At What Point Will You Stop Doing This?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I have mixed emotions about doing something about this.

There have been little things in the past that don't seem that important, that I have pursued, that have become or affected policy at the exchange companies. Likely, others were pusuing them, too, but I know of one, with II, that changed because I pursued it, that being making Orlando Getaways available to Orlando owners.

RCI-wise, transferring Spacebanked Weeks comes to mind. I have saved a 1999 message from RCI regarding that, then it subsequently became policy, with a fee.

In my situation now, in order to pursue it I would have to go into courtesies that are done for special circumstances, and that pursuit may eliminate that, making the situation worse not just for me and mine, but for everyone. Sometimes instead of makings things better for one it is easier to make them uniformly worse for all.

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

I suspect if Lawren called RCI on both the 12/12 and 12/5 deposits, there would likely only be one each week, maybe, at the most, a couple.

You could put the one you do see on hold, and then ask Lawren whether she still sees both.

That's how, when I have 2 unequal-trading weeks in my spacebank, I've ascertained that the weaker one is seeing only units that RCI has more than one of - I put something on hold, and search again w/my better week, and the better trader still picks it up.

If it's something I might want and don't decide fast enough, at some point my weaker trader won't see it, presumably when they're down to one, and then I'll have to use my stronger trader for the exchange - unfortunately I've made that mistake.

Of course this may not be what's happening in your case, but that's how you can tell for sure, without resorting on a phone call to a VG which may or may not be reliable.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Jim a few years ago I had deposited a week that always performed very well within RCI and it was a total dog. RCI did not want to hear about what I had accomplished with that same fixed week for years on end.

I did not continue to push them. I deposited somewhere else and got what I needed. As a matter of fact I don't have a single weeks vacation for 2009 coming from RCI out of the 6 I have booked. When I get po'd I get po'd.

2 years later they got the week back and it's back to the level it was at in the first place. However it is to be pointed out that the deposit was made 18 months out, not a year or less.

I never even saw the week hit the system.

Calling and making things worse for all is not something I'd like to see anyone persue as we do know what has happened in the past.

Just taking a look at some of my more familiar haunts I can state with certainty that RCI is not getting what they used to get or else the on-line system is finally working the way it should and we indeed just see the "left-overs" when we manually search, or both. I hold Glitter's within 30 days on-going match results as a glowing example of that. A nail biter for sure but it worked for Easter SW Coastal Florida and is worked for east coast summer too.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

You could put the one you do see on hold, and then ask Lawren whether she still sees both.

That's how, when I have 2 unequal-trading weeks in my spacebank, I've ascertained that the weaker one is seeing only units that RCI has more than one of - I put something on hold, and search again w/my better week, and the better trader still picks it up.

If it's something I might want and don't decide fast enough, at some point my weaker trader won't see it, presumably when they're down to one, and then I'll have to use my stronger trader for the exchange - unfortunately I've made that mistake.

Of course this may not be what's happening in your case, but that's how you can tell for sure, without resorting on a phone call to a VG which may or may not be reliable.

I would be willing to try this but I get the feeling it is one unit per week, just from a history standpoint at the resort(s) in question.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

My favorite reply so far, received by email, is, "You have gotten a lot of great exchanges you did not deserve. Now you're not. What so strange about that?"


Today I am going to change my sign from The End Is Near to The End Is Nearer.

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

You mean you got that from RCI?

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Reading this thread is just one more reason why I'm glad I don't have a lot of inventory that exchanges through RCI and, that the two I do have, I use for personal usage, not exchanging.

I'm not saying that I.I. is without a few quirks but I'm still getting some good exchanges with manual searchs online. This morning I booked a 2 bedroom at Grand Timber Lodge in Breckenridge, CO for July of next year.

In reviewing our 2009 vacations, there aren't as many exchanges as in past years. In Jan we used our HGVC points for an internal exchange to Hawaii. In May we used our Marriott deposit with I.I. for a internal Marriott exchange to Boston. July is an I.I. exchange for Breckenridge. In October we used our HGVC points for 2009 and 2010 for a cruise exchange to the W. Med and in December we'll use our Marriott week on Singer Island, FL. March will either be using our owned week at Grand Chateau in Vegas or, a Marriott internal exchange through I.I. into Newport Coast Villa's. Although I'm losing hope of getting that particular exchange.

A couple of years after we started out we were doing a lot of exchanges. Little by little that seems to be changing with us using internal exchanges or home resorts more and the major exchagne companies less. I don't keep a personal account with RCI because I don't trust them any further than I can through them. I'm still finding value with I.I. and, I have enough lock-off units with I.I. that I'll keep using them for the forseeable future.

So as far as we've been concerned, with RCI, the end has come and gone.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

If you mean what I said in #20, no, that did not come from someone now working for RCI.

