Surviving a Timeshare Presentation
98Timeshare Sales Presentations
Timeshares are most frequently sold during timeshare presentations at the resort. At most resorts, the average timeshare salesperson will make you feel like you could eat a car salesperson for breakfast if you manage to survive the visit with your wallet still intact.
On my recent trip to Florida, I attended two timeshare presentations in order to get myself some free tickets to SeaWorld and Universal Studios. Both were advertised as a 90 minute and 120 minute presentation respectively, but I did not manage to get myself out the door in under three hours. Now partly, that is because I like to argue, but mostly it is because the entire process is designed to wear you down.
By the time you leave the presentation, you will have spoken to three different people:
- the sales person - he or she will be with you most of the presentation, acting like your best friend
- the manager - once you've said no enough times, the salesperson will hand you off to the manager who will make another pitch with a better price. Often it will be significantly better. The last presentation I went on the price came down more than $20K after it was explained to the manager that I owned two timeshares already and had bought one of them at resale. But I could still do better on Ebay, I think, and didn't care for the resort much, so I turned it down.
- the closer - if you still say no, even after the manager comes out to make you an offer, then the closer will sit down with you. The closer will usually offer you a discounted vacation at that resort. If it's a very good price (negotiate, it can be better) and you like the resort, and don't mind having to go on yet another presentation, then take it. Otherwise turn it down. If you do take it, do not accept the first price asked. Make a counter-offer.
Are timeshare presentations a scam?
Timeshares and the Law
- Florida Timeshare Law
The Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act - The State of Florida's official website has a list of FAQs related to timeshares. You'll find lots of good information here about how to protect your rights. - Buying and Selling Timeshares & Vacation Plans
The FTC's faq page on buying and selling timeshares.
Timeshare Auctions
- Timeshare auctions
You can find timeshares listed here by both location and brand name (Hilton, Marriott, Worldmark, RCI, etc.) Search the best auction prices for each resort.
Hmmm, this is a difficult question to answer. While fraud used to be pretty common in the industry, particularly in Florida, it has cleaned up its act considerably over the years, thanks to strong consumer protection laws and the entrance of larger corporate players (Marriott, Hilton, Disney) into the marketplace.
However, timeshare sales people are still prone to making misleading statements. The biggest misleading statement, and the one that particularly bugs me, usually has to do with the resale value of the timeshare. They almost always claim that if you decide in the future to sell your timeshare, you'll get your money back. Some even suggest that you will make a profit.
But the real truth is that YOU WILL NEVER MAKE YOUR MONEY BACK and you certainly won't make a profit. While 50% may be an average loss of price, timeshares can lose as much as 90% of their "value" after the closing.
The problem is that the developer always charges far more than the real value of the timeshare because he needs to make up for the cost of all those timeshare presentations, the marketing they do to get people into the presentation, and the gifts they give away. There are finder's fees (paid to those who solicit you at various tourist bureaus, etc.), commissions, and general staffing that are also part of the equation.
And on the other side of the deal, there's no protection of the value. Very few timeshare companies make first right of refusal on resales a part of their contract and the few companies that do often don't exercise it. Disney Vacation Club, Marriott, and Hilton are a few of the companies that exercise ROFR (right of first refusal)regularly and aggressively, but you should still be able to buy one at about a 20% discount off developer's prices. Much lower than that though, and they will usually just buy it out from under you and turn it around and sell it at full price.
Timeshares on Ebay
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SUMMER TIMESHARE RENTAL in MYRTLE BEACH
Current Bid: $1195.00
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Time Share - One Week per Year - Ownership
Current Bid: $3875.80
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FT LAUDERDALE HOLLYWOOD FLORIDA BEACH ANNUAL TIMESHARE
Current Bid: $1.00
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BLUEGREEN NEW ORLEANS CLUB LA PENSION II TIMESHARE
Current Bid: $1.00
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CABO SAN LUCAS TIMESHARE VILLA DEL PALMAR MEXICO SUMMER
Current Bid: $1.00
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| No Photo |
SUMMER TIMESHARE RENTAL in MYRTLE BEACH
Current Bid: $995.00
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Timeshare Condominiums for the Beginner
Price: $12.55
List Price: $13.95 |
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The Everything Family Guide To Timeshares: Buy Smart, Avoid Pitfalls, And Enjoy Your Vacations to the Max! (Everything: Travel and History)
Price: $6.66
List Price: $14.95 |
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Timeshare Vacations For Dummies (Dummies Travel)
Price: $6.85
List Price: $19.99 |
How to Survive the Timeshare Presentation
If you do decide to go to a timeshare presentation because you want to collect some gifts, then here are some tips to keep in mind.
- Leave your checkbook at home - I would tell you to leave all your credit cards at home too, but usually you are required to bring a major credit card to the presentation with you and show it before being allowed to enter the presentation. If you really don't trust yourself, then bring a card on which you are carrying a balance very close to your limit :)
- Be wary of the prizes and gifts. This tip comes into play before you agree to go to the presentation. It is usually not even worth the hassle of attending unless the gift is FREE. This means you should not be paying shipping & handling for anything, because I can guarantee that the value of your gift will be no more than the actual s&h on it.
- Negotiate the gifts before you go. You will be spending between 2-4 hours at a high pressure sales event so make sure you are getting something that has actual value in return. And if you hold out, they usually will make a better offer just to get you in the door. Don't even bother if they are offering things like cameras or luggage. You want cash, free (or heavily discounted) vacations and/or tickets to theme parks. Most of the time you will need to pay a $20 deposit to reserve your presentation, but that's designed to deal with "no shows" and you'll get it back after it is over.
- Don't engage. The more you talk, the longer your presentation is going to be. Just sit and listen. It is normally best not to ask any questions.
- Don't fall for the leading questions, such as "wouldn't you rather vacation at a condo than a hotel?" Actually, you love hotels because you love room service, turndown service and daily housekeeping. Timeshares offer none of those.
- Don't even bother to bring up resales unless you are willing to bring proof with you. Here's a hot tip though -- if you do print out completed auctions of their resorts and show them off early in the presentation, you will frequently find yourself on the way out the door with gifts in hand in under a half hour, especially if their $35,000 resort only sells for $3,500 on Ebay. Heh.
If you're going to be visiting Orlando, you may want to check out my artilce on Orlando Timeshare Tours for more tips on dealing with the presentations and figuring out whether the tour is going to be worth your time.
