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Maybe too much is really too much

timeos2

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I'm looking at the various "buy now" threads here as well as the many seemingly great deals (compared to a year or less ago) and wondering why I don't feel the compulsion to buy buy buy. Certainly some of it is the uncertainty all around us - personal as well as worldwide. But it goes deeper.

I realize I haven't purchased a timeshare or upgrade since 2003 when I paid the minimal amount of $1050 to get into RCI Points with a small purchase at Rayburn County. Prior to that my last purchases where in 1998 when I paid $1100 to join what was then Club Sunterra and prior to that a 1997 $1500. resale purchase of a fixed week 30 in Cape Cod we had never seen (but knew we liked that area). So it has been over a decade since I made a timeshare purchase other than a conversion to points. And my total purchase cost is less than $18,000 including the period prior to TUG. No great plan, just the luck to figure out from the start what I wanted and that resale was the only way to buy.

Now I see those weeks I paid over $4000 (a great deal at the time) for at $2000 or less. But it was 15 years ago! I have my use and value out. And perhaps more importantly I have zero desire to buy more - no matter how "sweet" the deal. I don't need to. Those purchases, long paid for and all with manageable fees, are able to get me to anyplace at anytime we've wanted to go. No more investment of capital required.

All it took was buying only exactly what we wanted at the price we wanted. We never considered trading as the use (except the RCI points). We purchased each as though we would have to go there each use year and at a location we could drive to. Turns out where we wanted to go were places others wanted to use to as all of weeks are good traders when we do decide to use them that way. We didn't hold on to the one system that was obviously going crazy with fees and no owner control - DVC - and resisted the great temptation to buy into another that had ROFR and fees that were high then and are much higher now (Marriott). Both turned out to be easy to get when we wanted without all the purchase cost and ongoing fees. Only one purchase turned out to be a mistake. Not at the price or location but from a miserable developer/management. Even that we've salvaged by using it for RCI points or simply using the time as we do enjoy the resort when we're there. We can't use anymore time than we already own, can trade for, rent or use bonus time to get. Why spend even one dollar more?

No great plan, lots of luck and very little money. Right now I'd certainly say its a great time to be a new resale buyer, as you can grab deals that have never been seen before. But keep the recommended rules of a good purchase in mind and don't buy more than you need just because you can. A limited, carefully chosen "portfolio" that you like can serve you well and offer inexpensive vacations for many years. You don't have to own at every resort you'd like to visit and should only own at resorts you wouldn't mind a visit to every year. Anything you trade for after that is gravy, and its very easy to do. Planned right you don't even have to pay for RCI/II memberships as many points systems throw them in.

So all the deals in the world can't tempt me anymore. We're living off the choices made over a decade ago that continue to deliver top quality use and exchanges. If another new timeshare resort was never built we'd be more than happy with what we can travel to and can choose from now. Sometimes it pays to be happy with what you have. It's sure less risky and much cheaper.
 

DeniseM

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John - a few days ago I would have totally agreed with you, and then an Ocean Front unit at a resort we already own and love popped up on ebay for $98 TOTAL, including closing. I couldn't resist at that price! :eek: Since I try to avoid ebay now, I wouldn't even have seen it if a helpful Tugger hadn't posted it on the Hawaii board!
 

sernow

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It really depends on the stage of life you're in. If you have the money and time to vacation, there are some good deals if you know what you're looking for.
 

taffy19

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Also consider age as your timesharing days may be over very suddenly because of health challenges but your maintenance fees do not stop.

John, I wished I had been as smart as you because we bought from developers only so paid way too much for all of them. :eek: I know better now but we are no longer in the market either.
 

funtime

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This is a great time to "upgrade" your timeshare portfolio. Problem is, that implies selling those timeshares that you have that you are making room for the upgraded portfolio - that is where the difficulties lie. Funtime
 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
You Said A Mouthful.

Sometimes it pays to be happy with what you have. It's sure less risky and much cheaper.
For sure.

It's just human nature, however, for people to accept -- to take for granted -- what they already have as merely a baseline from which to go out & get more & more & better & better, no matter how well off they may be.

Madison Avenue drives us farther in that direction through advertising.

The corporate barons of General Motors based their original business plan on that aspect of human nature. You know, start'm out driving Chevies, but make'm want to move up to Pontiacs as soon as they can. Get'm to hanker for Oldsmobiles & salivate over Buicks. The top of the aspirational heap was Cadillac.

