Maybe it's too much to expect of the
Checkbook Magazine folks, but it will be great if they follow up their series exposing details of the various scams aimed at timeshare owners with an equally detailed series about how to enjoy timeshare vacationing without getting victimized, starting with the plain truth that getting high-pressured into buying at full price is not the only pathway to timeshare ownership.
At a minimum, it would be helpful for the magazine to point out a few harsh realities
. . .
1. There's no such thing as a new timeshare -- by the time the owners check in, they're all used.
2. Retail timeshare prices (what the resort sales people charge) have no relation to real-world open market values.
3. Even if retail timeshare prices go up, it is not realistic to expect open-market timeshare values to rise.
4. Real-world value of most timeshares is a few hundred dollars at most & many units are worth nothing.
5. People interested in the idea of owning a timeshare need to look before they commit so they're not flying blind.
6. The timeshare sellers pray you won't find out about the realities until you are on the hook. Then you are stuck.
7. Timeshare vacationing can be rewarding & fun, without breaking the bank, if
-- IF -- you know what you're doing.
In view of how tricky & complicated it can be to navigate the realities of timeshares & timesharing,
Checkbook Magazine should not be expected to lay it all out with the level of detail available on TUG. But it is not too much to expect a pro-consumer magazine article on the subject to point interested readers to TUG & TUG-BBS.
Meanwhile, hats off to
Checkbook Magazine for their series of articles blowing the whistle on the "timeshare exit" hornswoggles & the "timeshare cancellation" bamboozles.
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
