My Buy Essay

Posts Tagged ‘internet’

When that subject was introduced, the entire auditorium started yelling, “Yeah, why can’t we ever get bonus time?” At that point one gentleman stood up and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been there on bonus time fourteen times in the last six months.” I became concerned that we might have a riot and all the other unhappy Owners would injure him. Now, how come the experiences were so different?

First, you must remember what Bonus Time really is (that is besides a sales feature). Originally, not all the time was sold in specific resorts. Anywhere from 48 weeks to 51 weeks of the 52 available were sold. The rest were designated “Maintenance Weeks”. They were the time when the resort would be refurbished. It was later found that most of this kind of maintenance could be accomplished “on the fly” and 52 weeks were actually sold. Theoretically, if everyone showed up for their reservations and the maintenance weeks were actually fully used, there would be no bonus time…none! Unfortunately, some original salespeople said, “You can have bonus time whenever you want in addition to your reserved week.” Again, theoretically possible, but not really practical.

So Bonus Time is actually the unused maintenance time plus the time that certain Owners either don’t make a reservation, don’t show up at all, are unable to use their time because of failure to pay their maintenance dues or leave early. That’s it and it is spotty. It does, however exist. Most resorts will end up with a vacancy factor of between 5% and 15% of their usable time. So where does it go? Those who know how to use it do. Here’s how you go about it.

When are people most likely to not show up? In the off season and even more so midweek in the off season. Thus the most likely time you will be able to get Bonus Time in Southern California will be November through February at the beach and July through September in Palm Springs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that these are not good times. Some November days at the beach are among the best you will find, warm days and beautiful sunsets. Early mornings and late evenings in Palm Springs are uncrowded and delightful. If you aim for midweek off-season you will probably be pleasantly surprised at how many times you actually get Bonus Time.

Next is when should you ask for Bonus Time? About 3:00 PM on the check in day is when the husband will turn around, look in the back seat of the car and ask, “What are those funny looking spots on the kid’s faces?” The call canceling the reservation will be made by about 4:00 PM. If your call comes in at 4:15 PM, you have a good chance at snaring that spot which was suddenly left vacant. And that is the secret that the gentleman used at the beginning of this article. He would simply call at the last minute and if there were space he would come. If not, he wouldn’t. Another good time is after noon of the day after check in day. That is when the front desk will tally up the no-shows, call them and verify that they in fact are not coming. Suddenly, their reservation becomes a bonus time potential.

Every resort will have it’s own idiosyncrasies. To be successful with Bonus Time, it is up to you to figure them out. Another tip is that it always is a good idea to be on good terms with the front desk personnel. If they like you they may sometimes be able to help you. You will most certainly get the nod over the grouch who is always demeaning and criticizing them.

So the tricks to achieve Bonus Time are: 1) Use your head to figure out when your odds are best; 2) Be on good terms with the people who can help you; and 3) Call at the right time. I tell people that it is hardly worth the price of the phone call to try to get Bonus Time at the height of the high season on a weekend but those who exhibit flexibility and will roll with the system end up with more than their share. Every project is different but you can figure them out. With this knowledge you should have good luck with your Bonus Time. But, as I have always said, “I would rather be lucky than smart.”

Search engine optimization (SEO) should be considered as a critical element of any Internet marketing strategy. This is important because there is so much which can be gained from SEO in terms of Internet marketing and advertising. Failure to optimize your website for search engines can result in a considerable loss in terms of free advertising and traffic which is essentially gained from ranking well with search engines. This article will provide insight into what SEO is and will explain why Internet marketing requires at least some degree of SEO.

