TPU Arbitrage - Buy it or Avoid it?

[Ridewithme38]

Williamsburg is another one of the classic overbuilt areas, and the numbers someone posted on another board that are awarded there also exceed those of many of the rare, hard to find areas. .

Woot! Tell me more about the williamsburg numbers!

 

[ampaholic]

Even the subject in another thread - woot

We are in a period of time with a bad economy and fewer travelers (thus fewer $179's for RCI) and offering 18 TPU for a week they sell for 5 TPU is RCI's way of holding a torch under the whole "world of timeshare travel" to heat it up so they get more $179's. Pretty smart actually.

That's all it is - it is also the subject of a waaaayyyy overblown thread featuring Tombo and Carolinian going at it hammer and tong.

Did I say that :ignore: :ignore: :ignore:

 

[e.bram]

Carolinian:
I think I have the reason RCI under points the he prime units. Most of those owners use or rent. Only if they are desperate do those owners deposit. Like a pawn shop they they (1)take advantage of a desperate situation to make money by renting those units and (2)make the owners of the overbuilt area units they have something valuable.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Did I say that :ignore: :ignore: :ignore:

Oh, you tattletale. :rofl:

 

[Carolinian]

Madge on ''utilization''

Some of the relative newbies who wade so heavily into these discussions were not around when RCI had its own official RCI rep answering questions, who went by the name Madge. That board is still up under as read / search only.

Given the rather Orwellian definition of ''utilization'' being assigned here by some to try to defend RCI's position, I searched for that term in Madge's posts. Six hits came up, five dealing with RCI rentals. The sixth, the only one dealing with trading power, however, strongly suggests that the term means actual usage of the weeks deposited, not the spin of some here that it means total weeks deposited.

 

[Carolinian]

But they are NOT holding that torch under ''the whole world of timeshare''. They are charging more points than they give in some locations, which tend to be the rare, hard to get locations, and fewer than they give in other locations, which tend to be the overbuilt, overpointed areas.

Sorry, the facts don't match your theory.


Originally Posted by ampaholic
We are in a period of time with a bad economy and fewer travelers (thus fewer $179's for RCI) and offering 18 TPU for a week they sell for 5 TPU is RCI's way of holding a torch under the whole "world of timeshare travel" to heat it up so they get more $179's. Pretty smart actually.

That's all it is - it is also the subject of a waaaayyyy overblown thread featuring Tombo and Carolinian going at it hammer and tong.

 

[ampaholic]

But they are NOT holding that torch under ''the whole world of timeshare''. They are charging more points than they give in some locations, which tend to be the rare, hard to get locations, and fewer than they give in other locations, which tend to be the overbuilt, overpointed areas.

Sorry, the facts don't match your theory.

Torches don't heat evenly (this not being a perfect world) - the "theory" is still standing. RCI is doing it for the $179's.

 

[MichaelColey]

Some of the relative newbies who wade so heavily into these discussions were not around when RCI had its own official RCI rep answering questions, who went by the name Madge. That board is still up under as read / search only.

Just because we weren't around doesn't mean we don't know anything about it. I wasn't around for the Civil War, but I think I have a pretty good understanding of it.

 

[tombo]

Torches don't heat evenly (this not being a perfect world) - the "theory" is still standing. RCI is doing it for the $179's.

You want to borrow my hammer or my tong?

 

[DavidnJudy]

Some of the relative newbies who wade so heavily into these discussions were not around when RCI had its own official RCI rep answering questions, who went by the name Madge.

I was around back then - had a different user name which I couldn't find when I came back. I took some time off here because it was so time consuming, and timeshare is not my life just the way I vacation. I am starting to think it is sucking up way too much of my time again!

I did like when Madge was on... Do you know why she left? Maybe we could get another RCI rep on here to explain things (laughs to himself)

 

[tombo]

I was around back then - had a different user name which I couldn't find when I came back. I took some time off here because it was so time consuming, and timeshare is not my life just the way I vacation. I am starting to think it is sucking up way too much of my time again!

I did like when Madge was on... Do you know why she left? Maybe we could get another RCI rep on here to explain things (laughs to himself)

I remember when Madge was was soaking her beauty shop customer's hands in Palmolive dishwashing detergent to make them soft. That must have been pre-RCI.

