Does anyone here own a timeshare?

[shardian]

First off, no I am not buying one or even interested.  Just curious if anyone here flat out owns a timeshare.

I did however win an auction on ebay for some persons timeshare week in Myrtle Beach for later this month. Apparently, selling weeks is a big thing with timeshares now. If you are able to plan vacations close to last-minute, you can get pretty good deals it seems. I think it will be sweet, because I always remember walking past the fancy oceanfront resorts and wishing I was rich enough to stay in them instead of the ---smurfy--- roach motel down the street. Well, now I AM staying in the sweet resort, and for about the same price as the roach motel. 

Has anyone else ever bought a timeshare week on ebay?

[shardian]

The only thing left to contemplate is if we want to take the freebie timeshare challenge. I don't want the stress and hassle of a timeshare tour, but the wife wants to go to medieval times. Tickets are over $50 each for that place now. I guess it depends on what all the place is offering to take a tour. I wouldn't do it for less than $150 in tickets to places.

[ahofle]

My wife's family has a timeshare up in the mountains.  Overall it's a pretty good setup.  You can also trade in your week for another property at a different time which is nice.  We used that feature to stay in Orlando near Disneyworld a few years ago.  I'm not sure how great an investment it is however since I don't pay any the fees/dues.

[shardian]

Our place is $320 a night on all the online hotel places for a standard 2br condo. I am averaging out to $160 per night for a deluxe 2br by buying thru ebay. I don't think you can even find a place for $160 on the beach in July. If you can find one closer to $100, it is probably a total crap hole.

[RayB]

The only thing left to contemplate is if we want to take the freebie timeshare challenge. I don't want the stress and hassle of a timeshare tour, but the wife wants to go to medieval times. Tickets are over $50 each for that place now. I guess it depends on what all the place is offering to take a tour. I wouldn't do it for less than $150 in tickets to places.

Don't do it. They'll do the hard sell and keeping you "touring" you endlessly trying to wear you down into a sale. In the end your time will feel way more valuable than the $50 ticket.

[shardian]

I've done one before in Gatlinburg that was super easy, and I got tix to Dixie Stampede and the aquarium. Of course, there was no tour then because the hotel wasn't built. We just got a sales presentation, and the presenters really weren't that bad. They were never rude or pushy.

Having said that, we are staying in a Fairfield Wyndham resort, and I have heard the fairfield people are the absolute worst. Part of me wants to do it to 'prove we are up to the challenge'.  I just don't want to get into the situation where the salesperson upsets me or the wife and ruin a day of vacation.

[boykster]

We have a timeshare week down in Cabo that was purchased at a moment of weakness during our honeymoon.  Its nice having that 'built in' vacation that we can rely on, and its a really nice resort (Playa Grande).  As for taking the tour / getting the sales pitch, it sounds like you've got the right attitude.  You definately have to weigh the "cost" of the time and hassle it takes vs the benefit.  Our trip down to cabo this year we were adamant that we weren't going to do any timeshare tours, and we didn't.  I even turned down $500 cash + a dinner cruise.  My vacation time is MUCH more valuable than that.

I don't recommend timeshares to any of my friends, but for a lot of people, they're a good value if used properly.  We cancelled our RCI membership, and can no longer trade our timeshare for other resorts, but thru our resort we can bank, borrow, and buy weeks. 

I've never tried buying a week off of ebay, I'll have to check that out!

[hypernova]

My in-laws own one, as did my own parents.  My parents' is just about up in Grand Cayman.  Nothing to do there, -really.  My in-laws still have theirs, and freely dish it out to whomever could use it.  We used it a couple years ago for my wife's sister's wedding.  We stayed a few days in Atlantic City.  It was about two blocks from Boardwalk.

We took the "challenge."  It was supposed to have lasted for over an hour.  We were out in 15 minutes, with a cool $75 cash in our pocket.

How?  We said the timeshare wasn't ours in the first place, and we were poor and couldn't possibly afford one, so the guy sent us down to the desk to get our money, and we were done.   I'll never again make $300/hour like that again in my life, probably.

[boykster]

We have a timeshare week down in Cabo that was purchased at a moment of weakness during our honeymoon.

Little off topic, but a warning to everyone that you should be extremely careful buying time shares in Mexico. 

It's illegal for Americans to directly own property there, so you'll get some kind of 'right to use' permit which isn't really worth the paper it's printed on.

True; the one we "bought" is through an american 'shell' company, and frankly seemed as corrupt as corrupt can be.  If it wasn't for my new bride batting her eyelashes at me I wouldn't have even considered it.

My parents' is just about up in Grand Cayman.  Nothing to do there, -really. 

Wow, you're the first person I've ever heard of complaining about being bored in the Caymans.  Really.  Beaches, scuba - some of the best wall diving in the world is just off those 3 islands, snorkeling, fishing, boating, etc.....

I'm a bit biased, since my parents live on Cayman Brac though 

[AtomSmasher]

We took the "challenge."  It was supposed to have lasted for over an hour.  We were out in 15 minutes, with a cool $75 cash in our pocket.

How?  We said the timeshare wasn't ours in the first place, and we were poor and couldn't possibly afford one, so the guy sent us down to the desk to get our money, and we were done.   I'll never again make $300/hour like that again in my life, probably.

Heh, my parents used to go to those timeshare meetings quite a bit to get the discounts and free stuff, and they said they were almost always done in 15 minutes (only the stubburn places kept them the full hour or two).  Basically my parents told them they had no intention of buying a timeshare, they are both self-employed without a lot of excess cash, and they already own a boat and a camper which they normally use for vacations.  All of which was true at the time, and none of which is something the timeshare people like to hear.

[bishmasterb]

The only thing left to contemplate is if we want to take the freebie timeshare challenge. I don't want the stress and hassle of a timeshare tour, but the wife wants to go to medieval times. Tickets are over $50 each for that place now. I guess it depends on what all the place is offering to take a tour. I wouldn't do it for less than $150 in tickets to places.

The wife and I did the free trip to Vegas once by agreeing to go to a time share sales pitch.

I asked in advance how long it would take, and they said an hour. When I showed up to the sales office, I told them in advance that we were seeing a movie in an hour and a half and I'd be leaving after an hour.

Of course, they were still "put off" when the hour passed, but I think it went easier than it would have otherwise because I was able to tell the guy "I told you so."

[Goz]

The wife and I own a couple of time shares. (Lake Tahoe and Phoenix). We typically trade our weeks via RCI for vacation time in other locations or for a cruise.