Fool me twice, shame on me

[Tom3928]

Well, as I said before, that's what 99% of the people who come in on the bus do. You haven't invented anything new. Just don't forget, I am the one running our little dog and pony show. You're just along for the ride, though you don't know it. You discuss it with your wife in the casinos, and on the bus, that you'll go no,no,no...but one of you will give in to give it a try. Not always, but enough to keep things going. Trust me on this. It sounds like you're part of that 99% where you or your wife came around and saw it our way. I'm sure you had a good time.

 

[Tom3928]

"I have one myself (one of the things we tell everyone), but I get a discount on the fees and bought mine on the eBay for 1 cent."

Tom, did you - a retail timeshare salesman - say that you bought resale? Would you recommend that procedure to the general public?

Hi. Yes and no. You might have to look around to find what you're looking for. If you do, buy fixed week and pay the extra for prime season because it's easier to swap and rent. Never, ever, buy points. In the end they cost way more than anything else. Believe it or not, despite all of it's detractors, they are good things for some people.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Timeshare salesperson posting on TUG about not lying but not telling the truth, either, as though that is better. It's the same thing, as my 7-year-old grandson would tell you.

We know the gig and the full repertoire of your nonsense sales spiel: "save money over hotel rooms, your price never goes up, and do you know what a motel room cost back in 1960?" And of course, "Do it for the kids and grandkids you will have someday because this timeshare is their inheritance from you."

Posting here on TUG doesn't make you better than any other timeshare salesperson. You aren't in a special category. You are just bitter because there is so much info on the net these days, your sales don't all hold up through the rescission period.

 

[Tom3928]

Hi. I'm not bitter at all. I'm just posting like everyone else. It sounds like you've been to a presentation or two.

 

[Lucca]

Well this is an interesting site. I found it while I was surfing the net. I've worked in the timeshare business as the only honest person in the whole place; I drove the bus as a part time job. Buy it or don't, I just took the folks back an forth. I know the whole thing from each end because I drove you, and listened to the pitches and the salesmen in the break room.
It's a real interesting study in how people behave. I hear them on the way out swearing that they won't buy and just want the gift, then I hear them complain about how it took them forever to get the gift and just shake my head at them.
At the same time I get to hear the salesmen talk amongst themselves between tours about how they got a mooch and punished them (they like to make you wait in the hot sun for the bus), but the also talk about their tours. They bitch about them like the mooches bitch about the wait so it evens outs that way.
Where is doesn't even out are the sales. If I'm in the right place I see them high-fiving and laughing their asses off. Along with the successful mooches, I hear at least one couple on each ride back priding themselves and figuring out the best way to use their new purchase.

Bottom line: The successful mooches have no right to complain because things took so long. For those that I hear talking about their purchase on the way back-what the hell were you thinking!! Read the contract and get out of it. Timeshares are good so long as you're the renter-never be an owner.

 

[Lucca]

I just don't get how this is legal? Can anyone think of anything else that is sold for such a high price that you immediately couldn't sell for $1? For me that should be criminal.

We bought 4 direct Marriott TSs for a total of $124k. We did receive about $25k in Marriott points but still these units would only sell for probably $60k now so we have about a $40k delta that we'll need to make up over time which is possible and we're closing in on that with over 12 years of ownership but to think you could buy something so expensive one day and not sell it for even a $1 the next day for me should be illegal.

 

[Lucca]

Actually, if you do a good job negotiating and pay cash up front they're ok-in the beginning. The problem is when that maintenance fee, which was probably reasonable at the time, slowly creeps up and up every single year. That's where the kiss of death is for the owners.
As someone who's been around it (never a purchaser fortunately), don't sit there and complain about what happened. Just walk away from the whole thing. They'll eventually foreclose, and your credit score will take a punch in the nose but here's some wisdom: Credit scores rebound, but a time share is forever.