[2010] Ebay Seller - Sumday Vacations – Jeff Brown

[frank808]

I also have had a bad experience with Sumday. Bought Wyndham weeks for Star Island that was advertised that could be enrolled with II. I even called and verified the fact that I could enroll in II since most Wyndham points are RCI only. Bid and won the points. Finally get my deed in about 2 months and tried to enroll with II but was told not possible. I am like what the hell so call Sumday up the next day. Was told that I can only use it for RCI. I said that is not what the ad said and told them to read the ad on Ebay. After verifying the ad did have II as the trading company, they said someone would contact me back. A week later someone calls back and said that they made a mistake and I would have to use RCI. I told them I did not want it then and would like them to take it back. Person told me that he could not authorize it and have to ask the boss and get back to me. I say fine and please call me back asap. Fast forward a few days later and was told that the info was provided by the seller so they would not take the week back. I was not happy to say the least. Told them I would call back later as I needed to calm down. The next day I got an email from Jeff Brown saying that they would not take the week back as it is now in my name. But he did offer to refund me the full price I paid. Called back and told them I have no use for the week in RCI. Was told that I could take the refund and keep the points as there was no way I could get them to take the timeshare back. After 3 weeks of arguing back and forth I just took the refund. Definetly did not live up to their 100% guarantee in the add that they guarantee the information to be correct.

 

[foreverloves]

Good experience

We bought a Marriott week from them off their website and it went really well. Closing was fast; less than a month. They do cut some corners - for instance, they seem to file deeds simultaneously when they request ROFR from Marriott. This is because Marriott almost never exercises ROFR, but it's not in the correct order and I had a problem initially getting Marriott to recognize me as an owner. The problem was remedied quickly (less than a week) and they helped me out quite a bit. Also, at least their "in store" (website) purchases included the closing costs so it was very competitive. I would use them again.

 

[ada903]

I bought an eBay week from him and it turned out it was silver and not plat, he was very professional and refunded me the payment within 24 hours.

 

[theo]

More details, please...

I bought an eBay week from him and it turned out it was silver and not plat, he was very professional and refunded me the payment within 24 hours.

...But did he still force you to keep the ownership which was "other than advertised" anyhow?

 

[ada903]

No, he verified all the details of the week before sending it to recording and we canceled the transaction. I saw the relisted week with the correct info!

 

[frank808]

I wish they took the misrepresented week back. My problem was I called to verify with sumday that it was indeed with II. Told yes it was. When I called to pay for it I asked a second time and they verified that it was trading thru II. When I finally got the recorded deed and called to enroll in II I was told it was only thru RCI. At first they denied that it was tradeable thru II and the week could only be traded thru RCI. I showed them their ebay ad that they stated it would trade thru II. Even after showing them the ad they told me it was not their fault and refused to take it back. After much discussion back and forth they finally said they would be willing to give me a refund. I said I don't want the week and they said tough it's already in my name. That is what left the sour taste in my mouth about Sumday vacations and Jeff Brown. They did not do what is right.

 

[jatco]

Would you be willing to share what you paid Sumday to take it off your hands? Also, what happens if Sumday posts it on eBay and it doesn't sell? I'd appreciate the info please.

...The going rate, from what we've experienced with other 'Sellers' -
.
We were under the impression that Sumday would be taking over ownership when we signed up with a 'developer' in PVR..as part of their deal..!
.
And I haven't thought about the eBay scenerio..and that that, would a route for their sales methods. So I guess I'll be looking there.
.
We just want out..from under this impulsive purchase that we can never use...!

 

[charlottenian]

Jeff Brown has been helping me through with the Tahiti Village Bora Bora purchase and thus far everything appears to be going smooth.

 

[jatco]

Jeff Brown received my payment and all paperwork and has now passed me over to a Rob Toolen as my contact. When I asked Rob what their practices are, he said " .. we sell to the public and to wholesalers. Sorry but I am not on the sales side." - so I'm not sure what part he plays in the 'selling' process?!?!

 

[antjmar]

I recently made a purchase thru e-bay (sumday vacations) for a timeshare. The listing was not 100% accurate regarding the maint fee (like almost every listing on e-bay IMO). I emailed John about the listing error and he was responsive and we mutually agreed on what was a fair solution. Overall I was happy with the transaction and the paperwork was completed quickly.