Actually, to be fair, in a follow-up email, I believe the did not deserve is no longer there. So, make it a lot of good exchanges in the past that you no longer can.

You mean you got that from RCI?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

In fairness, I believe what the person is trying to try tell me (something I already know) is that what is apples is apples is constantly changing, and then trying to apply that to the really wierd new search results, where sometimes apples is apples and sometime it is not, and there appears to be no rhyme nor reason for it.

Sometimes, a glitch is a glitch is all the explanantion needed, and attempts to justify or rationalize is wasted energy.

[gondep Member Find all posts View Profile Close gondep]

the two I do have, I use for personal usage, not exchanging.

I think there is a possibility that this factors into what lawren2 said at the end of #18:

Just taking a look at some of my more familiar haunts I can state with certainty that RCI is not getting what they used to get or else the on-line system is finally working the way it should and we indeed just see the "left-overs" when we manually search, or both. I hold Glitter's within 30 days on-going match results as a glowing example of that. A nail biter for sure but it worked for Easter SW Coastal Florida and is worked for east coast summer too.

I am new to the TS world - sort of. I bought in 2000 from a developer and didn't use it at all for about 4-5 years. Since then I've started to learn more and use it more. Back when I bought I'm not sure that sites like this one were in existance. And if they were, internet access wasn't as broad. And if it was somewhat as broad, it wasn't as fast.

I've learned how to make good reservations, work the exchange companies, and lots of other things. One of the most valuable lessons is that if you buy a place you plan to use then you never have to be dissappointed with exchanges. My 2nd TS purchase was just that. And I don't plan on having to ever exchange it.

My point is I've learned a ton from sites like this and TUG. So maybe sites like this have had the unplanned effect of reducing good exchange inventory by helping people rescind bad purchases, buy only what you use, and become trading experts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for sites like this. I'm conflicted as to wether I wish I would have found this during my rescison period on my 1st purchase because I wouldn't know what I know now and I wouldn't have gone to some of the places I've gone.

Just my $0.02

[BILL_B Member Find all posts View Profile Close BILL_B]

Quote - My point is I've learned a ton from sites like this and TUG. So maybe sites like this have had the unplanned effect of reducing good exchange inventory by helping people rescind bad purchases, buy only what you use, and become trading experts.



I agree with this : as more people become internet and RCI knowledgable there will be more ongoing searches created. Being able to see less while searching doesn't necessarily mean fewer deposits being made (or being diverted to rentals as some feel) just that perhaps more of them are being matched up immediately.

I personally only have two weeks that I trade and while I see less with them than I did in the past I've had no difficulty in obtaining the desired trades by starting an on-going search.

Bill

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

I haven't been in the TS game all that long. I tried RCI for 1 year and never found a thing of value for me. I have used II for most exchanges and done some fine trades at SFX, HTSE and TPI. I think that as a west coaster, RCI is just not as useful for me. If I lived on the east coast near the vast majority of TS, I may feel differently. II & the independents offer more inventory that I am intersted in or have the quality I enjoy. So I am happy with what I still can obtain when I choose to exchange. I say choose because I am doing less & less exchanging. It is not because the trades are not there. It is because I can't afford to fly or even drive to all the great resorts that appear on the exchange lists. My exchanging days may be numbered. Thank goodness I bought 90% where I can drive easily and at places I love.

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

Is it possible that RCI has developed a "block" system that blocks out a second week match in a resort or resort area (i.e. back to back weeks)? So you have 12/12 and you want 12/5 but you cannot get it because RCI has blocked that possibility? I have seen this trend over the past 2 years.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

In all fairness to me (which is my main concern ) the emails I have received critical of my whining about losing trading power are not well founded.

I have re-read my OP, and subsequent ones, and from them it should be obvious that I have accepted that fate, having been beaten into submission by declining quanity and quality of exchange options over the years.

Those who know me from here and elsewhere, and who have followed my January in SW Florida threads, know that I have accepted my fate. They know I have adjusted us to accomodate RCI.

Those who have read my comments over the last ten years know that I am also accustomed to crappy attitudes from some RCI employees (and good from others). You know that I have been balanced in my praise and criticism, mostly just realistic reporting of realistic situations (some good, some not).

My OP in this thread is not about that . . . it is about the strange new abborations, never before seen in tens of thousands of searches.

The apparent changing in trading power of a week once it is deposited.

The availability of some deposits, but not others at the same resort, when all are equally crappy and previously all available.

Not now seeing a resort the same week I previously saw it, when I know there is availability.

One thing most Guides still do not understand is that we have the ability to know more than they know, by cooperating with each other and focusing our attention to an area of interest over a long period of time.

That renders their BS explanations useless, and that is frustrating for them.

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

Jim, thank you.

Just when I think, maybe I should renew my RCI membership beyond Dec '08, you bring me back to reality and saved me a couple of hundred $.