My late father (1916-2002) bought into that. He was a Chevy-driving man till 1957, when he bought his 1st Buick, a 3-porthole black 4-door DynaFlo Special. Dad moved right on up the Buick ladder to Electra 225 & later Park Avenue before attaining his life-long automotive aspiration -- a 1995 Cadillac deVille, fire-engine red. (His 2nd wife bought him a Rolls Royce, which he drove around for a few months. After he discovered you can't properly drive a Rolls to the supermarket or the dry cleaner, etc., or anyplace much except to the club, he got rid of the Rolls & sprang for his Caddy.)

I have observed lately, right here on the virtual pages of TUG-BBS, that the gulf separating the high-end timeshare owners from the rest of us may be even wider than the great divide between the full-freight buyers & us bottom-feeding bargain hunters. Do you suppose the timeshare companies are trying to ratchet us all up to the interval-ownership equivalent of Cadillac SUVs ?

If so, TUG is the antidote.

In any case, in times like these I am grateful not to be in debt, not to aspire to get stuff I can't afford, & to enjoy the things that I already have in such abundance. (I have so many horns that it's semi-embarrassing.)

I am astonished over how much I enjoy (resale) timesharing -- not only for being able to luxuriate in upscale vacation surroundings at Motel 6 & Super 8 rates, but also for the vicarious year-round enjoyment I get via TUG-BBS & the Yahoo timeshare "group" I participate in. I never would have expected it. I buy a (resale) timeshare in 2002, & now my whole life is spelled out on the pages of TUG-BBS & I have acquired warm Internet friendships with others who hold forth here as well.

To all my TUG-BBS friends, Thank You.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
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JMAESD84

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Thankful for what you have

John's reflection on his timeshare history during this holiday season and what are trying economic times for many reminds us all to be thankful for what we have.

We all share a love for travel and vacation experiences.

That's something to be thankful for.
 

oneohana

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John - a few days ago I would have totally agreed with you, and then an Ocean Front unit at a resort we already own and love popped up on ebay for $98 TOTAL, including closing. I couldn't resist at that price! :eek: Since I try to avoid ebay now, I wouldn't even have seen it if a helpful Tugger hadn't posted it on the Hawaii board!

Hi Denise,

Didn't one just sell for $1 for the same type of unit a couple of dayys ago? Seller paid closing. I would've told you, but didn't want to tempt you.:D
 

DeniseM

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Hi Denise,

Didn't one just sell for $1 for the same type of unit a couple of dayys ago? Seller paid closing. I would've told you, but didn't want to tempt you.:D

That's the one. I bought it for $98 using the "buy it now" feature. Since it was only $98, it wasn't worth getting into a bidding war over.
 

rhonda

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...it pays to be happy with what you have.
That would seem like an important key applying to soooo many areas of life!! :D
 

JudyS

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.... it pays to be happy with what you have.....
This is very true! It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you have!

....So all the deals in the world can't tempt me anymore.....
This part, on the other hand, isn't true for me, at least not yet. I still seem to have the "timeshare buying bug," and in a bad way. I thought that the major hassles in renting my weeks out this year might cure me, but a couple of my weeks just rented (only a few holiday weeks left to go!), and the buying bug has returned, strong as ever!

So, John, are you saying time is the cure? Is there hope for me? :)
 

Bill4728

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That's the one. I bought it for $98 using the "buy it now" feature. Since it was only $98, it wasn't worth getting into a bidding war over.

I like your thinking on this. :wave:

Sometimes we are so interested in getting the best deal, we don't see that by spending an extra $97 you completely took the stress out of buying a TS that you wanted. If $97 extra, buys you a stress-free buying experiance then IMHO you spent that $97 wisely.
 

DeniseM

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I like your thinking on this. :wave:

Sometimes we are so interested in getting the best deal, we don't see that by spending an extra $97 you completely took the stress out of buying a TS that you wanted. If $97 extra, buys you a stress-free buying experiance then IMHO you spent that $97 wisely.


Plus if I started a bidding war, there was no guarantee that I'd end up the winner!
 

BocaBum99

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This is a great time to "upgrade" your timeshare portfolio. Problem is, that implies selling those timeshares that you have that you are making room for the upgraded portfolio - that is where the difficulties lie. Funtime

I completely agree with this idea. This is exactly what I am doing. I am adding higher end timeshares to my portfolio that I never would have before.
 

