But, Mr. Lost4Life, this superfabulousdeal is only valid at this conference. We really aren’t supposed to let these vacation resorts go for such a low price, and we can do this today because of special contract pricing that we have worked out with the property. If you go home and call us tomorrow you will be at the back of the line with the general public and pay almost 20% higher. I’m sure that you agree that you simply cannot afford to let this deal pass you by!
If I were going to find them (and I wouldn’t), I’d go to the timeshare companies web sites and register to get an informational packet. Your mailbox should soon start getting offers for “spend a weekend in Vegas on us!”
I know someone who put their kids in the “free provided childcare” in order to sit through the presentation, and actually had to call 911 to get their children back.
Only available today you say? Well, that’s a different story. Can I get two?
Actually they did come back with this, and with “if it’s a good deal, it’s a good deal, no reason to think about it.”
Even when I promised to get back with them that day, they said someone at the front desk could give me contact info. Just for the heck of it, I asked at the front desk for contact info. The lady looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language, went through her desk a bit, then said I’d have to get that from the sales staff. You would think that even on the remotest chance I might call, they would waste a measly business card. My thought was that if you put down a deposit, they wanted to make it difficult for you to contact them and cancel.
If you go to Vegas, I have found them at the Car rental agencies.
I have found it useful to go in with a belligerent attitude right off the bat. Telll them the music is too loud, their coffee sucks, you have them on the clock and 1 hour is ALL they get, keep telling them to cut to the chase, and lastly ask if you can use food stamps for the down payment. I have even demanded car fare, extra gifts and my tickets right god damn now because the guy promised you would get them first. If you can get your stuff in hand just smile and walk out.
They think they are in charge until they meet me. Its a game to get as much as I can as quick as I can and make them happy I left. Hey, everyone needs a hobby.
True. I asked them about the values of their properties when I went this year, and it was pretty funny to hear them say about how the value has held up. Yeah, right.
My biggest problem is that you are stuck with a limited number of properties where you can stay. Sure you get to trade from ones in their book, but they usually don’t have anything in lots of place where I want to be.
Though my friends are suckers for these things, they do have one trick. Maintenance fees are very different depending on where your primary timeshare is, with those on the beach in the South particularly bad. It makes sense to get one in a cheap maintenance area, and then trade.
Go to Orlando or Las Vegas and stay at a Hilton property. Their timeshare hawkers are all over the place.
We got free tickets to one of the Disney theme parks that way, and they damn near signed us. We crunched the numbers all over the place, got their extra-special-today-only price, etc., etc. and just couldn’t justify buying the property. We travel three times a year and it’s cheaper for us to stay in a hotel.
My father used to say that any offer that’s not good tomorrow isn’t good today either.
To the OP, I can’t say for sure without knowing where you’re going, but if it’s anyplace frequented by tourists they shouldn’t be hard to find. There are desks at virtually every hotel in Vegas, for instance. (I mentioned to the hotel manager during my last visit that I’d have to think twice about staying there again because they allowed these assholes to set up in their lobby. Doubt if it did any good.) Anywhere you go, look for signs offering something for nothing and it’s bound to be a time-share pitch.
Though why anyone would want to put themselves through this is beyond me.
I don’t know of any internet sites where you can find this info, but in Cabo San Lucas, they flock at the exits from the airport. There is a whole room set aside for people offering time-share presentations, and all passengers have to pass through that room.
We met a couple of women there who were doing exactly what you are thinking about. They already had a timeshare in Cabo, but each year when they went on vacation, they would sit through a couple of presentations, and end up with free dinners, boat rides, bottles of tequila, etc.
It sounds like your father was a smart man, Mr. Wheelz, a very smart man. And what he said was very much true in his time, but nowadays things are different. There are just so darn many people wherever you go, and things are so darn expensive; am I right?
In order for honest, hard-working people to get a good price, you need to jump on a deal when it is presented to you. You don’t have the luxury of waiting around…
In an attempt to actually answer the OP’s question, I’ll just second some of the advice thrown out in this thread-- go to a few restaurants/malls/stores and enter every single one of those “enter to win!” prize drawings.* This is a guaranteed way to be put on so many time share phone lists that your head will spin.
I’ve been to several pitches in my life, and enjoyed each one thoroughly. Not because of the pitch, but because the OP is right–the freebies are numerous. You have to go in with the mindset that you will.not.buy. (unless you’re actually interested in buying). I usually tell the salesman up front that I have absolutely zero intention of buying anything, even if they pay me to take it off their hands. Half the time, they’ll realize that their time is being wasted, and give me the quickest legit presentation that they can. The other half, they’re convinced they can change my mind, and I end up spending the full 2-3 hours in it. As long as you’re good at saying no, you’ll come out with the prize. Or hotel stay. Or tickets to theme park. Or tv. Or whatever.
*Read the fine print, though, just to make sure you’re not actually signing your life away to something.
You have to be careful with that, though, because some of the agreements you sign state that you will listen to the sales pitch with an open mind or some such wordage. I have no first hand experience, but I could see where they could legally say that they don’t have to give you the freebies
My parents are big fans of timeshares*. I did a similar analysis recently. My results were slightly different. Here are my conclusions:
[ul]
[li]Buying new is always a bad deal[/li][li]Renting weeks from owners is the most affordable, but has a few headaches[/li][li]Buying a heavily discounted / free resale may be a good deal if you can handle the restrictions and disadvantages[/li][/ul]
- They tout the monthly payments as a way to always force you to go on vacation and keep it from being a lump sum payment. They figure they rarely, if ever, would have gone on vacation (especially when they had 2 young kids) if they had to save the money on their own and then pay it out later. Dad doesn’t get paid for time off either. There would’ve been a lot of consecutive “maybe next year” excuses.
A very valid point that I’m sure they could try to stick you on if they really wanted to.
You have also now established a “Business relationship” with them. They can call you all they want. They can spam you.
They do not try to make themselves findable by people like the OP. They know there are dudes out there that just want a freebie.