DVC eliminates perks for resale

[mshanson3121]

As of today, anyone who purchases DVC through resale, will not have access to the perks. I'm curious when the cut backs are going to end. Not that this is "park-related" per se, but still... And I can definitely see this hurting the resale market.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...embership-benefits-resale-20160404-story.html

 

[beer dave]

Not surprised. I've been expecting something to deter resale-- thought it would be more in the lines of having to book home resort only.....Now that would be a kicker.....

 

[mshanson3121]

I can honestly see it possibly hurting first sales too. I mean, it's one thing to buy DVC when you have that "safety" of knowing that they have a good resale. But if this elimination of perks drops the resale value (which it's bound to)... I can see less people being willing to take the chance on buying DVC. But, I could be wrong.

 

[MommaBerd]

Wow - that is a bummer...for both current owners and potential buyers. We've been off-and-on considering a resale purchase for awhile - but it has been getting less and less attractive for lots of reasons. Definitely going to reduce the pool of buyers all around, don't you think? I considered resale, but don't think I would EVER buy direct.
OTOH, maybe more people will buy resale to rent instead... If you don't get the perks, but you can make some $ renting, why not? Especially if resale prices fall dramatically...

 

[EricInPA]

Glad I got out membership in under the wire late last year, as I suspected more restrictions were coming (based on how far Resale vs Direct is continuing to diverge).

 

[cel_disney]

Wow - that's a total kick in the teeth for current owners. I don't plan to sell anytime soon - but it definitely degrades my resale value.

I'm assuming that transfer of ownership to family member would not loose the perks?

 

[LAMickey14]

Not surprised. I've been expecting something to deter resale-- thought it would be more in the lines of having to book home resort only.....Now that would be a kicker.....

I believe it's coming that way beer Dave , kind of like the old saying "you get what you pay for. " To keep people buying direct, they will place more restrictions on resale in the future.

 

[PBB]

DVC continues to dilute their product. DVC is telling a potential purchaser by these actions that once you buy the membership you are our future competition and we are going to do everything we can devalue your asset to make our overpriced product more appealing. I would no longer recommend friends and family to join because of these actions.

If you are going to spend an additional $50 -60 per point for a petty discount on crappy merchandise or terrible ding experience then you are a fool. We have owned since 98 at OKW. In the 18 years since we have purchased our membership we have been shocked at the decline of the original product. The refurbishment of the various resorts is so unimaginative and lazy. I wish DVC management would focus on maintaining the original standards the resort than value engineering and cheapening out the experience. In fairness, it isn't just DVC. It is the whole WDW experience.

Being a Member is no longer magical.......we are just a group of cattle for Disney to milk.

 

[Shanti]

I'm surprised that Disney ever let resale buyers have all the perks. This news reaffirms my decision to never buy any kind of timeshare. Once you've bought in, you've given up a significant amount of control over your vacations to someone else, someone who may not have your best interests at heart.

 

[Laz]

I'm surprised that Disney ever let resale buyers have all the perks. This news reaffirms my decision to never buy any kind of timeshare. Once you've bought in, you've given up a significant amount of control over your vacations to someone else, someone who may not have your best interests at heart.

That is not always true. We have owned a summer week in the Myrtle Beach, SC area for over 10 years now, and it has paid for itself many times over. We not only love staying in our resort and unit, but with it we have been able to trade it in to RCI and gone to Hawaii, the Carribbean and many place in the US that we could have not normally been able to afford. If we can not travel a certain year, we bank our unit and save it to use at another time. We have plenty of control over where and when we travel While we have chosen not to purchase into DVC, I am sure it has been a quality investment for many.

 

[Spacedog1975]

I snooze I lose. I guess I'll never DVC .

 

[Lurch]

While I am not pleased with the potential loss of value of my DVC stake should I choose to sell it, I suppose this may be good for current DVC members hoping to add on. The way I see it, as long as you have 1 grandfathered point you retain access to all of the other member benefits. Perhaps, someone could buy into DVC direct for a very small contract then expand on the resale market to avoid this penalty.

 

[JimmyV]

I love quotes like this:
"We see this policy change as a very positive step to ensure that, going forward, our Members who purchase directly from Disney Vacation Club receive a premium advantage – in addition to all the magic that Disney has to offer," DVC said on its website."

Positive step for whom? I think they left out two little words...."for us". Because there are no positives flowing to the buyers. Some buyers (who buy direct), get exactly what they would have gotten before. So there are no positives there. Other buyers (who do not buy direct), will get less than before. So no positives there. When some buyers retain the status quo and other buyers lose benefits, it is impossible to say that this is a "very positive step" unless you are talking about yourself.

