What to make of these ebay listings?

[myoakley]

I checked the Marriott timeshare offerings on e-bay as I often do, and was shocked to see 147 listings all offered by TimeshareIntervals out of Ipswich, United Kingdom. Even more shocking were the opening bids - astronomical, although they do say "or best offer". Can it be that Europeans are still paying these prices for Marriott timeshares? Otherwise, why take the trouble to list so many at such ridiculously high prices? Any insight into this mystery is appreciated.

 

[Pens_Fan]

My guess is that they are one of those famous companies that claim they will be able to get rid of your timeshare for you.

You pay them money, they tell you that they are advertising them for sale (no mention that they are doing it at a price that will never garner any interest), and nothing happens.

You either keep paying them to do this service for you, or you give up on selling your timeshare through them minus the money you have already given them.

I did ponder an offer for one of the timeshares. It was at about 1/8th of what they had it listed for.

 

[ilene13]

I just looked on eBay. There are only 103 Marriott listings. Am I on a different eBay? I do not know where you are looking?

 

[gblotter]

I just looked on eBay. There are only 103 Marriott listings. Am I on a different eBay? I do not know where you are looking?

http://www.ebay.co.uk

 

[ocdb8r]

I think it's important to note that this in on ebay.co.uk. These ads are used solely as advertisement for the resale companies here in the UK. While there are indeed "postcard" type companies in the UK, they're not quite as prevalent and some of the ones who post on ebay.co.uk are actually "legit" resale companies (I can't speak to Timeshare Intervals). I'll also note that the UK market isn't nearly as depressed as the US market and for Marriott's with a UK market (Spain, France, Florida), you can often sell for a higher price here than you could in the States.

 

[jdunn1]

only a handful have actually sold. I clicked on completed listings and just about everything was still red, which means not sold -- so no one is buying these.

 

[MALC9990]

I think it's important to note that this in on ebay.co.uk. These ads are used solely as advertisement for the resale companies here in the UK. While there are indeed "postcard" type companies in the UK, they're not quite as prevalent and some of the ones who post on ebay.co.uk are actually "legit" resale companies (I can't speak to Timeshare Intervals). I'll also note that the UK market isn't nearly as depressed as the US market and for Marriott's with a UK market (Spain, France, Florida), you can often sell for a higher price here than you could in the States.

Yes, weeks at Marriott resorts in Europe do have significantly better resale values than most US based observers might assume based on their USA timeshare experience. The agent I purchased through also uses EBAY.CO.UK as an advertising vehicle. That's how I first came across them. They placed a week on EBAY for a "Buy it Now" price and would take "Best Offers". These were typically rejected. I followed up through their own WEB site. This agent works on commission taken after a sale - just like a real estate agent in the UK would.

There are the same sort of scams here by the "UP FRONT FEE" scammers but perhaps not so prevalent, Trading standards teams here in the UK have more teeth and are ready to act if people complain but the same message still applies - NEVER PAY AN UPFRONT FEE!

 

[gnorth16]

Prices as high, or higher than the developer

 

[myoakley]

I just looked on eBay. There are only 103 Marriott listings. Am I on a different eBay? I do not know where you are looking?

These listings appear on www.ebay.com when you type in marriott timeshare.

 

[ilene13]

When I googled Marriott timeshares on eBay I got the page with the 103 ads. Interesting!

 

[aka Julie]

When I googled Marriott timeshares on eBay I got the page with the 103 ads. Interesting!

I had the same results until I went to the Ebay home page and typed "Marriott timeshare" in the search line.

My previous search was in one specific category. Apparently there is more than one category where timeshares are listed.

 

[abdibile]

There have been listings by this and other UK brokers at such high prices all the time. Suddenly the number seems to have increased.

Most of the weeks have been relisted again and again as noone bought them. I made some offers around what similar weeks had sold in auctions on ebay.com but all were rejected and they told me how much lower their offers are than developer price!

I think these are legit brokers, but they do not have a clue about real (eBay) timeshare values.