cintinative Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) Finances for us are tight. There is NO way we would ever be able to afford to buy a timeshare. But we got a notice in the mail that we could stay for five nights in Orlando for $199 if we went and heard a sales pitch. Most of the time we would just laugh and throw this away. This time my husband hesitated. Is there ever a time this is a good idea? Has anyone actually done this? TIA for sharing your experiences. Edited February 9, 2019 by cintinative 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Don't. They will NEVER leave you alone! Ever. And there is always fine print. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 we have done it a few times. If you are impervious to salesmen - who will push really hard (and went and got someone else to push hard when we were unimpressed), you can have a nice time. usually the sales pitch is two - three hours, and the rest of the time is yours. PROVIDED, it's one where you go to the actual resort to listen to the pitch - not one where you go to some showroom to listen to a pitch, then they give you a "coupon" to call a number to make reservations to "collect your gift". - those... if you don't' buy, the dates never work... (we did it once, and tried many dates...) some will ask for a minimum yearly income as a screening question. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I would never do it but we have friends who did. I live about 90 minutes from Orlando and they came down to visit us during their trip. They said it took several hours but they had absolutely no desire for a time share and knew they wouldn't be swayed. They said it was an incredibly hard sell but they were able to stay the course. My friend was a bit weirded out that they knew her husband's salary to within $100, though. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 We did it twice for attraction tickets in Orlando (not for the stay). It’s very debatable if it’s worth it. They will hound you so hard. Even if you are not suceptable to marketing tactics and hard sell strategies, it’s a pretty collosal hassel. I don’t think I would have agreed to it if I had really understood what we were getting into. We were young and dh knew about these gigs but I didn’t really. I just went along with him. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) I've always avoided these people like the plague, but my sister has done these timeshare things. She's just super aggressive back when the timeshare people become aggressive. She sat through the spiel and was willing to go to battle with them when they started being forceful. This was two decades ago when she and her husband were young and broke. All that said, my sister is a property manager and can be quite witchy, if you get my drift. One time DH and I were walking along in Virginia Beach -- minding our own beeswax - when an incredibly aggressive timeshare guy kept pushing and pushing us verbally to attend a session. He stood right in front of DH, bombarding him and DH couldn't get around him. Finally DH pulled out pepper spray and told the guy that if he didn't let us walk on, he'd pepper spray him. The guy moved. Bottom line: if you're the kind of person who can stand that kind of severe pressure, I guess give it a try. But if you crumble under the pressure, you're toast. A friend was worried that she couldn't get out of a timeshare that her parents had willed to her when they died (pushed by the timeshare folks to put it in their will). My friend declined and everything was okay, but she was freaked for awhile there. Alley Edited February 9, 2019 by Alicia64 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 2 hours ago, happysmileylady said: We did it once. We were actually already on vacation, we just did it for some free tickets lol. The long story is, DH and I were working for a timeshare exchange company. We got full weeks in timeshare units for free. We were staying in a unit that we got for free. And we had no intention of ever buying one...even if we hadn't worked there, DH's parents owned one that we could have used if we wanted. So, we were wandering around, saw they were giving these tickets for a sunset dinner cruise on the lake. So we decided to give it a try. The sell is HARD. Super ultra hard sell. Think, smarmy car salesman, times 10. It was such a hard sale, that they actually had DH thinking. We of course did not buy one, ,because I really am pretty impervious to salesmen (and we didn't even have the money anyway) but after we left, DH said he never wanted to ever do one again because of how much they were actually able to get to him, so we haven't done any. talking of smarmy car salesman.... our salesman let slip he used to sale cars before he started selling timeshares (he really didn't realize what he did.). timeshares … is FAR more profitable! let that sink in... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 I remember going to one with my parents when I was in elementary school, in the 80s. They almost sucked my dad in, lol. AND my parents were still getting occasional phone calls from the timeshare almost a decade later! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Dh and I went to a salespitch once while we were in Orlando on vacation. We got two free tickets to Disney. I thought it was a fair trade. I barely remember the salespitch, but dh and I (and dd14 who was a baby) had a wonderful time at Epcot. We wouldn't have gone if we hadn't gotten the free tickets, so for me it was worth it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Cintinative, Any chance you're an animal lover? We did this exact thing last summer that's detailed in my article (and pet sits in Orlando are plentiful. Let me know if you're interested and I'll go to their site right now and let you know how many pet sits in Orlando they currently have): No Joke. How to Stay for Free on Your Trip Pet sitting -- and saving a fortune on hotel rates -- was one of the most fun things I've ever done. We stayed in a beautiful home and had a great time. Alley 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 23 minutes ago, Alicia64 said: Cintinative, Any chance you're an animal lover? We did this exact thing last summer that's detailed in my article (and pet sits in Orlando are plentiful. Let me know if you're interested and I'll go to their site right now and let you know how many pet sits in Orlando they currently have): No Joke. How to Stay for Free on Your Trip Pet sitting -- and saving a fortune on hotel rates -- was one of the most fun things I've ever done. We stayed in a beautiful home and had a great time. Alley We do love animals. I had never thought of this. Did you already have a track record on Rover or something like that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 5 minutes ago, cintinative said: We do love animals. I had never thought of this. Did you already have a track record on Rover or something like that? Did I have a track record on Rover? No, I don't even know what Rover does. I pet sat through Trusted Housesitters. And your kids are at good ages for this sort of thing. If this interests you, I can make suggestions in how to score a job. I plan on writing something about it for my site anway. Basically you write a "commercial" on yourself and your kids letting the reader know how truly awesome you guys are, so you'll be chosen. The Orlando market knows why you'd be coming to Orlando so they expect families w/ kids to answer their pet sitting need. I've even had pet sits see my profile and reach out to me. I've always been busy and couldn't say yes, but that was pretty cool that they contacted me. Alley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 6 minutes ago, happysmileylady said: That is one of the most INTERESTING things I have ever seen. I am going to be researching that further. It looks really cool. I am not kidding, HappySmiley, if you like animals this is an awesome experience. Of course, be sure to pick a pet sit with a nice house, nice animals (no alligators) etc. Most pet sits are in beautiful homes, though, because those who need pet sitting know that a cool home or apartment makes the pet sit more desirable. I'm an animal lover so this sort of thing is right up my alley. 👍 Alley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 @Alicia64 have you ever brought your own pet with you when you house sat? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 19 minutes ago, cintinative said: @Alicia64 have you ever brought your own pet with you when you house sat? No, I haven't taken my two. I don't think it's looked well on. I've had people say, "Are you bringing your animals?" And I said, "No, DH was staying with them." Every pet sit is different and one home might be fine with it, but overall I don't think it's looked well on. Alley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 You will at the least waste one day of your vacation and be subject to extreme stress and pressure. Don't do that! You can rent a timeshare for 7 nights. We rented one from MagicalHolidays on eBay, which is the ebay site for SkyAuction.com We stayed in Villas at Summer Bay, which are the smaller 2 bedroom units in Summer Bay. We would LOVE to stay there again. Excellent experience. If you were in the market for a Timeshare, you will (generally) be far better off to buy it on the Resale market. On the Resale market you will pay pennies on the dollar for what the developer would charge you. There are LOTS of people who will GIVE you their Timeshares and they will pay the Transfer Fees to get rid of it. STUDY on Timeshare Users Group before you spend any more time thinking about the inexpensive vacation in Orlando. https://tug2.net/ Many things in Orlando are very inexpensive. The Park tickets are very expensive. Enjoy your trip! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 When are you going? I have done it. Twice. They say 60-90 minutes. It will be 3 hours, MIN! High pressure. First person gives tour. You say no, they bring in person number 2 to tell you how stupid you are for not buying. Then comes in #3 to offer you a lower price, and to tell you you are a complete IDIOT if you don't jump NOW. They will not give you the prize until you have listened to all of it. You can't just walk out.....unless you don't want the prize. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 We did it twice. Other than travel (by car for us) and food, it was free. For us it was worth it. Yes, it is hard sell. And yes, it was long. But we made a game out of listening for certain hard sell buzzwords. The second time we had children with us in the presentation and we might have coached the kids a bit in having bathroom needs that cut the hatd sell short. 😉 Honestly, the hardest thing for me was feeling some guilt at attending a sales session for something that we had zero intention of buying. I wondered a bit if it was ethical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 Thanks everyone! This does not sound like it is for us at all. We will figure out some other way to get to Orlando one day. 😃 It was super interesting to hear all your stories though, so if you have any more to share, please don't feel like you shouldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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