California Timeshares on Ebay
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NORTH BAY LAKE ARROWHEAD CALIFORNIA FLOATING TIMESHARE
Current Bid: $1.00
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GOLD CROWN Palm Springs CALIFORNIA Red Week TimeShare
Current Bid: $1999.00
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Palm Canyon Resort and Spa Timeshare California NR
Current Bid: $1.00
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CALIFORNIA SUMMER VACATIONS-1 AND 2 BR TIMESHARE WEEKS
Current Bid: $859.00
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What to do if you get sucked in
Rescind, Rescind, Rescind!
Okay, so you went to the timeshare presentation, fell in love with the resort, the timeshare salesperson acted like your best friend, showed you all the different vacations you could enjoy all over the world and made you an offer that you couldn't refuse.
But now you are home and feeling a bit sick, especially since you decided to take a look at eBay. Well, it is not too late. Thankfully, there are strong consumer protection laws in every state that guarantee a "cooling off" period for timeshare purchases. Depending on your state you will have 5-15 days to rescind (get out off) your contract and get your deposit money back.
Since the process is somewhat involved and needs to be followed step by step, I've put a hub together on How to Rescind a Timeshare Contract. Just make sure that you act now because once the cooling off period is over, you're stuck with it and might as well just start enjoying your vacations.
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Comments
Thanks for responding, Pollie. I am self-employed so I get paid when I produce, just like you do. The difference though is that I'm not engaged in a business that is unethical at its core. If you are making your living selling timeshares for a developer, you are making your living RIPPING PEOPLE OFF. If you don't like people coming into your million dollar resorts for the free gifts that they were promised on a no obligation basis, then I suggest you might want to try selling a different type of real estate. As far as those great gifts go, I have never been to a timeshare presentation that offered 4 or 5 day Disney tickets for an entire family. At most I've seen 1 day parkhoppers offered and not for the whole family. What do you think I am, stupid? Most of the gifts offered by timeshares are worthless crap.
Also, every presentation I've been to, I've made if clear in the first five minutes that I have no intention of buying at the presentation and I always buy resale. I never lie. I never jerk anyone's chain, but I have mine jerked continuously by sales reps who think they can sell me anyway. If they want to waste 3 hours with me arguing about whether the developer's price is reasonable and whether financing a timeshare every makes sense, that's their decision. Some have decided not to and usher me out the door or others have decided to pump me for info about what I've experience at other resorts. Those reps are the smart ones.
As far as resale goes, for those companies that withhold privileges from resale purchasers, the privileges are not usually worth the extra $20K or so you'd pay for them, so it is clearly a trade off, which I explain in my Marriott hub. As far as getting what you pay for, you get FAR LESS than you pay for when you buy from a developer.
If you think timeshare is a cam why would you advise people how to buy one?
I don't think timeshares bought at resale prices are a scam. I think developer prices are a scam, which I've made pretty clear.
Good Hub, embitca. I have attended timeshare presentations by some of the big players, thinking that large corporations like Accor would have to be more ethical. Wrong. They offered what sounded like a great deal PROVIDED you signed up at the presentation. If you wanted to take the literature home to study, you were offered a much reduced deal which was clearly not worth having, thus putting enormous pressure on people.
We insisted on sitting in a corner and reading the literature on our own (but that took a shouting match to achieve). We discovered even the manager didn't understand what they were selling - for instance, they claimed you could leave the timeshare to your children in your will, but in fact all you could leave was the right to very limited privileges at only one resort. You should have seen the manager's face when I pointed out the clause to him - he owned one himself and had clearly been sucked in by his own hype.
so my only question to you is. if the FREE gifts suck so bad and having to sit through what is typically a 3 hour presentation to get them, then why do you still go?
I think I've made it pretty clear that not all of the gifts suck, but obviously a cost/benefit analysis needs to be made. Is the timeshare presentation worth three hours of your life at the time they want you to take it? On some days the answer may be yes, for the right incentive. On other days, clearly no.
Also, no point in highlighting free. FREE is no strings attached.
There are strings attached for all timeshare gifts --- the presentation. Time = Money.
@ Pollie - If you don't like working all day, trying to persuade people out of their hard earned money, and not making a cent, here's an idea - get another job.
Having sat through one of these myself (never make that mistake again) I can confirm these are high pressure, extremely persuasive sales tactics and I came out feeling like I got ripped off because I wasted half a day trying to escape.
By the way don't take it personal that people are taking the gifts, you didn't pay for them and most people would even come without them, then you wouldn't have the chance to rip a percentage of them off.
Pollie,
Get another job. Sounds like you really dont like this one, so go do something else. When I get a call about a timeshare, they say all I have to do is listen with no obligation. I am not jerking your chain, just taking what is offered and if someone tries to be pushy, it usually takes being rude to get them out of my face.
Embitca....great article. Know anything about Hilton?
Thanks
Hi Robisoft, glad you like the article. I don't know a lot about Hilton as I've never toured one of their timeshares, but I have done a little research here and there. I am planning on putting a hub together for each of the major timeshare companies so keep your eye out for it as I'll be looking into Hilton quite a bit more.
Very informative Hub, Embitca! I've always stayed clear of these presentations because I don't want to waste three hours being pressured.
Pollie - Geez! It definitely sounds like you needa new job or a new attitude. Most people go to these presentations for the gift, not because they want to buy a timeshare. That's why they offer the gifts in the first place, isn't it? It doesn't matter what time you get up or how far you drive, nobody owes you anything. Not buying one of your timeshares isn't a personal afftont to you. It's probably that most people don't want to waste their mony. Get a job selling cars.
Hilton timeshare presentation unfortunately is the same as the comments in previous posts about the other timeshares. People get emotionally caught up while buying on their vacation but reality hits when they get home and realize their are better deals with points and RCI priveleges without paying the full hotel developer price. Timeshares have a high percentage of managers and sales people turnover. Most of time, the manager/TO or/and the salesperson don't even work there any longer a few months after they solicited you because they did not reach their monthly or quarterly quota. They will give whatever salesperson is left,the Mgr. title when the person has only been in timeshare part time for 6 months only. If they do still work there 3 months later, they usually dread answering your call and pass you to someone else to deal with you. They will mislead and entice you buy throwing in extra points that you can't use any time soon or give a VIP price on paper but you don't really get any VIP discount. Timeshares don't appreciate much because they are always building new ones to entice you to upgrade to the newly built property. If timeshares are good appreation, you would not see the same units sold for 50%- &75% less on ebay and the resale market. Timeshares are now marketing heavily to China and Korea because the U.S. economy is not so great right now. They just want a sale. They will sell to Section 8 if they can meet their quota.
TM, thanks for sharing your experience with Hilton. It's too bad to hear they are just as bad as everyone else. Seems like they wouldn't need to stoop to that with such a premium brand.
