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e-bay purchase

karenns

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I am in the middle of a timeshare purchase of a well known Florida resort off of e-bay. The price was excellent and I was told only a $325 fee to close. I checked out both the seller (in Mexico) and the closing company (in Florida) through exhaustive searches on time share sites and google etc and could find nothing averse on either. Now I have been told the resort transfer fee is now $295 but the seller thought it was $0, but that it just changed due to a change of ownership with the resort. We agreed to same, then the closing company contacted to say the estoppel fee that we paid $25 for (service fee) that we had been told was free, was actually then it was $50 and now she says it is $100. I had independently contacted the resort management company and they have stated their transfer fee used to be $0 but has gone up to $250, but they don't charge for an estoppel. Am i being scammed somehow? My money is in escrow we have only sent the original amounts. The price was, as I said, excellent and it was for a resort that we have been to several times and it is our favorite place to stay in Florida.
 
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presley

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It sounds like bait and switch if you ask me. You agreed to what they had advertised. Ebay would not like them changing fees after you won the auction.
 

ampaholic

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eBay timeshare auctions are not binding - you can back out with no ding from eBay.

If you have sent some money - ask for it back. Any reputable seller will refund under this change in circumstances.
 

JohnPaul

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Vacation Internationale, HGVC - NYC, Worldmark, Shell Vacations, Sedona Pines, RCI Points, Starwood (Avon, CO)
Do you still want it?

It seems to me that it boils down to your alternatives.

Are you happy backing out of the whole deal?

Is it still a really good deal even with the various increase costs?

Can you negotiate with the seller to split the cost increases?
 

ronparise

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It sounds like you want this, even if it costs a little more that you thought you would have to pay.

if you want it and the total price is still fair and if you wont regret the decision...Id go for it

This is the reason I stay away from certain of the big ebay sellers and all of the individuals....(often times they really dont know what they are selling)...unless I really , really want it and unless I know the resort and their policies better than they do.
 
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am1

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Ask if they will honour the original contract that you signed and or what was listed in the eBay purchase.
 

carl2591

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Joined TUG '96, Wyndham Grand Palms AKA, Presidential Villas at Plantation Resort, 3 bed lockout.
sounds like the Wyndham transfer fee.. how new is that? maybe the seller was not aware of the recent? change. (gota love wyndham always changing, for the bad it seems)

either way it still sounds like a good deal.


have you check the seller name on TUG or on google?
 

karenns

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It is Mystic Dunes and it is a good deal and they were just taken over by Diamond Resorts. Altogether, if they don't add any more fees (although I have been told by seller that if anything else comes up he will pay them) we are getting a 3 bedroom lock off for $770 everything in. He is also giving us some membership in some travel club that we only pay for based on actual usage.
 

theo

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Maybe just unlucky timing...

I am in the middle of a timeshare purchase of a well known Florida resort off of e-bay. The price was excellent and I was told only a $325 fee to close. I checked out both the seller (in Mexico) and the closing company (in Florida) through exhaustive searches on time share sites and google etc and could find nothing averse on either. Now I have been told the resort transfer fee is now $295 but the seller thought it was $0, but that it just changed due to a change of ownership with the resort. We agreed to same, then the closing company contacted to say the estoppel fee that we paid $25 for (service fee) that we had been told was free, was actually then it was $50 and now she says it is $100. I had independently contacted the resort management company and they have stated their transfer fee used to be $0 but has gone up to $250, but they don't charge for an estoppel. Am i being scammed somehow? My money is in escrow we have only sent the original amounts. The price was, as I said, excellent and it was for a resort that we have been to several times and it is our favorite place to stay in Florida.

Estoppel letter fee is generally established and imposed by the closing company, not by the resort or its' management company (unlike a transfer fee, which is indeed resort-identified and imposed).

I see some unfortunate timing here, but no significant signs of "scam" (..although I would question the $45 "mismatch" between the resort vs. closing company cites of the transfer fee amount). I also wonder if the closing company is one with an actual track record of performance and successful closings. "No negative info from a few searches" would not be good enough for me --- this could be their very first (attempted) closing!

It is common for eBay resellers to have incorrect and /or obsolete info in their listings, about which they often know very little actual or current details. If you are comfortable that the specific week / unit i.d. / unit size have all been precisely and accurately identified and the "new" total cost is still palatable for something you really want (as seems to be the case from your post), then I'd be inclined to just swallow hard, pay the extra money and proceed. You can just back out of this non-binding auction (with inaccurate content) entirely, but pursuing that route obviously won't achieve the objective of acquiring a week you want.

P.S. I'd be concerned about the unidentified "travel club membership" being thrown in with the deal.
This "club membership" may well have hidden (and / or future) costs. It may also be something which essentially only provides overpriced access to excess "junk" inventory you would never want to use anyhow. In short, this "travel club membership" may very well be something you really want nothing to do with, now or in the future. Do you even have an option to decline the "mystery membership" component of the deal?
There is no "free lunch"; there may be a devil in the details of this "mystery travel club" membership. :shrug:
 
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