BocaBum99

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John,

I think you have an excellent philosophy for timesharing that works for you. I think it's a good strategy and you should stick with it.

For me, I am a no longer even in the category of timeshare addict. I am way beyond that. I am a timeshare freak of nature. I can't stop buying the great deals. I had to start a business just so that I could take more vacations and earn back capital so that I could buy more timeshares to satiate my insatiable thirst for more timeshare experiences.

Even in this horrible market for Hawaii, I think I read the other day that hotel occupancy rates are at about 58%. That's bad. And, the papers are talking about all the discounts and incentives that hotels are providing for Kama'aina. So, I go to the Honolulu Symphony yesterday to listen to Peter and the Wolf and there is a full page add for Hilton Hawaiian Village. Weekday studio Kama'aina rates for $149/night. That's the rate for the BAD times. As an HGVC owner, you can get a 2 bedroom unit at this resort during open season for $100/night for weekdays. That is still a smokin' great deal vs. what is positioned as a smokin' great deal for locals. I finally bought an HGVC (I overpaid) and I plan to use that feature extensively.

If Perry is right about $1 eBay timeshares, I can't wait to pick up 52 weeks at the Napili Tower of the Maui Marriott. $52 isn't bad. LOL. Seriously, I'd love to see how low those can go and buy one.
 
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timeos2

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A tough one

So, John, are you saying time is the cure? Is there hope for me? :)

Sounds like a firewall setting blocking all resale timesahre sites may br the ONLY answer!:)
 

timeos2

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John,

I think you have an excellent philosophy for timesharing that works for you. I think it's a good strategy and you should stick with it.

For me, I am a no longer even in the category of timeshare addict. I am way beyond that. I am a timeshare freak of nature. I can't stop buying the great deals. I had to start a business just so that I could take more vacations and earn back capital so that I could buy more timeshares to satiate my insatiable thirst for more timeshare experiences.

Ahh, that feeling I know. That's how I ended up in the computer business.

It doesn't seem that long ago you were a newbie here at TUG but you have to have had one of the fastest learning curves ever! That's what being excited about something can do. As always I appreciate your comments and best wishes on continued success of your business addiction.
 

Zac495

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For sure.

It's just human nature, however, for people to accept -- to take for granted -- what they already have as merely a baseline from which to go out & get more & more & better & better, no matter how well off they may be.

Madison Avenue drives us farther in that direction through advertising.

The corporate barons of General Motors based their original business plan on that aspect of human nature. You know, start'm out driving Chevies, but make'm want to move up to Pontiacs as soon as they can. Get'm to hanker for Oldsmobiles & salivate over Buicks. The top of the aspirational heap was Cadillac.

My late father (1916-2002) bought into that. He was a Chevy-driving man till 1957, when he bought his 1st Buick, a 3-porthole black 4-door DynaFlo Special. Dad moved right on up the Buick ladder to Electra 225 & later Park Avenue before attaining his life-long automotive aspiration -- a 1995 Cadillac deVille, fire-engine red. (His 2nd wife bought him a Rolls Royce, which he drove around for a few months. After he discovered you can't properly drive a Rolls to the supermarket or the dry cleaner, etc., or anyplace much except to the club, he got rid of the Rolls & sprang for his Caddy.)

I have observed lately, right here on the virtual pages of TUG-BBS, that the gulf separating the high-end timeshare owners from the rest of us may be even wider than the great divide between the full-freight buyers & us bottom-feeding bargain hunters. Do you suppose the timeshare companies are trying to ratchet us all up to the interval-ownership equivalent of Cadillac SUVs ?

If so, TUG is the antidote.

In any case, in times like these I am grateful not to be in debt, not to aspire to get stuff I can't afford, & to enjoy the things that I already have in such abundance. (I have so many horns that it's semi-embarrassing.)

I am astonished over how much I enjoy (resale) timesharing -- not only for being able to luxuriate in upscale vacation surroundings at Motel 6 & Super 8 rates, but also for the vicarious year-round enjoyment I get via TUG-BBS & the Yahoo timeshare "group" I participate in. I never would have expected it. I buy a (resale) timeshare in 2002, & now my whole life is spelled out on the pages of TUG-BBS & I have acquired warm Internet friendships with others who hold forth here as well.

To all my TUG-BBS friends, Thank You.

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

Oh my gosh! What a nice post!!!!!
 
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