Is it wrong to buy a timeshare from a "postcard" company?

[BM243923]

I am buying a timeshare on ebay from a postcard company. I know the original owner has paid upfront fees for this company to get rid of his ownership. I am getting what I want at a cheap price. I have checked everything in the county records and there are no liens on the property and maintenance fees are upto date.

 

[Hindsite]

Buying from anyone you don't know has risk and the way to mitigate that is to use a reliable transfer company and use escrow, so all is verified before the money is transferred.
If the seller doesn't want to do this then that's all the information you need to know not to proceed.

 

[BM243923]

Buying from anyone you don't know has risk and the way to mitigate that is to use a reliable transfer company and use escrow, so all is verified before the money is transferred.
If the seller doesn't want to do this then that's all the information you need to know not to proceed.

I paid $19.00 which includes free closing and transfer costs, free usage for 2025 and have 10 days to cancel. Got owners name and all checked out in county records. I own 6 weeks already at resort

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I paid $19.00, free usage for 2025 and have 10 days to cancel. Got owners name and all checked out in county records. I own 6 weeks already at resort

You win - by getting a 7th week to enjoy at a location you enjoy
The resort wins - by getting a new owner that is happy to pay yearly MF
The prior owner wins - they are fully clear of an ownership they wanted to end.
[ perhaps because of age and-or an inability to travel]

PS - Winter is too long in Canada ; so enjoy the warm sunshine in Florida

 

[theo]

I paid $19.00 which includes free closing and transfer costs, free usage for 2025 and have 10 days to cancel. Got owners name and all checked out in county records. I own 6 weeks already at resort

Sounds like a great deal if it's something you want. However, since a "Postcard Company" is involved and you likely have no say regarding the choice of "closing" entity, I would recommend scrutinizing the accuracy of all details within the new deed once it is drafted, then its' timely and successful official recording with the County, then verifying the timely payment of any transfer fees required by your resort after recording of the new deed is completed, confirming receipt of a copy of the newly recorded deed by your resort.

Surprise "special assessments" coming down the road would generally also be a legitimate concern at a coastal Florida property, but since you are already an owner at FLBR, you would surely already be aware of any such imminent development.

Great score. Harbor no guilt --- and enjoy your new addition!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I am buying a timeshare on ebay from a postcard company. I know the original owner has paid upfront fees for this company to get rid of his ownership. I am getting what I want at a cheap price. I have checked everything in the county records and there are no liens on the property and maintenance fees are upto date.

Why would it be “wrong?” The original owner has already paid the upfront fee to get rid of their timeshare, that money is gone for them. The worst thing for them would be to have paid that money and not be able to get rid of their timeshare. Every Wyndham contract I own has been purchased from an eBay / postcard company.

 

[noreenkate]

Buying from a post card company may actually benefit other owner's in the long run, it’s one less unit in default. Like others have said the post card company has already been paid- at least that owner is getting out.

 

[Hindsite]

I paid $19.00 which includes free closing and transfer costs, free usage for 2025 and have 10 days to cancel. Got owners name and all checked out in county records. I own 6 weeks already at resort

Sounds like there's not a lot of risk, what "wrong" concerns you about it?

 

[dioxide45]

Morally wrong because you may be perpetuating a side industry that is built around lying and scamming people out of money? If that were the case, we wouldn't own timeshares at all.

 

[BM243923]

Sounds like there's not a lot of risk, what "wrong" concerns you about it?

The morale side of it. The poor owner being taken of advantage and I am gaining a week I want at a unheard of price.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Morally wrong because you may be perpetuating a side industry that is built around lying and scamming people out of money? If that were the case, we wouldn't own timeshares at all.

