I am absolutely fascinated by this thread.
It seems to me that the problem is one of perspective rather than of reality. When doing voir dire, I usually make this analogy. There is a big red ball - it is 12 inches in diameter. It is being dropped from a 12 story window. The person dropping the ball sees it and says, "the ball got smaller after it was dropped." The person on the ground says, "the ball got bigger after it was dropped." Neither is correct, what is correct is that the ball stayed the same size, but each is telling the truth from their own perspective.
So, to weigh in to the fray. There are several truths out there, "all timeshares are used after they have been stayed in one time" "someone had to pay retail in order for there to be a resale."
In my mind, there are some people who will look to rescind their purchase after buying at full retail and discovering that they really cannot afford the purchase. For that small percentage of people, the retail seller is competing with ebay. For everyone else, the retail seller is competing with the other retail sellers. Wyndham vs. Marriott vs. DVC vs. Silverleaf, etc.
Ebay has little influence over the retail sales price of the same units because the market is not perfect. Not everyone that finds a timeshare seller is going to look on ebay. And of those that know of the existence of ebay, some are going to believe that there is value in the retail price.
I recently sent one of my employees to Hawaii to stay at the Westin. I booked a two bedroom and he brought another couple with him. The other couple found and booked an appointment for a Wyndham sales presentation. My employee told him to talk to me before doing anything. He didn't call before the presentation. He bought at full retail. I asked Richard to tell John to call me so that he could rescind. He didn't call then either. He is perfectly happy with his full retail purchase.
I liken it to some people wanting to have a Gucci purse, some are happy with Coach, some will buy at Target. Some will buy the used Gucci purse at the consignment shop, used. They are all purses. Some have more perceived value than others.
But the thing that I think that is being missed by a small minority here is, "resale would not exist if all retail purchasers were happy with their purchase." The resale market is just that, it is the market for USED timeshares. As Alan points out, all timeshares are used. So the person that is paying retail is still paying for a used timeshare. And there is the rub. Even the person purchasing full retail is purchasing a used timeshare.
And if everyone were happy, they would not sell their used timeshare.
I agree that it is silly to think that devaluing the resale price will prop up the value of the retail price. I know when I am purchasing a car, one of the criteria that I use in my purchase decision is retention of value.
elaine