Several Thoughts on this
I'm astounded ( sort of ) at the prices.
I own on the SoCal coast. I have a 2 bedroom week 32 and just added a 1 bedroom ( same week ) for $ 9,000 resale. Before anyone submits that's not a good deal, I did my homework, and it was actually a very good deal. This is a property with an ocean view, beautifully maintained, very comfortable, and we are talking about a fixed summer ( highest season ) week. There are almost no units available on the independent market, and this is about as low a price as I've seen. We vacation here every year, and wanted the additional unit so our kids can now bring their families together ! ( Just pointing out how any decision should have some thinking behind it ).
For the person who wondered about trading value, I also have a floating week 2 bedroom I use for trading ( or sometimes stay at my home resort a second week ) It gets 68,500 points on RCI. I can usually take 2 or 3 vacations per year on that number of points, so trading can be quite good. You should be able to learn what the unit is worth on RCI, and then see what that will get you in trades. Don't look at the glossy catalog. Do an online search of whats available. Just because its in the book doesn't mean you will ever see it available. Of course, if the unit is a Weeks unit in RCI, you simply get to do a one for one trade.
Now to the relevant stuff regarding this post. I spent some time in Sedona at Los Abrigados last week. It costs us 18,500 points for a week, but we only stayed 3 nights. We were there 3 years ago and took the tour for some free train tickets. Of course we didn't buy but we heard lots of promises about how the new owner, Diamond International, was going to make sweeping changes. They even showed us a model of a refurbished unit. We didn't bother with the tour this time, but saw some people on it. They want in excess of $ 20,000 for their units, but you can buy resales for nearly nothing ( or just agree to take on the maintenance )! In addition, none of the promised changes have been made, and the rooms have not been refurbished. The rooms are still not good ( the kitchen area is unusable ) and the main pool was closed ( In the heat of the summer, leaving only the kids pool available). We can tell they are not doing well because the vacancy rate is high and services are very poor ( but the people at the desk always smile). Even so, the CEO of DI has a tape running all day long on the TV's ( default channel when you turn it on ) talking about how responsive they are, and all the improvements underway at their resorts. I felt sorry for the people on the sales tour because we know from experience these sales people are quite pushy. I hope they were only there to get free tickets to attractions.
So, my point in all of this is that not all places can be obtained for the $1 some people like to claim, but also most are not worth the prices the sales office would like you to pay. Nobody MAKES you buy anything, or enter into any transaction. My pat answer to a pushy sales person is "the more you try, the less likely I am to purchase what you offer. I'll go home, do some research, think about it, and get back to you." If they reply the deal is only good today, I respond, "Then your answer is a firm NO !"
Take your time, do your research, find out the current market price on the place where you want to go, and then make your decisions based only on what works for you. Also, for get all the promised extras. They are only worth the value of the paper used to print those certificates.