Is Timesharesonly.com a black hole?

[milan468 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close milan468]

I wanted to share my recent experience with timesharesonly.com. I advertised my Club Regina membership for sale with them for several years. I changed the ad's wording and price a few times and they were always very responsive. However, there never seemed to be any activity. When I asked about it, I would always get the same answer: "some general inquiries, no offer", and they would confirm that my price is in the right ballpark.

Recently I placed an offer and an inquiry to my own ad under a different name, just to test the system. Sure enough, I wasn't contacted. I called them a week later and got the same response: "just general inquiries, no offer". When I told them about the offer and asked for the explanation, I was transferred to voice mail of a person who is off for a week. We'll see if she ever gets back to me, but I'll keep trying.

Just an insight if you are thinking about selling or renting out with timesharesonly.com...

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Timesharesonly has a lot of listings!! BUT since TO makes most of their money from the up front fees they charge, they don't seem to put a lot of effort into getting sales.

I might recommend them to a buyer as a place to look a TS but I would never recommend them as a place to sell or rent your TS.

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

Black hole is an apt description. They have no motivation to market your timeshare as they already made their money. Off of YOU.

Sorry you learned this the hard way.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Pricing sounds like your issue. I'm willing to bet there are many Regina ads priced lower than yours. Also, your account most likely is not set up correctly. Offers that are received on an ad are automatically sent to the email address on file. If you made an offer on your own ad- an email would have been sent to you. Perhaps your own email filters are to blame.

I recommend that you check the email address you have on record with them, and then pull pricing for all comparable ads. If you aren't priced in the lower range for Regina's- you won't get activity unless your ownership offers something the others do not- and with Regina- it's all floating so there isn't any difference other than price. The TSO reps don't really know what a good price is- they simply base their info on average pricing for each resort. However, pricing at the average of all those ads- means there is a good chance there are only about 25 ads priced less than yours.. Those will be the ads that are getting offers.

I have several ads there and get responses routinely, but I have to routinely check pricing. Often, people will undercut my pricing by as little as $100. and if enough do this- my ads can be pushed past the first page. Most of the offers don't amount to much ($100. offers are common with all the sites I advertise on, as well as multiple attempts to get me to go with a timeshare relief type organization or pay yet another marketing company...).

Good luck.. People often want to blame someone else for their trouble, don't get drawn into the pity party. Take some initiative or you'll never get results anywhere.

[milan468 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close milan468]

I agree that pricing could be an issue, which is why I reviewed it with TSO and lowered several times. My concern is lack of response, and I doubt that email filters are to blame. I called TSO a week after I made an offer from a different email account and was told that there was no activity.

Anyway, pity party was not my goal. I merely wanted to raise awareness with people who may have advertised with TSO that they need to test the system. Maybe my experience was an exception, but I will take it up with TSO. The least I can expect is to have an offer forwarded to me, right?

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

Rikki,

are you saying you have had success in selling a timeshare thru TSO?

I'm wondering how you know so much about how the responses are channelled - are you affiliated with them in some way? We welcome everyone to this site, I was just thinking maybe you have a relationship with them that should be disclosed?

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

I'm wondering how you know so much about how the responses are channelled - are you affiliated with them in some way?

I was wondering the same things...Rikki seems to have lots on information plus was very quick to shift blame to the OP.

His price is not the issue. He tested the system but making an offer at his price under another name/email and Timeshareonly failed to inform him of the offer.

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

Personally, I think the correct and definitive point was made already --- upfront fee parasite companies like this one (and assorted others just like them) make ALL of their money solely from the collection of the "advertising and marketing" fee. They have absolutely no motivation whatsoever to facilitate a sale, since there really isn't another nickel in it for them to do so.

Pricing is almost irrelevant if the parasites can't / won't even bother to properly process the (...surely very few) offers they receive, whether those offers are staged or legitimate. Using these parasites is really no way to sell a timeshare --- it's merely a way to help line their pockets.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Good to know that nobody seems to pay much attention to the classifieds running here.. I've been throwing featured ads at this forum for a few months now- and I thought I'd done a good job of creating some exposure for the brokerage.. I guess not... (Sorry Big Frank- perhaps you can make it a requirement that members must check the classifieds once a month or when we access private messages)...

I work with International Properties/GMAC Real Estate. We are one of the recommended brokerages of Timeshares Only, as well as a recommended brokerage for several other websites and developers. I also currently have more than thirty ads on the Timeshares Only site, and I get quite a bit of buyer activity in that venue.

Accept my apologies if I seemed callous to Milan468- that was not my intention. What I hoped to communicate was the simple fact that regardless of what advertising venue you have chosen- you must simply be willing to stay involved and price correctly. You can't expect the classified to tell you how to price- they won't have any idea. And most sellers don't have the courtesy to call in and cancel the ads when they sell, they simply don't renew. If you are a seller, simply look at your competition that is advertised on the same venue, and think for yourself.