SEO optimization is a strategy in which a website is designed to obtain favorable search engine rankings from popular search engines. This may be achieved in a variety of different ways and optimal SEO strategies combine a variety of different strategies to complete one well orchestrated SEO campaign. There are several elements to consider when attempting to optimize your website for search engines. This may include keyword density, prominence, META tags, titles and inbound links. Keyword density is one of the most common SEO strategies and essentially involves using relevant keywords often in the content of a website to demonstrate the relevance of these keywords to the website. This is important because search engines are likely to reward websites with optimal keyword densities with favorable search engine rankings in an effort to provide Internet users with the most relevant websites for particular search terms.

The prominence of keywords should also be considered. This includes how close the keywords are placed to the beginning of the website. The common mistake with this strategy is to believe the first opportunity to incorporate keywords is in the first line of visible text on the webpage. This is not true because search engines crawl the code of a website as opposed to the visible content on the website. This means there are multiple opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords long before the actual visible content on the website. This might include the code for the title as well as the META tags. Business owners who realize the potential for incorporating keyword into the code gain an advantage over competitors who only incorporate keywords into the content on their website.

Another area of concern which is very important for those who are interested in SEO is inbound links. Inbound links are essentially links which reside on other websites and direct traffic to your website. These links are considered important because many search engines place a value on inbound links because they are essentially an example of one website recommending another website. However, when obtaining inbound links it is important to do so from other websites which rank well with search engines because many search engines consider the rank of the original website when determining the value of the inbound link.

Now that we have briefly explained some of the main concept of SEO, we will illustrate why it is important to optimize your website in the first place. SEO is so important because most Internet users highly value the results of search engines and are likely to only visit to ranking websites when they search for a particular keyword. Internet users trust search engines to serve the most relevant content first and are therefore not likely to visit websites which do not fall on the first or second page of search results. This means websites which rank well essentially are receiving a great deal of free advertising from search engines that place their website in a key position. Website owners who do not invest time into optimizing their websites miss out on a great deal of potential web traffic.

More and More people are lured into affiliate marketing and you might be one of them. Indeed, affiliate marketing is one of the most effective means of generating a full-time income through the Internet. It’s a fair deal between the merchandiser and his affiliates as both benefit from each sale materialized. Like in other kinds of business, a great deal of the profits in affiliate marketing depends on the affiliate’s advertising, promoting and selling strategies. Everyday, as affiliate marketing industry expands, competition heightens as well so an affiliate marketer must be creative enough to employ unique and effective ways to convince potential buyers to purchase or avail of the products and services offered.

Compared to traditional advertising practices, affiliate programs are more effective, risk-free and cost-efficient. But why do many people still fail in affiliate marketing? There are a lot of reasons and a lot of areas in the program to look into. The most critical aspect in the affiliate program is advertising. Many affiliate marketers fail in this aspect because they lack hard work, which is the most important thing in affiliate marketing and in all other kinds of business as well. Although it pays to be lucky, you cannot merely rely on it. Affiliate marketing isn’t as simple as directing customers to the business site. If you want to earn big, of course, you have to invest time and great amount of hard work in promoting the products. As earlier mentioned, the competition is very high and customers nowadays are very wise, too. After all, who doesn’t want to get the best purchase&ndashthat is, to pay less and get more in terms of quantity and quality.

Lack of preparation is also a reason why one fails in affiliate marketing, whether he is a merchandiser or an affiliate. Part of the preparation is researching. On the part of the merchant, he has to be highly selective in choosing the right affiliate websites for his affiliate program. In order to be sure he has the best choices, he must have exhausted his means in looking for highly interested affiliates whose sites are sure fit to his products and services. The affiliate site’s visitors must match his targeted customers. On the other hand, the affiliate marketer must likewise research on the good-paying merchandisers before he signs up for an affiliate program. He must ensure that the merchants’ products and services match his interests so he can give his full attention and dedication to the program. He can get valuable information by joining affiliate forums, comparing different affiliate programs and reading articles on affiliate marketing where he can get tips from experienced affiliate marketers on how to choose the best merchants and products with high conversion rate.