A salesman only gets paid if the customer buys and they will do anything to meet that quota. His manager's job is on the line if they can't get their sales team to meet the quota.It goes all the way up to the top management chain. It's like this when buying a car too.
All or most of the rooms in the difference complexes in Hawaii do not even have a view of the ocean for the price they charge you to stay just one week out of the year. Don't fall for the biggest line that says" The difference from buying from us as the developer vesus going somewhere else that offers the same complex for 50%-75% less is because you will not get benefits such as RCI exchange and points." You can get RCI exchanges through any other discount timeshare places and you eventually are paying for the points anyways. There usually is a timeshare discount place anywhere there is a timeshare by the wholesale developer.Do your research before dropping $20,000 to $70,000. for timeshare units that you will never really own. You could use that amount of money as downpayment for your own vacation home that really will appreciate. Like the previous post said " Leave your wallet or credit card at home before going to the sales presentations."
This was a good lesson for me also, I will leave my wallet and credit card at home before I attend any sales presentation of any kind.
Hilton was sold to Blackstone last year. You can google it.
you go girl! good hub
We are planning to look at a few properties in Orlando but also want some tickets to some of the parks. When you receive a free gift of WDW or Universal studio tickets - Do you have to use those tickets the same day?
Hi Mike! no, you don't have to use them the same day. There is usually an expiration date on them, but generally it is for at least a couple of weeks or a month so you'll have plenty of time!
Thanks Embitca. Last question - Do you have any recommended Timeshares we should visit while in Orlando? We don't want to buy (only resale) but we do want to get an idea plus we would love free tickets as well.
You should visit the Disney Vacation Club timeshares if you really want to see some nice properties, but Disney doesn't give you any freebies. On the other hand, they don't try and hard sell you or keep you there for hours. You could just pop in and ask to see the model condo and pick up a packet of info.
I would just avoid visiting anything owned by WESTGATE. They are horrible and oppressive. You probably won't find the freebies worth your time. Everywhere else is survivable :)
Great tips -- especially about taking eBay print out - -oh , yeah! Where are my gifts - -adios, amigo!
Ditto what esocial said. Taking a print out, too, yes!
Dear Pollie Sigh,
Cry me a river! You chose your job-it didn't choose you! You get what you get! Get a REAL JOB! I get up much earlier than 0430 myself being in the military! You want me to feel sorry for you?
I'd like to echo some points, especially if you plan on being a mooch:
First, planning:
1a) Schedule a day or part of a day for tours if you think you might get roped in (or if you actively troll the off-site presenters, / grabbers), say Tuesday. And only do them on that day. That way you could feel less put out if a presentation went long beyond your best efforts to contain.
1b) Have a pretty good idea of the type of incentive you want (cash / tickets). Ask for it, even if its not offered. Example: We wanted aquarium tickets. We asked for aquarium tickets. We got aquarium tickets.
2) I'm not a big believer in being upfront, right away, with your intention not to buy until after you've toured the model unit. I think a good line is "It's just not as nice as we were expecting." My wife likes, "We haven't seen anything that makes us want to change what we're doing now."
David, thanks for the tips! I really like the "It's just not as nice as we were expecting".... delivered with a really disappointed tone of course LOL
Well, very interesting....We are going on a TS tour at the end of the month -- in exchange for a very low all-inclusive rental rate in Mexico. We've been on a couple before, and they are NOT fun! But I like the ideas here, particularly, bringing other online offers and telling them the place isn't up to snuff. In reality, this will probably be the case, as we've stayed in what we suspect are a lot better places.
Pollie - all sales jobs I've ever heard of is a numbers game. You'll not sell near what you tour...but you know that. I respect your job, and might actually buy one of these if I ever thought there was a good deal out there. So far, the math just doesn't work. As long as I can buy a TS week deeply discounted off the Internet, or just get excellent rates for rentals, what is my incentive to buy? Hopefully, not guilt!
I have a friend that came out well in a TS to all-inclusive conversion, but he goes to the same place every year...and it was a fluke.
Like I said, we're going to go and listen and won't be rude, but it's their job to sell us not our job to explain why we don't want to buy. Frankly, if more TS sellers would back off a little and actually sell the virtues of the product, rather than the would-be buyers' inadequacies for not "seeing the obvious value" or "being a cheapskate", people might come in a little less defensive and a lot more open-minded. As I was told many years ago when I dabbled in sales...a good product sells itself.
Good luck to you Pollie, and to all...thanks for a good thread!
JefF R
I am amazed that this embitca presumes to know everything about sales presentations. Your needs and budget apparently are not going to be the same as other families for the one time a year families actually get the opportunity to spend quality time together. We recently attended a presentation on Paradise Island, Bahamas and none of the thins you mentioned were a part of that experience. We we informed that at any point if we felt pressured we could walk away. It so happens that we bought an incredible time share that allows me to spend quality time with my family twice a year and not be subjected to ridiculous resort prices and rate gougeing. Maybe you are one of those people who can afford $80 bucks for a bagel and coffee for breakfast, NOT EVERYONE MAY BE AS WEALTHY AS YOU!
Sales people are people too and as such have to provide for their families just like you. As opposed to going free gift hunting and waisting these people's time simply don't. If you know, SUPPOSEDLY what is going to happen when you get there, little simple advice......DON"T GO!
Chad, if you bought a timeshare from the developer, you overpaid. Plain and simple. Since I can't afford $80 bucks for bagel and coffee, I prefer to buy resale.
Timeshare companies promote the free gifts because they know that is the reason that people attend timeshare presentations. They fully expect that 90% of the people attending a presentation have no intention of buying. Their hope is that their sales staff is good enough to sell a timeshare to someone who has no intention of buying one anyway. I do not concern myself with worrying about sales people. If they do not appreciate the fact that their job is a numbers game and a bit of a con, they should GET ANOTHER JOB. Being a car dealer would be less heinous.
Your experience also is remarkably different from what MOST people will experience at any timeshare presentation. This article is not about the exceptions such as the presentation you attended or any presentation put on by Disney Vacation Club (also a no pressure presentation), it is about the rule -- which is high pressure sales tactics.
A really interesting hub Embitca, and the comments are a good read too - thanks!
