52 Shares, Inc.?? - Craig Washburn as agent

[infamazz]

Hi all,

Just browsing the resale boards and came across what looks like a good deal on a unit being sold by Craig Washburn of 52 Shares, Inc. After some research, I couldn't find any reviews on 52 Shares inc, so I'm assuming it's relatively new. This worries me somewhat since I know from reading on these boards that disreputable timeshare agencies often change names when they get enough bad press.

I also found that the agent Craig Washburn used to work for Timeshare Broker Services. I found a thread on TUG that references that agency, and the reviews were less than stellar from the seller side, but seemingly positive from the buyer side.

Please let me know if anyone has heard of either 52 Shares Inc, or has done business with Craig Washburn and has an opinion on them. Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[NEGreyhound]

Good experience

I bought my latest TS through this company by way of ebay. In the esstoppel letter the description of the available weeks was not the same as was advertised. 52 shares eventually cleared up the reason for the descrepency with the previous owner. I was able to negotiate a better purchase price with all closing costs paid by the seller with the assistance of 52 share based on the discrepency of weeks unit was available.
Everything was completed in a timely manner and communication with the company was good.
A problem with occurred with *wood supposidly not receiving a copy of the deed. It was quickly fixed and ownership is now in my name.
From start to finish the work that 52 shares did on my behalf was very good. The whole process took about 3 months because of conflicts in weeks available and weeks listed on esstoppel, further negotiations and the loss of the copy of the deed by *wood.:annoyed:

 

[VacationsPro]

My personal experience with 52 Shares has been less than professional. They lied about the week being sold. I found out that they own 90% of the inventory through a 3rd party affiliate and make up their own pricing and keep all the cost on top of their commissions, and were forging documents to make the sales happen within a timely manner. Although technically legal it's unethical in my opinion. The company is very shady along with all the subsidiaries. Their turnover rate is abhorrent and every time I called in to speak to someone I found out that they were "no longer" with the company. Just didn't feel safe investing my hard earned money into a seedy company. There are more reputable timeshare companies out there. I would suggest going with them. :ignore:

 

[Saintsfanfl]

My personal experience with 52 Shares has been less than professional. They lied about the week being sold. I found out that they own 90% of the inventory through a 3rd party affiliate and make up their own pricing and keep all the cost on top of their commissions, and were forging documents to make the sales happen within a timely manner. Although technically legal it's unethical in my opinion. The company is very shady along with all the subsidiaries. Their turnover rate is abhorrent and every time I called in to speak to someone I found out that they were "no longer" with the company. Just didn't feel safe investing my hard earned money into a seedy company. There are more reputable timeshare companies out there. I would suggest going with them. :ignore:

Since when is forging documents "technically legal"?

Ethical debates aside, this is how almost all PCC companies operate. They rape the seller but give a good deal to the buyer. This is the only way they can stay in business.

There are a few companies that operate on commission based only and do not charge an upfront fee. The problem is they only deal in timeshares that are worth at least as much as the commission, which is usually $800 or more. That excludes the vast majority of the timeshare market.

 

[SueDonJ]

Note, thread moved.

 

[iamnotshopgirl]

Please let me know if anyone has heard of either 52 Shares Inc, or has done business with Craig Washburn and has an opinion on them. Thank you in advance for any help!

I am constantly looking at Ebay regarding resale units. I was looking at a couple of the bigger companies that list timeshares for sale and contacted them regarding selling a couple of my timeshares. Like you I found limited data on the company, 52 Shares, but went with their 100% positive feedback based on 30 sells. I contacted Craig Washburn and we communicated back and forth by email & telephone. About a month ago I listed with him (52 Shares). I paid no up front charges. We settled on a commission that although is high I can live with. He takes his advertising fees from his commission. He has been told what my bottom line is and to call me with any offers close to that number. I can cancel with him at any time. I think the communication and the understanding of what I want to do is clear and to date I have had no problems with the company or him.

bob

 

[Rent_Share]

About a month ago I listed with him (52 Shares). I paid no up front charges. We settled on a commission that although is high I can live with. He takes his advertising fees from his commission. He has been told what my bottom line is and to call me with any offers close to that number. I can cancel with him at any time. I think the communication and the understanding of what I want to do is clear and to date I have had no problems with the company or him.

bob

There are very few timeshare's that have value:

Most Marriotts, DVC, Hyatt, Westin (Not All Locations/Seasons)

You should disclose that you are a Marriott owner, when posting that you have negotiated a contingency based commission on one of the few brands/location that has a re-sale price high enough to even generate a gross price high enough to deduct a commision.

That certainly does not apply to 90 - 95 % of the intervals for sale.

 

[iamnotshopgirl]

Hey David I answered the OP question...period . See his quote in my post. Yes, I am a Marriott Owner what I own is listed on the left under my user name for everyone to see. Obviously, you saw it. So since I can not do any advertising for selling on this board (except in the marketplace) I left what I am selling out. So David out of my five Marriott weeks that I own can you figure out what has "value"? Good guess!

Bob