How about a TS4Ms charitable cause?

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

I got this idea from a recent post on TUG by rickandcindy23 (aka shopgirl on TS4Ms). What do you think?

Here is the message I wrote on TUG:

Cindy,

I would say that you should follow your own conscience. "Let your conscience be your guide." You know that some of the inventory that these folks get is from the post card companies that use strong arm tactics to get sellers to pay them to take their timeshares. That act is unethical and deplorable. However, I don't believe the best way to stop this practice is to boycott the purchase of these timeshares.

The best way to stop this practice is to start a competing business that provides a superior service for less money. I would say that starting a charity by accepting and selling off timeshares would be a good one. Very similar business strategies can be used, such as post card mailings and eBay auctioning. Maybe we can get TUG to sponsor it. That would serve several purposes. First, it would help provide visibility for TUG. More visibility for TUG is good because the root cause of this issue is the lack of really good information for consumers. If there were good information available, these unethical tactics would be much harder to employ. Second, it would be doing good for charity. And Third, I'm quite sure that many Tuggers would be willing to contribute time and effort to help a charitable cause.

One warning, though, the charities in these programs only get about 10-15% of the proceeds. They will gladly take that amount and the operation required to do this is quite labor intensive.

I would love to participate in this type of endeavor. The big difference of this program and the others you see on eBay is that it would have an education component to it. The model would be a clean one. We would be selling donations to charity and giving. That is a noble act on behalf of the seller. So, selling them on that would be for a good cause.

Lastly, as long as developers are selling product at 200%-300% higher than the market price as they continue to do today, there will be a huge supply and demand imbalance that results in owners who need to sell not having a market to unload their timeshare. These practices are a direct result of the current Timeshare Developer sales and marketing strategies.

In my view, this is the best way to combat the tactics of Timeshare Relief. If anyone wants to do this, I'll contribute time as well.

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

Here's One you don''t hear alot about

I'm SURE the Westgate Fund would gladly take any donations offered.

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

There are already several outfits that sell timeshares for charity. Some of them went out of business quickly. Others like German Language School found inventory so hard to move along that they had to up their criteria, accepting only Gold Crowns for resale. It's not an easy business to run.

I'm wondering too...if somebody has a bunch of timeshares sitting in their inventory, what happens when maint fees are all coming due at beginning of a new year? Does the charitable organization have to pay all those maint fees if they haven't successfully sold their t/s inventory?

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

The German Language School model didn't work because they weren't dumping the timeshares on eBay.

There are plenty of ways to ensure that you don't get left holding the MF bag.

You can use a charities' own telemarketing resources for calling on responders of the post card campaign.

You can buy the lists to contact people and charities are exempt from the Do Not Call list requirements.

And, I even know where to get inventory.

This is actually one of the easier business models to implement and make work.

There is a ton of work involved to make this happen. But, I would be willing to help set it up if we had enough volunteers commit to make it work and keep it going.

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

Isn't there a donation groupt that does move inventory via ebay? I recall a group selling for a "gifts for sight" charity. It seemed they were linked with the closing company named Resort Closings. I haven't noticed these for sale lately, though.

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

Yes, that company is a charity. But, obviously there is more demand than they can handle. Otherwise, there wouldn't be companies such as Timeshare Relief having people pay to do their charitable giving. And, they don't even get a tax deduction for the donation. Isn't that sad?

I have figured out how most of this inventory is acquired. It's actually pretty creative. The majority of the inventory is actually acquired through legitimate and ethical (but borderline) means. It's the Timeshare Relief, post card type deals that this campaign is targeted at. Those are the ones where a superior business model needs to be created simply to stop this unethical practice. Notice I am not advocating legal action. Just competition that way Adam Smith would have wanted it.

And, many charities are fairly passive in their inventory acquisition strategies. They put up a website and wait for people to come to them. What would be different here is that the marketing would be active with outbound calling and post card campaigns. Maybe we could just team up with one of these organizations and help them out.

But, if there isn't any sweeping demand for doing this, I've got lots of other stuff to do. I was just reacting to what some here have considered a gross injustice and coming up with a solution that would help to mitigate it from happening in the future.

[cathyv Member Find all posts View Profile Close cathyv]

I think people need more infomation on how we would set this up, what charity we would support etc. It is a fabulous idea and i think with a bit more info, people might just go for it. What other info might be helpful?