Thanks, Caspar. And yup, the comments certainly make for some interesting reading *g*
Great article! I've been to Orlando many times and have often wondered about timeshares. I appreciate the insight.
the problem us consumers have in general is:
before going to a presentation, we are offered our free gifts just for "attending the presentation..".... remember, we are actually offer something for free in exhange for the "2 hours" attendance..... its only natural for anybody to want to get the free things when someone is offering them .... why would we not want the free gifts? there is no excuse for consumers being rude to you,,common courtesy is the way to go... however some of the rudeness maybe prompted by the sales pressure,, when a time sare rep sits down and starts acting the consumer questions regarding what they want, their finances etc..... when we sign up for the free stuf and presentation- nobody tells us that we are going to have to answer numberous questions.... once again: we are offerd free stuff for our time- so don't expect us to be open minded into commiting to makeing a mult-thousand dollar purchase! we are there for free stuff..... its not our responsibility to be concered with whether or not the sales person makes any money that day.... but it is only right that a consumer should be nice and thankful to the sales presenter for their effort.. and have some empathy that the sales person is in a tough business that is most likely commision based..... but don't be down on us for not being open minded... we may be open minded to some degree but not necessarily so open minded that we are going to commit to the thousands of dolllars that a time share cost...
I'm sure there's a percentage of people who go through the presentation, make the purchase, and then are thrilled with no regrets. The problem is that I'm pretty sure that the percentage is very small. It's sure to be that way when you have a situation where you're worn down for three hours and then required to make a decision then and there for a pretty good sum of money.
I've been to one timeshare presentation (ever), out of curiosity. It was only 9 miles from home, so not on holiday (we do live by the sea though). The sales pressure was intense! The 'prize for attending' was a free weekend, but the dates available were all impossible for anyone with school children! Never again.
Thanks for the hub.
My husband and I went to one in Bahamas. The guy got so angry with us for not taking the offer that he left us at the site. You talk about rude! It was some kind of an experience. He drove away in his top down red convertible. That was our first and our last presentation! We eventually got a ride back to town. . . Thanks for the informative hub.
I just wanted to point out that you can get some pretty good stuff from these presentations. The person who signs you up always offers you something enticing, but he has been authorized to offer you alot more. They have a dollar amount they can give away in gifts or cash. You can ask for whatever you want. I wrote an article about it in my Tips for having a better vacation trip hub. Check it out and next time someone offers you something for going to a timshare presentation ,ask for a lot more. Enjoy the food and listen to there offer , say no, and get your goodies. Its that easy.
To people who do the selling of time shares for a living and believe this is somehow fruadulent to do. Sorry your wrong. You are giving me the stuff so i will go and listgen to you ,so you can try and convince me to buy. I am in no way obligated to buy it , only to listen to your sales pitch. If the pitch doesnt\'t work that is your problem.
Words of advice and caution. If you cannot resist sales pressure, then never attend a time sale presentation. And if they say it will be only a 2or 3 hour tour, plan to spend between 3 and 5 hours there. In a nutshell, the whole time share industry is overpriced and never, repeat never, purchase a time share at any presentation. Simply type in on a Google search, time shares, or timeshares resales, and you will literally come up with hundreds of sites. As a general rule you can purchase any time share on the resale market for up to 90% percent off the orginal asking price, at a time share presentation. Often for 10 to 25 cents on the dollar. The reason you can do that is that the commissions and overhead involved at these presentations is just ridiculous.
They prey on the the customer "emotions" with the lure of free money, free tickets and free gifts and drawings. Also, very slick info commercials, or screen presentations are made while your on your "so called" 2 hour tour.
Having said all that, if your not afraid of high pressure salesmen, and can resist them, then by all means take advantage of their freebies, which can include money, gifts, and tickets to great shows, or discounted tickets to local events.
As someone mentioned, as part of any time share contract you sign, you have a 3 to 5 day right to rescind the contract, in many cases not counting the weekend, so you actually have more time. So be careful out there, your outnumbered, and out gunned in all time share presentations, by powerful trained sales professsionals.
As a final note, make sure you understand the "maintenance fees" your obligated to pay every year to infinity, whether you purchase on a resale or not. Some of these fees can run from the low hundreds per year to thousands per year, be careful out there "caveat emptor" buyer be ware.
Warm regards
RayLanfear
I have done 3 timeshare presentations over 5 year period and recieved alot free gifts ..... I feel they should pay your time .... I did research the math and price doesn't add up.... I do not buy on impulse , make a common sense choice !
A lot of people I know are trying to get rid of those timeshares. You pay about $200-$400 dollars a month plus yearly maintenance fees for them and you get 1 week a year to stay in them. I guess thats a great deal for some, or for the rest, you can just attend a timeshare and get a free gift for a vacation and use that free gift every year to go wherever you need to go.
I have been to some timeshare presentations that really made me want to buy in but I had to get out of there. (LOL) Some of those gifts are crappy. They sound good until you start the process of trying to use the gift. You get sent through a bunch of loopholes until you end up not even getting a chance to use the darn thing.
Pollie, my sister baught a timeshare from bluegreen and they love it. She refered me and I was called and offered a free weekend and was told over and over that no purchase was required. I fully intend to have my free beach weekend and have no intention of buying a time share. I also fully expect to be bullied and intimidated when say I don't want to buy. That will be the price I pay for a free trip. If you don't want people doing this then you sould not offer free beach weekends.
Great hub and very informative but I have an additional suggestion for surviving a time share presentation and getting the gift with little hassle. I have used this technique a few times and it always works....when the salesperson asks you where you would like to travel or vacation, mention a country like Jordan or Egypt or somewhere else exotic where you know they don't have any properties; the blank look on his or her face will be priceless as they have no witty or sharp retort. Do some research on the company and find out where they DON'T have any properties and they will be unable to use their high pressure sales pitch on you!
I was insulted by a timeshare salesman on my very first timeshare tour. My wife and I were in Orlando when we were offered a couple of tickets to SeaWorld to attend a presentation. When I said NO to the salesman, he flat out called a cheap bastard for not buying to take my wife on vacation more. From that point on, it's became my personal thing to just show up at timeshare presentation and get whatever I can for free. I have read so much about timeshare since then, and have purchased a couple of timeshare (resales), and enjoyed them very much. However, I still show up at timeshare presentations, simply because I still hate timeshare salespeople. So I encourage everybody else not to feel sorry for them, waist their time as much as you could. And when you feel like you gave them enough, just say NO and walked out with the free stuffs.
guys if you really wanna make big bucks you should come to puerto vallarta you can easily make 300 dlls for a time share presentation ,,,,,just play the game.....
I have a question: Say you sit through this high pressure tactic sales pitch and say no, can they, at the end of it, deny you the free gifts/the price they offered you to stay in the resort/condo?
Thanks
PV, I'mnot really sure. I've never heard of that happening, but I suppose anything is possible. Though since it is an enticement to sit through a sales presentation, they may have a legal obligation.