This is a good point.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I had a situation with one of my Bali Hai contracts. (Still hasn’t fully transferred yet) that I bought off eBay for a few hundred dollars. The owner found my information after I signed the deed, looked me up, and called me. He had spent $10,000 to a timeshare exit company that promised to sell the contract for huge profits. He called me to find out how much I paid for it and when I told him it was just over $200 he was heartbroken. I told him I had no problem backing out of the deal and losing the $200 if he wanted, and also directed him here towards TUG. He asked for a few days to think about it and then called me back and told me to enjoy it, he just wanted out, and we moved forward with the closing. Not only are you not doing something morally wrong in my opinion by buying from a postcard company, but you are ultimately doing something that the original owner wants, getting them out of their timeshare.

 

[5finny]

Parts of the Timeshare industry are immoral and illegal (post card companies)
Some parts are immoral and legal -but should be illegal (lies told during developer presentations)
I sometimes have concerns that I am participating in the process and benefitting from others misfortune by buying on Ebay
My conclusion : Like an honest contractor doing repairs after a hurricane I am benefitting from someone's misfortune but I am also providing the victim relief and making their situation better

I do think that is the right way of looking at it but still that said at times I wonder if that rationale might simply be an excuse I am using to justify the benefits I think I am receiving

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I bought 2 or 3 timeshares on eBay and there were no problems.

BUT, I selected a seller who had sold either the high hundreds of timeshares or thousands of timeshares AND who had a 100% satisfaction rating. That individual obviously knows what they're doing and when a problem develops (which sometimes happens) the seller fixed the problem to the satisfaction of the buyer.

Stay away from sellers who have a limited history of selling timeshares and/or who have a less than 99% satisfaction rating.

 

[rickandcindy23]

The morale side of it. The poor owner being taken of advantage and I am gaining a week I want at a unheard of price.

It's okay to buy something from ebay. It's okay to take on a timeshare that someone didn't want. It's okay to take advantage of a situation where someone felt they were stuck with something they no longer want. The fact that this person paid to get rid of a timeshare shouldn't keep you from buying something you want.

We bought some very valuable timeshares on ebay for pennies on the dollar. No regrets.

 

[chapjim]

The morale side of it. The poor owner being taken of advantage and I am gaining a week I want at a unheard of price.

Morale or moral?

I see no moral conflict here. OP had nothing to do with the original owner nor the transaction between the original owner and the seller. All I see here is the market at work.

OTOH, morale should be high! OP got a heckuva deal!

 

[theo]

The moral side of it. The poor owner being taken of advantage and I am gaining a week I want at a unheard of price.

You are a good person to be taking this factor into consideration. However, keep clearly in mind that the owner already made their own choice and decision, albeit a questionable one, to voluntarily choose to (over)pay a Postcard Company as an "exit" avenue from their timeshare ownership. That choice and decision is not on you and you are not in any way subsequently "taking advantage" of that owner's previous questionable decision and actions by your now simply making an open market purchase of an advertised product; a transaction in which that owner is really no longer even involved or still in the picture at all.

 

[theo]

Parts of the Timeshare industry are immoral and illegal (post card companies) <snip>

With all due respect, Postcard Companies are not "illegal". They are certainly opportunistic and surely of dubious ethics, perhaps even predatory, but obtaining power of attorney from someone voluntarily willing to pay a PCC upfront money to lawfully dispose of a unwanted timeshare cannot be accurately described as “illegal”.

 

[rickandcindy23]

With all due respect, I do not believe that Postcard Companies are "illegal". They are certainly opportunistic and perhaps even predatory, but obtaining power of attorney from someone voluntarily willing to pay a PCC to lawfully dispose of an unwanted timeshare cannot really be accurately portrayed as "illegal".

Many of these companies take on timeshares they know they cannot sell, and the owner never really gets rid of it. Some companies do what they can. They call the resort and ask for a deedback. I know because we have had calls at our small resorts in Colorado.

Lying to make money is supposed to be illegal, but salespeople lie to sell timeshares, and they get by with it, and no one does a thing. Wyndham is the worst, but even Marriott lies. Our last update was packed with lies at Westin Princeville. The salesperson was ridiculous. I called her on it.

