I know, why buy at 5k when you can buy for $1k or even less. You would think that $1 timeshares are damaging to the industry but the $40k TS continue to sell! Maybe it's just us making a mountain out of a mole hill? Besides aren't we biteing the had that feeds us?
I think TUG Members are the minority of timeshare purchasers. Being in this Echo Chamber, we tend to design systems that should work, but the rule makers of the game won't budge.
If commissions and selling a unit is $5,000 (WAG here but say 10% of $30,000 and $2,000 in incentives to sell the unit) I think their gross profit must be in the $10,000 range to make their overhead work and for new units say 2x that.
Timeshares don't sell themselves and in general, the industry has done a great job of creating demand for units.
Resale units have many motivated sellers, and few buyers, supply and demand has meant that Developers can literally charge sellers to take units back and then resell them at a full profit.
Personally, the price drop and product quality drop that the Retail Buyer experiences is the number one issue I see. This however also has a positive for the Developer, once someone buys something even if it’s not a good fit for them, they come back and get resold on a better fitting product for them. Of all the issues I see in this industry, the product fit aspect is the issue, for many the cost is not an initial issue, but it becomes one as they learn about the actual rules of the timeshare game.
Nobody needs a vacation, timeshare, or a vacation home. These are aspirational expenses for most people and as ScoopKona said, many or not 1%-ers looking for 1% lifestyles. Some people can't afford the dream they were sold, and it is very sad to see so many people have timeshares become budgetary expenses they can no longer afford. We see this in almost everything in our society, mortgages, car payments, student loan payments, etc. our society is operating on debt and long-term that has the potential to be a nightmare. Sorry for the soapbox...
