Anyone take advantage of a sit-through-this-sales-pitch-for-a-great-vacation deal?

[Hyacinth]

We just got an offer in the mail for what appears to be a fantastic vacation opportunity. The catch is that we are required to sit through a 90-minute sales presentation of owning a timeshare in order to take advantage of the deal.

 

We have ZERO interest in owning and I'm pretty sure my "no" can outlast anyone's best attempt. Anyone do this without signing on the dotted line? Do they leave you alone to enjoy the vacation or will we be hounded at every turn?

 

Any Hive experiences to share? Thanks.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Hyacinth

[Ethel Mertz]

It can be done. Just make sure you have very strong sales resistance. You will be left alone after you attend the sales pitch. Keep in mind that if you do succumb, not only will you be paying monthly payments, but you will have a yearly maintenance fee (at least several hundred dollars).

[G5052]

Friends do this every year for their vacation.

 

And yes, you'll be hounded. They'll call and visit multiple times during the vacation and afterwards.

 

It wouldn't be something I'd want at all.  Too much trouble, frankly.

 

We've done weeks at some of these places where we rented from a timeshare owner, but we've never sat through the pitch.

[Twolittleboys]

We just got an offer in the mail for what appears to be a fantastic vacation opportunity. The catch is that we are required to sit through a 90-minute sales presentation of owning a timeshare in order to take advantage of the deal.

 

We have ZERO interest in owning and I'm pretty sure my "no" can outlast anyone's best attempt. Anyone do this without signing on the dotted line? Do they leave you alone to enjoy the vacation or will we be hounded at every turn?

 

Any Hive experiences to share? Thanks.

It really depends on how good the deal is/how sensitive you are. I would do it if you are absolutely sure not to cave no matter how much the sales rep lies/pushes. Very many people do buy and regret it later.

 

In my opinion, key (if the deal is good enough and you don't mind giving up some vacation time for this) is to be well-informed before you go there. Timeshares can be a good option for many (though not for all) BUT it is almost always possible to buy the exact same timeshare on the resale market for just a couple of dollars (as compared to tens of thousand when buying from the developer). I don't remember whether it is okay to give links for other websites here but if you are interested, send me a PM and I will give you the address of a forum/website where you can do some research ahead of time.

 

Then you won't be tempted to sign even if it turns out you love the idea of owning a timeshare (or at least you think you do during the presentation) as you will know how to get one much cheaper. You should be aware though that apparently the sales rep can be pretty unpleasant (I went to one such presentation and it wasn't too bad but I think I was just lucky).

[Janie Grace]

We have done it. It is never 90 minutes, so emotionally prepare yourself for 2+ hours. At the two hour mark, put your foot down and say "we have more than fulfilled our obligation, we have to go now" and go.

 

It's annoying, but like you said, it can be a fantastic opportunity. We have done it and thoroughly enjoyed our vacation. They only hound you during the pitch; they don't show up after that.

[Guest]

DH and I did that twice when we were first married, in order to get Sea World tickets and Magic Kingdom tickets in FL. Neither DH nor I are impulsive and we are both fairly impervious to hard sell tactics, so there was not much danger of us buying in. In one instance, the salesman did not want to waste our time or his (this is what he said) and merely drove us to look at the timeshare and asked us if there was any probability we might buy or were we just there for the free tickets. We said we were there for the tickets and there was not a chance. So, that one was easy-peasy.

 

The other of the two had a much higher annoyance factor. This was a young man, very wet behind the ears, making every attempt to follow the sales plan by the book. I ended up getting in a serious debate with him because he was trying to classify vacations as a "necessity," not a "luxury." It was such a preposterous claim I couldn't help myself! :D After a while, DH was kicking me beneath the table like, "Just SHUT UP! We are here for tickets, not a philosophical debate!" There was also a lot more sales theory being used in general with that one: we were in a big room and every so often a couple would stand up, everyone would applaud, and the salesdude would say, "Congratulations to Mr. And Mrs. Dufus, from Toledo, OH! They now own two weeks vacation anywhere in our twenty thousand affiliate facilities!" *rolleyes* so, higher aggravation factor in the second instance. In neither case did it affect the rest of our vacation, though.