The website is a very important tool in the whole affiliate program. As an affiliate marketer, you should plan how your site is going to be, from domain name to the design, the lay-out, the content, and ads. Some users are particular about what they see at first glance and thus when they find your site ugly, they won’t read through the content even if your site has many things to say and offer. On the other hand, there those who want information more than anything else. Affiliate marketers with “rich-content” web sites are usually the ones who prosper in this business because the content improves traffic to the site. Websites with high quality contents&ndashwith relevant keywords and more importantly, right information about the product and not empty hyped-up advertisements&ndashallow you to earn big in affiliate marketing even when you’re asleep. If you won’t be able to sustain the interest of your site visitor, you won’t be able to lead him to the merchants’ site. No click-through means no sale and thus, no income on your part.

Selecting a top level domain name is also crucial to the success of the affiliate program. Lots of affiliate sites don’t appear in the search engine results because they are deemed by affiliate managers as personal sites. Major search engines and directories would think of your site as transient ones and thus, they won’t list it in the directory. Before you decide on the domain name, know first what you are going to promote. Many fail because their sites are not appropriately named, so even when they feature the exact products the customer is looking for, the customer might think the site is not relevant and thus, won’t enter the site.

Above all, an affiliate marketer must be willing to learn more. Certainly, there are still a lot of things to learn and so an affiliate marketer must continue to educate himself so he can improve his marketing strategies. Many fail because they don’t grow in the business and they are merely concerned about earning big quickly. If you want long-term and highly satisfactory results, take time to learn the ins and outs of the business. Continue to improve your knowledge especially with the basics in affiliate marketing ranging from advertising to programming, web page development, and search engine optimization techniques. Likewise, study the needs and wants of your site users and how different merchandisers compete with each other.

Keep on trying; don’t get disappointed if your first attempts did not pay off. Thousands are attracted by the possibility of generating skyrocketing incomes through affiliate marketing and so they sign up in any affiliate program without carefully understanding every aspect of the business. When they don’t get instant results, they quit and sign up for another program and repeat the process of just copying links and referring them to others. When you sign up for an affiliate program, don’t expect to get rich in an instant. Work on your advertising strategies and be patient. You’ll never know how much you can get if you don’t persevere.

For an advertiser, penetrating more media with their advertising message is the best way of disseminating that message to as many people as possible. Of course, the problem with traditional advertising media, like broadcast and print is that although you can identify the demographic that you want to target, you are still not so sure that it will be reaching that demographic at the right time.

This is where the advantage of Internet advertising comes in. Since surfing online has a measure of interactivity to it, you, as an advertiser, are also getting a bit of information from the user. This information can be quite useful in helping an advertiser find out whether his ad is perfectly targeted for that person. For example, a person who surfs and searches for information on aquariums may be more willing to click an ad that advertises fish food. This targeted advertising is the peculiar &ndash and quite useful &ndash characteristic of the Internet. There might not even be a similar situation that can approximate this level of sophistication in the other forms of traditional media.

This feature of the Internet is also its best selling point and the reason why there is a steady rise in advertising revenues online. This means that advertisers are beginning to see how effective Internet advertising can be in reaching their intended target audience and in eliciting the proper response on that ad (by clicking on the ad and then making a purchase).

Yahoo!’s new program for advertisers, Yahoo! Search Marketing has been specifically designed to make Internet advertising so much easier for advertisers. Using the technology of Overture Services, Inc., Yahoo! Search Marketing is a far more intuitive product compared to its competitors. Currently it offers a number of features that addresses the advertising needs of both small and big advertisers.

For people who want to focus their advertising efforts to a far more specific market or demographic, they can use Local Advertising to identify the specific area that you want to focus on. This is a great tool for advertisers whose service reach is only limited to a city or a small geographical area.

On the other hand, advertisers who want to further expand their reach beyond search results can use Content Match that allows clients to reach customers who visit other websites, newsletters and even email. With Content Match, an advertiser can even target the potential customer at precisely the right time when they are about to make a purchase. No other type of advertising medium can hope to duplicate this.

