Aruba Surf Club EBay sale

[RandR]

Am I reading this right? It looks like this auction ended on Wednesday and a 2 BR, gold, garden view just went for $5900. I know it is a garden view but seriously, $5900?
http://cgi.ebay.com/MARRIOTT-ARUBA-SURF-GOLF-PALM-BEACH-CARIBBEAN-TIMESHARE_W0QQitemZ160372114590QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTimeshares?hash=item2556ec449e

 

[gmarine]

Part of the reason it probably sold so low was the seller doesnt have the greatest feedback. Also, maintenance fees are listed at over $1200 which will keep some buyers away and the fact that they are coming due is a another negative.

 

[m61376]

That is a ridiculously low price even for this seller. Given that the 3BR which was also ridiculously low a few months ago never really existed I wonder if this will go through.

That said, until the recent flood of SC weeks from redweek4less there had only been 3 or so auctioned in the past year. Somehow this reseller bought up a slew of them and has been auctioning them off weekly for several months. It may be that, with the market as depressed as it is and the buyer base shriveled, supply over-met demand. At least for the time being, redweek4less' auctions have probably decimated the resale market for the Gold weeks. Even private sales have had to adjust accordingly due to all these Ebay weeks. However, even on the auctions they have been going for 9-12K, so this was really an aberration, which sometimes happens on Ebay. I hope a Tugger got it!

I do wonder how they got all these; perhaps they had a source to nab foreclosed weeks. It just seems funny that for the last few years there was a real dearth of these units on Ebay and now this vendor has had quite a few.

 

[RandR]

I agree that this price is probably not a good example but there has been another one that went for $9050 on Ebay recently. I guess I'll have to keep a good watch on this. Just came back from the Surf Club and it was great.

 

[timeos2]

The value, what little there was, is gone

Even the semi-knowledgeable buyer, meaning someone who has been exposed to timeshare pitch and has done enough research to find out about resales, now knows that the supply of all timeshares - it is making less and less difference what resort/brand - is SO far oversupplied with sellers that it is a buyers market never seen before. It is also becoming well known that the true cost isn't purchase but on going, never ending fees. While the very best of the best in the most desirable times will bring in a few dollars on resale the vast majority of areas and resorts -again nearly exclusive of the name or resort - are nearly worthless as a resale as owners are falling over each other to simply get out at any cost.

The ever increasing amount of rentals, at ever dropping rates, means even that method of recovering those annual fees is becoming less viable.

Face it folks the timeshare industry has taken an unprecedented hit. It is amazing any company is currently able to sell retail timeshares (although they claim they are) even as the traditionally weak resale market gets weaker and approaches total collapse. It is going to take a real shake up and rethinking of the sales as well as operation of the whole system to bring back some resale value and we all know no one is leading that fight. Instead there is more soon to be unwanted time dumped into the pipeline at retail and desperate sellers giving MILLIONS to scam artists who claim to be able to sell it (but have no way or intention of ever doing so). Hardly the picture of a healthy market.

Marriott, Hilton, et al are not immune and it is a system wide, not brand, collapse we are witnessing I fear. Don't kid yourself anymore that your week holds much value as if you try to actually sell it you will quickly discover it does not. The only real value is use and you better hope the fees are in line so it makes it a value to you.

 

[Time2Buy]

The value, what little there was, is gone

Even the semi-knowledgeable buyer, meaning someone who has been exposed to timeshare pitch and has done enough research to find out about resales, now knows that the supply of all timeshares - it is making less and less difference what resort/brand - is SO far oversupplied with sellers that it is a buyers market never seen before. It is also becoming well known that the true cost isn't purchase but on going, never ending fees. While the very best of the best in the most desirable times will bring in a few dollars on resale the vast majority of areas and resorts -again nearly exclusive of the name or resort - are nearly worthless as a resale as owners are falling over each other to simply get out at any cost.

The ever increasing amount of rentals, at ever dropping rates, means even that method of recovering those annual fees is becoming less viable.

John,

Thank you for your insight. I'm a newbie and was getting ready to pull the trigger on a resale at Ko Olina. The points that you have made make me leary about being a timeshare owner at this time or ever.

We wanted to buy at Ko Olina because the family really enjoyed it this summer and we were planning to go back year after year. Since rental rates are dropping, I can rent at rates equal to or less than the maintenance fees whenever I want to go. No need to own.

 

[m61376]

John,

Thank you for your insight. I'm a newbie and was getting ready to pull the trigger on a resale at Ko Olina. The points that you have made make me leary about being a timeshare owner at this time or ever.

We wanted to buy at Ko Olina because the family really enjoyed it this summer and we were planning to go back year after year. Since rental rates are dropping, I can rent at rates equal to or less than the maintenance fees whenever I want to go. No need to own.

John admittedly offers interesting perspectives, but to present a more balanced view perhaps you should realize that he tends to paint a more negative picture than most.

Despite the MF's there are man, many knowledgeable and very satisfied owners, who have and would buy more units, especially at these great buys. It is true that in this market rental rates have plummeted, but I expect the rates will again increase as the economy improves. The cost of especially prime weeks at prime locations will expectantly again far surpass the annual MF's as prior to the recession.

There is something to be said about the flexibility of renting, but the other side of the coin is there is also a lot to be said about owning. There have been many interesting discussions both on this forum and in the Buying, Selling and Renting forum over the past few years and you may want to do a search and garner other perspectives before making up your mind.

There is a lot to be said also for owning, with benefits in my opinion exceeding obligations- the ability to plan in advance, reserve dates you want without searching for a good rental, the security of your reservation (even a good rental always has a little bit of risk since you generally don't know the owner) and owning does force you to plan rather than one week going into the next and vacation plans falling into the "tomorrow" pile.

 

[timeos2]

fee faster than value

Unfortunately it looks like fees - especially at high end resorts operated with little owner input by the name brands- are on a pace to far exceed any possible recovery of resale pricing. Plus those high fees are annual - the resale is one time. In the big picture only the fees vs rental/owner use value really counts. You really need to want & plan to use any purchase to make it a true value now.