Ironically, with the payment of two years' maintenance fees, the two timeshares we own in Colorado will take the week back, it's announced in every newsletter. This is a cheaper option for the owners. Why would they choose to pay more to a postcard company? Is it because the owner is being stubborn about paying the HOA?

 

[theo]

<snip> Ironically, with the payment of two years' maintenance fees, we will take the week back, it's announced in every newsletter. This is a cheaper option for the owners. Why would they choose to pay more to a postcard company? Is it because the owner is being stubborn about paying the HOA?

To be fair, there are still many (...maybe most) resort HOA's that simply will not accept deedbacks at all, regardless of any owner willingness to pre-pay maintenance fees. This is the case at two independent timeshare properties at which we own weeks. I do not necessarily agree with that intractable HOA position, but it's a fact nonetheless.

 

[5finny]

With all due respect, I do not believe that Postcard Companies are necessarily "illegal". They are certainly opportunistic and perhaps even predatory, but obtaining power of attorney from someone voluntarily willing to pay a PCC to then lawfully dispose of an unwanted timeshare for them cannot really be portrayed as unlawful (IMnsHO).

Ok
I will suggest "more often than not" and I will not insist on "necessarily"

 

[alexinorlando]

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. We pay people to take away the stuff we don’t want anymore all the time. This is just another form of it.

The market sets the rate. Some people are willing to pays lots to get rid of their timeshare.

Us buyers of these distressed timeshares play an important part in the cycle of it all.

You are doing the ecosystems of it more good by buying these then not.

The postcard companies and others that get these deeds would probably do more harm to the person who originally owned them if there was no market of buyers like us.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Parts of the Timeshare industry are immoral and illegal (post card companies)

The thing to keep in mind here is that I don't think the postcard companies themselves are the exit company scammers. I think the Exit Company scammers use the postcard companies to attempt to move some timeshares that are sellable that they've already collected a huge upfront fee for. I think some other more legitimate sources also sometimes use the postcard companies. Sometimes the exit company scammer may have a more direct /incestuous relationship with the postcard company selling on ebay, but not always.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I bought 2 or 3 timeshares on eBay and there were no problems.

BUT, I selected a seller who had sold either the high hundreds of timeshares or thousands of timeshares AND who had a 100% satisfaction rating. That individual obviously knows what they're doing and when a problem develops (which sometimes happens) the seller fixed the problem to the satisfaction of the buyer.

Stay away from sellers who have a limited history of selling timeshares and/or who have a less than 99% satisfaction rating.

I don't know that you quite need 99 percent satisfaction ratings. There are two common forms of negative feedback I've seen that will drag a seller's rating down that is completely not their fault:
1. The resort taking forever to process the transfer (very common!); and
2. The resort exercising ROFR.

I've seen good ebay sellers who have less than 99 percent positive feedback because of this. It's important not just to look at the feedback number but also what the details are. The converse of this is that you can find a seller with really good reviews, but upon closer inspection, they're for something other than timeshares.

 

[dioxide45]

The thing to keep in mind here is that I don't think the postcard companies themselves are the exit company scammers. I think the Exit Company scammers use the postcard companies to attempt to move some timeshares that are sellable that they've already collected a huge upfront fee for. I think some other more legitimate sources also sometimes use the postcard companies. Sometimes the exit company scammer may have a more direct /incestuous relationship with the postcard company selling on ebay, but not always.

Postcard companies is more of a general term for several outfits. They are called this because they send out postcards to get people to sign up for seminar or meal at some local hotel or restaurant. The postcards usually don't have the name of the company that is putting on the seminar. This is so they can easily change their name later. A postcard company may be different than a timeshare exit company as not all exit companies market their services by sending out postcards.

I think these exit companies have an entire system on the back end where they market the timeshares on the secondary market. There are thousands of timeshares listed on Ebay and other places that never get sold. They don't care if it goes for $0 since they got the money from the current owner. The company actually marketing the timeshare may or may not be the same as the exit company. But in essence I would say the postcard company is the same as the exit company.