Advertisers who are planning to sell a product can take advantage of Yahoo! Search Marketing’s Product Submit feature wherein the product can be featured prominently in Yahoo!’s popular Yahoo! Shopping page that is seen by millions of potential buyers. The good thing with this feature is that it also follows Yahoo! Search Marketing’s click per performance strategy &ndash effectively making each click a pre-sold visit.

These features are just some of the many innovations that Yahoo! Search Marketing is offering to its advertisers in a bid to gain the top crown in Internet advertising in a very competitive market.

Synopsis

Looking Glass is set in the not too distant future, in a gritty, unrefined, shattered North America. Hackers and IT security technicians fight a different kind of war in cyberspace. A serial killer has found a way to use the network to reach inside his victims brains, and use these brains as his weapon. Shroud is a security network team leader for a large retail company. In the realm of cyberspace, inside a sensory deprivation tank and jacked in to the network, she is fast, nimble, and ruthless. She is just beginning her shift when the killer strikes for the first time. She survives, but her entire team is dead or missing. She is exiled from her corporate resources, and her search for the killer is fraught with peril and overwhelming odds.

Review

As a fan and reader of the cyberpunk genre, I strongly recommend Looking Glass. I won’t go into a plot synopsis, as others already have. The writing style is tight, and focused through the window of Shroud’s perception and life experiences, and her shift into an increasingly uncomfortable and dangerous situation, both mentally and physically. It is this revelation of her inner life, with its defensive limitations and powerful motivations that keeps the focus on the human, despite the seeming technological focus of the plot.

The dystopic setting of the splintered second world North America is revealed as is needed by the narrative. The technology is speculative, but much more soundly grounded in current technologies that give a sense of competence to the characters actions, and satisfaction to the reader familiar with the topics.

In the end, to me, Science Fiction is a human story. It asks what will we do, what will we become, when technology has changed our society, our horizons, our bodies and challanged the limits of what is possible. Looking Glass does this, with a good touch for personal tension, evolving character awareness, and human weakness.

The plot is well thought-out, and the pacing is fast without being frenetic. There’s little, if any, plot telegraphing or foreshadowing. The setting is future, yet the reference points are tantalizingly close to our present – again, enough to keep me invested (Shame about Reno, though). And while “cyberpunk” applies in general genre terms, the author isn’t trying to be William Gibson or anyone else, which is a refreshing change! But if you like that style, then you’ll definitely want to give this book a try. One day, one of those hackers turns out to be a serial killer, and uses the fact that people are jacked in to the Internet to use the Internet as a way to kill. Her corporation, Omni-Mart, in standard shortsighted corporate cover-up style, gets in the way of her investigation, while the killer pursues her every move in a world that is so completely connected to the Net that movement without observation is just about impossible.

Dr. Farro, or “Shroud” as she is known, is one of the most dynamic characters in fiction. She wrestles with inner demons as well as the muck that is the Internet of tomorrow. She doesn’t necessarily deal with these demons very well. In a job that requires a certain level of paranoid schizophrenia to perform well, she is good at her work.

However, when the reader gets inside her head, we wee that this perfect employee of the future is far from a perfect human being, a metaphor, I think, for the futureshock and information overload that we experience every day. Strickland shows us that all the great technology that makes our civilization work so well may not be good for our mental health. It’s a powerful message, yet there is no moralizing that gets in the way of a truly exciting thriller.

All in all, it was a great read, and I’ll be back for the next instalment.

There are thousands and thousands of message boards on the internet. That’s a lot of potential people who may be interested in your products or services. It also serves as a quick and easy way to get a lot of links pointing back at your site and can help get your pages spidered faster by the search engines.

I use a free tool, Board Tracker (.boardtracker.com/), to help monitor posts on over 25,000 forums.

