Timeshare Resales

Want to sell timeshare quickly, with as few hassles as possible? Here’s key information for anyone who wants a successful timeshare sale.

In the marketing business, the successful promotion (and the subsequent sale) of a product or service boils down to three things: location, location, location! Even in the field of online business, this adage still applies; in fact, now more than ever! The key is to expose your product to the greatest number of people who are specifically searching for your product or service. When selling timeshare, why not position your advertisement so it will reach the largest possible number of prospective timeshare buyers?

Consider this: many people have tried to resell timeshare through the newspaper, using either online or print ads. While these publications can certainly reach a large number of people, they simply don’t reach enough prospective timeshare buyers to even justify the cost of placing the ad. The traffic that newspapers receive is simply not targeted. All kinds of people read classified ads for all different reasons. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were pages of classified ads just dealing with timeshare? The good news is, these exist. The bad news is, though these attract a more targeted readership, they receive minimal traffic because nobody knows where to find them. Various timeshare forums exist, and veteran timeshare owners will often recommend online classifieds services that deal with timeshare. However, if you aren’t a long-standing member of the “international timeshare elite”, how do you find out about these services? In many cases, they are practically invisible to people searching the web, largely because they are not going out of their way to attract attention to themselves. Why should they? They already enjoy a good reputation with people in the know.

In this day and age, is word-of-mouth advertising really the most effective way to promote a resale timeshare?

In this business, we frequently encounter people who list their properties with an online classified-advertising service specializing in timeshare. These are usually “self-serve” sites which usually charge a minimal monthly rate of around $20.00. Again, because they specialize in timeshare, these websites are frequented regularly by a small number of timeshare owners, so they receive targeted traffic. What most people find challenging is that using a service like this does not give them the broadest possible exposure for their property. The timeshare market is booming, with millions of eager first-time timeshare buyers searching the net every day! People who sell timeshare are looking for a more aggressive timeshare resale company who can promise to drive the most qualified, relevant traffic to its website. Sure, an online classified ad site is cheap, but can it really get the job done?

Most high-profile timeshare resellers charge a one-time, upfront fee of several hundred dollars to advertise a timeshare. Why does this cost so much, in comparison with the small monthly fee charged by a timeshare classified site? The lion’s share of this money that a resale company charges (if the company is reputable and actually does what it promises) goes toward driving qualified, relevant traffic to the site. This means more exposure, which ultimately translates into a faster timeshare sale with fewer hassles. You aren’t just marketing your timeshare to an assorted few seasoned timeshare owners already hip to the inside track, you’re breaking out into a huge new market filled with millions of people actively seeking to buy their own timeshare!

We encourage our clients to obtain the maximum amount of exposure for their property. If it is cost effective to pay $20.00/month to advertise their timeshares in an online timeshare classified page, we say “go for it!” However, know that you are by no means limited to just one timeshare resale company. We’ve even had clients who enlisted our services in addition to those of a competing timeshare reseller, effectively pitting two companies against one another to see who can sell timeshare fastest!*

Tips for Selling Timeshare

Though timeshare classified advertisers exist, a high-traffic, highly visible timeshare reseller that continually invests in web site optimization is your best bet for a successful timeshare sale. Here’s some tips on what to look for:

• Do a search for a specific geographic area, or a specific resort on Google or another major search engine, for example “Fairfield Branson at the Meadows” or “buy Arizona timeshare resales”. A company that comes up on the first page (ideally number one for any search results page) is a strong company to go with.
• Make sure the company ranks well for basic terms like “timeshare resale” and “buy timeshare“. Most people who are searching for timeshares start with vague search terms (unless they are looking for time at a specific resort or geographic area). The higher the ranking, the better.
• If a company depends on sponsored results (also known as “pay-per-click” advertising because it costs money every time someone clicks on the link), know that it is spending large amounts on maintaining visibility. It is only cost effective to do this for a few terms. Most companies can spend upwards of $10,000/month on pay-per-click. A company that depends on paid listings is likely not to do well across the board when it comes to natural, or “organic” listings. Paid ads are best used to complement natural results. Look for a company that doesn’t have to resort to paid advertising to maintain its search visibility.
• Check out how your ad will look- sometimes, an ad can get lost in a heap of other ads competing for attention on the same page. Ideally, the ad for the timeshare you want to sell should have its very own page. It is especially nice if this page is well optimized for search terms relevant to that property (example: “El Cid La Ceiba” is a search term used by people looking for timeshare at this resort), so it ranks with good visibility when someone searches for it.
• I have to reiterate that it is absolutely vital that, before you give your credit card information to any company, check to see if they have a record with the Better Business Bureau! If so, how many complaints have they received? How were they resolved? Is this company a BBB member in good standing? Be wary: timeshare companies with an appalling BBB record will sometimes create new websites with slightly different domain names, so they can pretend to have an unblemished history. In reality, it’s just the same shoddy product with a fresh coat of paint.

If you want to promote your timeshare resale property before the largest possible number of timeshare buyers, please consider SellMyTimeshareNOW. We employ the very latest and most successful internet marketing strategies in order to bring a fast, safe, and trouble-free timeshare sale to our clients.

*SellMyTimeshareNOW offers this money-back guarantee for all timeshares advertised on our site: if you sell your timeshare through a competitor’s services before we can sell it, present us with a proof of the sale within thirty days and we will refund your money, with no exceptions.

Buying timeshare resales is a smart alternative to buying timeshare directly from a developer.

The timeshare resale industry, though maligned by the misdeeds of many timeshare resale companies, has allowed many people the opportunity to experience the benefits of owning timeshare while paying far less than the original asking price of the property. If you are working with an honest and reliable timeshare resale company, a world of vacation possibilities is at your fingertips.

In earlier posts, I detailed some of the pitfalls encountered by people buying and selling timeshares online, and some ways to tell if your timeshare resale company can deliver what it promises. Because of rampant fraud, the timeshare industry has suffered bad press. In particular, the portion of the industry devoted to timeshare resales has lost a great deal of credibility. It seems that half the sites out there are trying to defraud people of their money, their timeshares, or both.

Fortunately, with major hotel chains investing in lucrative timeshare developments, the timeshare world has been infused with a healthy dose of respectability. Marriott, Hilton, and other giants of the hospitality industry have brought about a significant paradigm shift, causing a renewed interest in the concept of timeshare. Resort developers, in order to compete in a business climate dominated by established hotel brands, have de-emphasized making a fast buck in favor of actually providing the quality service and luxury amenities that the timeshare-owning public demands. By giving timeshare owners what they want, large resort development companies have seen record gains in recent years.

Though it is true that the entire industry has been affected by these changes, the resale side of the timeshare industry has been the slowest to respond. While companies who plan for long-term success have set new standards for the resale community, there still exist unscrupulous timeshare resellers whose only concern is collecting the fees they charge. However, since the advent of the internet, consumers have become more aware, more canny about who they are willing to do business with. Using online resources like the Better Business Bureau is the best way to determine whether any online business can deliver on its promises.

Once you are satisfied that a timeshare resale company is honest as well as effective, an impressive array of vacation possibilities is at your disposal. However, the real beauty of resale timeshares lies in their cost-effectiveness.

Timeshare resort properties produce large profits, but consumers aren’t easily sold. Consequently, roughly half the cost of each new timeshare covers the cost of marketing the property. For example, a brand-new 200-unit resort development would earn $153,000,000. Shockingly, about $76,000,000 of these earnings is spent on sales commissions and enticements for people to sit through lengthy timeshare sales presentations.

