Why are timeshares generally considered a “scam” or “rip-off”?
Do any legitimate timeshares exist where the deal works as advertised?
Generally, Timeshares are talked about in the context of a joke and are rarely taken seriously, but they must have been, or at least to appear to have been, viewed and taken more seriously at some point.
In: Economics
The biggest problem is that you can buy them directly from another timeshare owner at a small fraction of the price you pay to a high pressure salesman.
If you look around the internet, you can buy a timeshare directly from another timeshare owner. You can easily get one for a small fraction of the lowest price quoted by the high pressure salesman, or less. Sometimes, you can even get them for free. Yes, free (by agreeing to pay yearly maintenance fees forever). Timeshares have terrible resale value and are not an investment.
If you buy one cheaply, there still are drawbacks with being locked in. Selecting weeks, difficulty getting out of the yearly maintenance fee agreement when you no longer want to vacation there etc.
But I wouldn’t call getting a cheap timeshare a scam or rip-off. You get a number of weeks at the location(s) for the yearly maintenance fee.
I would only say that paying the lowest price quoted by the high pressure time share salesman is a scam/ripoff.
The whole idea of timeshares made sense before Airbnb existed. But today who wants to be tied to one location or a small number of locations? It makes no sense now. Even if you really want to stay at the timeshares of a specific resort for several years in a row, you’re better off just going to a website such as Redweek and renting from some sap who fell for the high pressure sales pitch years ago and no longer wants to use their weeks. You can rent for less than than the price of a yearly maintenance fee, with no long term commitment.
Latest Answers