Timeshare Resale Gimmicks

By M. Beddingfield

Timeshare salespeople (even those in the resale market) will tell you virtually anything to get you to part with your money. With timeshare owners desperate to get rid of their timeshare at any price, you might think it's a good time to look at the resale market. You'd be wrong. Here are some common lines you may hear and why you should ignore them:

You too can cash in on the recent increase in timeshare foreclosures! Buy low now and lock in today’s price for a lifetime of future vacations.

Sure, you can buy low, but there’s a reason for that. Cheap timeshares are not a bargain. There may be hidden costs involved in the foreclosure and you still have to pay yearly fees for the rest of your life plus special assessment fees that may appear at anytime.



Buying a timeshare resale is smart business. Whether you use it to control the rising costs of your family vacation or decide to rent it out, you will have made a good investment.

Timeshares are not an investment. Why do you think so many people are desperate to sell at a low cost with no regard to making a profit?

If you buy a timeshare you can stay in luxurious accommodations in exotic places much cheaper than you can stay in a hotel. You will be the envy of all your friends and relatives.

Yes, you might be the envy of all your dense friends and relatives, but the rest will feel sorry for you. They know that you only have to pay for a hotel once, a timeshare keeps on taking and taking and taking.

Buying a timeshare, especially at today’s bargain prices, is a way to lower travel expenditures. Then you’ll have lots of money left over for the really important stuff, like your kids college tuition.

You still have to travel to and from the timeshare. A gallon of gas will cost the same whether you own a timeshare or not. You won’t have any money left over to send Junior to college if you have to pay out ever increasing maintenance expenses every year.

With the rising cost of travel and increasing prices at hotels, purchasing a timeshare resale is just a smart move. It’s one of the ways a consumer can control growing vacation costs. You will save so much on the purchase price of your timeshare that you can easily afford to do more fun stuff on your vacation.

It might look like a bargain when you can buy a timeshare resale for a few thousand dollars, especially when you consider what a developer charges for a timeshare. You have to understand that a developer inflates the price tremendously and that a timeshare looses 50%+ of its value the minute the papers are signed.

Timeshares offer excellent, affordable opportunities for holiday travel. You can even take guests and have a family holiday vacation!

Holiday weeks are prime time for timeshares. Unless you fork over really big bucks, you won’t be able to afford a holiday weekend. If you are able to purchase a holiday week, you will need to book it a year ahead of time.

If you don’t use your timeshare, you can always rent it out and make money that way.

Renting out a timeshare is complicated and will very often cost you money. You will be liable if the renter does any damages. Also be aware that the yearly costs of maintenance fees on some timeshares are actually more than the cost of renting a similar unit.



Owning a timeshare is like owning a vacation home without the worry of year round obligations. You can go when you want to. If you join an exchange club, you can go anywhere you want to go.

Owning a timeshare is like having a very small slice of pie and paying for the whole pie, then being told when you can eat your tiny piece of pie. Joining an exchange club will cost you more money.

No matter what the timeshare salespeople say, timeshares aren't the bargain that the timeshare people want you to believe they are.