 

[AwayWeGo]

"You're Soaking In It."

I remember when Madge was was soaking her beauty shop customer's hands in Palmolive dishwashing detergent to make them soft.

Click here for Madge.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[bnoble]

Do you know why she left?

I don't think a reason was ever publicly given. From where I sat, I'm guessing that at least part of it was that the tone toward her had turned decidedly nasty, at which point having her around led to more heat than light. Once that became the modus operandi, it's not hard to imagine someone at RCI deciding that her presence was doing them more harm as a lightning rod than good. Or, more simply, they just didn't want to pay for "her" time that way.

It's a real shame; Madge was often able to help folks who had account troubles or other problems.

 

[DavidnJudy]

It's a shame because one of the other boards I go to is the disboards, and when someone has a complex problem about buying certain tickets or packages etc... a Disney CM (rep) will answer the question. They come on the disboards and I guess Disney encourages it. It makes it seem like RCI is hiding something (which we all know they are.)

 

[tombo]

It's a shame because one of the other boards I go to is the disboards, and when someone has a complex problem about buying certain tickets or packages etc... a Disney CM (rep) will answer the question. They come on the disboards and I guess Disney encourages it. It makes it seem like RCI is hiding something (which we all know they are.)

99% of thepeople on the Dis boards LOVE Disney. The rep there is thanked and appreciated.

Can you imagine the response an RCI rep would get if they posted here? Just see the response any TUG member gets when they post ANYTHING positive about RCI or the new program. A company employee could never answer questions because allthey would do is respond to verbal attacks on RCI.

If Dis boards had as many Disney haters posting as often on that thread as there are anti RCI posts here, they could never answer a question because they would constantly be explaining why Disney points expire, why Disney went to RCI, why non Disney members can get DVC resorts so cheaply through RCI,why have you changed the program to where resales don't have the same rights as direct purchases killing the resale value of what I bought from DVC if I decide to sell, why aren't you building all the new resorts you promised you were going to build when we bought,why is DVC no longer the great timeshare system it used to be when Madge was here (oops wrong rep), etc etc etc????!!!!!

If I ran RCI I would not place an RCI rep on a TUG forum. Whether they tried to answer truthfully or not, RCI would be villified and they would be called a liar who doesn't understand or base their points on supply and demand. They would be forever calledcrooked for renting out weeks. They would get blasted because their exchange fees are too high. Asked why does it cost money to combine weeks? Asked daily why does my week(s) not get more TPU's? Why does their week get so many TPU's? Do you not understand the week I own is in the hardest to get most popular location in the world and it only gets X # of TPU's, etc, etc, etc, etc?

For RCI to place a rep on TUG would be putting the rep and themselves in a no win situation.

 

[chriskre]

From where I sat, I'm guessing that at least part of it was that the tone toward her had turned decidedly nasty, at which point having her around led to more heat than light.

Nasty to RCI?
Noooo not here on TUG.

 

[tombo]

I don't think a reason was ever publicly given. From where I sat, I'm guessing that at least part of it was that the tone toward her had turned decidedly nasty...

Perhaps Madge was from Mississippi which would obviously mean that she couldn't afford to pay for her dial up internet and it got disconnected.

 

[DavidnJudy]

99% of thepeople on the Dis boards LOVE Disney. The rep there is thanked and appreciated.

I don't buy it - no offense. On this board about 99% of the people love timesharing, and hate certain things about RCI. And maybe some hate RCI as a whole.

It's the same on the disboards, 99% of the people love "Disney", but hate certain things that Disney operations / ticketing etc... does. And maybe some hate the Disney Operations as a whole.

Case in point some people complain and complain and complain about the buses, or about why do off-site people get to use Fast passes it should be just for on-site guests. And why can't I get free dining, someone else go free dining. Or whatever, they Complain Complain Complain.

A lot of the complaints Disney Operations (CMs) can not answer, and therefore do not answer. But some legitmate questions about how can I buy XYZ ticket or package and then use it in XYZ way, the CMs will answer. They are factual questions and answers that sometimes you can't get by digging, and need someone to answer.

RCI could do the same thing. Don't get involved in the complaining, but answer the factual questions. Like someone asked can I use the email deal to combine my points for an ongoing search (instead of trade) - the email deal was a free combine if you trade right away. The question was very legitmate and an RCI precense could answer that on this forum.

