Hai, NationalHarbor, Panama City Beach, etc) were approaching a penny a point. The good stuff like this Sevierville contract a little less,  average stuff less still,  and even the high mf contracts were being sold for something.  

 It looks like that upward trend is continuing.  But in spite of the higher prices, Wyndham is still an excellent product and still a bargain to aquire, and mf is reasonable when compared to Marriott and some of the other elite brands. Im still a buyer, but if prices continue to go up...I might have to start to do a little selling


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## lcml11 (May 5, 2014)

vacationhopeful said:


> ... Wyndham's TOP resorts - as for desired locations and WHEN you want to go there - do you need to be deeded there for ARP? Will you even then GET a reservation there, if you are fighting all the other (deeded) owners to book there? ... Can you plan 13 months in advance of your desired checkin date? Will you be doing the FRI/SAT (with a limited resorts of SUN) check in days and staying 7 nights? Doing THU thru TUE costs more money for fees and your booking window will not be as good ...



Smoky Mountain is one of Wyndham's Top locations in terms of location ease to get into even in the Summer when my family or I want to and I have never needed ARP to get acceptable timeframes.  

Planning 13 months in advance for this great resort is not needed very often if at all for most travelers.  

Fees at this resort are very modest compared to most and the points can be used at other Wyndham Club Plus/Access resorts.  I even have one Smoky Mountain deed that gives me reciprocal ARP to the Myrtle Beach Resorts on the Beach.  It tracks to the contract.  You may want to have the seller call Wyndham and see if this contract is one of the ones from that time period.  Wyndham does not advertise this and you may have to have them insist on looking it up to find out.

I have no trouble staying what ever number of days you want at this resort.

Total HOA Fee:   $4.55 
Program Rate for 1,000 Points: $0.57

Here are some examples of a great Summer weeks that are still currently available:

07/23/2014 	7 	1 Bedroom Suite B-side 		84,000 		
07/23/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 		166,000 	 	
07/24/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 		166,000 		
07/25/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 		166,000 		
07/27/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 		166,000 	
07/28/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 	   	166,000 	
07/28/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 	   	166,000
07/29/2014 	7 	1 Bedroom Deluxe 		105,000 	
07/29/2014 	7 	1 Bedroom Suite B-side 	  	 84,000 	
07/29/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 	        166,000 	
07/29/2014 	7 	2 Bedroom Deluxe 	  	166,000 
07/29/2014 	7 	3 Bedroom Deluxe 		203,000

I would not be surprised to see, as time goes on, that this resort continues to significantly increase in re-sale value on the secondary market.


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## csnyder16 (May 5, 2014)

*Thread*

Do you think a thread on Tugs about what a value this ebay sale was, might have pushed up the price?

I used the 1800 to 2200 WAG to bid on this when I had NO previous interest in this ebay sale.   Just sayin!


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## uscav8r (May 5, 2014)

csnyder16 said:


> Do you think a thread on Tugs about what a value this ebay sale was, might have pushed up the price?
> 
> 
> 
> I used the 1800 to 2200 WAG to bid on this when I had NO previous interest in this ebay sale.   Just sayin!




Heh! I totally underestimated, but interest on this forum almost certainly played into the price run up. 


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## Roger830 (May 5, 2014)

The winner had 21 bids. The second bidder probably could have sniped it for less than $1500.

It's difficult to comprehend the logic of timeshare bidders. Apparently many don't understand how ebay functions. Their multiple bids just drives the price higher than necessary.


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## csnyder16 (May 5, 2014)

Absolutely!   I was the second bidder and I could have won it by sniping it for less than 1500.    This was a rookie mistake.  I'm very impressed that you saw that one.  I set maximum bid, but watch many training videos on sniping last night.    Damn Rookies!

I still wouldn't have bid if it wasn't for this thread.


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## Roger830 (May 5, 2014)

csnyder16 said:


> Absolutely!   I was the second bidder and I could have won it by sniping it for less than 1500.    This was a rookie mistake.  I'm very impressed that you saw that one.  I set maximum bid, but watch many training videos on sniping last night.    Damn Rookies!
> 
> I still wouldn't have bid if it wasn't for this thread.



Consider using esnipe. There is no cost for a trail period. Just set your maximum bid, then foget about it.

I ment no offense to you as a bidder. I had been a little perturbed watching a couple of auctions climb out of reach after daily bidding by the same people.


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## Bigrob (May 5, 2014)

lcml11 said:


> I even have one Smoky Mountain deed that gives me reciprocal ARP to the Myrtle Beach Resorts on the Beach.  It tracks to the contract.  You may want to have the seller call Wyndham and see if this contract is one of the ones from that time period.  Wyndham does not advertise this and you may have to have them insist on looking it up to find out.
> 
> 
> I would not be surprised to see, as time goes on, that this resort continues to significantly increase in re-sale value on the secondary market.