You can set up a free account there and then set up alerts. You can set it to alert you to any posts containing any keyword or phrases you like. Some examples would be, your board nicknames, your domain names, affiliate programs you work with, or whatever else you’re interested in..

When someone makes a post and one of your alert keywords is found, you are emailed a link to the thread which you can follow and make a post. So as not to be a blatant board spammer, it is recommended that you register and make an introduction post on that board before responding to the thread. When responding, you should make your post helpful to the person in regards to answering any question they had without spamming your site/program, you are relying on your signature file here to draw their attention.

To make this task easier, I suggest utilizing Roboform (.roboform.com/). Roboform makes it easy to handle all of your registering and logins.

Now, let’s find some forums in which we can participate. Everyone has some knowledge or interest in something. Perhaps it is cars, interior design or something else. Whatever it is, you can be certain there are forums for that particular niche.

You can use your favorite search engine and search for…

forums

“message board”

or specifically for…

car message boards

interior design message boards

or search by the different types of forum software like…

“powered by PHPBB”

“powered by vbulletin”

Before registering with any message boards I would suggest that you setup a yahoo or gmail account just for this purpose. It would also be a good idea to use this email for your boardtracker alerts as well.

Now you are ready to begin registering. I have created a new identity in Roboform to handle the registration for me. This includes my signature file as well. Before posting, make sure that you read the board rules so you are able to comply with those.

Once registered, make your introduction post. Basically you are just announcing your arrival and maybe saying a little something about yourself (roboform can do that too!), be sure to set your introduction thread to notify you of new posts so that you are able to respond as others welcome you.

Some things to keep in mind…

Who is your target audience and where will you find them? Are stay home moms likely to be found in Family & Parenting forums? Who is most likely to be participating at a car forum? A pet owners forum? etc..

Once you’ve located your target audience, target your signature to meet the needs of that audience. For example, if you were involved in a Family & Parenting forum, a signature aimed towards the mom who would like to earn money while being home for her children may be in order. If it were a Car or Electronics forum, maybe a signature promoting Free Satellite Dishes (these pay $50-$100 per install btw) would be more appropriate. The idea is to determine what the needs of any particular audience would be and finding a way to appeal to that.

Also, notice that the majority of forums offer a place for people to place advertising, usually under a category labeled something like, “opportunities”, “recommendations”, “spam allowed”, etc.. Look for these and make use of those as well. Each of those is a free targeted link to your site or product.

Make sure that you are paying attention to your anchor text. Anchor text, in case you don’t know, is the actual text that is linked. Choose good keywords for your anchor text that you would like to do well for in the search engines. Never link text such as “click here”.

The most important thing is to make this a part of your daily schedule. Do it each and every day and shortly you will have thousands of free advertising links all over the internet!

Disclaimer: I am in no way endorsing blatant spamming! The method I’ve outlined above is more of a suggestion for yet another avenue of free marketing that should be used in a responsible and productive manner which will benefit the board owners, other board members as well as yourself.

At TimeshareValues.com we recently communicated with a buyer based in the Midwest. We are in the San Francisco Bay area. We talked a lot at 9pm our time &ndash while he was still in his office. At his time, the clock was moving toward midnight.

He bought a timeshare because he feels he doesn’t have enough time to plan his vacation, but he knows he still has to take time off each year. He works long hours, but he hoped a timeshare purchase would achieve some balance between his work and personal lives.

This is an extreme case &ndash but it got us thinking about the reason for buying a timeshare. Most people want to achieve a balance between the Two E’s: Emotion and Economics.

We believe a successful timeshare purchase provides a balance between these two E’s.Here’s how:

The First E: Emotions

Certain people and places always stick with you. Great times, food, scenery, friends. Many of us have great memories of places we want to go back to every year. We hope to recapture feelings we first experienced at these places.