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

I had posted tongue-in-cheek over yonder, but in all seriousness, if there was an upfront fee that would be considered a donation, you could probably make a decent amount of money for a charity. It could become a person's full-time job to coordinate all this. So - who on TS4Ms is currently unemployed and ready to put their knowledge about timeshares into a paying job and help people who are frustrated with their timeshares give them to a good cause?

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

I had posted tongue-in-cheek over yonder, but in all seriousness, if there was an upfront fee that would be considered a donation, you could probably make a decent amount of money for a charity. It could become a person's full-time job to coordinate all this. So - who on TS4Ms is currently unemployed and ready to put their knowledge about timeshares into a paying job and help people who are frustrated with their timeshares give them to a good cause?

This is why charities only receive 10-15% of proceeds. There is still a lot of donated time. But, at the end of the day, this is a business enterprise that must be managed. So, those "employees" get paid.

Probably the best way to get this going is to enlist the support of a timeshare brokerage firm, a closing company and a charity. Those 3 organizations would do the majority of the work. And, they would get paid as they always do. However, part of the proceeds (10-15%) would go to the charitable organization.

Then, what we would do is lend our support to creating copy for ads, maybe create a small website that is directly associated with this site. Place google ad sense ads to catch people looking for charities to donate their timeshares. And, we offer expertise in the timeshares that we would be acquiring. Maybe even support a calling campaign. There is plenty of work for volunteers. We could take business cards to the resorts we visit and make sure the heads of HOAs know that this service existed for their owners.

We could have a charitable donations meter at the top of this website that shows donations to date. It would be fun.

I'm pretty sure that we could get a timeshare brokerage firm, a closing company and a charity lined up for this cause. Heck, it would be free publicity and work from volunteers.

It could be a total winner.

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

Place google ad sense ads to catch people looking for charities to donate their timeshares.

I'd assume that the primary niche market for Timeshare Relief et al is non-computer users - that's why the folks who pay them big bucks don't figure out how to sell their timeshares on ebay themselves. So reaching these people would primarily be via mass-mailed postcards, obtaining names thru public records, rather than internet ads. To create genuine competition for the "postcard companies", a similar marketing strategy (to non-computer users) would be needed. Cash for printing and mailing millions of pieces of mail could be needed to get this going to any significant extent (since it's a percentage game), and then maintain it. In other words, it's not just salaries vs. volunteer time, it's also hard expenses.

Non-profits can take advantage of somewhat lower bulk-mail rates.

Perhaps I'm stating the obvious, but if not, I thought I'd offer this from my 35year background in bulk-mail marketing, and how drastically it has changed since the advent of the internet.

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

I'd assume that the primary niche market for Timeshare Relief et al is non-computer users - that's why the folks who pay them big bucks don't figure out how to sell their timeshares on ebay themselves. So reaching these people would primarily be via mass-mailed postcards, obtaining names thru public records, rather than internet ads. To create genuine competition for the "postcard companies", a similar marketing strategy (to non-computer users) would be needed. Cash for printing and mailing millions of pieces of mail could be needed to get this going to any significant extent (since it's a percentage game), and then maintain it. In other words, it's not just salaries vs. volunteer time, it's also hard expenses.

Non-profits can take advantage of somewhat lower bulk-mail rates.

Perhaps I'm stating the obvious, but if not, I thought I'd offer this from my 35year background in bulk-mail marketing, and how drastically it has changed since the advent of the internet.

This is true. But then again, we would be getting inventory for free. It sounds like we have a bulk mailing expert from whom we can tap expertise.

The good news is that we wouldn't have to run seminars like TS Relief. All we need to do is expose the would be Timeshare Relief victim to the possibility of donation and give them a toll free number to call with a reputatable charity. That would be better than paying to get rid of their timeshare.

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

Okay, I made some calls this morning. I found a broker who is willing to do it. Just need a closing company and a charity.

I think I know the exact closing company to use.

Any ideas on Charities? You know what? How about one to help people like Kathy Holleger? I truly admire her courage and her fight against cancer. She is beloved here. And someone who would embody our efforts.

This idea definitely has potential.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

I suggest St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital

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

I suggest the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund....

http://www.fallenheroesfund.org/fallenheroes/index.php

I would also be willing to help out, if this ever got off the ground.

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

I suggest the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund....

http://www.fallenheroesfund.org/fallenheroes/index.php

I would also be willing to help out, if this ever got off the ground.

Wow, that would be a good one.