Whoa... that's new on me. I will have to check on my two Smokies contracts to see if they have that hidden feature. Reciprocal ARP rights to MB would be sweet and this would be cheaper than CWA to get there.

I would say at a price of over $2600, the value of this 308K has already significantly increased. Earlier this year I bought a 574K for less than half that.


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## Vacationfuntips (May 6, 2014)

Bigrob said:


> Whoa... that's new on me. I will have to check on my two Smokies contracts to see if they have that hidden feature. Reciprocal ARP rights to MB would be sweet and this would be cheaper than CWA to get there.
> 
> I would say at a price of over $2600, the value of this 308K has already significantly increased. Earlier this year I bought a 574K for less than half that.



I have read that if a deeded timeshare was purchased originally elsewhere - then it may be possible that there might also be ARP rights attached to the contract in Wyndham's computer.  I do not know if this still holds true?

I wouldn't  get too excited too fast about ARP with Smoky Mountains and Myrtle Beach.   I am not too sure about Wyndham Smoky Mountain having ARP rights with Wyndham Myrtle Beach unless it was an upgraded contract or a Smoky Mountains contract with a deed originally purchased from Wyndham at Myrtle Beach.   ARP may be still attached to the deed in the Wyndham computer. 

Read this article 8 of 10 (learning Wyndham) post from Tugger GoofyHobbie on tug2.net .  Link:     http://www.tug2.net/timeshare_advice/maximize_wyndham_points.html  This should be required reading > there are a series of 10 articles to learn some tips and tricks (some articles are older and some things have changed - but still good!)   I also like learning from the Wyndham site after logging in (Wyndham Wise)  www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com 

I find I am constantly re-reading Wyndham rules to learn how to use my Club Wyndham Plus timeshare points best.     

I have read that if you purchase a Myrtle Beach deed, then you have ARP rights at other Wyndham Myrtle Beach properties.  http://69.16.236.4/~tugbbsc/forums/showthread.php?t=161051

Also Gold & Platinum VIP can get those ARP rights. 

I do wonder if you can get ARP at Wyndham Great Smokies Lodge if you own a deed at Wyndham Smoky Mountains and vice versa??? Does anyone know if they have reciprocal ARP? 

Cynthia T.


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## lcml11 (May 6, 2014)

Vacationfuntips said:


> I have read that if a deeded timeshare was purchased originally elsewhere - then it may be possible that there might also be ARP rights attached to the contract in Wyndham's computer.  I do not know if this still holds true?
> 
> I wouldn't  get too excited too fast about ARP with Smoky Mountains and Myrtle Beach.   I am not too sure about Wyndham Smoky Mountain having ARP rights with Wyndham Myrtle Beach unless it was an upgraded contract or a Smoky Mountains contract with a deed originally purchased from Wyndham at Myrtle Beach.   ARP may be still attached to the deed in the Wyndham computer.
> 
> ...



Our Smokey Mountain Deed that has the RARP was bought at Myrtle Beach.  Thoughs are the ones to look for.

Unless your contract was bought from Smokey Mountain for a Wyndham Great Smokies Lodge timeshare contract, then the answer is no to ARP into the Lodge.  If it was, then I do not know.


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## Bigrob (May 6, 2014)

Vacationfuntips said:


> I have read that if a deeded timeshare was purchased originally elsewhere - then it may be possible that there might also be ARP rights attached to the contract in Wyndham's computer.  I do not know if this still holds true?
> 
> I wouldn't  get too excited too fast about ARP with Smoky Mountains and Myrtle Beach.   I am not too sure about Wyndham Smoky Mountain having ARP rights with Wyndham Myrtle Beach unless it was an upgraded contract or a Smoky Mountains contract with a deed originally purchased from Wyndham at Myrtle Beach.   ARP may be still attached to the deed in the Wyndham computer.
> 
> ...



Thanks - good info. I believe the Myrtle Beach area is unique in offering RARP across the MB resorts. I do not believe it applies elsewhere in geographically proximate locations (OTA and Nat Harbor; Smoky Mountains and GSL; Tamarack and GCL; etc.)

The ARP rights available to Gold and Platinum VIP owners is a bit different... it is at 11 months for 1 or 2 reservations respectively.

I've read all the articles but it's interesting how going back after time you find things that take on new meaning after getting more knowledgeable about how the system works.


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## Vacationfuntips (May 9, 2014)

Bigrob said:


> I've read all the articles but it's interesting how going back after time you find things that take on new meaning after getting more knowledgeable about how the system works.



Eric, I couldn't agree more with that.  Keep re-reading.  There a lots of hints, tips and tricks!

Cynthia T.


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