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.
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.