[2010] Has anyone used VacationTree.com to sell

I have been offered the opportunity to list my unwanted timeshare with VacationTree.com. They state that for $700 per deed they will guarantee to sell it in 10 months or they will buy it themselves at the current market value. This sounds to good to be true. Is it?

In part, I would be suspicious for a few reasons, but mainly because you are paying them $700 upfront. Okay. So they list your timeshare and try to sell it for 10 months (what happens in the meantime? Are you paying maintenance fees, etc during this listing time?)

Then, they say if they don't sell it, they will buy it from you at the "current market value" price. Determined by whom? Who sets what the current market value is? Why do I have a feeling they are going to take your $700, try to list it at some inflated price, have it not sell (while you are paying your maintenance fees) and then tell you that they will exercise their guarantee to buy it - for a dollar. Or maybe for zero dollars.

Mostly places that charge upfront fees are considered scams, but I'd be curious if there is anything in the contract that guarantees some sort of payment. What stops them from turning around at 10 months to you and saying the timeshare isn't worth anything and then they will just take it over? Then you're out $700, maintenance fees, and you got about the same result as if you put it on ebay for a buck.

Hi and welcome to TUG!

ANY company that charges a large upfront fee is trying to scam you. They make their money with the upfront fee and then they make no attempt to sell your timeshare.

There are a lot of scammers out there taking advantage of desperate timeshare owners these days. Most timeshares are selling for 0-10% of retail, but that's a bitter pill to swallow, so owners grasp at shady offers, hoping they are for real. Legitimate resellers charge a commission after the sale, but the scammers all ask for a large upfront payment.

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:


If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario:


To see what your timeshare is really worth on the current resale market:

meliot said:

I have been offered the opportunity to list my unwanted timeshare with VacationTree.com. They state that for $700 per deed they will guarantee to sell it in 10 months or they will buy it themselves at the current market value. This sounds to good to be true. Is it?

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Stay away from them! I got scammed by their "guarantee". I have reported them to the CA Att.-Gen (although CA is not cracking down on upfront fee scam operations like FL is).

By the way, Vacation Tree has the same phone number as timesharerentorsell.com. That should tell you something.

Also, if you want to go by the good old adage of "innocent until proven guilty", then ask them to e-mail you a copy of the contract before you pay them a dime. Analyze the contract very carefully and see if it at all resembles what the salesperson told you on the phone.

Actually, I should make a correction to my above post (I am going to sound like a total fool but here goes...).

Timesharerentorsell.com is the one that offered a weak guarantee. The salesman "guaranteed" to rent it out within 30 days or "my money back" ($900). He quoted a rental price of $1900 for my unit.

I called well over a month later to ask about the status of our deal and a woman there said the company hadn't received my signed contract (which was likely a lie but I had no way of proving it). I sent in the signed contract again. I called over a month later. The woman there said that it had been rented and that the cheque was in the mail.

I received a cheque for a whopping $102. They claimed that that was the rental (even though nothing had actually been rented out). So do the math. I was out nearly $800 to this operation.

Bottom line: Don't fall for any of these "guarantees".

wow. this company sells leads(timeshare owner data). didn't know they now list timeshares.

You should check out Ripoff Report . com to see what scumbags these people are. They do business under vacationtree, timeshare rent or sell and another company whose name I can't remember. Only 1 of these companies ever had BBB approval, which was subsequently revoked for lack of response to customer complaints.

Any company that requires money up front is suspect, especially one who does not deal with you in person. If you want to buy, sell or rent a timeshare, find a local company who has a public office and representatives who will meet with you personally in that office.

Vacation Tree is a Scam

Unfortunately, I have worked for this company, and I promise you that it IS a scam. The owner's name is Robert Sussman and he is a dirty low life. He has a call center in Las Vegas (off Flamingo Rd) and one in El Cajon, CA (Near San Diego).

Basically, we would call people who had a timeshare and offer to sell it for them for a fee of $500 to $1,500. We would tell them that if we couldn't sell it in 10 months that we would buy it from them at "Fair Market Value".

We told them we would put ads in the LA Times, NY Times, and dozens of other papers around the country for them...That's what the fee went towards.

VacationTree.com NEVER posted any ads. They would collect the money and in 10 months offer "$500 to $1000" as a Fair market value. 5% would take the deal but 95% would not. That meant on 100 sales....he was making money on 95 of them and breaking even on 5 of them...plus owning a timeshare.

People would pay $15,000 to $25,000 for the timeshare and he was offering a "Fair market value" of $500.

Robert Sussman screws a lot of people for a living.

he also owns:

www.LVEAS.com
www.LasVegasEventsAndShows.com
www.DiscountTown.com
www.VacationTree.com

and I am certain that all of them are scams too.

DO NOT WORK FOR OR DO BUSINESS WITH THIS SHADY PERSON!

LVEAS11 said:

Unfortunately, I have worked for this company, and I promise you that it IS a scam. The owner's name is Robert Sussman and he is a dirty low life. He has a call center in Las Vegas (off Flamingo Rd) and one in El Cajon, CA (Near San Diego).

