Last week, when a timeshare company partnered with a timeshare owners group to offer a members-only timeshare auction, it would have been understandable if some the timeshare owners stared feeling like Rodney Dangerfield claiming, “I don’t get no respect.”

During a three-day period, members of the timeshare group were allowed to bid on any of over 300 timeshare resale properties. While the timeshare weeks auctioned were priced from $800 to $2500 and up, there were no reserves on the bidding that started at 10 cents.

As the official press release for the event stated, “…the potential pitfalls of owner-to-owner auctions via eBay are many. Who transfers the ownership? Who takes care of the legal paperwork? How do I know what I’m really buying? What guarantees do I have?” This timeshare auction claimed to reduce the type of buyer risk associated with eBay property auctions, while offering deeply discounted prices for timeshare buyers.

Timeshare Auctions and Market Values of Timeshare Resales

Ironically, the timeshare owners group has historically been critical of timeshare resales companies, claiming that buying timeshare on the resale market, like buying timeshare on an eBay auction, is fraught with problems. Personally, I can’t think of a much bigger problem than owning timeshare property that has been devalued because it has been sold at an absurdly low price.

When the bidding at a timeshare resales auction starts at a dime per property, no one really wins. The timeshare owner who wants to sell timeshare that he or she no longer uses would do just as well (and maybe better) to donate that timeshare to charity or give it to a friend or family member rather than sell it at a price that is so low it is meaningless. And while the timeshare buyer may gain in the short term by purchasing timeshare weeks at a giveaway price, in so doing, the timeshare buyer may have directly contributed to the long-term devaluation of his own property as well as that of all the other timeshare units at the resort.

Timeshare Resales By Owner

For the timeshare resales market to stay solid there must be fairness for both timeshare buyers and timeshare sellers. It is just as detrimental to the value of the product to sell timeshare weeks for pennies, as it is to overprice it and gouge the timeshare buyer.

Look for good deals on by-owner timeshares resales; but expect to play fair. Fair market pricing is good for the buyer, good for the seller, and good for the timeshare resales market.

A Look Back at the Humor of the Late Rodney Dangerfield, With Our Respect:

When Tom Corbin and Steve Bodack bought timeshare units at the Navigator Beach Club in Dennisport, Massachusetts, they thought they were making vacation planning simple. Instead, they bought into a huge headache.

In May of 2006, Corbin paid $16,000, (according to a report published online by TheBostonChannel.com) for the right to vacation one week per year in timeshare unit number 6 at the Navigator Beach Club. Bodack paid $4300 for his timeshare and Ernie Morin paid $4500 for his. Each of the three men is still waiting.

It now looks like it is going to be a long wait.

Not only is construction on the Navigator Beach Club timeshare unfinished, but the resort had been scheduled for auction for nonpayment of the $2.2 million mortgage, just two days from now. Instead, the developer, Robert Reposa of Hingham, caught a break; the lender has agreed to give him another two weeks to find a buyer for the partially built timeshare resort property.

The Legalities of Buying Timeshare

According to Kathleen O’Donnell, a property law expert, Corbin, Bodack, Morin, and an undisclosed number of others have, “…bought something that doesn’t exist.”

Massachusetts law requires developers to form entities and file deeds. Neither of which was done in the case of the Navigator Beach Club timeshare resort. Simply put, where there is no entity to sell timeshare, any “timeshares” sold just don’t exist.

The next step is likely to be that the Massachusetts Attorney General will get involved. Whether or not the timeshare buyers ever see their money again is anybody’s guess at this point.

Don’t Gamble; Buy Timeshare Resales Instead

There are many situations in which timeshare developers legitimately sell pre-construction timeshare units. And as the situation at Navigator Beach Club timeshare resort proves, there are times when they don’t.

The simplest advice to avoid falling victim of a timeshare scam, is to know what you are buying. You can do this by thoroughly investigating the business stability and track record of a timeshare developer before you sign on the dotted line or you can buy timeshare at a resort that is already built, already operating, and already proven.

