Cheap Silver/White Week for Trading (2008 thread)

[dioxide45]

I agree, and in fact was looking at a Branson Gold or Plat. The recent thread (resurgence I should say) on the new internal exchange system has me rethinking this for now. I can assure you, I have no desire to go to Branson again, so while I think it is a great buy for trading, I would not want to be stuck with it if for some reason I choose not to join a new internal exchange program (cost-prohibitive to join for resale owners). It is not somewhere I would want to visit every year or eoy for that matter.

Just somethings to consider.

While I don't think Branson may be the best choice, Harbour Lake may be a good option, cheapest would be gold and they would be a decent trader likely on par with MGV. You don't see very many of them go through E-Bay though. I wouldn't have an issue going to Orlando every year in addition to our MGV week, though I don't think I would actually want to stay at Harbour Lake (did it once, no thanks). It may be a good trader barring any new system Marriott may employ.

 

[indyhorizons]

While I don't think Branson may be the best choice, Harbour Lake may be a good option, cheapest would be gold and they would be a decent trader likely on par with MGV. You don't see very many of them go through E-Bay though. I wouldn't have an issue going to Orlando every year in addition to our MGV week, though I don't think I would actually want to stay at Harbour Lake (did it once, no thanks). It may be a good trader barring any new system Marriott may employ.

I already own a Platinum week at Harbour Lake. This has proven to be a strong trader for us, we went to Ko Olina this yr in June, and have gotten trades to NCV (April); Ocean Watch (June) Marbella (Flex-change); Desert Springs (April); Ocean Pointe (June); Surf Club (June) All of these trades happened within months of depositing our week. Only the Marbella trade happened during flex-change. We have been happy with the results of our exchanges with this resort.

 

[Dean]

I am quite surprised at what silver Branson weeks have been going for on E-Bay lately.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310156618048

I don't know if these still meet the criteria as a cheap week. I wouldn't expect them to go for as much as they do. Some in the past ended with very vew bids for less than $500. Apparently someone wanted this one real bad.

Normally I would say that is a cheap week but given the specifics now where that price will get you close to a Gold or even Platinum week, likely not right now. Especially when you figure that closing the the same regardless. It's a little better than you wouldn't be getting the current week and trying to scramble to use it or get value for it.

 

[dioxide45]

Surprisingly here is another silver week that only went for about ~$500. Though the zero feedback seller and short auction duration probably didn't help.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250481108200

 

[brianfox]

Surprisingly here is another silver week that only went for about ~$500. Though the zero feedback seller and short auction duration probably didn't help.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250481108200

It also didn't help that they just had "Horizon" in the title and not "Branson".

 

[dioxide45]

It also didn't help that they just had "Horizon" in the title and not "Branson".

But there are only two resorts that this could have been Harbour Lake or Branson. Harbour Lake usually sells for a higher premium than Branson. So I still wonder why the low final auction price.

 

[Dean]

But there are only two resorts that this could have been Harbour Lake or Branson. Harbour Lake usually sells for a higher premium than Branson. So I still wonder why the low final auction price.

I was thinking it was about right to high given that with closing it would be around $1K total plus the next years week is coming up in only a few months reducing the options and trading power. IMO, this was only a good deal for one who intended to use it exclusively for easy to get options like Orlando, in flexchange, or someone who could use it otherwise but their main goal was to take advantage of the 13 month reservation option at another resort.

 

[brianfox]

Evidently, the "cheap" Branson week ain't so cheap these days. A Silver Marriott Branson just ended on EBay for $1225

Less than a week ago an identical week went for $504. That had been the fair market average for a silver week for several months.

I had my snipe bid for today's auction set for $550. Within the final minute it was bid to $500, then to $999, then to $1200, then to $1225. This was between two bidders willing to pay in the thousand dollar range. Incredible.

