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surviving a timeshare presentation [merged]

M

macstepic

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
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Location
Uniontown, Ohio
Hi everyone,

yes, this is my first post.

I have always considered timeshares a complete waste of money...that is until I found out about buying on the resale market. I am amazed at the difference in resale vs. developer prices.

We do enjoy staying in timeshare resorts. I am married with 2 elementary age school children. Staying in a "suite" with a kitchen and a washer and dryer is pure heaven compared to cramped hotel rooms. That being said, I see myself as a renter for a few more years. We only travel at most 1 week per year and I do not do "debt". A timeshare would have to be purchased for cash that I do wish to allocate for such a purchase...yet.

Long story short, I have gotten myself sucked into a timeshare presentation at a Hilton resort in Las Vegas. From what I have read they are high pressure sales pitches.

How do we spend the least amount of time in such a presentation?

My guess is that they have a script that they must go through. Is the best plan to ask no questions and give nothing but noncommital answers to any leading questions?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
 
Surviving The High-Pressure Timeshare Sales Pitch.

macstepic said:
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Click to expand...
All that's behind every effort by all timeshare sellers, & behind every word that the timeshare sellers say, is a simple sequence of ideas to the effect of . . .

1. You Have The Money.

2. We Want The Money.

3. You Give The Money To Us.

Nothing you can tell them will lead them to say, "OK, then. Never mind. You're good to go. Thanks very much anyway & here's your valuable gift."

Every response you give to any question or suggestion they offer is designed to get you to agree to give the money to them.

Therefore, there is no point in being interesting & interested & engaging across those little tables in the sales room. There is no use in showing any interest whatever. It does no good to say, "Yes, but . . . " All the timeshare sellers will hear is Yes.

Best you can do is sit there politely & attentively & tolerantly while projecting an attitude of dignified boredom. Not impatience, just boredom & lack of interest, so that your body language matches your spoken language when you say No Thanks.

The timeshare sellers have a reply all ready for any objection you can present, so it's better not to get into any reasons for saying No Thanks, because the timeshare sellers will only refute any & all reasons for not buying. So it comes down to No Thanks & We Are Really Not Interested After All. Thanks Anyway.

Some timeshare sellers are psychological manipulators who will try to guilt-trip you into buying. Some may even ask in a pointed way why you're there wasting their valuable time if you're not interested & you are not going to buy. The factual answer to that is you are there because the timeshare company's marketing department invited you to come listen to a no-obligation sales presentation. You agreed to come because they guaranteed that there is No Obligation. And because it is No Obligation, you are saying No Thanks to their offer. It's that simple. (Repeat as necessary.)

By the time they turn you loose, you will have earned whatever freebies they give you as your incentive for attending the presentation.

Good luck.

And let us know how it went after it's over.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
We recently bought a 2 bedroom in Hawaii, Paniolo Green on the Big Island, every year use. We paid $50 plus closing costs on ebay and $650 yearly fees.
Tell them you own a timeshare you bought for less than $100 dollars on ebay. Make something up. Tell them you are interested in learning about their system but only buy resale. (And stick to that story)
Liz
 
Wear a T-shirt that reads "Member of TUG" "Only buy resale". That should speed up the presentation.
 
macstepic said:
Hi everyone,

yes, this is my first post.

I have always considered timeshares a complete waste of money...that is until I found out about buying on the resale market. I am amazed at the difference in resale vs. developer prices.

We do enjoy staying in timeshare resorts. I am married with 2 elementary age school children. Staying in a "suite" with a kitchen and a washer and dryer is pure heaven compared to cramped hotel rooms. That being said, I see myself as a renter for a few more years. We only travel at most 1 week per year and I do not do "debt". A timeshare would have to be purchased for cash that I do wish to allocate for such a purchase...yet.

Long story short, I have gotten myself sucked into a timeshare presentation at a Hilton resort in Las Vegas. From what I have read they are high pressure sales pitches.

How do we spend the least amount of time in such a presentation?

My guess is that they have a script that they must go through. Is the best plan to ask no questions and give nothing but noncommital answers to any leading questions?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Click to expand...


Just say no.

Everything denial you give them has a carefully designed counter-argument. "I am not buying a timeshare today" is your simple answer. Repeat it many times in the mirror. Because after you say no to the first offer, you will get the offer for a cheaper one, a "re-furbished model" that was returned by a pervious owner. Then you get an every other year offer which is even cheaper and a discovery package.

They will try and guilt trip you or play for sympathy. My last sales weasel at Planet Hollywood in Vegas had to tell me about her history as an immigrant to this country and her dying sister and wonderful 85-year old mother. This crap went on and on and on.

You can always bring a shrieking child which I am told helps get you out of these things faster.

You can tell them that some guy in the lobby was passing out fliers for resale timeshares and how you could save money and you want to explore that first so there is no way you will buy.

Can you vomit on demand? That would get you out of there fast.
 
Because it's a Hilton timeshare, educate yourself on the Hilton system.
 