Timeshare resales can take a lot of the guesswork out of buying vacation ownership property. Not only can you visit an operational timeshare resort and decide for yourself if you are spending your money wisely, but you can talk to others at the resort and online. Find out what current owners like and what they dislike about their timeshare resort.

Vacations are supposed to provide you rest and relaxation – freedom from worry, which might be the best reason ever to buy right-priced, already proven timeshare resales.

I am thrilled to be part of the 2008 ARDA Convention & Exposition. When this, the largest event for the timeshare and resort industry, meets in Las Vegas in April, I will be one of the presenters of a program titled: SEM, SEO, SMO & SOS! A Website Traffic Rescue.

Paul Savage of Savage Direct Marketing, Marc Saxe of Resort Opportunities, and Greg Anton of Avitech will be my fellow presenters. Together, we are spreading the message that if your business has a website, then you absolutely must know what these acronyms mean, and how to make them work for you.

One of the many exciting things about the ARDA convention is that it involves people from all areas of the timeshare and resort industry, including management, resort operations, development, and marketing. Every one of these people’s livelihoods is directly affected by the decisions their company makes, or fails to make, about maintaining a strong web presence. And search engine marketing, social media optimization, and search engine optimization, are only the beginning of the important internet marketing strategies businesses must utilize for reaching and serving clients via the world wide web.

What the Internet Can Mean for Timeshare Sales and Timeshare Resales

Sell My Timeshare NOW knows and understands just how critical the internet is to business today. It has been less than five years since we started our timeshare resales and timeshare rentals advertising and marketing company with three people working from home computers. Today, we employ over 100 people in our Dover, New Hampshire office and have satellite offices across the US. Our website, www.sellmytimesharenow.com, attracts more than 1.7 million visitors each month. These are people who are looking to buy timeshare, sell timeshare, or rent timeshare. In a very short time, our timeshare company has grown to be a leader in the industry today.

Some of our website visitors show up because they have entered our company’s web address in their web browser. Yet, thousands and thousands of other potential timeshare buyers or timeshare sellers come to us because they type terms such as, “buy timeshare,” or “Florida timeshare” into their search engine and consistently, the search engine lists Sell My Timeshare NOW, at or near the top of the list. In 2007, we presented our clients who want to sell timeshare or rent timeshare with more than $247 million in offers to buy or rent. The internet is a powerful tool, and it’s a message I never get tired of teaching; I can’t wait for the upcoming ARDA Convention & Exposition.

Links to Sell My Timeshare NOW’s most recent press release:

• Timeshare Internet Advertising Trailblazer to Speak at National Convention

The 2008 ARDA Convention & Exposition will be held next month, April 6-10, at the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This is the top event in the resort and timeshare industry and it will draw some 5000 attendees from more than 40 countries worldwide.

Speakers at the ARDA Convention

Each year the ARDA Convention & Exposition offers resort and timeshare professionals the most up-to-date information on services and new directions within the industry. For the 2008 convention, Rick Barrera will be the keynote speaker. Barrera is a nationally recognized speaker, marketing consultant and acclaimed author. He is probably best known for his unique approach to brand building and holistic customer service. Barrera’s strategies can be seen in use today by such business giants as Google, Hummer, and Tivo.

In tomorrow’s Timeshare Owners Blog, I will be sharing information about a few of the ARDA Convention’s other speakers and panelists, including the panel on which I will be presenting. Here is also a link to Sell My Timeshare NOW‘s most recent press release about the ARDA Convention.

Entertainment at the ARDA Convention

As if just being in Las Vegas isn’t entertaining enough, the ARDA Convention includes a performance by Terry Fator. If you are not familiar with this multi-talented entertainer, then the idea of watching a ventriloquist may not seem too exciting.

Think again. Terry Fator, winner of last year’s American’s Got Talent competition on NBC, is one of the single most entertaining, genuinely talented performers today.

I have attached a YouTube video of Fator during his first televised appearance on the, America’s Got Talent competition. Once you watch this first video, you may want to go back and view the many others available on Fator’s website or on YouTube – he is guaranteed to brighten your day.