Dealing with retail markup
Many of our visitors have at one time or another considered purchasing a timeshare. Often this consideration is the result of an aggressive sails pitch selling the timeshare as an excellent investment product.
If you’re currently contemplating buying a timeshare at retail, please do one of the following:
DON’T DO IT. Ignore the crap the salesman tells you and believe what the timeshare-experienced tell you. It’s a bad deal in the short AND long runs. In fact, the longer you hold onto it the worse off you will be. The markup on the timeshare will yield the salesman thousands in commission. That is his only motivation for selling you it.
IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST DO IT, buy a resale timeshare in the lowest-cost place/resort you can get. Considering exchange systems, a low-value timeshare is worth the same as a high-value timeshare in almost all cases. eBay, Craigslist, and our sponsors all offer excellent discounts on the timeshare you’re thinking of buying. In some instances, owners will even pay you to purchase their timeshare.
IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST DO THE WRONG THING, and decide to purchase at full retail price please at least get the interest rate reduced by using a HELOC or 0% credit card. Most timeshare companies charge an outrageous 16+% variable interest rate.
