# I just "won" a timeshare pitch. What's the straight dope? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558 "2008-12-10T15:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/81 "2008-12-11T08:10:35Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > By the way, the Westgate resort at Planet Hollywood is stunning. We stayed with friends at a timeshare in Vegas - near the other side of the strip - and the place was very nice. Certainly as good or better than your average luxury hotel room. The downside for us is that you are limited to a fairly small set of places, almost none in cities. I can see it if you really want to go back to the same place year after year. I asked if the values of the timeshares had gone down with the general housing market, and kind of got a non-answer. Our tactic for saying no is agreeing in advance on a deal killer. Having kids in college works very well. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/82 "2008-12-11T08:26:27Z")
Don’t do it-they will work on you for three hours, and try to make you sign a check. I sat through one of these things once (Orlando. FL)-and finally I told the guy that if we wern’t back at our hotel in 20 minutes, I was calling the police. Worked like a charm-and we DID NOR get discount tickets to Disneyworld. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/83 "2008-12-11T09:52:06Z")
When they offer you a choice of prizes, it can be their choice as well. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@The\_Tof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tof)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/84 "2008-12-11T10:52:37Z")
An old boss of mine used to do this all the time for free trips to Vegas. She would use them for stays during some annual soccer deal down there. I also had a buddy who went with his girlfriend just because they had nothing to do, and thought- Hey, I got no money… so even if I wanted to… I’m not signing anything. They got a free Stay in Vegas. (I say a free Stay vs. a Free trip because airfare was on them. I am assuming that their “hotel” was one of the time share places, but I really couldn’t tell you that.) I didn’t get much information from my old boss. My Buddy said that they watched a video (narrated by Corbin Bernson) and then sat with an individual salesman who my friend says was really quite convincing. Ultimately- they had no money- so they just had to keep saying no, and eventually got their free thingy to Vegas. I would hesitate to call this a scam in the strict sense of the word. Even if the timeshare company is legitimate- you can probably expect a hard sell and a prize that is not quite as grand as it was advertised- but still a useful prize. (I don’t know where my boss got the company that gave full on free trips to Vegas- but I want to go there.) My parents also own a time share in Cabo, which they love. They go there, oh, every other year. I don’t entirely know how it works- they have two weeks in Cabo every year… or they can trade that in for a week somewhere else in the world. So they usually can get in somewhere, and they’re not stuck going to the same place every year. Although- they got it in Cabo because they love it. So I don’t think the timeshare deal is entirely a bad idea- just have to make sure you go with the right company, really plan on using it, love your timeshare location… oh, and go to a resale site. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/85 "2008-12-11T14:00:04Z")
I went with my SIL to one of these things. She just kept saying “I never sign anything without having my lawyer and my accountant look at it.” We got free coffee & Danish, and I got a package of socks out of the deal. She kept the Tupperware. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/86 "2008-12-11T15:01:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The point isn’t that you don’t intend to be scammed. The point is that they _are_ trying to scam you. I understand, and they’re more than welcome to try. If that ends up being the case, I’ll take whatever free shit they have to offer, waste a bit of their time in the process, and be on my merry way to enjoy the rest of the day with my friend. > [@](#): > > When you go to this presentation, see if their “office” has permanent signage outside that indicates that it has been there for awhile, as opposed to temporary signage that would indicate that they are ready to skip off to the next town if too many complaints reach the local regulatory agencies. I’ve already looked up the company. Their office is in a resort hotel, where they try to ooh and aah you with the luxury of your surroundings and make you feel out of your element. The company itself is as legit as these things can be; best as I can tell, people have successfully obtained trips from them (after much duress, YMMV, standard disclaimers apply). > [@](#): > > Also, a lot of these offices are positioned far away from the main part of town so that, when people are asked for personal information(name, address, phone number) and two forms of ID for confirmation(they just want to look at your credit card to confirm your identity-_rrriiight_), they’ll hesitate before deciding to vacate the premises-“But Honey, we drove _all_ the way out here-lets at least stay long enough to get our prize!” Heh. Acknowledged, but I’m not going to get scammed. I’m not handing over my ID, credit card, or any other personal documents to anyone without good cause, alone high-pressure hucksters. As I said, I used to deal daily with people who’d been hit by every scam in the book, tracing them each step by step to try to reclaim their losses; I know what I’m doing and I’m not falling for anyone’s bullshit (especially not when I know full well what I’m walking into from the word go, and thanks to the great info I’ve gotten in this thread, I now have a crystal-clear picture). Risk to me: nil. As for the potential rewards, many posts in this thread from people with experience doing this very thing have confirmed that there’s something to be had. Whether that something is worthwhile is a decision I can only make once I find out the terms, and I’ve determined that the costs to me for doing so (a half-day off, a fun road trip, and 2-3 hours of saying “no” to annoying people) are acceptable. With cost, risk and reward fully disclosed, the analysis clearly dictates that, for me, this is worth checking out. I know that as an aggregate, we Dopers tend to be some doomsayin’ mofos, but from the information I’ve gotten, I really don’t think this is as dangerous as some are making it out to be. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/87 "2008-12-11T15:13:24Z")
We dopers also sometimes go and do an experiment when there’s a disagreement over something. It sounds like it’s your turn. 😉 When come back, bring a nice first hand account to share with us. And pie. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/88 "2008-12-12T00:20:57Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > We did a timeshare pitch in Vegas, got free show tickets, and bought a “vacation ownership” interest in a Vegas property. > > We trade our property into the Interval International system, and it has allowed us to stay at really upscale resorts, with full kitchens and bedrooms, all over the country. > > It’s the best investment we’ve ever made, because it has made travel affordable for us. > \*\*\*\*NOTE - we did it through the resort company itself. If their pitch is from an outside seller, run away. We did one of these, and the properties are junk at high prices. They come in all prices and locations. When you have one you can trade it and go somewhere else. I had one in Disney and traded it for Key Largo and Marathon Key resorts,and Cancun twice . You should not buy at a highpressure demo. You can pick them up on line much cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![starryspice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@starryspice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starryspice)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/89 "2008-12-12T01:05:56Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Rather like my fascination with Scientology or cults, I’ve always been tempted to sit through a “hard sell” something to see if I’m vulnerable to hard sell techniques. > > But since I don’t know, I’m not willing to try. What I found out is that, yes, I can sit through a “hard sell” and say no. But what I also found out is that saying no, and then being told I’m stupid for not taking this marvelous opportunity surprisingly hurt my feelings. (It’s the way the woman told me I was stupid that hurt.) We got a free weekend out of the deal, but the pitch came at the end of the weekend and soured the whole stay. So, at least for me, timeshare pitches aren’t worth what they cost me emotionally, as lame as that may sound, and I won’t be doing any again. But I imagine if you have thick skin, you could gain a lot out of doing these, especially since saying no wasn’t hard to do. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/90 "2008-12-12T01:49:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > We stayed with friends at a timeshare in Vegas - near the other side of the strip - and the place was very nice. Certainly as good or better than your average luxury hotel room. > > The downside for us is that you are limited to a fairly small set of places, almost none in cities. I can see it if you really want to go back to the same place year after year. > > I asked if the values of the timeshares had gone down with the general housing market, and kind of got a non-answer. > > Our tactic for saying no is agreeing in advance on a deal killer. Having kids in college works very well. If you buy a timeshare in Disney ,you can trade to go anyplace in the world. If you buy one on a fishing lake someplace it is not so tradable. To trade ,you look through the resort book and decide where you want to go. Then you tell the management. They do all the work for you, for a small fee. You will get a resort as fancy as the one you trade.You do no work. Timeshares are red,yellow or green. A green can only trade for a green. A yellow can trade for green or yellow. Then a red can trade for anybody. That is an important consideration. A timeshare will supply you with a place to stay almost anyplace in the world. If you buy one in an obscure place you can wind up trading for equally obscure places. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/91 "2008-12-12T03:47:36Z")
Since you are doing this just for the hell of it, why not try to nail down the exact value of the prizes beforehand? I think that would be as much of the fun as anything else, not because you’ll find out anything really worthwhile (assuming you’ve already figured out they’re not worth much) but just to listen to the saleman try to explain _why_ a $200 visa voucher for the $1,200 jet ski is such a great prize. “So tell me about these top prizes?” What are the restrictions on the travel? etc. A friend and I went to a pitch back in college days because they promised a $25 gift certificate to a local store and Christmas was coming up. It’s actually fairly easy to turn them down when you don’t have any money! I have more money than I did then and lots less time, so pretty much any prize they would give wouldn’t be worth it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/92 "2008-12-12T08:22:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > If you buy a timeshare in Disney ,you can trade to go anyplace in the world. If you buy one on a fishing lake someplace it is not so tradable. > To trade ,you look through the resort book and decide where you want to go. Then you tell the management. They do all the work for you, for a small fee. You will get a resort as fancy as the one you trade.You do no work. > Timeshares are red,yellow or green. A green can only trade for a green. A yellow can trade for green or yellow. Then a red can trade for anybody. That is an important consideration. A timeshare will supply you with a place to stay almost anyplace in the world. If you buy one in an obscure place you can wind up trading for equally obscure places. The pitch we just went to gave you points, not ownership at a particular place for trade. Our friends have ownership, and they’ve discovered that the best deal is to buy a place with low maintenance fees (they are not all the same) and trade for a place with high maintenance fees. I’ve looked through several books - and very few have sites at places where I really want to go. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/93 "2008-12-12T19:54:37Z")
> [@starryspice](#): > > What I found out is that, yes, I can sit through a “hard sell” and say no. But what I also found out is that saying no, and then being told I’m stupid for not taking this marvelous opportunity surprisingly hurt my feelings. (It’s the way the woman told me I was stupid that hurt.) We got a free weekend out of the deal, but the pitch came at the end of the weekend and soured the whole stay. So, at least for me, timeshare pitches aren’t worth what they cost me emotionally, as lame as that may sound, and I won’t be doing any again. But I imagine if you have thick skin, you could gain a lot out of doing these, especially since saying no wasn’t hard to do. That doesn’t sound lame at all. I hope you complained. There is no reason for any of us to tolerate being called stupid by a salesperson. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/94 "2008-12-12T20:25:46Z")
It really does sound like there’s a decent small industry trying to get out from a vast mass of sleight-of-hand and almost-scammery. It they could just lay off the high-pressure tactics, more people might take them seriously. As it is, most people would discount them, even when there’s something really there. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/95 "2008-12-13T18:02:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The pitch we just went to gave you points, not ownership at a particular place for trade. Our friends have ownership, and they’ve discovered that the best deal is to buy a place with low maintenance fees (they are not all the same) and trade for a place with high maintenance fees. > > I’ve looked through several books - and very few have sites at places where I really want to go. They have a book of resorts around the world you can trade to. They have Disney,anyplace in Florida and some in every state. They have Europe,Hawaii,Aruba and many island resorts. They have Australia. What do you need Greenland? ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/96 "2008-12-14T07:23:20Z")
Just a data point, but I “win” a vacation or a Beemer about once a month, and I’ve never entered my name into a damn thing. I get little postcards in the mail all the time, with the disclaimer in tiny print at the bottom “this is sent for the purposes of selling timeshares.” Recently I’ve had the passing fancy of going just so at the end of their presentation I can tell them “I’m unemployed and broke. If you want me to have a timeshare, I can’t pay you for it. Where’s my Beemer? I plan to sell it for groceries and rent money.” I sincerely doubt you’ve won anything. I have no idea how the scam works, especially since I _am_ getting “you won some unspecified but highly valuable prize” in writing, but I’d bet money (that I don’t have) that it’s still a scam. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/97 "2008-12-14T16:22:26Z")
I have a question. Some people mention being literally locked in during these presentations. Is that typical? What is that supposed to accomplish - doesn’t it just antagonize people? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/98 "2008-12-14T16:59:34Z")
I think the fact that so many timeshares use such bad or at least misleading gimmicks says a lot about what they are selling. Won’t the timeshare plan stand on its own? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/99 "2008-12-14T19:54:57Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > They have a book of resorts around the world you can trade to. They have Disney,anyplace in Florida and some in every state. They have Europe,Hawaii,Aruba and many island resorts. They have Australia. What do you need Greenland? I need cities. They were associated with a hotel chain, and did have a way of converting points to hotel dollars, but not at a very good rate. We can do better at [hotels.com](http://hotels.com). We don’t like standard resort places all that much - museums beat beaches for us every day. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/100 "2008-12-14T19:56:10Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > I have a question. Some people mention being literally locked in during these presentations. Is that typical? What is that supposed to accomplish - doesn’t it just antagonize people? Never happened to us. I wouldn’t go someplace where I didn’t have the opportunity to walk out, and that means not getting on a bus somewhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558.md?page=6)