How did you buy or acquire your first timeshare?

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

How did you buy or acquire your first timeshare?

Developer direct sale or resale market?
Did you use a broker or buy on ebay or another website?
Did you inherit it or someone give it to you?

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

I bought my first timeshare from the developer but quickly rescinded it after reading the condo docs.
Then a few years later I bought my first timeshares that I actually paid and followed thru on thru ebay
from an owner who was tired of coming to Florida and from a PCC.

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

We bought our first timeshare from the developer in Virginia Beach. The resort was still under construction and it was just over a year before we could even use it. Luckily the developer is fairly stable.

[jackio Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close jackio]

I bought my first timeshare from a resale broker after taking a timeshare tour while in Orlando. At a tourist stop, there were flyers that read don't buy retail. It cost me $5200 but back then that was a great price for Vistana. They were going for $18K and ebay didn't exist.

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

My first was a resale Wyndham points purchase, through a known reseller. His MO was to acquire fixed weeks very inexpensively, pay for the points conversion, and then resell them. When the bottom fell out of the market in the recession, he closed that bit of his activity because it was no longer able to turn a profit.

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

I hit "through a website" because we got ours off of TUG, however I maybe should have clicked "broker" because Boca Bum was involved in the actual purchase.

We'd stayed in various TS rentals over the years but none of them had particularly excited us because we didn't like the idea of committing to a week or having to trade through RCI. Then hubby's boss gave us his trade into a Bluegreen resort, and hubby signed up for the spiel for tickets. Neither one of us planned on buying, but as soon as we heard about points systems, both of us got excited. We only bought a "Sampler" (one year's worth of points) there, but as soon as we got home I got researching while we spent a few months trying out other BG resorts. BG had resorts a number of places we particularly wanted to go (some of which we have yet to get to -- curse you, Disney, for derailing all my plans!), negligible resort or parking fees, no cleaning fees, and just generally fit our bill, plus we liked the resorts we'd stayed at. I would have waited for a CMV UDI, but hubby got impatient. Probably just as well. I planned to get more points initially and hung onto that plan for a long time, but I kept finding such great deals through what we have I never really got motivated on that front, and now I'm looking ahead and thinking we won't be traveling with the troops much longer anyhow.

Then again, once I get some kids out from underfoot, maybe I'd be more interested in spending the extra time making the best use of a UDI would take.

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

Bought the first one from the developer. This was back in 1974, there was no resale market yet. We (my ex and my parents) went down to view them (San Diego Country Estates). They were sold as floating in two week increments. If you stayed there you could break up your time by the night, and you got free golf privileges. So we each bought a two-bedroom two week unit.

Since we only lived a little over an hour away we used it a lot for weekends. After about a year (or maybe less) the four of us bought a one-bedroom to share to use for trades.

Postscript, in the divorce my ex got the two-bedroom two weeks, I got the half share with my parents. Over time I now have full ownership of the one bedroom which I use entirely for trades as this point.

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

We bought directly from the developer "Glen Ivy" at a sales presentation in San Diego. The resort was San Luis Bay Inn and was still under construction. There was no pressure to buy and in fact the Sales Manager asked if we were sure we really wanted to buy it.

We were very happy with our purchase until Wyndham took over the management so we sold it.

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

I bought just like Chris, but on a faster timeline

I was invited with my wife to Orlando///Free room/// all we had to do was attend at short presentation at Wyndhams Bonnet Creek

We signed on for a very small points ownership (84000 points/ $12000). rescinded 2 days later, But I liked the product, not the price So after a little on line research found the secondary market and ebay where a month later, I bought 385000 points for a dollar, plus about $750 closing and transfer fees.

[scootr5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close scootr5]

First couple were off of eBay, a bit impulsively. No major mistakes and they're since gone (actually for a few $$$ profit), replaced by ones that fit/and or work better.

[slip Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close slip]

Bought off EBay after researching. Still own it and still love it.

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Bought from Developer after offer in the mail for a nights stay,dinner and a show. This was at the Donatello in San Francisco. The night was at the Donatello,dinner at top of Bank of America building was great and play was great. I was hooked.
Bart

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

We bought from a developer, went home and to the library the next day for some late (better late than never) research....this was before the age of computers....and rescinded. We later learned about the South Africa timeshares from OY and subsequently made our first resale purchase at Mount Amanzi.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

I marked bought through a broker, but we actually bought it from a condo salesman who had taken the two weeks off someone as an incentive to buy a full ownership condo. We paid about 1200, used for 22 years, and sold for 500, so we didn't lose very much.

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

My first was a eoy one bed mexico ts. My sales guy threw in a marlin trip, 3 years of RCI, 3 extra vacations, 10 $50 resort certificates, 2 massauges, 2 blankets and 1 bottle of really good reposado tequilla. I told him I would sign but would be canceling this contract and was only signing for the incentives. They made me sign a document that stated I could not cancel, which I did sign but told them I would be in to cancel tomorrow. They said I could not cancel and I said whatever, I want to go fishing.

Long story short, I went back every day of my trip to cancel but was not able to meet with the sales manager to cancel so we would use up the $50 certificates at the bars and restaurants. I also caught a marlin. My wife and her friend got the massages. We drank the tequila.

I did call VISA to let them know I was canceling this contract and the charges were not to be paid for the timeshare.

The resort also paid my wife the $300 for attending the presentation. They didn't want the RCI membership back or the extra vacations. We ended up using two of the extra vacations in Florida a year latter.

I figure it cost the resort about $2,200 to not cancel this contract swiftly. They could have just canceled this on the day I bought it like I suggested but instead they thought they should wait me out.