My parents were BIG on doing these presentations, and my husband and I have done a couple of them. I read a book on how time shares work, and I was surprised to see that they budget THOUSANDS of dollars into promoting the sales of the time share -- that's how they comp you all those rooms for such low prices. If you're curious about the system, I suggest you pick up a book at the library. It'll be enlightening.
I don't understand why some of you seem rather gleeful at attending these presentations . . . and then being nasty to the salespeople. Shame on you; why be nasty to people, especially when you knew what you were getting into when you accepted the presentation? Turn them down, but be polite about it. It's not hard to decline without profanity or a mean spirit.
If you want to put in only the minimum time, tell them at the begining that you're only going to put in the required 90 minutes, so you want to get started right away. Tell them -- politely -- what time you're beginning. Skip breakfast (or snack) because that doesn't count towards your 90 minutes. When they begin to talk to you about the "time share fuzzy math", tell them that you're familiar with it, and you fully accept that it's a great value -- if you say anything else, you're going to waste your time as they try to convince you. Try to hit the tour as fast as possible; not only is it more fun, but it hurries you to the end faster. Understand that the hard-sell will come at the end, and they have an answer for every negative you can bring up:
- You don't have the money. They finance.
- You want to wait a bit; it's not a good time for you. The price is going up in only two weeks -- you're so lucky to have come in today.
I can't think of others right now, but they are smooth and well-practiced, and I promise you that even though you go in with your mind MADE UP . . . some part of you will say, "Oh, why not just do it?"
Arguments that WILL work:
- I'm interested in your product (interest doesn't necessarily mean intent to purchase -- I'm interested in many things), but before I make up my mind, I am going to visit Hilton and Weston's product before I make a decision. This is a major expense, and I owe it to myself to be an informed consumer.
- Pull out a print-out of the timeshare on the used market, and ask them why you spend 20K for the buy-in when it's $50 on the used maket? The answer they'll give is, But when you buy-in with us, we're going to give you all these lovely gifts -- a free week, 2 plane tickets anywhere. Your answer is, "Okay, a week is worth maybe $1000 and the plane tickets are no more than $1000 each . . . so I don't want to spend an extra $19,500 to save $3000. Be factual, not nasty.
My husband and I did seriously consider under what circumstances we'd buy a timeshare. Chosen well, I don't think it'd ever be a budget choice, but it doesn't have to be a complete sucker's deal. We figure that to do it -- maybe not right, but better:
- Buy second hand. On the secondary market, off-season time shares are basically free, and prime season slots can be had for a couple hundred dollars. The price difference is so large that it's genuinely stupid to buy "new".
- Buy a property that allows you the choice of a season, not a single week. So, for example, buy a spring season timeshare, not Week 10 out of the year. Much more flexibility.
- Buy a property that's a decade or so old; the yearly maintenance fees will be less. And be 100% clear on whether they can be increased over the years. Be clear on whether they can charge you an assessment if, say, a hurricane comes through and tears off the roof.
- Buy a property to which you personally can drive. You don't want to lock yourself into a vacation that requires a plane ticket every year.
- Buy a property that people WANT to trade. You want to trade and visit different places -- so be sure that you're getting a popular place that other people will want; ocean-front or Disney are always going to be more popular than Branson, for example.
- Understand whether this time share is real estate, which you can sell or leave to your children -- or whether it's some other incarnation.
- Before you buy, be crystal clear on how the "trading" works. Two big companies "trade" time shares, and you need to know ahead of time which one you're buying into. Someone above commented that her friend has a Vegas timeshare, but they always end up paying; I'd be willing to bet that she's in a poor trading set-up.
- This is a big one -- my personal favorite, after buy second-hand: buy a lock-out property from Marriot. If you buy the right unit -- a two-bedroom lock-out unit -- it's going to be a one-bedroom with a kitchen . . . attached to a one bedroom hotel room with a bath. You choose to "lock out" the second bedroom, and you use your second week later. So for ONE maintenance fee each year, you can have the one-bedroom condo TWO weeks a year. Thing is, if you choose to "roam" to a property that doesn't have lock-outs . . . they have to give you a two-bedroom for TWO weeks a year. Double the benefit . . . for the same maintenance fee.
- An option that might appeal to some people: Considered "entry level time shares", some time shares give you a vacation place every other year, and they split your maintenance fee into two smaller fees so that you pay less . . . but also vacation less.
- It's obvious to everyone here, but a timeshare -- a luxury item -- is not something you should even remotely consider financing.