 

[ace2000]

I recently made a purchase thru e-bay (sumday vacations) for a timeshare. The listing was not 100% accurate regarding the maint fee (like almost every listing on e-bay IMO). I emailed John about the listing error and he was responsive and we mutually agreed on what was a fair solution. Overall I was happy with the transaction and the paperwork was completed quickly.

I will assume that you caught it before you sent him the money. In that case, they really had no choice. In the eBay system, you had the upper hand. I do realize, at least now, that due diligence applies here.

Live and learn, but again it comes down to doing what is right. Now, they'll have to put up with me telling about my Sumday incident whenever asked.

 

[antjmar]

I will assume that you caught it before you sent him the money. In that case, they really had no choice. In the eBay system, you had the upper hand. I do realize, at least now, that due diligence applies here.

Live and learn, but again it comes down to doing what is right. Now, they'll have to put up with me telling about my Sumday incident whenever asked.

Actually, I had paid in full via paypal (same here live and learn). Yes, I think e-bay gives a slight upperhand. Unfortunately I have found based on my 2 ebay transactions that the sellers are all about volume not accuracy. Good deals are out there but one need to do his own research... Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[JeffBrown]

Confused too!

I had never purchased (or ever even bid on) a timeshare via eBay before the experience below (or since, for that matter)...

When I saw a particular Key West week (listed by SumDay Vacations) that interested me some months back, I placed a bid via a "sniping service". When the auction ended, I had not won, despite the fact that my bid was nearly one thousand dollars higher than the "winning" bid. I was confused, to say the least...

I inquired further of eBay and was advised that I had been "blocked" by the seller, so my bid had been rejected and not processed. Having never before contacted (or ever even heard of) this seller, having never before bid on a timeshare on eBay, and having a 100% rating on all my other eBay purchases, I contacted SumDay Vacations for an explanation of the "rejection" of my bid. Someone there named John Kushman gave me a rather nasty (and factually incorrect) lecture / explanation about my "probably having failed to honor previous timeshare bids on eBay" (...again, I had never before bid on any timeshares on eBay).

I wrote the bad experience off to likely being just a case of mistaken identity or a name mixup of some kind. I didn't really need this particular high maintenance fee Key West week, so I certainly didn't lose any sleep over this very strange experience.

Nonetheless, in view of the glowing accolades above for SumDay Vacations, I feel obliged to weigh in with my own very different (...and certainly much less positive) direct personal experience with them.

Theo,
I don't think the listing you are referring to was a Sumday Vacations listing. Unless there is someone out there that has copied my logo, etc. for their ebay listings. Can you please send me the ebay item number you are referring to so that I can check.

The person you reference, John Kushman, is not and never has been staff at Sumday Vacations but I do know which company he works for so having that ebay number would be quite intriguing for me and I would like to get you a correct answer to your question/statement.

 

[JeffBrown]

Some of the individuals involved with SumDay Vacations actually use a number of different names on eBay
--- and perhaps also here on TUG.

The particular "SumDay Vacations" individual with whom I had my unfortunate encounter (John Kushman) uses (or at least formerly used) the name timesharepro here on TUG.

1. I've had the name Sumday Vacations on ebay since we started selling in that format and we have never used a different name to represent ourselves on ebay. EVERY Sumday Vacations listing has our logo on the main page so you know you are looking at one of ours, not the competitors.

2. I've had the name Sumday Vacations on TUG since the day I became a member and I did not know that it was a violation of TUG rules. I was informed by Denise of that about 4 months ago and will most likely have to change my name upon my TUG renewal.

3. Again, John Kushman is not a member of Sumday Vacations staff.

4. The only person that is allowed to post on TUG for or in behalf of Sumday Vacations is me. So, if you find anyone that states they are tied to Sumday Vacations on TUG please inform me of their claim to be associated with Sumday Vacations.



Jeff

 

[theo]

Theo,
I don't think the listing you are referring to was a Sumday Vacations listing. Unless there is someone out there that has copied my logo, etc. for their ebay listings. Can you please send me the ebay item number you are referring to so that I can check.