 

The one concession mentally I made was that IF I were ever going to buy a timeshare, Orlando, FL would be a good spot to have bought in. But I just remember all those classified ads I used to see in the papers of people trying to unload their timeshares. Right below all the useless exercise gadgets people bought and didn't use, either. ;)

[Jean in Newcastle]

We've done it twice.  Both times we really enjoyed our vacation at places that we could have never afforded to stay at otherwise.  Both times the sales pitches were longer than 90 minutes.  We didn't succumb either time. 

[Lanny]

If you agree to endure a sales presentation, which is probably going to be *extreme* high pressure, you will receive a gift or a discounted vacation stay.  BEWARE:  If you purchase a Timeshare from the Developer, you will pay FAR more for it, than you would, if you purchased one on the Resale market. There are people (many many  people) so desperate to get out of their Timeshares that they will *give* them to you and they will *pay* the Transfer fees (about USD$500 ?).  NOTE:   We are going to stay in a Timeshare, in Orlando, this month, but we Rented it for 7 nights. We have *no* obligation to attend a Sales Presentation. Study this web site, before you agree to attending a Timeshare presentation:  http://www.tug2.net/   GL

[Lanny]

The I.R.S. will not permit deductions for Timeshares that are claimed to be "Investments" and are written off, or listed as a Charity deduction. Reputable charities, will not, I believe this is true, accept Donations of Timeshares to the charity, as gifts.    Not an investment and certainly not when purchased from the developer, at full Retail price.

[Pawz4me]

Whatever you do, do NOT succumb.  As Lanny said, there are plenty of people who are willing to pay you to take their timeshare.  My MIL is one of them.

[sbgrace]

We've done this a few times. There was never any question for us about buying, so we weren't able to be pressured.

We had one rude salesperson who told us that she was going to make us sit and wait because she didn't feel we were serious or some such. It's been a long time, but she was the ickiest salesperson we've encountered on those.

 

I have never had them try to further persuade or contact after the initial presentation. Someone upthread mentioned, but they have nearly always taken more than 90 minutes for us. I count on a ruined morning on the day of the presentation, and then it doesn't bug me.

 

We've enjoyed the trips we've done this way.

 

I believe you do legally have some back out time (just a few days?) if you buy something under direct sales like this, just in case something goes wrong and you sign and regret.

 

 

 

 

[Rachel]

My friend did this recently. They took 4 hungry kids with them, they did not get a high pressure sales pitch.

[nd293]

We found that it did not actually work out to that great a deal because there were hidden costs - something like sit through the sales pitch and you get a free holiday - apart from the $100 a day cleaning charge, or whatever. (Made up figures, this was many years ago.) I don't like being manipulated or lied to so we passed on the "free" holiday on principle.

[Spryte]

I wouldn't do it. I hate that stuff.

 

My parents have two timeshares, DH and I have one. And I *still* wouldn't willingly set foot in what we call "the web" again. Yuck. We never go for the little freebies or tickets or other incentives. We just avoid them like the plague. We have tried going, said no, and left - I just don't find it enjoyable or worth the time out of our vacation.

 

It can be done, though. My mom did it recently, to come to Disney with us. That incentive was bigger, and they caught me at a time I was dying for a vacation, so I agreed. The sales pitch was different for us. They separated us. (I have two sets of parents, this was the mom that doesn't have a timeshare, by the way.). DH and I flat out said no, over and over, and we were not going to upgrade. It ended fairly quickly. My mom had a longer, more harrowing experience. Very high pressure. Much longer than 90 minutes. I wouldn't put her through that again for anything. However, it did get our family 3 or 4 days of park tickets plus staying at the facility without using our timeshare, plus some other perks - so it was ok. Sort of. But - never again!

 

The up side is that once you've done it, they leave you alone. Don't give them your cell number though, they will absolutely keep calling!

 

ETA: never pay full price for a timeshare! I will say that we like ours, have used it every year and gone to some great places. With food allergies, we need a kitchen. So it's worth the maintenance fees for us. But, still, I say stay far away from the web!

Edited April 13, 2016 by Spryte

[shawthorne44]

I've done it.   What is helpful is that they expect you to be polite and just make excuses like "We can't afford it".    Don't be polite when you say, No.   Just be really clear that isn't something you'd ever want to do.   Particularly helpful it is the woman saying No and the man nodding along.   They expect the woman to be tempted.  

[TranquilMind]

We just got an offer in the mail for what appears to be a fantastic vacation opportunity. The catch is that we are required to sit through a 90-minute sales presentation of owning a timeshare in order to take advantage of the deal.

