Is it wrong to buy a timeshare from a "postcard" company?

[TUGBrian]

and the downside that the seller will then go post a 5 star review of said company on how they were able to "get him out of his timeshare"!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

They are called this because they send out postcards to get people to sign up for seminar or meal at some local hotel or restaurant.

That’s interesting, I did not know that.

 

[TUGBrian]

the original postcard companies were how the whole "exit industry" got started years ago except back then it was far more common for them to transfer the ownership into a newly formed LLC so it could simply be abandoned once it got hundreds or sometimes thousands of deeds in its name etc.

that actually required an actual legal transfer from the owner to the new entity so most of those places "partnered" with other companies to handle all these transfers....was all part of the pitch so they could legally claim they didnt buy or sell timeshares! they were just here to get you out of it!

its far more profitable now for exit companies to use default as the guaranteed solution because there is no real cost or effort involved! Though id imagine if you looked into the principles of many of these upfront fee companies over the years, you see the same names quite frequently!

 

[BM243923]

To be fair, there are still many (...maybe most) resort HOA's that simply will not accept deedbacks at all, regardless of any owner willingness to pre-pay maintenance fees.
I know that this is the case at two (independent) FL timeshare properties at which we own weeks. I do not agree with that HOA position, but it is a fact nonetheless.

My resort the Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, the president approves at least 8 to 10 units back every week. I think he needs to stop as too many units have been turned in. They charge 2 years maintenance fees to give the units back.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I don't know that you quite need 99 percent satisfaction ratings. There are two common forms of negative feedback I've seen that will drag a seller's rating down that is completely not their fault:
1. The resort taking forever to process the transfer (very common!); and
2. The resort exercising ROFR.

I've seen good ebay sellers who have less than 99 percent positive feedback because of this. It's important not just to look at the feedback number but also what the details are. The converse of this is that you can find a seller with really good reviews, but upon closer inspection, they're for something other than timeshares.

I totally agree with your comments.

 

[chapjim]

My resort the Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, the president approves at least 8 to 10 units back every week. I think he needs to stop as too many units have been turned in. They charge 2 years maintenance fees to give the units back.

Any idea how the HOA tries to sell these units? There are listings for ten one BR units on RedWeek.com (no 2BR units). Five were posted by Timeshare Specialists. Those are more modestly (realistically?) priced than the others.

 

[chapjim]

Any idea how the HOA tries to sell these units? There are listings for ten one BR units on RedWeek.com (no 2BR units). Five were posted by Timeshare Specialists. Those are more modestly (realistically?) priced than the others.

Can't edit this post so I'll reply to it!

Timeshare Specialists' website touts itself as an exit company. It has a Bozeman, MT address and is affiliated with Resort Closings, Inc. and buyandselltimeshares.com, both very familiar and respected companies. I don't see anything that would tie any of these companies to Ft. Lauderdale Beach Club.

 

[TUGBrian]

would guess a smaller independent resort would engage some 3rd party company to list their inventory for them as they wouldnt have a dedicated sales staff.

and for those of you who own at independent resorts, feel free to let them know they can post their inventory on TUG at no charge...an offer I extend to all independent resorts!

 

[rickandcindy23]

would guess a smaller independent resort would engage some 3rd party company to list their inventory for them as they wouldnt have a dedicated sales staff.

and for those of you who own at independent resorts, feel free to let them know they can post their inventory on TUG at no charge...an offer I extend to all independent resorts!

This is exactly what happens. Richard Marquette says Sell My Timeshare Now is a company that helps resorts liquidate inventory. I am pretty sure he defended a thread years ago that was bashing that company. He said they do help resorts. I don't really see how. Maybe it was Timeshares Only that he was defending. It's been so long ago.

And the original postcard company was in Torrance, CA. They made a killing. They sold the timeshares on ebay, and they also opened the closing company called Timeshare Closing Services in Orlando. It was all one big profit center.

 

[BM243923]

would guess a smaller independent resort would engage some 3rd party company to list their inventory for them as they wouldnt have a dedicated sales staff.

and for those of you who own at independent resorts, feel free to let them know they can post their inventory on TUG at no charge...an offer I extend to all independent resorts!

Our resort uses a third party resale agent as you mentioned. Unfortunately they might sell 20 units a year. Most resales are to existing owners wanting more weeks.

 

[jp10558]

Personally, I think this is little different from thrifting or something like American Pickers was - though usually in both of those cases the person was either not out more money or actually got some money for their "junk". But I also see it as a fair market sale - there's lots of "flippers" on e-bay, I've watched a few hours of I think Prickly Pear Camera who just buys large lots of untested cameras from e-bay and other places, tests and cleans up working cameras and re-sells them. Just like with the timeshares, I'm betting the original owner no longer wanted the old point and shoot camera, and either just donated it to a thrift store or something - maybe sent for recycling? - and then some company or person is bundling hundreds of these for a couple thousand dollars to these secondary sellers who are willing to test, clean, and resell or forward on for repair or recycling.