The person you reference, John Kushman, is not and never has been staff at Sumday Vacations but I do know which company he works for so having that ebay number would be quite intriguing for me and I would like to get you a correct answer to your question/statement.

All these months later, there is certainly no way for me to retrieve that long forgotten eBay listing number. My only recollection now is that it was a fixed winter week at Coconut Beach Resort in Key West, FL. I had placed a "snipe" bid figure of just over $4k. The "winning" bid was just over $3k. That's really all of the detail I can recall at this time, except to also note that the person with whom I initially spoke in making my inquiries was named Keith Hart, who was very pleasant, but also "new" at that time. He passed my concern and inquiry "up" to John Kushman, which was when the haughty attitide, false statements and overall unpleasantness promptly commenced.

I'm not buying any more timeshares (...neither on Ebay nor anywhere else), so the matter is "water under the bridge" to me these many months later. At this belated juncture, I don't particulalrly need or want "a correct answer to my question / statement".

If John Kushman is not / was not affiliated with SumDay Vacations, then I extend both my congratulations on your good fortune --- and my own apologies if I have somehow erred in the recollection and identification of the name of the company with which I had that most unpleasant and eminently forgettable experience.

 

[JanT]

I have to say that I would be really surprised if John Kushman was trying to pass himself off as "Sumday Vacations." I have purchased two timeshares from him via Ebay with absolutely no problems at all. He actually is part of "Project Philanthropy" and I can't see him trying to pass himself off under someone else's name. I've seen him get knocked around here on TUG a bit for what some people think are questionable business practices regarding what can be written off for taxes, etc. I'm not a tax expert, CPA, or anything close to it so I'm not going to get into that argument. BUT, I can say that both of my transactions with him and Resort Closings have been stand-up in every way and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from John or to use Resort Closings again.

Theo, it's certainly possible after this many months you might have forgotten which company was actually handling the week you wanted. I'm not saying you did, just perhaps you did. As I said, I would be so surprised if John Kushman tried to pass his company off as someone else. If your bid was blocked by him that is even stranger!!!

 

[theo]

Your mileage apparently varies...

Theo, it's certainly possible after this many months you might have forgotten which company was actually handling the week you wanted. I'm not saying you did, just perhaps you did. As I said, I would be so surprised if John Kushman tried to pass his company off as someone else. If your bid was blocked by him that is even stranger!!!

For the record, I have believed / recalled all along that it was SumDay Vacations with which I had this encounter with Mr. Kushman; it is not a matter of "foggy memory". That said, I readily admit that my memory could also just be oututright mistaken. Mr. Kushman openly admitted at one point in our communications having "blocked" my (...one and only ever...) eBay timeshare bid. His facts and logic were flawed and completely inaccurate, but he did offer an explanation, albeit one which was weak and completely unconvincing.

John Kushman was a rude horses's ass to me, plainly and simply and honestly stated. No matter what entity he may have been associated with, he was arrogant, hostile, insulting --- and factually incorrect in his assertions. I even subsequently tried to go over his head to complain directly to James Tarpey (who owns / runs Resort Closings) , but Mr. Tarpey did not ever see fit to return any of my (three separate) voice mails requesting return contact and clarification regarding my experience.

I'm glad for you that your own encounter with John Kushman was apparently quite different than mine, but my own experience is nonetheless quite clearly and permanently engraved in memory. It's water under the bridge now anyhow; not getting that week saved me from an exorbitant annual maintenance fee I may very well have later regretted incurring at all in the first place.

 

[6scoops]

Sumday vacations

I bought my Oceana Palms gold season directly from their website. I had a great experience and will use them again for sure.

 

[JanT]

Theo,

I'm really sorry you had such a terrible experience. I'm not going to bat for anyone, including John Kushman or Resort Closings. I'm just providing my experience with them. And seriously, if John was that rude, etc. to you there is no excuse for that and that is no way to run a business. I do not blame you for having a really sour taste in your mouth for that transaction if it happened as you say it did and I'm not saying it didn't. How bizarre that he "blocked" your bid. What the heck is up with that???? Anyway, I'm really sorry about your experience with that transaction - no matter who it was!