Such a place is Cozumel, Mexico. It provides not only a wonderful timeshare vacation for people, but it was also the honeymoon for a couple we know. The couple’s entire trip was amazing, from the great food (the newlyweds actually found a wonderful Italian seafood restaurant there), great diving (the groom remembers his bride’s eyes when she saw her first barracuda), and friendly people.

It probably will not come as a surprise that we keep our eyes open for Cozumel property.

Emotions help us focus on what really matters in life.

The Second E: Economics

When you say this ‘E Word’, people think of accountants with green eyeshades. But that’s far from the truth.

“Economics” in a timeshare purchase is a simple matter of looking at the yearly cost of a vacation. Economic factors to consider include:

• What is the best value for my vacation investment?

• What places offer me the best ”bang for my buck”?

• What can I afford each year &ndash and not have to worry about paying the credit card bill after the trip?

These may be boring questions, but the emotional value of this economic approach is anything but boring. Answers to these “money issues” can offer you great peace of mind.

Let’s look at a couple scenarios where the economics and emotions are out of balance.

More Emotion than Economics

Does that sound familiar? Have you ever noticed a great commercial in which the product is secondary to the emotions you feel? All you have to do is purchase the product and you will feel the emotions in the commercial.

Have you ever noticed travel web sites never show an unhappy flyer or a seasick cruise passenger? You don’t want negative emotions anywhere near the product being sold.

Remember this as you look at timeshare auctions. Like all companies marketing travel products, TimeshareValues want to show our timeshares in the best positive light. However, that’s very easy, since we believe so much in the product and how it improves the quality of a vacation.

Making a buying decision based more on emotion than economics has been the American “Way of Marketing” for decades. But the Internet is helping to change this, since you can find a wealth of invaluable information before you make a purchase. You can do extensive research before a making purchase, checking out the Timeshare Users Group (.tug2.net), viewing other timeshare auctions and classified sites, and even calling a the resort.

When a buyer makes a purchase based on emotion, he or she will usually pay more for a product than necessary. A few dollars isn’t’t a big deal, but injecting a little economics can be very helpful. We love people who ask enthusiastic questions. They get more information, which lends excitement and fun to the bidding process.

More Economics than Emotion

In his book ”Don’t Worry, Make Money,” Richard Carlson has taken a time-worn phrase and re-engineered it. He has a chapter titled:

“Consider the Possibility that if it Sounds too Good to Be True &ndash It Might NOT Be”

Read that again slowly. Carlson states that cynicism, doubt and suspicion cause people to miss out on excellent opportunities. We see this every day.

We get e-mails that say:

* “Why so cheap &ndash what is wrong with this property?”

* “What haven’t you told me in your auction?”

* “This is a rental &ndash right?”

These people are interested, but they’re also very wary. Some are wary to the point where they don’t participate. Their decision is based on economics and some negative emotions.

These wary people dismiss the prospect of a good deal, because they’ve heard about the prices others have paid. But if they were to ask us, we would tell them 500,000 timeshare owners want to sell their properties, and that creates a huge buyers market.

Our company buys properties at a low price and sells them for more than we paid for them. Of course, we make a profit, but we let the market tell us how much the profit will be. People who are more driven by dollars than emotion struggle with this. But this approach has worked for us more than 300 times, so there must be something it!

There is an added business benefit to our approach: Our timeshare products don’t sit around &ndash they always sell. This means we return our capital faster to purchase more timeshare properties. People who value economics like to hear that. It’s key to our business model.

Finding Your Balance

Rarely is a decision based on equal parts emotion and economics. These factors come in different strengths for different people.

We propose an exercise that is effective for everyone. If you are inclined towards one E Factor or the other, work on the weak side before you place a bid. When you find the right balance, your Emotional Side will be happy, and your Economical Side will let you sleep at night.

Our auction web site provides detailed articles help your Economical Side plan better, and pictures and personal stories will give your Emotional side a lift by showing you those places you just HAVE to visit!

Get your life in balance today!