This hub is outstanding. Very informative and well written!
--Reg
As a former car salesman I can relate to all the tactics employed in the TS presentation,as they are identical to the methods employed by the car industry. View the film "Suckers"and you will come very close to reality. Pollie...what can I say....LOSER!!!! Good grief, can you really defend what you do?? Your, multi-mlion dollar resort? If it was really yours, you would not be peddling your wares for the the meagre amount on offer as commission for seling TS..
It is hard work to sell a product; any product but I am pleased to say that it is not difficult to sell a product worth the retail tag. TS is notoriously difficult to sell because it is clearly not worth the asking price, and only the totally gullible wil fall for such outragious prices. There is no need for such hard sell if if the product is so desirable. Think about it people.
I must make a hub about car sales to enlighten the general populace.
Great hub embitca. I will try to read some more of yours when I have the time.
Aussie Joe.
Aussie Joe, thanks for commenting! I would love it if you did a hub about car sales. I think that would be awesome!
Nice hub - 99 percent of timeshares are just not a good deal. The presentations paint such an attractive picture, but it rarely works out that way. You're really better off getting a hotel of your choice, when you need it. That way you don't have to worry about availibilty. When you consider the constant rising annual fees and the consistent unavailibilty it's hard to justify. There's a reason why timeshres are sold and not bought...
Timeshares are a good way for a free vacation this time of year in Myrtle Beach if you can stand them. I am leaving next week. the prices drop this time of year to almost nothing. I am staying at the Crown Reef Resort for $35 a night. We will attend 2 timeshare presentations on the 1st day we are there and will receive $200 per the first and $150 and 2 free rounds of golf for the 2nd. It makes for a long day but when you look at what you get it is well worth it. It turns a decent vacation for the price into a much better one. I highly recomend timeshares to anyone out there but I will add to avoid Blue/Green resorts, they are very long and very pushy.
My wife and I attended five presentations dureing our ten day stay in Mazatlan last February. We made most of our arrangements with a "wrangler" we met on our first trip, a year earlier. He worked out of a booth near our hotel, and was able to arrange presentations for most of the properties in Mazatlan. We always negotiated with him for CASH ONLY. In one case, he was only able to offer coupons and excursions, but agreed to pay us CASH for the certificates following the presentation. He kept his word, and was waiting for us outside the hotel when we finished the tour. The CASH we received ranged from $175 to $250 per presentation.
From the outset, we always told our salesperson we were not interested in buying, and that we had researched the value of timeshares on the resale market. All of our presentations included a breakfast which ranged from eggs and bacon to spectacular buffets with champagne!
None of our presentations lasted more than the 90 minutes promised. One property thought they'd punnish us by making us wait for a ride back to our hotel. Instead of getting upset, we hopped in a cab and paid the $10 fare with the resort's CASH. The key to a short tour is to show no interest in the property itself. Rather, we would ask our salesperson questions about themselves. "How did you get involed in selling timeshares? What brought you to Mazatlan? What do you do in your spare time? What are your favorite restaurants in town?" Salespeople LOVE to talk about themselves and, as Polly noted, there is no need to be rude or confrontational with them. Don't look at them as an adversary.
We have no ethical issues with taking the promotional offers. We spent the CASH we earned on tours to do things we wouldn't have been able to afford. We dined in fine style, and tipped very well. We spent every dime, and made a sizable donation to the Vinyard ministry which feeds the poor children in Mazatlan. We are considering buying a timeshare on E-bay or renting weeks from current owners. Like other posters have noted, don't attend one of these tours unless you can say "no"...repeatedly.
Thanks for the comment, Marko. Five presentations in 10 days. Wow! I couldn't do it myself, but it sounds like you have a solid plan for getting in and out in the proper amount of time. My problem is I usually cannot help myself and start arguing about the merits of buying from a developer. But I like your approach of ignoring the timeshare property in favor of finding out about the sales person instead. You are right. People do love to talk about themselves :)
Very informative. My wife and I are in our mid-30's and just began traveling last year. My aunt and uncle are owners in RCI and have suggested that we use one of their "Last Call" options for Feb. (Currently the only Gold Crown property that isn't mandatory A.I. for Mexico is the Inn At Mazatlan.) If we go with something like this will we be required to sit through a presentation? We are not debaters like you and we won't do well with high-pressure (although we will certainly not cave in and buy).
Hi Jrw, if you are renting through RCI (either Last Call or Extra Vacations) you are NOT required to sit through a presentation.
You will definitely be invited to one though and usually they aren't upfront about what it is -- turn down offers of free breakfast or lunch and turn down "owners updates" and "check-in surveys". Don't answer your phone in the unit or simply unplug it. Enjoy your vacation!!
Thanks! On the other hand, if friends of ours let us use their week (Marriot owners) would we be required to sit through a presentation there?
I appreciate your knowledge and information.
Nope! The only time you'd be required to sit through a presentation is if you were staying at the resort on a promotional rate and then the requirement will be clearly outlined in the paperwork.
I've read this and think it's brilliant. I worked in crimeshare for 3 years and did very well. Eventually I felt bad and left. We were given drugs as rewards for lying (mainly cocaine) and doing whatever it took to get the deal!
Make no mistake, there are meetings every morning to prep us on how to lie and what to say. One of my favourites was getting a puppy and letting the kids of the family play with it during the presentation. It keeps them quiet for the 5 hours you'll keep Mum and Dad there, and the kids (most importantly) will want to stay!
It does not end there, at the end when Mum and Dad want to go - you tell the kids quite simply and calmly that they can keep the puppy (by now you have even encouraged the kids to name it) if their parents buy. Just before you walk away you tell the kids that their parents would do it if they loved them. You then have to walk away quick as Dad wants to punch you, but leave the pen and contract there. Stand back and watch the kids close the parents. Worked every time!
I am not proud of what I have done, but made a hell of a lot of money and am currently in talks with 2 publishers on a book based on a lot of the above. I did well, stayed for years and left with a bag of cash.
Timeshare works on greed, the couples greed for a gift and a better deal for holidays, and the reps greed of money and drugs. That cycle will stay and grow as long as suckers belive all they are told and continue to buy. I know I'm scum so only post serious questions please x
My husband and I have spent several vacations at time share resorts. We have found that the best thing to do is to say up front when you first walk in (this is when they hit you up with "free gifts" to attend a time share presentation) that you are not interested in a time share presentation and you don't want their "free" gifts. Trust me, you will be much happier. Just be very firm. Of course if you feel the "gift" (or bribe) is worth sitting through a long boring, high-pressure sales pitch, be my guest
I own with Diamond (formerly Sunterra), and have attended numerous presentations. My favourite is Marriott, no pressure and nice gifts, although Wyndam came close. I dislike the "owner updates" at Diamond though since you basically have to sit through another timeshare presentation for something you've already brought. Fortunately we're good at saying "no" and only go if the gifts are worth our time. A minor note, having young, restless kids sometimes helps get out of the presentation quicker - although Westgate didn't take the hint...
