Worthless timeshare ownership for sale

So I was searching around today to try and figure out how much 1,000,050 points are worth on the resale market. I'm going to sell my Wyndham timeshare ownership (eventually), but first let's figure out what they are worth if I sell it and what they are worth if Wyndham sells it.

I recently attended one of Wyndham's infamous "owner updates". These are humorous. When you check-in (as an owner), they tell you that you have to go get to the "parking pass" people over at another desk. At some locations, this parking pass is needed to get through security. So, these parking pass experts could care less about whether you get a parking pass or not. They work for the marketing department. They get paid commissions based on how many of us they can talk into showing up for an "owner update". I think they get $25-30 per person they get to sign up. Plus, they get to offer an incentive to the owner to go to this "update". If you ask them what an update is, they kindly explain that they want to get owner's feedback on the quality of the resort and any needed improvements. If you give them "they eye", stare them down, and roughly ask "is it a sales presentation?", they will look you dead into the eyes and say, "of course not, they are just trying to get your opinion". "And we value your opinion so much that we are going to throw in $75 worth of dinner gift cards", or whatever - usually worth between $50 and $100. "And it will take no longer than 45 minutes, guaranteed."

Of course, you want to "help out" the resort and fill out their questionnaire about the quality of the resort. Everyone likes to help, and everyone likes $75 worth of dinner gift cards for being such a good Samaritan, right? Well, of course just about anyone realized those "parking pass" people are straight-up liars. They get paid to get you into the sales-room and they are trained to tell you what you want to hear.

At least the salespeople are a little more obvious about it. They only spend about 2-3 minutes doing the "survey", and 90% of that has to do with how much you own and how often you travel, the lead questions into their sales pitch. You can never have too many points, they say. There are so many ways you can use your ownership, they say. The smartest owners all buy to the Platinum-level, they say.

So, my survey guy (aka SALESMAN) wanted to know the history of why I purchased to Platinum. I explained to him what I explained in "It's good to be Platinum" and he congratulated me on my wise purchase. He said the only thing that would be better is to get more. I asked what incentive I would have to buy more, as it would take purchasing an entire million more points even to get one additional "FREE" guest certificate. He said I would be able to rent more and actually make a profit -- traveling for free. I wasn't going to argue with his insane logic, so I decided to throw him a change-up.

I was thinking that if 1,000,050 points give me 30 free guest certificates, and 1,999,999 still only give me 30 free guest certificates, it would be smarter to buy an entire new contract for 1,000,050 points in a separate name. This would give me 60 free guest certificates. Math genius, I know.

So I asked this joker the best price my "dad" could purchase 1,000,050 points for today. He got very excited.... got together with his sales manager - then brought his sales manager to see me. The boss showed me a printout with a lot of numbers on it. Remember, I paid $$,$$$ for my existing points (five digits). The bottom line number (after mega-discounts) was $128,900 for 1,000,050 points. Just think about that - this is the cost of a 1500 square foot home in more than half of the United States.

Of course I told them I would have to talk to my dad and figure out if that might be too much money or not. Then I finally kicked my way out of the sales meeting and got my Red Lobster gift cards, with a promise to call back tomorrow. Good thing most of know tomorrow never comes!

Now, back to where I started. I checked how much a million points sell for on eBay. If I were to sell you my Platinum ownership today, I would be lucky to get $5,000 for it.

Here are some recently closed eBay auctions that sold their Wyndham points:

825,000 points at Myrtle Beach for $6580
500,000 points at Smoky Mountains for $2647
300,000 points at Destin for $1225
336,000 points at Bonnet Creek for $1098
308,000 points at Grand Desert for $1075
343,000 points at San Antonio for $1001
351,000 points at Star Island for $810
500,000 points at Grand Desert for $2027

So, as you can see, I would be lucky to get $5000 for an ownership that someone can go to any Wyndham sales office and pay at least $125,000 for. So, why is it 25 times more value to buy from Wyndham directly? Because they do not allow you to transfer your VIP benefits to another owner. So, if I sell my Platinum ownership to someone else, they are not longer Platinum. They don't get the discounts and upgrades I get. They don't even get those 30 guest certificates each year - they get ONE. But is that worth $120,000 to have those things? HELL NO!!!!!

That is one of the main points that has owners so upset. This company has devalued this product so badly that it's not even worth trying to sell. You can't really use it effectively, because they've killed all the benefits associated with it. And, you can't even sell it, because they have made it WORTHLESS. Completely WORTHLESS.

I'll leave you with these happy thoughts for yet another day