# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/101 "2008-12-14T21:15:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > 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? I think it is that they can be sold more profitably with high pressure than they could be sold to shoppers who have a chance to compare. A lot of the market is getting people while they are on vacation, away from the people they’d usually bounce ideas off of, and when they’re in a hurry and feeling very positively about the destination. Sort of like selling overpriced glo-sticks to kids at night at a theme park, when in the light of day at Wal-Mart glo-sticks probably sell for pennies. ---
**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 15, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/102 "2008-12-15T04:05:11Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > 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.” This is where we differ. I did “enter” something, to the extent that I dropped my name in a box. > [@](#): > > 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. You’d be wrong. I met with these people, walked away with about $800 worth of free stuff, and provided them with $0 and no personal info beyond name and address, which A) I already gave them and B) every marketing company on Earth already had years ago anyway. My full report is forthcoming (likely tomorrow) in a separate thread which I’ve not yet had time to write. For now, I’ll just say that it isn’t a scam, unless you have the willpower of steamed bacon. Anyone claiming that these things are scams has clearly never tried this, which is why I went with the advice of those who have, and I didn’t end up disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/103 "2008-12-15T11:33:46Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > A few weeks ago, I dropped my name into a mall “Win A Car!” box on a lark. Normally I never do such things, but hey, flights of fancy and all that. Yesterday, I got a call informing me that I won one of four top prizes, as well as a free trip to Florida to be used anytime in 2009. All I have to do is come by their offices for a 90-minute meeting first. Now, I know enough about these things not to get too excited. That “meeting” is going to be a high-pressure timeshare pitch. I’m not worried about that; I’m a cynical sonofabitch with plenty of work experience at saying “no” for an hour and a half, and I’ll have even less of a problem doing so after the 2.5 hour drive it’ll take me to get to their offices. > > The odd part is that they did specifically say that I had won something (which, as I understand it, they generally don’t do), and further explained that I am guaranteed one of four things _in addition to_ the trip: the car, a Caribbean cruise, a cruise to a destination I don’t remember, or a $500 Visa gift card. In theory, I should be happy about this, since it seems that I’m guaranteed a free $500 for my troubles. As it is, I’m a bit skeeved out by it; I can’t figure out why they’d give 500 bucks to every schmo who shows up for this thing, which has to be a decent number of people. Sounds…scamtastic, really, but I can’t figure out how. > > So, really, there are two things I’m looking for. First, I want to know what’s up with them telling me that I’ve won something. Second, I’d like opinions from anyone who’s actually been on one of these timeshare trips: how the accomodations are, whether there’s another sales pitch involved, etc. Armed with that information, I will decide whether it’s worth schlepping my ass up to Fredricksburg to deal with these people or not. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! OK - Without reading the entire thread to see what has already been posted, I am short of time and wanted to post my experience here. I used to sell timeshares so a few thoughts 1. The prize that you have one will be the cheapest one to them. It may be the $2,000 cruise or whatever, (probably won’t be the cash). What makes it the cheapest is the VERY high proportion of people that never use it. 2. Use you will be subject to a high pressure pitch - but do go in with an open mind - I have sold to people that swore and declared that timeshare was the biggest rip-off. It CAN and DOES work for many people - to this day my father still owns one and loves it. 3. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the costs of giving even a $500 gift to QUALIFIED prospects can be a very cost effective way of marketing. I once saw an advertising ROI study for a car brand - for every prospect (i.e person that took a testdrive) that walked through their doors they were spending the likes of $700 on “convential” advertising. This puts a slightly different spin on the gift your timeshare marketer is offering. The gift is based on being “qualified” I would expect that there are some minimum income requirements, relationship requirements of similiar that you filled on on the entry form. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/104 "2008-12-15T11:36:21Z")
> [@Lily](#): > > If you go, do not take your credit card or your check book. T Ha - sorry for posting again so soon - I once had a couple that did exactly this - the husband sat with me sharing his holiday stories while the wife got sent home for the cehque book 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/105 "2008-12-15T14:09:08Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > - $100 off 300 sacks of industrial fertilizer at Bob’s Nitrate Barn From the perspective of the time-share company, that’s really not the kind of thing you want to put in the hands of someone you just pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/106 "2008-12-15T22:31:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Are they crappy resorts? I was in Mazatlan last week, at a timeshare resort (ownership = my gf’s parents). It was very nice. Big downside = even though we were there as owners, there was additional pressure for us to attend yet another presentation, to get us either to buy another unit (???) or to give them friends/family as further leads to follow up on. Not to mention, you couldn’t walk fifty feet anywhere in Mazatlan, including the beaches, without some jamoke getting in your face with an offer of some incentive or other to attend _their_ presentation. They even came up to us during dinner at restaurants. After a couple of days I was praying for a taser. Although it did make me think a little bit: The only thing they want from you is to have you go and listen to their pitch. That’s your only obligation. So I wonder, what would they do if you maintained absolute silence? Sit through the PowerPoint half, then go to the little desk for the one-on-one part, and say nothing? Answer no questions, offer no information, just look blankly and silently at them? I suspect it would be mildly amusing, but I don’t know if it’s 90-minutes-out-of-my-life amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/107 "2008-12-20T02:33:16Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > It sounds counter-intuitive, but the costs of giving even a $500 gift to QUALIFIED prospects can be a very cost effective way of marketing. […] > The gift is based on being “qualified” I would expect that there are some minimum income requirements, relationship requirements of similiar that you filled on on the entry form. I am honestly curious as to how in hell I’m “qualified.” I didn’t sign up for any drawings or whatever, so I can only assume that the timeshare folks sending me postcards got my info off of some sort of direct mail database. I don’t know how much of my spending habits are publicly available for data mining, but I can guarantee you there’s no travel/vacation related purchasing in there. I’ve taken one vacation my entire adult life, and I only managed that because I had friends to crash with – no hotels, just cheap airfare and bus tickets. Once in the last 15 years. Or income: even when working full-time, I make the smallest salary of anyone I know, and usually by a five-figure margin. I have virtually no disposable income. Or assets. Or anything that might make me look wealthy. While I do have reasonably good credit, I manage that by not buying things I can’t afford, like timeshares. 😛 So how on earth do I “qualify” that I keep getting these postcards? Even if I believed I won a vacation, I wouldn’t bother going to pick it up, because I couldn’t afford to pay for even the meals while away, nevermind any kind of entertainment (and who would want to travel just to sit in a hotel room doing nothing? I can sit and do nothing at home for free). I certainly can’t pay for a timeshare, so not only would I be a waste of a perfectly good “prize,” I’m a waste of postage. So, genuine question, how am I getting pre-qualified for this? Or are these particular timeshare people just incompetent? ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558/108 "2008-12-20T05:14:15Z")
Haven’t read the whole thread yet, but when I ‘won’ one of these time share trips/sales pitches, I forfeited the prize because I wasn’t married/in a serious relationship. Apparently I HAD to bring a SO with me the company could also hard sell them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-won-a-timeshare-pitch-whats-the-straight-dope/476558.md?page=5)