I don't think Wyndam guys are unethical, just damn good at what they do. I have a different take as well. I have a lot of discounted bonus time available and it is great both for me and my family. Over the course of a lifetime, this bonus time adds up. I could only afford the minimum points in Wyndam, but now I can say to all others that I already have one!
I think that this hub is valid regarding many timeshare salesmen, and women, but not all.
I can't believe what I am reading. I have to tell you that I just returned from Florida and attended a timeshare at Mystic Dunes. We are in our fifties and were really interested in what timeshares were all about. We were not in it for any free tickets but decided we would take the space center tickets. Well let me tell you that we were treated with so much disrespect from the beginning that they lost my interest within the first half hour. After one hour I litterly got up and and said we had had enough and it was too bad because we really were interested. This was our first timeshare experience and our last. Its not worth it folks unless you want to be ground into the dirt. Most of the salesman were foreigners and let you know that too.S
Wendy, glad you walked away. Mystic Dunes is really not the nicest timeshare in Orlando anyway. I think it looks too much like an apartment complex.
We relalized that afte talking to others after we left there ab out the resort. What was weird about the whole thing was that this Jamacain lady was our salesman and she seemed really nice until she told me that frugal people like me who have to think about buying is the reason 80% of Businesses here in America are owned by Foreigners because we Americans "Have to think about it" I had ran into a lady in the restroom that was litterly in tears and had been there for 3 hours. She said she could not get away and she was tired. They were herding them in and out of there like cattle. I am sure there are better timeshare tours out there but we just happen to pick the wrong one.
Everyone have attend timeshare so am I in Singapore. Recently Singapore had ban Timeshare
If there are no hard selling and allow clients to go back and think.
Be more transparent in the price and the value of the timeshare or other membership program
People who go on a sales presentation with no intention of buying anything are the worst kind of freeloader. They know it so they just justify it with all these comments, like the gift, ect, ect,. When in the end they are just a bunch or moochers. The worst kind of peopple.
Although my wife and I own a timeshare (Bluegreen) we make it part of our vacation to make a day of going to TS presentations. We look at it as gravy to shop, play, upgrade our dining experience, or otherwise enhance our pleasure while we're on vacation. Most TS presentations are intense but also rehearsed so we have gotten used to saying "no" at the end. I just wished we could cut that 3-5 hour marathon down!! Embitca thanks for this forum!! I would like to ask...is it possible to go online and find the TS that gives the best stuff?? Especially in the Myrtle Beach, SC and Orlando areas. A crazy question yes but hopefully you can give me some direction in this. Thanks again!!
Hi, we just came back on Monday from a free vacation at Massanutten Resort in Virginia and were preasured to purchase a one week timeshare. Now, it's Wednesday morning and we want to get out of the contract. The contract says that we have 7 days to cancel by certified mail. We are not sure if this will be sufficient. We are thinking about using a service from the internet that will cancel it for us for $499 fee. Honestly, we do not want to spend the money, but we are not sure that the certified letter with return receive requested would be sufficient? Are we worrying too much? Thanks!
Greg, you do not need to spend $499 to cancel your timeshare. Any company that is offering a service like that is just fear-mongering. While the high pressure sales tactics are not appropriate, US timeshare companies do follow the law. You will not have any problem cancelling your purchase as long as you follow instructions and send in your notice on time. Just do the certified lette rwith return receipt.
Oh, also, could you send me a link for the service offering to do it for you? I'd like to write an article about how unnecessary something like that is.
Hi Embitca, thanks for giving me confident. Here is the website at http://www.toa.me that would help you get out of the contract for $499 fee, before rescission period ends. However, the fee is $999 if the rescission period already expired. This might be worth it for some people who do not want to deal with the developer. I found the website from search and there are few out there that offer the same type of service. I also learned that there are companies that sell and rent TS for owner who would tell you that it's easy to rent and sell TS and owner would get a lot of money. Of course they would also charge $500 to $1,000 for the service. Please check this website at http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com to find out how much your TS really worth before you are renting or selling.
I went on a discounted trip to Florida. Never Again! The rooms were crummy, in terrible neighborhoods, it took hours to get our voucher tickets and the timeshare presentation (1-2 hours) turned into a day long event. Even though I said up front, I'm not buying the salesperson said she was obligated to show us the property and sales literature. She should have listened and moved on to another warm body because she wasted her day with me. I'd rather spend a little more money and save my time in the future. Great hub embitca!
Okay i have to agree that attending these presentations and taking the free gifts with no intention purchasing is immoral. It's like wasting a salesmens time in a store by asking a lot of questions when you intend to purchase the product online. It doesn't matter if the TS salesmen are dispicable people, which I am quite sure they are, it is still not right to freeload like that. I think if you really want to attend one of these presentations to see what it's all about, but have NO intention of buying, then you should not accept any free anything. The thing is even the people that 'have an open mind' (actual potential buyers) probably would not go to the presentations unless there were free gifts. So the people with zero intention are just wasting the sellers time. It is NEVER ethical to intentionally waste LARGE portions of someones time commission or no commision.
You might say then 'but I told them up front that I was not interested in their product'. Then why are you there wasting THEIR time in the first place? So you can get free gifts at their company's expense? Talk about low class.
I am not siding with the salepeople. I HATE salepeople when they are trying to sale something to you. Anytime someone tries to sell me something I immediatly become disinterested. Main reason is because I want to be knowledgable and sure of my purchase and usually salemen that employ aggressive tactics are full of it.
I am not trying to say you are a bad person by freeloading off these rapscallions but it is unethical to do so, even if they are rapscallions.
Great, great post (hub). One tactic I have always used, be it cars or TS, is this:
Scenario 1:
Me: So, is this car (Timeshare) really popular?
TS: Yes! Yes it is! Many people buy left and right (or are coming to look and buy tomorrow)
Me: Great! Then I won't feel guilty not buying today, because the next person that comes in will just buy it then.
TS: #*($&!
Scenario 2:
Me: So, is this car (Timeshare) really popular?
TS: No, in fact you'll be one of the very few people to own such a thing.
Me: Then I don't want to buy something that other people have said no to, too. There must be something wrong with it.