I'm also betting, just like with a timeshare - the original owner had either no idea how or no interest in the work necessary to try and resell - and even if they had/did - they'd get at most the same small value here. Now do I think it's a good idea to pay an exit company $10,000 or whatever? NO. OTOH, I don't think it's wrong to pay someone to sell something for me I neither know how or care to do the effort to sell in a general sense.

To the OPs feeling - at the end of the day, you're not buying something stolen, and at least in an open marketplace like ebay, getting a screaming deal hardly feels immoral to me. Anyone who wanted to could have bid / gone after that deal.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I think he needs to stop as too many units have been turned in.

Accepting a deedback is a lot cheaper for your HOA than foreclosing.

 

[dioxide45]

Accepting a deedback is a lot cheaper for your HOA than foreclosing.

I think it depends. If the thought or threat of foreclosure keeps someone paying their fees, then it is probably better than taking it back. Any property in this type of situation really needs to look at what is going on and determine if it is better to just dissolve the timeshare scheme and move on.

 

[SueDonJ]

I do think there's something disingenuous about decrying, as owners/users and as sellers, the existence of postcard companies in the timeshare market while at the same time taking advantage, as buyers, of the devaluation caused by that existence. It occurs to me most often either when TUGgers are discussing the Bad Debt line item increases in a resort's annual budget, because MF's aren't being paid on many of the intervals sold to the PC companies. Or, when TUGgers complain about seeing ads for postcard companies when accessing TUG, something over which @TUGBrian has no control, because why wouldn't the algorithms make the connection when the site beats over readers' heads the overwhelming message that it's ridiculous to pay direct pricing when resale pricing is so low and going lower every day?

So, I understand the point of @BM243923 asking the question. <shrug>

 

[rickandcindy23]

I do think there's something disingenuous about decrying, as owners/users and as sellers, the existence of postcard companies in the timeshare market while at the same time taking advantage, as buyers, of the devaluation caused by that existence. It occurs to me most often either when TUGgers are discussing the Bad Debt line item increases in a resort's annual budget, because MF's aren't being paid on many of the intervals sold to the PC companies. Or, when TUGgers complain about seeing ads for postcard companies when accessing TUG, something over which @TUGBrian has no control, because why wouldn't the algorithms make the connection when the site beats over readers' heads the overwhelming message that it's ridiculous to pay direct pricing when resale pricing is so low and going lower every day?

So, I understand the point of @BM243923 asking the question. <shrug>

Yes, and back in my first years on TUG, I was guilty of slamming postcard companies but buying bargain weeks on ebay without realizing that the companies were one in the same.

 

[jp10558]

Yes, and back in my first years on TUG, I was guilty of slamming postcard companies but buying bargain weeks on ebay without realizing that the companies were one in the same.

Though, to be honest, if they actually manage to resell the TS, that's better than the ones that just do nothing and wait for foreclosure. Like, yes, they massively overcharge, but they did actually do the thing so that's worth a little IMO.

In some ways, the "postcard companies" are to TS like "Endpoint Security" is to Windows - if the actual product was better made then you wouldn't have this gap to have someone come in to "fill the need". Microsoft even explicitly says they have trusted partners they don't "want to put out of business" by improving the built in stuff. It's scammy, but on the whole, most people get more value from the setup than not using Windows. I guess we get more value from the postcard companies than paying retail ourselves...

 

[TUGBrian]

are upfront fee schemes/sites/etc still showing up on google ads? im pretty on top of searching for them and blocking them via google whenever possible!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

are upfront fee schemes/sites/etc still showing up on google ads? im pretty on top of searching for them and blocking them via google whenever possible!

So I’m confused, I don’t have an adblocker (that I know of) browsing this forum on Chrome for IOS, and unlike every other forum I post on, I’ve never seen an ad of any kind here. (Which is refreshing and one of the reasons I gladly pay the $15 membership fee!) What gives?

 

[TUGBrian]

So I’m confused, I don’t have an adblocker (that I know of) browsing this forum on Chrome for IOS, and unlike every other forum I post on, I’ve never seen an ad of any kind here. (Which is refreshing and one of the reasons I gladly pay the $15 membership fee!) What gives?

members logged in do not see ads on the forums...perk of membership!

they are displayed for visitors or folks not logged in....i still dont want anyone to see scam ads though!