Jan

For the record, I have believed / recalled all along that it was SumDay Vacations with which I had this encounter with Mr. Kushman; it is not a matter of "foggy memory". That said, I readily admit that my memory could also just be oututright mistaken. Mr. Kushman openly admitted at one point in our communications having "blocked" my (...one and only ever...) eBay timeshare bid. His facts and logic were flawed and completely inaccurate, but he did offer an explanation, albeit one which was weak and completely unconvincing.

John Kushman was a rude horses's ass to me, plainly and simply and honestly stated. No matter what entity he may have been associated with, he was arrogant, hostile, insulting --- and factually incorrect in his assertions. I even subsequently tried to go over his head to complain directly to James Tarpey (who owns / runs Resort Closings) , but Mr. Tarpey did not ever see fit to return any of my (three separate) voice mails requesting return contact and clarification regarding my experience.

I'm glad for you that your own encounter with John Kushman was apparently quite different than mine, but my own experience is nonetheless quite clearly and permanently engraved in memory. It's water under the bridge now anyhow; not getting that week saved me from an exorbitant annual maintenance fee I may very well have later regretted incurring at all in the first place.

 

[theo]

Your mileage apparently varies...

inadvertent duplicate of previous post deleted here...

 

[theo]

No harm, no foul...

How bizarre that he "blocked" your bid. What the heck is up with that????

As stated in an earlier post within this thread, I have to believe that it was simply a case of mistaken identity or a "name mixup" of some kind. With absolutely no prior timeshare bid history, no other explanation really fits. In the end, no real harm was done; I still go to Key West each year, but stay in different places --- for not much more $$ than the annual maint. fee that I would have inherited if I had "won"...

 

[rickandcindy23]

For the record, I have believed / recalled all along that it was SumDay Vacations with which I had this encounter with Mr. Kushman; it is not a matter of "foggy memory". That said, I readily admit that my memory could also just be oututright mistaken. Mr. Kushman openly admitted at one point in our communications having "blocked" my (...one and only ever...) eBay timeshare bid. His facts and logic were flawed and completely inaccurate, but he did offer an explanation, albeit one which was weak and completely unconvincing.

John Kushman was a rude horses's ass to me, plainly and simply and honestly stated. No matter what entity he may have been associated with, he was arrogant, hostile, insulting --- and factually incorrect in his assertions. I even subsequently tried to go over his head to complain directly to James Tarpey (who owns / runs Resort Closings) , but Mr. Tarpey did not ever see fit to return any of my (three separate) voice mails requesting return contact and clarification regarding my experience.

I'm glad for you that your own encounter with John Kushman was apparently quite different than mine, but my own experience is nonetheless quite clearly and permanently engraved in memory. It's water under the bridge now anyhow; not getting that week saved me from an exorbitant annual maintenance fee I may very well have later regretted incurring at all in the first place.

John Kushman is with the company in Montana that sells for Donate For a Cause, and he is not with Sumday. I purchased a Blue Ridge Village week 23 from John Kushman and still have our email conversations. He was never with Sumday. He was good to me in all of my dealings, so I cannot say anything negative, but I can assure you, Sumday is a new company, and John has been around longer.

I will buy from Sumday whenever possible.

 

[ace2000]

I will buy from Sumday whenever possible.

First, I clicked on the Better Business Bureau link above and was amazed to see Sumday's rating currently at a B-. A year ago, it was sitting at an F grade. I applaud your company for that and give you credit for that Jeff.

Now for this post, very strange. Cindy, you were the worst enemy of the PCCs like this one, about two years ago, and were posting all over TUG how evil these companies were. You even said they should all be closed down. Now you're doing a cheerleader dance for one of them? Wow! Guess you decided... if you can't beat 'em, join 'em?

These examples prove how people can change over a short period of time. Fascinating...

 

[frank808]

Does sumday want to respond to my post?

 

[ace2000]

Does sumday want to respond to my post?

Frank, I got stuck in similar fashion also. I'm not holding my breath on this one. First, they don't require a signature. If you win the bid, you provide the information and they quickly sign the deed over to your name. If any of the information is wrong in their ad, and you find out about it later, it's too bad. That's just the way Jeff does business.