But things like how did you get your TPU calculation and that jazz, well they might have to stay away from, just like CMs do on the disboards - they stay away from why this package, etc...

Now maybe RCI feels it already has a web precense on their own website and therefore doesn't need to be on here - I can see that. But it would be nice to have someone to ask functional questions.

 

[bnoble]

They come on the disboards and I guess Disney encourages it.

I believe Cheshire Figment does that on his (her?) own time, without direct company involvement. Madge was "official" in the sense that RCI knew about (and paid for) TUG involvement.

And, Cheshire generally *only* answers ticketing questions, because that's where Cheshire works.

 

[chalee94]

This seems to be a wise strategy. How does one figure out how to buy a unit that has MF's at 50-75% of what one can rent it out for?

that's a good question.

don't expect anyone to answer it though. you have to do your own homework.

and the rules change from time to time. airfares to hawaii and hawaii's tax hikes causing spikes in MFs have certainly changed the dynamic for renting a hawaiian timeshare.

best of luck in your research...

 

[tombo]

I don't buy it - no offense. On this board about 99% of the people love timesharing, and hate certain things about RCI. And maybe some hate RCI as a whole.

It's the same on the disboards, 99% of the people love "Disney", but hate certain things that Disney operations / ticketing etc... does. And maybe some hate the Disney Operations as a whole.

No offense taken.

IMO there is a big difference between loving Disney and disliking some of the things they do and loving timesharing and hating virtually everything RCI does.

It is hard to love Disney and to at the same time hate Disney. You purchased Disney because you love Disney. You love the resort(s). You love the parks. You love the amenities. You love the mouse which is why you bought there. All of that is still there. DVC people didn't buy RCI or II, they bought the magic. When an owner visits to their DVC sort and everything is the same but the exchange company affiliation or exchange abilities, the obvious villain is the exchange company.

On the other hand it is easy to love Disney (or timesharing in general) and hate RCI and/or II because you did not buy RCI or II. You bought a timeshare you liked and any exchange problems you have are not the fault of what/when/where you purchased, any exchange problems are the fault of the exchange company. Most timesharers lament that their resort is the same resort and it USED to trade better with II than RCI, or it used to trade better with RCI than II. Their resort used to get exchanges for Europe, hawaii, 2 bed units, 3 bed units, summer weeks, ski weeks. Their resort used to .... etc, etc, etc before that stupid exchange company started ripping them off. They owned the same resort/week for a long time so any new problems with exchanges or deposits has to be the fault of the exchange company or the new policies of the exchange company.

Most on the Dis boards like disney overall but dislike some things Disney does. It is kind of like loving your kids but not liking everything they do. In the end you might get a little upset with them but you will still love them.

Many here hate RCI, period. Nothing RCI could do would change some people's attitude about RCI.

 

[DavidnJudy]

I am more equating it to this:

disboards = disney fans ; some might HATE the disney Bus transportation

If you hate the buses at Disney don't use them you can still love Disney and still complain about the buses. Now someone like robo on this disboards or seashorecm can tell you all the bus routes but if you hate buses then don't take them.

tug - timeshare fans ; some might HATE RCI

If you hate RCI then don't use it. But someone from RCI could come on and tell us information about the system that is generally available to all but might be hard to find. But RCI is probably not as complex as some of the Disney things so maybe it is not needed.

That's all I am saying. You could have an expert like Madge on something that some people hate, just like you do on the disboards. We do have some experts here - but they don't work for the company I don't think.

Maybe I should go work for RCI, get an inside view and report back

 

[Elan]

Maybe I should go work for RCI, get an inside view and report back

If you do, fix their effing web interface while you're there.

 

[tombo]

Maybe I should go work for RCI, get an inside view and report back

If you go to work for RCI and post here, make sure you are wearing a bullet proof vest.

For some TUGGERS having an RCI employee explain the benefits of the new weeks system would be like having a theologian explain Christianity to members of the Taliban. Courteous discourse would not follow.

 

[bnoble]

DavidnJudy: you would be hard pressed to find ANY company in the Disney orbit that generates the sort of feelings that RCI does in this community. Not even David/Daddio generates that sort of reaction.