 

[Dean]

Evidently, the "cheap" Branson week ain't so cheap these days. A Silver Marriott Branson just ended on EBay for $1225

Less than a week ago an identical week went for $504. That had been the fair market average for a silver week for several months.

I had my snipe bid for today's auction set for $550. Within the final minute it was bid to $500, then to $999, then to $1200, then to $1225. This was between two bidders willing to pay in the thousand dollar range. Incredible.

ebay is always confusing. One item may go for X price, the next identical item might go for 2 or 3 times X and then the next one might be the cheapest of all 3. It just depends on who's looking at bidding and to a degree, on whether shill bidding is employed. The who's looking and why is very important, esp for Branson. IMO, the reason is that often one is trying to find something to use both for trading but also to combine with the 13 month reservation window. If the latter is the case, they're looking for a specific range of weeks. And for those who are more informed, the seller and rating information makes a difference as well. We'll see what the Gold week goes for, it should be barely more than the Silver one but you never know.

 

[dioxide45]

I think the zero seller feedback of the older auction really led to its low ending bid. I am still surprised at the high selling bids of some of these Branson silver weeks.

 

[dioxide45]

We'll see what the Gold week goes for, it should be barely more than the Silver one but you never know.

It looks like the gold week went for less than the silver.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390083602425

 

[brianfox]

It looks like the gold week went for less than the silver.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390083602425

Gee...I can hardly wait to see a Platinum go for less than a gold!

 

[Dean]

Gee...I can hardly wait to see a Platinum go for less than a gold!

The last EOY platinum I saw went for more than the last EY Platinum that I am aware of.

 

[dioxide45]

Harbour Lake Plat

Here is a Harbour Lake Plat that went for a little over $3500. There is a gold that I won't link to that looks like it may go for more than the Plat. I am surprised at how high some of these weeks are selling for at the moment on Ebay. It seems that Harbour Lake seems to garner much higher prices than Horizons Branson.

 

[dioxide45]

That gold went for a little over $3000. Not a real great deal IMO. It appears that the gold MGV weeks are going for about the same as the Platinum Harbour Lake.

Any explanation for the cost difference between MGV and Harbour Lake. I would think that they trade about equally.

Here is a recently ended auction for gold MGV that sold for ~$3600. Seeing that we paid about $7500 for a gold MGV back in 2007, I wince when I see this.

 

[m61376]

Here is a recently ended auction for gold MGV that sold for ~$3600. Seeing that we paid about $7500 for a gold MGV back in 2007, I wince when I see this.

But think of the great vacations you've had in the interim. Those 3 years of vacations were probably worth the extra $3900. Besides, we can all say that it would have been nice to have had a crystal ball- but I am glad I didn't and bought in 2006, because I have priceless memories.

 

[dioxide45]

But think of the great vacations you've had in the interim. Those 3 years of vacations were probably worth the extra $3900. Besides, we can all say that it would have been nice to have had a crystal ball- but I am glad I didn't and bought in 2006, because I have priceless memories.

This is true. We have had great vacations out of the four use years. Heading to Orlando again in less than a week and access to the II getaways has been great.

 

[Dean]

I would expect they'd trade about the same for many weeks but not for others. I think the off season weeks for Branson will be lower trade power than HL but for a lower up front and yearly fee. Branson is likely higher trade power for select weeks in Platinum though. I think the real explanation as to the price difference is the same one you hear on sales tours, Orlando has a higher demand, and even though it doesn't make up for the supply, it does affect the way many people look at it when thinking of buying. More know Orlando better and also think they may use it sometime and now that DVC is not with II, there isn't that additional block some had with owning in Orlando to trade.

 

[dioxide45]

I think we found our week.

I have been waiting until the transfer and all paperwork was complete. I think we found our cheap week for trading. Though we may have done better than originally expected when I initiated this thread.

We won this Ebay auction for an annual gold week at Marriott's Harbour Lake. We were very impressed with the time to transfer the week in to our names. Total time from auction end to recognized by Marriott is 60 days.