For that brand, there are currently ads priced from $1. to $52,000. Out of those ads- probably the lowest ten routinely get offers- that's how every classified site works. The lowest priced properties are always the most active.

Not every seller can (or should) compete with the $1. sellers- but in order to sell quickly- you must compete with the bottom 10% in pricing. If you can't price in that range- your chances of selling will be poor unless there is something about your ownership that creates a value and a difference.

The offer and notification system of Timeshares Only is automated.. I doubt the computer system has anything personal against Milan (although I wonder about my own machine sometimes). Either the offer wasn't entered properly, her email on file is invalid, or her spam filters are not allowing the info to get through. That's it... No conspiracy- no excitement- no drama......

Milan- Price property, get help figuring out the email aspect- and you should be fine. It's a very tough market right now- the economy and the constant press about hurricanes have really dampened buyer enthusiasm.. Also, there is more competition from rentals than ever before.. But buyers are there! Keep your bait in the water and good luck!

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

Once the money has been taken by Timesharesonly or any other selling or renting company that takes money up front, there is no incentive for them to do anything other than place the ad. This is the problem with these places.

The "let us list your rental for you for 5 years for just $599" and not a thing happens type places or the same case for the sale of a timeshare.

I have not sold a timeshare yet, but have rented. I bought into the story of 'we will rent' and found that not a thing happend with them. Same price on a different site will cause the unit to rent.

Sorry, I am not a fan of 'pay me up front' companies.

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

Thank you, Rikki, for letting us know your business affiliation!

I almost bought thru GMAC/TSO a few years ago, but the $1000 mktg fee on top of the ts price tanked it for me - the ts was only going to be $500, so I just could not justify it for myself.

I forget who the rep was, but she was courteous and disclosed all fees up front. From that standpoint, I was very pleased - many seem to think that companies such as these are sneaky and underhanded but that was not at all my experience - the company does what the company does and we can choose to use their services or not.

I appreciate your insight, Rikki!

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Good to know that nobody seems to pay much attention to the classifieds running here..

I did see your ad in the forum. But I have no idea what is the relationship between you, your company and the ad company, so I let you answer that question.

If they have all the process set up automatically, than it does not have any reason that op did not get her own offer. But sounds like it is kind of work to set up the ad and offer part correctly.

Jya-Ning

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

The words of a wise man...

Once the money has been taken by Timesharesonly or any other selling or renting company that takes money up front, there is no incentive for them to do anything other than place the ad. This is the problem with these places. ......
Sorry, I am not a fan of 'pay me up front' companies.

In the Sept. / Oct. 2008 issue of TimeSharing Today magazine (issue #101), the feature story addresses the motivations and experiences of owners selling (or trying to sell) their timeshares. The total number of survey participants (presumably TimeSharing Today subscribers) is not actually identified, so the results may not refelect all sellers everywhere. Nonetheless, one particular paragraph really caught my eye. I quote it word for word below, but the bold and underline additions are my own:

"Almost half (48%) of respondents to the survey reported having been solicited to pay an advance fee to a company seeking to sell their timeshares. Forty four percent (44%) of those solicited paid upfront fees ranging from $100 to $2,800. ALL reported that the soliciting company was NOT successful in selling".

It's pretty sad that nearly half of the respondents took the bait from these upfront fee thieves.
Their "selling success rate" of exactly ZERO speaks (and speaks volumes) for itself....

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Anytime I see the word "statistics"- I normally expect that what follows isn't entirely true... Funny how there are ads for up-front fee companies on almost every other page of that issue.. A few months ago, the feature article promoted Timeshare Relief- another advertiser there. The featured article promotion is part of an advertising package you can buy. I thought about buying in as well, but the cost didn't seem reasonable to me. Last issue featured Mario Collura of TriWest, I believe.

Most sellers don't have a choice but to pay some type of upfront or advertising fee. Brokers only accept a few high-end properties where commissions are possible... I doubt you'll find many past timeshare owners (in other words- sellers that did manage to get rid of their ownerships) that are subscribers to that newsletter.

I'd hate to see your emotional reaction encourage more people to go the Timeshare Relief route. Advertising is the only hope most sellers have, and they'll have to pay for that in most cases.... I pay for advertising all the time- without it- I wouldn't have any clients...

We should all encourage and educate sellers at every opportunity we have- and try to give them as many options as possible..

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

We should all encourage and educate sellers at every opportunity we have- and try to give them as many options as possible..

I agree with this line completely.

I also agree that in most cases, advertising is not free. BUT, a $20 ad on Redweek is not the same as a couple thousand dollars spent in another venue.

Cost vs benefit is always a good analysis to do, no matter where you plan to advertise, or at what cost.