Basically, we would call people who had a timeshare and offer to sell it for them for a fee of $500 to $1,500. We would tell them that if we couldn't sell it in 10 months that we would buy it from them at "Fair Market Value".

We told them we would put ads in the LA Times, NY Times, and dozens of other papers around the country for them...That's what the fee went towards.

VacationTree.com NEVER posted any ads. They would collect the money and in 10 months offer "$500 to $1000" as a Fair market value. 5% would take the deal but 95% would not. That meant on 100 sales....he was making money on 95 of them and breaking even on 5 of them...plus owning a timeshare.

People would pay $15,000 to $25,000 for the timeshare and he was offering a "Fair market value" of $500.

Robert Sussman screws a lot of people for a living.

he also owns:

www.LVEAS.com
www.LasVegasEventsAndShows.com
www.DiscountTown.com
www.VacationTree.com

and I am certain that all of them are scams too.

DO NOT WORK FOR OR DO BUSINESS WITH THIS SHADY PERSON!

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So how does he get away with it? It seems its blantant fraud.

vacation tree, vacationtree.com

MOXJO7282 said:

So how does he get away with it? It seems its blantant fraud.

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the same way all the POS scam timeshare resale scams do it.. they pray on uneducated and in some cases desperate owners wanting to get out of the deal at any cost. The postcard companies somehow get your info and send you a card.. WE WILL HELP YOU SELL YOUR TIMESHARE.... blah blah blah and we think this is too good to be true but you go ahead and give it a try.

some old same old. as you can see from above they change names and the scam keeps on chugging along..

[SHILL!] Vacation Tree is Great! [SHILL!]

Vacation Tree, Inc. offers a great service! Their buyers are major companies (in my case, my time shares were purchased by Mass Mutual, the insurance company, and the other one was bought by an internet company), so the entire process is professional and efficient. Basically, Vacation Tree offers two programs, the guarantee package, which is a 10 month insurance policy that guarantees that your property will sell or Vacation Tree will buy it at market price.

For my Wyndham property I was advised and agreed not to buy the guaranteed package, since it is in high demand, so I went with the Basic Package, which cost about $500. Needless to say, I started receiving offers after the first couple weeks (my property was featured in some conventions), but they were a little low, so I decided to wait it out a little longer, and within Three Months I sold my Wyndham property for $70 Thousand Dollars to an major life insurance company.

For my property in Mexico, since it is not as common as Wyndham, I decided to go with the Guaranteed Package for $899, which was an insurance policy saying that if I did not sell my property in 10 months, Vacation Tree would buy it from me. I did end up selling my property, except it took me like 8 months and i got $22 Thousand Dollars for it, which was about $5 Thousand Dollars more than I paid and $22 Thousand Dollars more than what I expected! I did get offers within about a month, but they were pretty low at first (like $8 Thousand Dollars, $10k, etc.). Still, the Insured Guarantee Package gave me PIECE OF MIND, because I knew I was going to sell my property NO MATTER WHAT! And I did.

I still own several timeshare properties (I have been an owner since 1992), but did not always use them. Even if I let family members use the timeshares, sometimes they wouldn't end up going and I would lose the points and time. So now, since Vacation Tree exceeded my expectations and got me $92,000.00, I am going to list the properties under their LIFETIME RENTAL program, which I will never have to pay ever again and can even transfer it to my kids. That way we never lose points!

[SHILL!] Vacation Tree is worth it!!! [SHILL!]

Vacation Tree, Inc. is legitimate. You can verify their status here: http://kepler.sos.ca.gov

Some people are always dissatisfied. Vacation Tree helped me, their program worked for me, I am sorry it did not work for others. Although, I recommend the Basic Package.

I sold my Wyndham property for $70 Thousand Dollars to an major life insurance company.

For my property in Mexico....... i got $22 Thousand Dollars for it, which was about $5 Thousand Dollars more than I paid

So now, since Vacation Tree exceeded my expectations and got me $92,000.00

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:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

You are obviously a shill for this SCAM company, and you have come to the wrong place to post your garbage!

Vacation Tree is a SCAM - really

I signed up for the garaunteed sale 16 months ago. After the 10 months I began calling to redeem on the guarantee and it has taken 6 months for VT to figure out what my timeshare was worth.
I just received a packet today with their offer - $287.50 for 154,000 points.
Then there is a transfer fee of $699 fee that will have to be paid.
Vacation Tree used selling prices of timeshares from E-Bay to determine market value, which they included (how thoughtful). Some E-Bay sales that I received were sold for $0.01 and used for market value.
So in essence they have done exactly what they said the would do, but it is so shady that it may be considered legal but certainly not considered ethical by any means. The users that claim good results are probably "plants" to combat these negative stories. This one is absolutely true.

Has anyone sold back to vacation tree

Unfortunately I have fallen victem to the scam. Now I am deciding whether or not I am going to take their offer of $102.33 or not. I really just want to get out of my timeshare, but I am concerned that the deal will not go through. I will have to pay another $500 out of my pocket...after I was told there would be no other charges after the original $600. I don't want to do business with them anymore just on principle alone, but I really want out of my timeshare. Please let me know if anyone has sold it back and the deal actually went through.