• One person out of every 200 responds to telemarketing and direct mail campaigns advertising new timeshares.
• The expense of free gifts such as hotel bills, meals and theme park tickets (to lure prospective timeshare buyers into one of those infamous sales presentations): $200.00 – $500.00 for each attendee.
• People whose sole reason for enduring a timeshare sales pitch is to receive the free gifts (such people are sometimes referred to by the unflattering term of “professional mooch” by certain unsavory characters in the timeshare resort industry): 1 out of every 4.
• 1 out of every 10 people who are in attendance at a timeshare sales presentation actually buy the property.

It is easy to see why buying a new timeshare directly from a resort developer is so pricey. However, on average, buying a timeshare resale week from an owner costs $5,000, in contrast to the $14,800 asking price of a resort developer. You pay almost 1/3 of the original price of the timeshare property!

Timeshare resales are available all over the world, often costing a small fraction of a developer’s original price. Whether you’re looking to buy, rent, or sell timeshare, SellMyTimeshareNOW can help you.

Here you can find some common pitfalls encountered by people who want to buy or sell timeshare, and some resources to use when determining which timeshare resale company is right for you.

In our line of work, it is frequent that we encounter people who have been treated unfairly at various stages of timeshare ownership. Often, the property has already been advertised for months with several online timeshare resale companies, but the seller may get no offers. Some companies charge an up-front fee for their services PLUS a commission on the back end. To increase the commission, sales reps will often inflate the value of the property beyond reasonable market value. What this means is that an overpriced timeshare will languish in an obscure part of the reseller’s website for an indefinite period of time. If it finally sells, a large chunk of the proceeds goes toward the commission. This is a time-consuming, aggravating, and expensive way to sell timeshare.

Other resellers might not charge a commission on the back end of a sales transaction. This sounds good to a prospective seller, but what if a company has no incentive to deliver a fast sale? Unfortunately, many online timeshare resellers are focused on getting a fast buck from each client who signs up. Their business models are oriented toward making a big profit in the short term, with little regard for anything else. Some of these companies really don’t care whether or not a property ever sells! Their only concern is the customer’s money. After the up-front fee has been paid, again we see timeshare properties gathering dust on some webpage that no-one can find.

Worst of all, some companies do not actually exist. A prospective seller will get a call from someone pretending to be a rep from a phony company. When the seller falls for this ruse, the “sales rep” takes the money and disappears.

Naturally, because of the poor treatment they have received at the hands of other companies, at first many of our existing clients were hesitant to enlist our services. These people have learned to take a more cautious approach to the timeshare industry, but at a very high cost- often thousands of dollars!

How can a timeshare owner tell if a resale company will do what it promises?

As with everything else on the internet, the information is available, it is just a question of finding it.

-Any company that is doing business regularly will have a record with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB lists any complaints made against almost every business, so by comparing records, you can quickly determine which company is right for you. Can’t find a company’s record at the BBB site? Either the company is brand-new, or it doesn’t exist. Our Better Business Bureau record is of almost immeasurable value to us because we are determined to be in the timeshare business long-term. We care about our customers because we believe that time will either promote a business, or expose it. Our exemplary customer service ensures that SellMyTimeshareNOW will continue to be a member in good standing of the Better Business Bureau. A company that refuses to provide quality customer service in this highly competitive business will inevitably fail.

-Many companies offer their own traffic statistics documenting the flow of visitors to their sites. While this is admirable, we feel that impartial, third-party traffic statistics give us greater credibility. For this purpose, we use a company called Extreme Tracking. Here can be found detailed information on our traffic. Another third-party resource is Alexa, long considered the standard by which sites are ranked according to traffic. As our company has grown, our Alexa rank indicates that we have constantly been driving more and more traffic to our site, and that in a short time we have become a major player in the timeshare sales industry.

We believe that you should demand proof before you spend money to advertise your timeshare. We are so confident in our ability to achieve success for our clients that we choose to let the facts speak for themselves. Regardless of how you ultimately choose to sell your timeshare, you owe it to yourself to investigate the claims of any company.