Why do timeshares loose so much value

[The Conch Man Past Goumba President & BigFrank's Cigar Buddy! Find all posts View Profile Close The Conch Man]

I've been readin these posts several times over ~~ Don't want to get into any more discussions bout it ~~ not like what happen at "Tug" a few years back with arguin with idiots ~~ but ~~ think of it this way ~~ Timeshares are like buyin Automobiles ~~ new or used ~~ Value for both decreases when you sign on the bottom line ~~ the salesman always has a smile ~~ In time both get old & run down ~~ mean while ~~ you still continue to put money into either one of them ~~ until you start shoppin all over again to replace them ~~ "JMHO" ~~

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

If someone does not buy form the developer who will be selling to the secondary market?

Daniel

Exceptional point! Was thinking the same thing myself.

If everyone wised up to the sales practices don't you think that the developers would have to lower their prices?

Just a thought...

[VVTrader Member Find all posts View Profile Close VVTrader]

timeshare resale

I purchased a new timeshare at Mizner in Weston Florida for $19,000 at Thanksgiving of 2005. It opened earlier in the year. I then rescinded the sale on the last day after returning home and finding out about resale. I then got on Ebay and bought an every other year at Mizner for $ 265 plus closing. Even figuring closing it comes out to about 10% on the dollar for a brand new resort.
Of course this resort has no internal trading (big factor IMHO) and I'm sure they've roped more people in with the usual sales tactics that assure a sale from people after they return home and feel they've been taken.
If there are other factors than these two I'd like to know about them.
The timeshare industry could do themselves a huge favor by making sure resorts have internal trading and selling at a lower rate and cutting out the sales tactics.

[reddiablosv Member Find all posts View Profile Close reddiablosv]

I've been readin these posts several times over ~~ Don't want to get into any more discussions bout it ~~ not like what happen at "Tug" a few years back with arguin with idiots ~~ but ~~ think of it this way ~~ Timeshares are like buyin Automobiles ~~ new or used ~~ Value for both decreases when you sign on the bottom line ~~ the salesman always has a smile ~~ In time both get old & run down ~~ mean while ~~ you still continue to put money into either one of them ~~ until you start shoppin all over again to replace them ~~ "JMHO" ~~

Some Collector's autos go up in value! IMHO Ben

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

There are some timeshares which have truely gone up in value. Like Marriott Newport and WKOR, but they are few and far between. There are reasons to buy from the developer but since there are so amny people who buy and then don't want their TS that buying a TS at resell prices will almost always be the best deal.

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

Here another view. You are on vacation and take the tour, you see a beautiful spotless unit with everything you could ask for and a sales guy is telling you about all the wonders of timeshare- sounds good- you buy.
6 years later the place doesn't look as nice, you are only there because if you didn't go you would have to bank the week and you already have one expiring soon anyway. Things are not going as well and you don't feel as good as you did 6 years ago.
So it was great in the beginning, but things didn't work the way you thought they would. Now you just want to stay home but you have this maintenance fee to pay every year. Maybe things are 1/2 as good as they first were, and if you ended up with less than one of the better weeks, things are 1/3 or 1/4 as good as you thought at first. Sometimes it takes a few upfront fees without results before you realize what your week is worth.

[mschatz Member Find all posts View Profile Close mschatz]

They don't lose value

I don't think timeshares actually lose value. Resales prices are lower than developer prices because people overpay developers. The "value" is exactly the same.

I might be willing to pay $100 for dinner at a fancy steakhouse when I could get the same quality meal for $50 somewhere else. The meal at the steakhouse wasn't valued at $100, but I may have been willing to pay it.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I don't think timeshares actually lose value. Resales prices are lower than developer prices because people overpay developers. The "value" is exactly the same.

I might be willing to pay $100 for dinner at a fancy steakhouse when I could get the same quality meal for $50 somewhere else. The meal at the steakhouse wasn't valued at $100, but I may have been willing to pay it.

As I commented earlier in this thread, the value of the timeshare doesn't change. The price does.

When a person buys a timeshare from a developer, presumably the person decides to buy because he or she believes the value of owning the timeshare exceeds the cost of owning the timeshare. The fact that the owner may have paid twice as much as they needed to doesn't mean the ownershiip is no longer a good value.

[mschatz Member Find all posts View Profile Close mschatz]

I agree

Steve,

You have said it far more clearly than I.