Intervalmax does a double close, so they transfer the unit in to their name and then in to the buyers name. This explains the $240 resort transfer fee they charge for Marriott weeks. Given the winning bid price of $809.99 we felt the higher transfer fee and closing costs were worth it. Total cost out the door including all fees was about $1475.00

Our approximate time-line is as follows
Auction Completed: 7/16/2009
Payment Sent: 7/17/2009
Closing Information Sent: 7/20/2009
Deed Recorded: 9/1/2009
Transfer Documentation Sent to Marriott: 9/3/2009
Original Recorded Deed Received: 9/14/2009
Resort Added On-line: 9/14/2009

Marriott's turnaround time has decreased drastically. This is great news for those buying resale at this time.

 

[ldanna]

I have been waiting until the transfer and all paperwork was complete. I think we found our cheap week for trading. Though we may have done better than originally expected when I initiated this thread.

We won this Ebay auction for an annual gold week at Marriott's Harbour Lake. We were very impressed with the time to transfer the week in to our names. Total time from auction end to recognized by Marriott is 60 days.

Congratulations!!. Great week at a fantastic price. It should trade as good as your Gold MGV. BTW, the eBay auction say it's not a lockoff, but is it true or all Harbour Lake units are lockoffs first come first served units?

 

[Stefa]

Congratulations!!. Great week at a fantastic price. It should trade as good as your Gold MGV. BTW, the eBay auction say it's not a lockoff, but is it true or all Harbour Lake units are lockoffs first come first served units?

I believe Horizons at Branson works that way. My understanding is that Horizons Orlando has dedicated lockoffs and non-lockoffs and that it is not first come, first served.

 

[dioxide45]

Congratulations!!. Great week at a fantastic price. It should trade as good as your Gold MGV. BTW, the eBay auction say it's not a lockoff, but is it true or all Harbour Lake units are lockoffs first come first served units?

The actual unit that was sold was not a lock off unit. Harbour Lake has only 48 lock off units in the newer buildings. The older buildings are not lock off units.

I wasn't 100% sure when bidding that it could or could not be locked off. I bid thinking it wasn't a lock off. It also appears lock offs are not always easy to score at Harbour Lake since they are first come first serve and limited in quantity.

I think Terry (thinze3) bought a week from Intervalmax (Beach Place Towers) that was listed in the ad as a non lock off but all Beach Place Towers units are indeed lock off capable. Guess that is possible with the Harbour Lake week we purchased.

 

[Dean]

I believe Horizons at Branson works that way. My understanding is that Horizons Orlando has dedicated lockoffs and non-lockoffs and that it is not first come, first served.

My understanding is they are treated the same and you can l/o if available. As noted, there may not be much availability due to the limited numbers. The 13 month priority window and Thursday start date should help tremendously.

 

[dioxide45]

Here is another auction that just ended today where a Harbour Lake gold week sold for under $1K. This was an individual selling their own week. From reading the questions it seems they weren't real sure what they were selling and also indicated that it wasn't a lock off. They indicated that 2010 was available, but indicated in another answer that they deposited for points but since Marriott hadn't deposited the points yet, the 2010 week was still available.

It would be a bummer to buy it and end up having to pay those 2010 fees when they came due and be stuck without usage until 2011 because the seller got points for 2010.

With being able to use your own closing agent and only the single transfer fee, this would have come out close to if not under what we paid in the end for our recent Harbour Lake purchase.

 

[thinze3]

Sorry - I'm a little late to the party.

This is exactly what happened to me at BeachPlace. The preious owner had already traded their '09 week for points. We didn't find out about it until after closing when I called Marriott and tried to make a reservation. Intervalmax sent me a refund for the '09 MF's. All in all, it worked out better because all the good weeks were already booked for '09.

One good thing about Intervalmax having mistakes in their eBay listings is the fact that the final price is usually a little bit cheaper.

Congrats on the purchase!