Susan- It was not my intention in any way to infer anything negative about direct purchases. All of my dealings with salespeople at least inferred that their was a value to the actual ownership, and an issue was made about it being deeded so that its inherent value doesn't become nil at some future point. True, they take great strides to cover themselves and not guarantee any value (akin to a stock prospectus) but, as with an IPO, for example, if you felt that as soon as you bought it it would be worthless I venture to guess you'd never make the purchase.
This really is not a direct versus resale discussion. Rather, it is underlining that Marriott salespeople at least infer that there is some value to owning a week. It is not purely the right to reserve a week. People are told they are actually buying something, and the assumption is made that therefore there is a retained value. That's why timeshares differ from destination clubs, wherein people may plunk down thousands of dollars merely for a right to reserve without owning anything. Even thought they may absolve themselves of all responsibility if, in fact, the properties become worthless, by virtue of promoting ownership they are implying value. I believe that most people buy feeling they are holding onto something valuable.
Let me ask you something- would you have paid the $$$'s you did for your units if you felt that the money you spent was thrown out and the only thing you had was a yearly obligation to pay a MF and the right to reserve a week? Maybe you would have, but I'd venture to guess that most purchasers- whether they bought direct or resale, would not have spent the money purely for the right to make a reservation without feeling that they had some inherent value. The only exceptions would be those who bought low cost weeks (such as Bronze weeks, even from Marriott directly) not for the inherent value of the weeks but just for Flexchange traders. Those buyers likely bought just for the right to make a reservation. Other than that subset of owners, even though people buy for usage, the purchase is justified by the feeling that there is some value to what they've bought.
I believe that very few sales would happen if people felt from the outset that their purchase had no residual value (and that includes both developer and resale sales [don't forget, resales also cost 4 and 5 figures]). And, if you really don't think that salespeople promote that concept, then there would be no resale market at all and certainly no one would be listing units with unrealistic asking prices (the reason that many ask such high prices is because they have been led to believe that the value is retained and, in many cases, people even believe that it appreciates).
And- just to set the record straight- I never told anyone to rescind because they were an idiot- that's really quite insulting. I have told people to rescind because, quite honestly, if someone is posting as to whether they made the right decision or not I feel they likely bought on impulse, while in vacation mode, and should take the time to learn about timeshares, about Marriott and about where and how to buy before making a decision. Once people have researched enough for themselves they likely will not post a question like that. The truth is, there is only a short opportunity to rescind and regrets can be very costly. And I do think that direct purchases were advantageous when prices were a bit lower, up front incentives much higher, MF's lower and before the point devaluations. Unfortunately, those parameters didn't exist when I bought, so I made an educated decision for me. That doesn't make you wrong and me right, but it certainly doesn't make me wrong either. And, just so you know- since I did buy expensive units regardless of how I purchased them, I would not have bought if I felt I was just buying the right to reserve and wasn't buying anything that had any inherent value. Can you honestly say you would have? Would others here have?