TS: @#*$^!!!!!
I have to say that is a pretty weak way of getting out of anything. Any great sales person knows all angles of the close. You have take-away, suggestive, last one.. which is pretty lame.There are so many different ways. Guys thanks for attending the presentations, I always love to hear new objections. Happy hunting.
Victim of timeshare purchase here! LOL.....wonderful resort, great company plan, coulda -shoulda, but didn't!
To All:
If you are considering a TS presentation. There is only one question to ask yourself. Is the gifting worth my time? Here are some suggestions and the surefire plan I use and it works every time. I am a 2 week TS owner at Sheraton Vistana (the nicest TS for the money) 2 Bedroom and 2 weeks at Star Island (now Wyndham) 3 Bedroom. I love my TS's because I use them. I paid a total of $6000 total for 4 weeks of vacation/year from resales and ebay. No problems or not treated any differently as an owner. It's your property! But you must know how to use them correctly.
Heres the plan:
1. Never ever buy from the developer or TS place. The value lost is worse than driving a new car off the lot. You will lose 75-90% of its value. Buy resale or ebay. Make sure to check carefully reputability of seller.
2. Be educated. Know the TS lingo and the the law. According to Florida law, they have to be complete with the presentation at the time promised to you and your gift received. Your time actually starts after the complimentary breakfast or lunch. When the sales rep starts talking, point out to your spouse that is is 9:15 or whatever time. Once they know you are wise, the presentation is cut way back. Let the sales rep know that the presentation must be complete at 10:45 or 11:15.
3. If you already own a TS, let them know. I tell them to save their talk about the benefits of vacation ownership etc. Time saver.
4. Listen and be courteous but never show interest. If the bait is dangled like a worm to a fish and you show any interest, they are waiting to set the hook and reel you in. Do not say phrases like "This is so beautiful, the kids would love this place" or "I think we can make it happen" If your going to say anything say "Definitely not we are looking for for this kind of money"
5. If you are going o visit multiple resorts, Make an itinerary. Know what timeshares you want to visit before going and set them up ahead of time. Find comparable resales or ebay auctions and print them out and bring them with you. Know the likes and dislikes of the resort you will visit before you visit. This will also cuts down on the presentation time.
Our last visit to Orlando, my wife and I stayed for 2 weeks. Our adult children like to sleep in so we would plan TS presentations in the am for our free breakfasts and tickets and we are usually back to our villa by 9:30 am. We procured over $1800 in tickets for our family of 6 from 7 TS visits. We went to Disney , Universal, Dinner Shows, and didn't pay a dime. Again how much is your time worth???
6. No is not a bad word. Learn to use it frequently. If the sale becomes high pressure or the sales rep becomes rude simply state "what part of no do you not understand?" and state "this presentation is now over", especially if his time is up. Being a little rude yourself after being courteous throughout is OK. If the manager or finance guy come over simply state the same thing again. Don't let them go through their speel. You will never see these people again and most times you'll walk out with over $150 in gifting. Don't ever feel guilty about that.
We have been called timeshare "pros" by more than one sales rep. We have been told that we shouldn't waste their time and my come back is always "Then don't invite us. We took you up on your offer, we came with an open mind, we went on your tour, we understood we were under no obligation to buy, and that we would receive FREE tickets. What part of the obligation did we not live up to?" After that we are usually ushered out.
You can visit these places every 6 months to a year so if you visit the following year go back and get a couple or more FREE gifts. Don't feel guilty, you were invited so take advantage.
Happy timesharing,
Big Mike
I would like to comment on some of the things that you said in your article. Let me just start and say that I am a timeshare sales agent and I am very happy with what I do.
"While fraud used to be pretty common in the industry, particularly in Florida, it has cleaned up its act considerably over the years, thanks to strong consumer protection laws and the entrance of larger corporate players (Marriott, Hilton, Disney) into the marketplace."
This is true that timeshare used to be a very shady industry. <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --The Consumer protection agency ARDA is the national trade organization for vacation owners. It was established over 20 years to world for the state and national regulations. ARDA ensures that its members, comply with a strict code of standards and ethics.(www.arda.org)
"However, timeshare sales people are still prone to making misleading statements."
True, there are some companies that encourage their representatives to be misleading. However, where I work, we have a compliance team that makes sure that if an agent lies, then he/she is terminated. Not only that, our company has families that go on tours in order to make sure that our representatives are not being misleading to the public.
"But the real truth is that YOU WILL NEVER MAKE YOUR MONEY BACK and you certainly won't make a profit. While 50% may be an average loss of price, timeshares can lose as much as 90% of their "value" after the closing."
This maybe true, that is why I never tell the public that this is an investment. Timeshares actually depreciate in value like cars.
"Be wary of the prizes and gifts. This tip comes into play before you agree to go to the presentation. It is usually not even worth the hassle of attending unless the gift is FREE. This means you should not be paying shipping & handling for anything, because I can guarantee that the value of your gift will be no more than the actual s&h on it."
I am not sure what you are talking about here, we give people the gift while they are there. Why would anyone have to pay shipping & handling?
"Actually, you love hotels because you love room service, turndown service and daily housekeeping. Timeshares offer none of those."
This is not actually true. We offer those services at our resort.
"Depending on your state you will have 5-15 days to rescind (get out off) your contract and get your deposit money back."
By Florida Law, it is ten days, which we do disclose to everyone. They are told when they go into to deeding.
"you're stuck with it and might as well just start enjoying your vacations."
There are people who actually enjoy their timeshares. However, it is not for everyone.
I am honest to anyone and everyone that walks through those doors. If someone doesn't buy from me, then that is their choice. Honestly, I would never sit through a two hour presentation just to get a gift; I just don't have the patience. If anyone has any questions, then I would be happy to answer them: LadyDay1979@gmail.com. Thanks and God Bless.
Cassandra, thanks for your comments. I've been to timeshare presentations where they explain that they are going to "ship your gift". It happens.
Timeshare resorts that offer daily housekeeping do so at extra cost. Daily housekeeping is an included service at hotels.
I've been to several time share presentations over the years.
Finally a couple years back I found the one that fitted my needs through Starwood.
You have to very careful and go over the facts when you are at these things and how much use you will get out of them.
You people don't get it, especially the ring leader Embitca. Embitca, why do you keep going to these presentations? You are the con artist. For all of you that agree with Embitca, each of your jobs depend on someone selling something to somebody. Directly, or indirectly, you get paid because someone is selling a product that your company offers. Who are you to decide that your company's product is worth what people pay, but a timeshare is not worth it? How safe would your job be, if everyone was advised to not buy your company's product. I am sure each of you will say that your company does not try to cheat people - well, who are you to say or determine that?