1 Tell them you are a religious person and you don't make financial decisions without praying about it first. ( I have never had a sales rep offer to pray with me)

2. I am not looking to buy, I am looking to sell. I already have two many timeshares. Would you be interested in buying mine. I paid $ 20,000.00 for it and would sell to you for $ 15,000.00

2. If you have kids tell the kids to call your cell phone at a set time. When the call comes in tell the sales rep you told the kids you would be back @certain time. Its past that time and your son is felling sick and you have to go.
 
jjking42 said:
2. I am not looking to buy, I am looking to sell. I already have two many timeshares. Would you be interested in buying mine. I paid $ 20,000.00 for it and would sell to you for $ 15,000.00
Click to expand...

My in-laws went to a sales presentation expecting to be able to sell their TS back. Instead, they bought a bigger unit (or more points - I was never sure what they did). You have to say NO. Or don't go.
 
You don't have to be polite or disrespectful or seem bored. Use it as a learning opportunity about the system and feel free to be engaged and ask questions so you can learn..

As to how to avoid the pressure simply say that you realize the sales presentation is designed to create an impulse buy and you are against impulse buys. Stick with that line and there is not much they can do...Tell them if it feels right in three days you'll come back. They will give you lots of incentives that are "good only today" and supposedly will not be offered if you come back but tell them you are ok with that and you never buy on impulse. This worked for me.

(and by the way, that exact same deal will be on the table in three days too despite what they tell you).
 
Print out some comparable Hilton low priced resale units, like from eBay, and take it along for comparisom.
 
macstepic said:
...
Long story short, I have gotten myself sucked into a timeshare presentation at a Hilton resort in Las Vegas. From what I have read they are high pressure sales pitches.

How do we spend the least amount of time in such a presentation?

My guess is that they have a script that they must go through. Is the best plan to ask no questions and give nothing but noncommital answers to any leading questions?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Click to expand...


My solution is simpler - DON'T GO! It sounds like you have a good idea on what you want out of a timeshare - why choose to waste your time and energy on a sales presentation you feel "sucked into"? :shrug: Just cancel the appointment. You'll get better information here on TUG anyway. :)
 
I went to one a long time ago and after they figured out I was not going to buy they said it was time for me to leave ( with no gift ). I mentioned I was going to call the police then they gave me the gift and showed me the door.
:banana:
 
PamMo said:
My solution is simpler - DON'T GO! It sounds like you have a good idea on what you want out of a timeshare - why choose to waste your time and energy on a sales presentation you feel "sucked into"? :shrug: Just cancel the appointment. You'll get better information here on TUG anyway. :)
Click to expand...

Best idea yet! They can't pressure you into anything if you're not there.
 
No Show = No Freebies.

arc918 said:
They can't pressure you into anything if you're not there.
Click to expand...
Got to show up & listen up in order to pick up your Valuable Gift.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
The last time I went to one of these, I adopted this attitude: They can say or do anything they want... "flay the skin off my bones" or whatever... I would chill out and just say "no," until the cows come home.

When they started thowing deal-after-deal on the table (bidding against themselves) and saying how foolish we must be not to want this one ("I can't believe they're letting me offer this!"), I was like, "Sorry, dude, but I'm just not feeling it." Meanwhile I was thinking, "Does your momma know what you do for a living?"

Whatever your approach, it helps to line up a watering hole for decompressing afterwards.
 
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No go = time to enjoy your vacation

While at Wyndham Oceanside Pier resort this weekend I observed more than one couple in the windowless sales weasel grotto the entire morning!!!!

  • The sun was shining
  • It was 70 degrees
  • The surf was up
  • The beach was not crowded

Just seems like a waste of relaxing vacation time to me. I always say no.

Ann
 
Bring a timer with you and once the salesperson starts to speak set it for 60 or 90 minutes (depending on how long the presentation is supposed to go). Once it goes off stand up, thank the sales person for their time and walk away.
 
Make Sure You Walk In The Right Direction.

djs said:
Bring a timer with you and once the salesperson starts to speak set it for 60 or 90 minutes (depending on how long the presentation is supposed to go). Once it goes off stand up, thank the sales person for their time and walk away.
Click to expand...
Be sure to get the timeshare seller to sign off on your freebies chit, then walk away in the direction of the freebies window.

Otherwise the whole experience will be a major serious waste of time.

(Might be a waste of time anyway. If you don't get the freebies it will be a horrendous waste of time.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
Bookmark the whole thing

Most of these responses were pure gold. I vote for the no-go. Life's too short...

If you do go my second vote is the t-shirt for TUG. Any oh yeah, I'd take the plunge and buy resale because it sounds like you've got a handle on things. You can't beat some of the prices that are out there.
 
Last edited:
zazz said:
You can always bring a shrieking child which I am told helps get you out of these things faster.
Click to expand...
Doesn't work well. My Daughter and SIL sat through one with our 3 grandsons 7,2, and 6mos at the time. They kept them for the entire 3 hours!
She kept saying no my dad will give us one of his if we want one, they wouldn't listen. Next time she'll listen when dad says to say no! :wall: :whoopie:
 
kjsgrammy said:
Wear a T-shirt that reads "Member of TUG" "Only buy resale". That should speed up the presentation.
Click to expand...

:rofl:

jjking42 said:
I am not looking to buy, I am looking to sell. I already have two many timeshares. Would you be interested in buying mine. I paid $ 20,000.00 for it and would sell to you for $ 15,000.00
Click to expand...

:hysterical:

Thanks everyone I needed a lift!
 
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