If you are looking to sell your timeshare, you are probably wondering how much it is worth. There are a few ways to look at it. You could assume appreciation over time like your home, determine the price based on what you paid for the timeshare, or perhaps just let the market determine the timeshare sales price. These options are going to give you dramatically different results. Let me see if I can help bring some light to this timeshare subject.
You are thinking that timeshare is like your home and it should go up in price over time. You bought your home 20 years ago and it has appreciated (even after the real estate crash is factored in) so why wouldn’t your timeshare go up in price the same way? Your logic is correct. In fact, I agree with you but we would both be wrong. That’s just not how it works. The sad truth is that timeshare values have never appreciated over time. The price of timeshares sold from the resort developers has gone up over the years but not the “value”. Those two prices should be the same but they’re not. So unfortunately, this way of determining a value is just not going to work.
You are sure that since you paid $15,000 you can sell it for that. That’s not going to work either. I’ve heard people blame “big marketing costs” for resort developers as the reason for inflated purchase price and why resale transactions are so low. That doesn’t make sense. Every home purchase has marketing and sales costs. Sometimes home builders hire a local real estate agent to sit at the property and sell homes to buyers or hire their own real estate sales team. So, home prices have marketing and sales costs too but over the last 70 years you could have sold your home for more than what you paid.
The current sales price of my timeshare from the resort is $15,000 so that’s the price.” I wish that were the case with timeshares. If you think that makes sense then you’ll use the most recent sales price from your resort. And you also think that two houses in the same neighborhood of similar size should be priced similarly so that logic should stand for pricing my timeshare. You are certainly well within your rights to try that but I don’t think you’ll get very far. It just doesn’t work that way in timeshares.
Your timeshare is selling on eBay for 10% of what you paid. The last and most practical method is letting the market decide. eBay is the biggest market you have access to and will put you in front of millions of people worldwide. The problem is that the going prices for timeshares are enough to make you faint; that should tell you something. It’s not the fact that you don’t have a big enough market to advertise your timeshare on because you do. It’s not that timeshares are no fun and a waste of money because that’s not true either. The problem is the poor perception and value of timeshares, timeshare exchange companies, and the timeshare industry overall. Timeshare struggles with having a positive review outside this timeshare world. As tough as this sounds, this is the most realistic way to put a value on your timeshare.
“It’s about the value, stupid!” Like Dick Morris’ famous quote to then President Clinton “It’s about the economy, stupid”, the timeshare problem comes back to “value perception”. Let’s admit it; timeshares have a lot of baggage. The timeshare industry has corrupted or allowed corruption of this product. Not every company has had an active part but some companies have and others have sat idly watching this not saying a word because they were making money. So why should you rock the boat, right?
Once the new timeshare buyers get a reality check on the constant barrage of fees, the headlock-like clauses and use rights, the rules from resorts and exchange companies (RCI Directory and Interval World), they want to run for the hills. The industry players need to pull together and stop trying to squeeze every last nickel and dime out of them perhaps the industry could garner a positive reputation. It’s simple and no different than any industry. If the industry focused on how to bring more value to timeshares then timeshare values would rise.
At the end of the day, Superman himself would have to admit that selling a timeshare is not easy. Determining price can be difficult. Perhaps while you’re deciding what price to sell it at, you might consider trading it for a family vacation this year. What if you could trade the timeshare for free? If times are a little tough this year, perhaps a vacation is just what you need. If Bill Clinton were here perhaps, he’d tell the timeshare industry “It’s about the customer, stupid!”
Here’s to your most memorable vacation yet!
Author Bio:
Sophia D’Souza is a Content Marketer, Blogger and Story Teller at Exit Timeshare Now. She enjoys connecting with people, keeping herself updated with the latest in the field of business, technology, travel & fashion and spending quality time with her family.