Have you ever bought an inexpensive car only to find that upkeep and dissatisfaction made it more expensive than if you had just bought a better one in the first place? The same is true in timeshares. The “satisfaction quotient” of a timeshare will actually be determined by your buying the right one in the first place. This is true whether buying a developer’s timeshare or a resale. The only difference is that you will buy the resale for one third to one half the price. Consider the following attributes when purchasing:

The Location. Is it in a demand area? Can you walk to shops, restaurants and other off-site amenities? Does it have major attractions close by? The property on the beach is better than the property a block back. Some resorts feature solitude and a “get away” location with great views of the wilderness. What will suit your lifestyle and desires?

The Design. Was the project a motel conversion or purpose built? Some motel conversions are excellent. Others result in turning a substandard motel into a substandard timeshare. Is the property a mix of Studio, One and Two Bedroom units? Is it attractive and well laid out or just a box? The more attractive the physical layout of the property and the unit floorplans, the better.

The Management. First and foremost: Are the units clean? Look for dust, non-working windows, squeaking doors, seedy landscaping, etc. The better maintained the property, the higher the value. Does the appearance please you?

The Fiscal Stability. This is harder to find because it is not visible. Ask for a copy of the Owner’s Association budget or financial statements. If this is out of your area of expertise, ask the Owners around the pool. Have there been a lot of special assessments? If there is a professional Property Manager (a CPM or RRP), ask them. Is the project “living beyond its means”? Look for the reserve study. When will the property need a new roof and will the money be in the bank to pay for it? Another non-technical way is to review the last few minutes of the Board of Directors meetings.

The Unit Size. As a general rule, the people who buy the larger units are the happiest. The ability to bring friends and family along on a vacation is not to be overlooked. Two bedroom units offer this possibility. In other cases you may not want this possibility to exist so a smaller unit will be the best selection. Think it over not only for the present, but also for the future. Young singles have bought studio units. They don’t work so well after the marriage and the third child.

The Season. Buy the high season if that is what you wish to consistently use. If the summertime is high season and you are a schoolteacher who can only vacation then, you should go ahead, bite the bullet and buy that season, even though it may be at a premium price. If you have school age children the same applies. Sometimes, the reverse is true. For example, we have many Owners of Southern California beachfront resorts who live in the east and Midwest and have specifically purchased the “off season” because it gets them out of the cold. It works perfectly for them.

The Price. This is last on purpose. You are looking at buying a lifetime possession. If you get the wrong one, the dissatisfaction will be present long after you have forgotten what you paid for it. At current resale prices, I don’t think there is any way to lose. Resale timeshares are like antique furniture. They will either hold their value or increase with time. Look at resales as though they will not really cost you money, they will save it. The worst that will happen is that you will have a lifetime of incredible vacations and at the end you will sell it and get all or most of your money back. The longer you own, the better it will be because alternate accommodations (hotels) will only cost more in time due to inflation. The best units in the best season in the best projects have held their value best. Currently, resale prices are generally half of the original developer sale price. In some cases it may be less and in some more. To assure yourself of not paying more than you have to, shop around. Call a title company in the area to find out what the resales in a specific resort are going for. Ask a resale Broker to show you some comparatives. In other words go about it as you would buying a house. Obviously it is not as major a purchase, but time spent getting the right product is absolutely worth it. Remember that you will own it for years. Another trap to avoid is that of buying a cheap timeshare for exchange. Make no mistake. Low quality exchanges for low quality with only rare exceptions.

Key Point – Since we are offering 80% financing for the purchase of timeshare resales, you can now afford to buy the best property; the one you really want. You will be much happier in the long run if you do. All this may be summed up by one phrase:

Buy Quality!!

The “hard” sales techniques, unexplainable price drops, and low-quality resorts are generally disappearing. That means many vacationers now view timesharing as a viable and economical option for future vacations. But they need to know much more to make an intelligent purchase.