Embitca, people like you are part of the problem. You show up to a timeshare presentation with no intention of buying, showing no respect to a hardworking salesperson, looking to put the product they sell down. You put up such an unfair wall that the salesperson is forced to sometinmes go over the top to sell their product.
Irresponsible media is a big problem in this country. Embitca is a perfect example of someone usingthe media to trashsomething they have no business doing. Embitca, do you think you are protecting people? You are nothing but a self-serving cancer. Your "short-tempered" and unprofessional responses to anyone disagreeing with you shows how much class you have.
Keep up the "good" work!!!
Big Mike,
Everything you advised and said is ok, except one thing. You never go into a presentation with an open mind. You are always predisposed that you are, under no circumstances, going to buy from a developer.
This does not sound like an open mind to me. You are openly bragging that you set up these presentations to freeload as many gifts as you can - open mind? What is your definition of open mind?
You are a big part of the problem. Because the industry has to cover costs for you freeloaders, the prices of the product has to cover these marketing costs. I don't know what you do for a living, but imagine all of your marketing efforts resulting in no sales, but you were forced to give out free gifts. How steady would your paycheck be?
Quit freeloading!!!!!!
Mike, it is ultimately the consumer, the public, who always decides whether any product is worth its price. Many of us have decided that timeshares are NOT worth the price that developers ask for them. The market itself has proven that to be the case since most timeshares resell at enormous discounts on developer prices, sometimes as much as 90%.
No one is forcing a salesperson to do anything and if someone wants to waste their time pressing me with the hard sell, that's their choice. I've spoken with plenty of other timeshare reps who get it and who don't feel the need to lie. They'll spend 90 minutes with me pumping me for info about other timeshares I've been to and how those programs work and then they move on to their next guest.
Timeshare companies are perfectly aware that most people are there solely for the free gift. They've chosen the free gifts model with all its flaws because they are counting on all of the people in the world who can be talked into a sale, and who do make large impulse buys. I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt taking them up on their offer and neither should anyone else. Ethics has nothing to do with it. It is a numbers game. They are gambling that the numbers will work in their favor and obviously they do, otherwise they wouldn't be so successful.
Everything I write is based upon my actual experiences. I'm not trashing anyway by sharing my experience. Consumers have every right to question standard operating procedure, especially in an industry so rife with heavy-handed sales tactics that every state has had to institute laws to allow for a recission period for all timeshare sales.
Many sales reps in the timeshare industry lie for a living. They are aware they are full of crap. They don't care. Not everyone who works for a living spends their entire day lying to people and I have no respect whatsoever for those that do.
I'd just like to add that the "entry of big players" like Hilton doesn't seem to have cleaned up the time share industry at all. Another poster said they had been subjected to high pressure, dishonest salesmanship by Hilton.
I've had the same experience with Accor, which is a huge French-based international hotel chain. We were certainly misled at their presentation. What's worse, you only have 5 days to change your mind - and your cancellation has to arrive at their office before close of business on the fifth day (and it has to be original, not faxed or emailed). Given that their office isn't in a capital city, and allowing for transit time in the mail, that means you really only have a day before you have to fire off that cancellation letter.
Pollie Sigh says:
16 months ago
As a college-educated, licensed Real Estate agent that sells timeshare in the state of Florida, I have a slightly different take on this. I work hard, to earn a living for me and my family. The difference between you and me is that you can go to work and maybe have an "off" day and you will still get paid. You can go to work and do a GREAT job and of course, get paid. I get up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready, drive across the city and be at work at 7 am to accomodate all of the vacationers here in Orlando who want to come in for the tour early to get their free stuff so they have time to get to the attractions. But none of that means I will actually get paid.
When you come to a presentation, you KNOW they are coming to a sales presentation and they KNOW they are getting FREE stuff. Pretty good FREE stuff as a matter of fact. Did you know the average vacation at DisneyWorld runs around $6,000? Well, if a couple can come and do a few tours and get their accomodations and all of their TICKETS for NO MONEY OF THEIR POCKETS well I would think that's a pretty good deal.
From my end I can't tell you how many RUDE people I have shook hands with and taken on the tour that would not RESPOND or talk to me. They act like they are doing me the BIG favor of being there. I rarely see any gratitude at all for those gifts that we give. Forget gratitude, I would love simple courtesy. Believe it or not folks, I would love it if I had to sit around all morning just to see someone who actually came in with an OPEN MIND.
I get pretty tired of being accused of being high-pressure when folks like you come in to MY multi-million $ resort just to get what you can get and waste my time and breath and call me rude just for trying to do my job which is to sell my product- which you agree is FANTASTIC. And yet, you think it's perfectly okay to get over on me if it makes your vacation better for you and your family. Never mind that I just spent another 8-10 hours touring another 3-4 rude freeloaders who "jerked my chain" for 2 to 3 hours asking questions and acting like you wanted to buy something. Or maybe, you asked no questions which means you were just selfish and rude enough to come take 2 to 3 hours of my time when you couldn't even come in with an open mind and give me a chance to earn my living. Instead, you would prefer to take money out of my pocket by wasting my time so that you could get FREE Disney tickets for your kids.
Then I drove home without having earned a penny.
When was the last time you worked for nothing? And top that off with --worked for nothing and at the same time, was treated totally rude. How would you feel if your company gave time and gifts to people only to have them use you to learn everything about your product and then go out and buy it because of all of your time and attention but when payday came around you earned ZERO. Try paying your mortgage on zero. Much less, keep your job.
Do you really think I WANT to tour you anymore than you want to take the tour? The problem is that generally there are about 1 out of 5 to 10 people who come in that DO have an open mind. I don't think that's too much to ask. After all, it's your family that can afford to take the vacation because of me. What have you done for me lately?
Pollie
P.S. Your terminology is wrong when you are talking about the Timeshare. For one thing- the 3 people that you talk to are 1. the Sales Rep 2. The Manager/T.O (he's the closer) 3. The Exit Program Sales Rep (he just gives you a little quickie pitch about a cheap trial program to get your foot in the door so you can be upgraded later.) Generally the "trial" program is okay, but you get what you pay for.
Secondly, timeshare should never be bought as an investment other than an investment into your future vacations.
As far as buying from resell companies- just watch out= you may NOT get all of the same priveledges. For example, you may get the deed but you may not get the POINTS which might be controlled through the Developer. Plus, other perks may not transfer if you ever want to upgrade or convert to another type ownership. Again, you get what you pay for .