Time can stand still during timeshare presentations
By The Better Business BureauTimeshares continue to be a popular choice for vacationers who want to get away from the familiar and enjoy an exotic locale. Investment in one, however, should only be done after careful consideration of the different options and of all the factors involved.
Your Better Business Bureau warns that you should proceed with caution. A favored tactic of the timeshare industry is an intense marketing pitch, given with the promise of a reward if you sit through it. Typically, these sales pitches can last from two to three hours, but sometimes even longer. They are hoping for a quick, spur-of-the-moment decision from you, made under the influence of their high-pressure sales staff – exactly the type of thing that BBB always warns against.
The Pitch
The lure used to get people to sales presentations can vary. Sometimes they offer free theme park tickets. Sometimes the promise is a voucher for $100 off your hotel stay. Free parasail rides, electronic gear, gift certificates – anything to get you into a chair for their sales pitch will be dangled. The promised gifts are usually delivered to you at the end of the pitch, though some have reported that they are withheld if you reject their timeshare offer.
Often the claim is that the meeting will take between an hour and 90 minutes of your time. This is almost never true. Stories of presentations that go on for hours more are common, and the pressure to buy can be relentlessly intense.
Sales representatives of varying temperaments and using a vast array of sales techniques bombard attendees. Some try the syrupy-sweet friendly approach. Some overwhelm with charts and numbers. Still others have been reported to be almost hostile and physically imposing. Frequently a presentation will involve a rotating cast of sales people, even going so far as to try to separate you from your spouse or partner in order to get one or the other to finally give in.
One thing is always certain: the sales crew that is working the presentation is well-schooled in techniques and in counter arguments to any obstacle you place before them. No matter how well you think you are armed with facts and figures to keep them at bay, they know exactly what to say in order to overcome every barrier you present them with. They are trained to overpower your resistance.
The facts
Those thinking of investing in a timeshare, or even of simply attending a presentation in order to find out what timeshares are all about, need to keep the following points in mind (facts that will not be mentioned in the sales pitch):
■ Don’t look on a timeshare investment as one that will increase in value over time. Resale values tend to decline.
■ The best deals are found in the resell market, where prices dramatically lessen from the original value.
■ Investors often tire of the annual maintenance fee and of the repetition of always vacationing at the same place.
■ Never make decisions on the spur of the moment. Get the figures in writing and then compare them to other similar units in the same area.
■ Be sure everything that is promised verbally is then written into the contract before you sign it. Carefully read the contract and never sign anything that has blank pages.
■ Research the company and/or the seller online.
■ Check out the company with the BBB.
Always ask yourself why a company has to ask you to make a quick decision. If they are putting the hard sell on you, that should raise a red flag. Real bargains do not have to be thrust upon a customer.
If you have questions or concerns regarding timeshare, contact the BBB by calling (800) 856-2417, or visit our website at bbbinc.org.
Better Business Bureau timeshare story provided by: Topeka Capital-Journal
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