Vacation Tree Timeshare Sells

DO NOT USE VACATION TREE TIMESHARE!!! IT IS A SCAM

I JUST GOT SCAMMED OUT OF $700. I signed a contract that said they would post my timeshare and if it didn't sell they would make me an offer for the going rate today of what my timeshare would sell for. Get this they offered me $9.33. Yes NINE DOLLARS for the timeshare. I am in the process of suing them. BEWARE IT's A SCAM!

owner wants to file class action

Like most of you I am fed up with this compnay and their scams. I want ot file with the CA dept of Real Estate and the courts. I want to put them out of business.

I need stories and owners also interested to contact me:

jointimeshareclassaction@gmail.com

Please help me shut them down!!!

Unfortunately, we were also victims of vacation tree similar to the cases posted. They promise you that they will give you what you pay for the time share but after they only give you the bids from ebay. We really need to do something about this company.

jonikay said:

Like most of you I am fed up with this compnay and their scams. I want ot file with the CA dept of Real Estate and the courts. I want to put them out of business.

I need stories and owners also interested to contact me:

jointimeshareclassaction@gmail.com

Please help me shut them down!!!

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Let us know what you need to shut this business down.

Cow paddies, tooth fairies, $92k income claim! Call NOW! Operators are STANDING BY!

bswartz7575 said:

<snip>...within Three Months I sold my Wyndham property for $70 Thousand Dollars to an major life insurance company. <snip> :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:
<snip> Vacation Tree exceeded my expectations and got me $92,000.00 <snip> :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:
<snip>...the Insured Guarantee Package gave me PIECE OF MIND <snip>

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Pure, unadulterated bulls%$t. You really just insult our intelligence with this sort of utter nonsense.
FYI, this is not just a wide-eyed kindergarten class audience, to be regaled by incredible fairy tales. :annoyed:

Take your very small "piece" of alleged "mind" elsewhere; English class would be my first suggestion.

DeniseM said:

Hi and welcome to TUG!

ANY company that charges a large upfront fee is trying to scam you. They make their money with the upfront fee and then they make no attempt to sell your timeshare.

There are a lot of scammers out there taking advantage of desperate timeshare owners these days. Most timeshares are selling for 0-10% of retail, but that's a bitter pill to swallow, so owners grasp at shady offers, hoping they are for real. Legitimate resellers charge a commission after the sale, but the scammers all ask for a large upfront payment.

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare? (or an established market like people attending conventions.)

2) Do they want you to pay hundreds/thousands of dollars for a title search and transfer fees, or taxes, or a closing fee, UPFRONT?

3) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value?

4) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee that supposedly you will get back?

5) Do they want your credit card number before they send you a contract?​

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario:

Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention having a renter/buyer in the contract.

Then, you won't hear anything from them for a long time, and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising.

When you try to challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you that you only had 60 days to dispute the charge, and that it's too late to do anything.​

To see what your timeshare is really worth on the current resale market:

1) Register with eBay
2) Log into eBay
3) Search for the resort by exact name
4) Click on "completed listings" on the menu on the left

(Be sure you look at the completed listings - those are actually SELLING prices - you will find asking prices all over the place, but what really counts is what they actually sold for.)
​

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Denise:

Do you have this on auto reply? Seems there are several a week!

MOXJO7282 said:

So how does he get away with it? It seems its blantant fraud.

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Because people do not bother to read and check out what they sign. As Judge Judy is fond of saying, if not in writing does not exist! Wyndham would be out of time share selling or have to clean up its act if people refused to sign until an attorney reviewed.

carl2591 said:

the same way all the POS scam timeshare resale scams do it.. they pray on uneducated and in some cases desperate owners wanting to get out of the deal at any cost. The postcard companies somehow get your info and send you a card.. WE WILL HELP YOU SELL YOUR TIMESHARE.... blah blah blah and we think this is too good to be true but you go ahead and give it a try.

some old same old. as you can see from above they change names and the scam keeps on chugging along..

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Think one has two totally distinct "vultures" here.

Cold caller on phone wanting $500-$1,000 is out right crook and will eat you alive!

PCC guy who makes an appointment to meet with you at hotel, will take off your hands and put deed in his name for a couple grand has honorable intentions to sell on e-bay for a dollar and generally does. Like any businessman if he messes up suppliers get rued, screwed and tatooed

tespy said:

DO NOT USE VACATION TREE TIMESHARE!!! IT IS A SCAM

I JUST GOT SCAMMED OUT OF $700. I signed a contract that said they would post my timeshare and if it didn't sell they would make me an offer for the going rate today of what my timeshare would sell for. Get this they offered me $9.33. Yes NINE DOLLARS for the timeshare. I am in the process of suing them. BEWARE IT's A SCAM!

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Interested in how lawsuit is going? In Colorado to commence a lawsuit in District Court would would be at least $1,000 in attorney fees, court costs, process servers, etc. Most attorneys would not even do on an hourly rate since there are no deep pockets to collect from and one would be mad at them for a piece of paper saying someone owes you $700.

Are you sure you have not signed up for scammer #2 who is going to beat the Hell out of scammer #1?