Inconsistent Trade Values?

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

I have membership in both RCI and II. I also own at more than one Resort. Looking at my Resort's Trade Values, I find that RCI seems to have the more Inconsistent Trade Values. My II Spacebanked and non-spacebanked weeks seem to have the same trade value.

Sometimes, my 2 resorts have the same Trade Value with RCI. They both are able to pull Hawaiian Resorts for Jan and Feb., 1 1/2 years out.

Othertimes, the Florida Resort( same week, same deposit time) has 1/3 the Trade Value of my Wisconsin Resort. I find this to be too great a difference.

Do you find this happening year to year with your RCI Resort's spacebanked weeks?

Walt

[DDI Par Member Find all posts View Profile Close DDI Par]

Exchange values hard to figure

Walt:

I, too, have a hard time figuring out how our deposits are valued by RCI and also II. Sometimes they are counterintuitive.

Example: I just used a week from one of our Sedona resorts deposited with II to exchange into Park City, Utah. That week, a pretty good trader, when used to search, came up with 165 locations, from Argentina to Zanzibar, on II, with multiple resorts in most of those locations. However, our deposited week from the same resort for the next year yielded only about 50 locations, even though that deposited week was for the highest demand week in Arizona mountains, according to the II demand chart at the front of every region listed in the directory.

Another example: Our Kona, Hawaii 5-star resort does not yield as many locations in a search as our deposited week from another Sedona resort we own. Sedona trumps Hawaii? Doesn't make sense to me.

As for RCI, it is hard to tell what our trading power or exchange power is. We have generally deposited the above Sedona weeks with RCI and have received good or excellent exchange results. But trying to pull resorts in places like Europe or Hawaii is extremely limited or almost non-existent with our Gold Crown, all red-time resort.

Ten years ago we bundled three years' worth of deposits with RCI and traded into Portugal, Spain and Italy for a 6-week trip--staying in a timeshare one week, then traveling the next week to arrive at the next timeshare. I don't think it would be that easy to do today, since RCI availability has gone way down in the interim. Big Frank just did it, however, according to his posts, and I have wondered exactly how he accomplished that.

The whole trading power thing is such a mystery, and if you ask Madge over yonder, you get the old "proprietory information" (well-guarded secret) response.

In essence, we own 3 Gold Crown/5 star, all red-time resorts in Sedona and Hawaii, which should be super traders, especially since we deposit our weeks at least a year in advance. But, the inconsistancy of what those deposits will pull continue to befuddle us. Walt, good luck on figuring this all out!

DDI Par

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

That is the problem with the secret nature of trading power values in the weeks based exchange system.

It's really good if you know the system and have an intuitive feel for trading power and the likely exchanges you will receive.

If you don't, you will be eaten alive by either paying too much for the trading power you get, or not being able to get anything good.

And, trading power values are in constant flux and what was once a great trader can become a dog. Ask people who own South Africa weeks.

If you are an average vacationer and you don't want to play the game of out foxing the next exchanger, then you may be better off with a different vacationing alternative.

I get great trades in weeks exchange because the trading power rules are like swiss cheese. The upside to weeks based exchange are the tremendous trade ups that are available there. It's like sports fishing. You trade you little minnows or bait fish for a nice tuna or mahi mahi. But, you've got to know what you're doing to make it so.

So, if you are buying a timeshare to trade, remember that it's like getting on the fishing boat. Make sure you have the right bait and your captain or you know how to catch the really big fish. Otherwise, you may be better off going to the grocery store or a seafood restraurant to get that swordfish steak.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

It supposed to be like that

I have membership in both RCI and II. I also own at more than one Resort. Looking at my Resort's Trade Values, I find that RCI seems to have the more Inconsistent Trade Values. My II Spacebanked and non-spacebanked weeks seem to have the same trade value.

Sometimes, my 2 resorts have the same Trade Value with RCI. They both are able to pull Hawaiian Resorts for Jan and Feb., 1 1/2 years out.

Othertimes, the Florida Resort( same week, same deposit time) has 1/3 the Trade Value of my Wisconsin Resort. I find this to be too great a difference.

Do you find this happening year to year with your RCI Resort's spacebanked weeks?

Walt

And the question is? This is, according to the weeks advocates, the way things are supposed to work. You don't know what you have, what you can get and if you figure it out it changes tomorrow. That way no one can rig the system since effectively there is no system! It's a gamblers play, and the house always wins overall and if you don't like that approach look to other methods. There are no answers to the take everything in weeks systems.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I would imagine that changes are being made to trade power whenever anyone notices something is out of line- more so with RCI than II (and unless a member notices it there will be no commentary). There is also the question of quality, which blocks availability of many resorts which vary significantly from the deposited week. With II, you also have the size question-in that II goes with the like for like principal. You can often expand the possible trade options by making a phone call to the exchange people who can see things that we can't online.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

I have had some inconsistency in trade value for my weeks and RCI seems to have no answer for me. I have a week I deposited recently that will not pull what another week can pull and it makes absolutely no sense because my newest deposit is more into the summer (mid-June) than my older one, which is early June.

There has been no change in trading power for our resort in general, according to three different RCI reps. Who knows? I pulled Fairfield Waikiki Beach with the earlier week and cannot see any weeks for that resort with my second one. It is a conundrum. I will probably convert the week to points if the trading power does not change within the next six months or so.

I have been impressed that our little ol' one bedroom at Pahio@Bali Hai is pulling two bedroom Shearwaters very easily. We just bought a Shearwater and are rethinking that crazy purchase. If I can get Shearwater with a one bedroom, I should be buying more of those.

[resortmaster Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close resortmaster]

re:inconsistent trade values

the trade values it also depends when do you deposit the week into RCI. the longer you deposited, the better trading power you will get. That is why trade value varies

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I have to disagree with this as early deposits (one year or more pre-occupancy) only get a trade power bonus of 10% unless RCI has made changes in the past few years. Tho this is a difference, it will not show substantial additional weeks.

the trade values it also depends when do you deposit the week into RCI. the longer you deposited, the better trading power you will get. That is why trade value varies