 

We have ZERO interest in owning and I'm pretty sure my "no" can outlast anyone's best attempt. Anyone do this without signing on the dotted line? Do they leave you alone to enjoy the vacation or will we be hounded at every turn?

 

Any Hive experiences to share? Thanks.

 

We did this once early in our marriage.  The salesman's big question was how much we typically spend on vacation and whatever the answer is, his answer is just a little less  - so obviously, the thing to say (if you knew this was coming) is that you pay almost you nothing. ;)

 

At any rate, they hauled us away in a boat, which made me a bit nervous.  We got the pitch and had to come back in the little boat.  We bought nothing, of course, and the salesman refused to speak to us or make eye contact on the way back.

 

The whole thing was a little creepy and I would not repeat it, unless I retained the ability to leave at all times. 

 

[kathkath]

We did it. There ended up being a lot of restrictions on the "free" airfare and I'm not sure we ever used it. We did not buy--in fact we went into it as if it were a game, with the purpose of trying to figure out how many separate sales tactics they were using. It was fun! At one point they took us into a room where many others were doing the same thing, a couple with a sales guy at each table writing offers on legal pads, crossing them out and writing lower figures with each refusal. Each couple had been seated facing one direction in the room but Dh and I quickly picked up on it and went against our salesman's cue--- we sat facing the opposite direction so we could see the faces of all the other customers. It made our salesman visibly uncomfortable which made us chuckle more!!

[lllll]

nm

Edited April 20, 2016 by _ ?^..

[DawnM]

NEVER AGAIN!

 

We have done about 3 of them.  I will PAY to NOT sit through them.

[gardenmom5]

Probably depends on the group. We've done it several times, they left us alone outside of the presentation.

DH loves asking questions that show the holes.

[Julie Smith]

My Dad use to drag my Mom to those sort of things. He enjoyed listening to the sales pitch.  :huh: He never bought anything. He treated it more like going to a show, or participating in a game show. 

 

 

[mamiof5]

I wouldn't do it. We attended one about 20 yrs ago with my mom...it wasn't even a vacation, we happened to be staying at a resort and they offered dinner... we got sucked into it. A several hrs deal, pushy sales guy who wouldn't take no for an answer... a total waste of our time and his. Also did a vacuum cleaner guy (at our house) and dh was SO mad! I just don't do any of that anymore... I know I am not buying what they are selling, so, I won't waste my time and theirs.

[goldberry]

We did it once, but it's miserable!  You and hubby both have to be rock solid.

[Laura Corin]

We did it once to get a weekend in San Francisco.  It was fine - we were broke and it gave us a weekend away.

[Butter]

We've done it a few times.  Once we did it for 3 days and 2 nights somewhere, but usually we've done it for incentives (tickets, cash, etc.).  Usually it's fine and if you are very firmly saying no repeatedly, they will often let you go within an hour.  Sometimes you get the obnoxious ones.  The worst was at Massanutten in Virginia.  We were told 90 minutes and in return we'd get 4 tickets to their indoor water park.  The tour of the resort alone took FOUR hours.  We kept telling the guy this was ridiculous and way longer than promised, but he wouldn't sign for our incentive until we were finished.  As soon as we got back to the sales office we politely but firmly said no and then he got *nasty* and threatened not to give us our water park tickets unless we bought a timeshare from him.  We not so politely but firmly asked for his supervisor.  She was not very nice, but immediately got us our tickets.  We had a lot of fun the next day at the water park, but that "90 minute tour* was a horrendous 5 hours.  I'd never go there again.

 

There was one place once where they showed us the finances page where it detailed the amount of interest and the total cost of loan including that interest (around $12 or 14,000) and I pointed out that meant the principal was only something like $2500 and if they'd take a check for $2500, I'd be glad to write it right then.  They *very* quickly whisked that paper away, gave us whatever our promised incentive was, and told us we could leave immediately.  They pretty much escorted us out.  I don't think they wanted us to talk to anyone on the way out.  It was both weird and hilarious.  We were in there like 20 minutes.

[Excelsior! Academy]

We sat through one once and were in no danger of succumbing to the sales pitch. The sales team gave us two airline tickets for our time, which sadly, we weren't able to use. I would do it again if the vacation promise was great enough.

[lynn]

My friend did this, she knew she did not have money to do a timeshare so saying "no" was easy. I think she got sea world or disney tickets.