This news will have some very interesting side effects. It has to cause the indirect after-market pricing to go down. So now people will have an interesting choice: Get the perks at the higher price, or forego the perks at what promise to be even lower indirect prices. So the test will be: how much do people value the perks. My guess is that Disney will be surprised to learn that the answer to that question is...not very much. If I can pay $10 for something that comes with perks, or $8 for something that comes without perks, I will choose the perks. But when the lower price shifts down to $6, I will skip the perks and save my money. So will the lowering prices of the indirect after-market create a big enough gap to make them so attractive that this plan will backfire? Could be.

 

[usd2bmd]

I just don't see those perks as being worth the price of the buy. I understand Disney is a business and Shanghai has made things dicey lately with the cost overruns, but Disney has been throwing around price increases and upcharges like the well will never dry. I just don't see the cost to value ratio that way I used to. luckily we didn't buy in when I wanted to because our vacation tastes have changed. Some of that in part to recent park changes, it's a shame to me that Disney seems so short sighted. This is all of course just my opinion.

 

[ktlm]

I can honestly see it possibly hurting first sales too. I mean, it's one thing to buy DVC when you have that "safety" of knowing that they have a good resale. But if this elimination of perks drops the resale value (which it's bound to)... I can see less people being willing to take the chance on buying DVC. But, I could be wrong.

I agree with you. I am not a current DVC member. My first thought upon hearing the news was "Well, I'm definitely not going to buy into DVC from Disney now". To me, the change de-values my initial purchase direct from Disney because I purchased with the "safety" of knowing if my large investment turned out to be the wrong thing for my family it would have a good resale value. If the resale value is lost, then the value of the original DVC purchase is not as much. It is kind of like buying a car. When I buy a car- I look at how quickly they lose their value. If I plan to keep a car 5 years, then I will choose the car that historically maintains its value better over the 5 years, if that car is affordable for me.

 

[Eoghann]

This isn't the first move Disney has made to devalue resale, I'm sure it won't be the last.

Though the list of perks isn't that inspiring these days anyway.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Wow - that's a total kick in the teeth for current owners. I don't plan to sell anytime soon - but it definitely degrades my resale value.

I'm assuming that transfer of ownership to family member would not loose the perks?

How about if you have an existing contract?

I would NEVER pay the current price of direct sales...but have kicked around the idea of a resell to add points periodically?

Loophole there?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

For the record: this is another low rent move

"We sell you something as a real estate deed (they do...don't give me any sh|t on this...)...so you can sell it. But the market doesn't think the old points are worth what we sell them for now (they're not)...so we will artificially put you into a whole other category...."

Like being below decks on the titanic.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

This isn't the first move Disney has made to devalue resale, I'm sure it won't be the last.

Though the list of perks isn't that inspiring these days anyway.

In deed...the gates are opening...it's the principle of it.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I love quotes like this:
"We see this policy change as a very positive step to ensure that, going forward, our Members who purchase directly from Disney Vacation Club receive a premium advantage – in addition to all the magic that Disney has to offer," DVC said on its website."

Positive step for whom? I think they left out two little words...."for us". Because there are no positives flowing to the buyers. Some buyers (who buy direct), get exactly what they would have gotten before. So there are no positives there. Other buyers (who do not buy direct), will get less than before. So no positives there. When some buyers retain the status quo and other buyers lose benefits, it is impossible to say that this is a "very positive step" unless you are talking about yourself.

This news will have some very interesting side effects. It has to cause the indirect after-market pricing to go down. So now people will have an interesting choice: Get the perks at the higher price, or forego the perks at what promise to be even lower indirect prices. So the test will be: how much do people value the perks. My guess is that Disney will be surprised to learn that the answer to that question is...not very much. If I can pay $10 for something that comes with perks, or $8 for something that comes without perks, I will choose the perks. But when the lower price shifts down to $6, I will skip the perks and save my money. So will the lowering prices of the indirect after-market create a big enough gap to make them so attractive that this plan will backfire? Could be.

It's complete crap...

I wonder how they find enough 25 year old business school grads with so little self esteem to go to a podium or on the phone and repeat this nonsense copy...

But they always do...


And for the record...there is no "choice" between Disney's always escalating price and the stable/declining resale ones:

You go with the resale.

What are you losing? 10% off at the world of Disney?