With the entrance of companies like Disney, Marriott, and Hilton into the field, the timeshare market is exploding. In the past two years, almost 500,000 households have purchased a total of more than 700,000 week-long units at timeshare resorts. That means there are more than 2 million owners at more than 2,000 resorts worldwide. Contrary to popular belief, a recent study by leisure survey experts Ragatz Associates showed that more than 80% of these owners are happy with their purchase.

“It is clear that timesharing is gaining in popularity, not only here in the U.S., but also across Europe, Mexico, and in South America,” says Tom Franks, president of the American Resort Development Association, the timeshare industry body, based in Washington, D.C.

THE BASICS

In timesharing, consumers typically buy one or more weeks at a specific resort and can return to that resort every year or “trade” it for a week at another resort with an exchange company. Prices currently average about $9,000, with annual maintenance fees of around $300.

Vacation timesharing generally takes one of two forms: “Fee” timesharing gives the purchaser permanent rights–in the form of a deed–to the property. About 85% of timeshare resorts sell under fee-ownership agreements. “Right-to-use” timesharing grants the purchaser the rights to the use of the property for an established period of time, such as 30 years. Under this type of timesharing, the purchaser does not receive a deed.

Rather than return to their home resort every year, many owners opt to exchange their week for a week at one of thousands of other timeshare properties worldwide. For a fee (usually less than $100), companies like Resorts Condominiums International (317/876-1692) or Interval International (305/666-1861) perform these exchange services for member resorts and owners.

Many owners say this exchange privilege was a key reason for buying and have had much success with the exchanges. The keys to successful exchangers are: buying at a popular resort (this increases exchange power); “depositing” the week with an exchange company as early as possible (this gives the exchange company more time to find a user for the week being exchanged); and being flexible on the desired destination, resort, and dates of travel.

SOME SPECIFICS

The Orlando, Florida area serves as an ideal example of what’s available. It’s a huge market for vacationers from throughout the world in search of a piece of that Orlando “magic.” There are dozens of options available and the area is a great place to own one or more weeks, if you know where to go.

Well-established possibilities include: Island One (407/859-8900); Marriott (813/688-7700); Orange Lake (407/239-1082); and Vistana (407/239-3008). At these and other resorts, you’ll find a full host of amenities, often including kitchens, decks, pools, restaurants, golf courses, tennis courts, and much more. These timeshare resorts are more like fully-equipped apartments or suites, rather than standard hotel rooms.

Walt Disney World recently opened their first timeshare resort, the Disney Vacation Club (407/939-3100). As would be expected, they have developed some unique features for their timeshare concept.

Disney tackled two of the major issues in the timeshare industry today: flexibility and aggressive sales techniques. Along with many other timeshare properties, Disney has moved to improve these two areas and the early reviews give them high marks.

By purchasing a real estate interest in Disney Vacation Club Resort, guests automatically become members of Disney Vacation Club and are entitled to a variety of exclusive benefits and privileges. Members also receive an annual allotment of vacation points, which may be used on vacations at the resort or at more than 100 worldwide resorts currently offered through a “Member Getaways” program with RCI.

“The flexibility of choosing among several different vacation experiences is what sets the Disney Vacation Club apart from many similar plans,” says General Manager Mark Pacala. “The vacation point system allows members to select the type of vacation best suited to their needs, particularly as those needs change from year to year.”

Disney has also attacked the overly-aggressive sales techniques that used to plague the industry. They don’t provide any incentives or awards for prospects attending the sales presentation and their sales force mostly receives a fixed salary, rather than high commissions for high volume.

For a one-time purchase price, guests may purchase a real estate interest in the resort, which expires after 50 years. Prices currently run from $11,730 to around $16,000.

The points system, which is becoming much more popular in the timeshare industry, is much easier to understand than it first appears. Let’s say that with your Disney Vacation Club ownership interest you have 270 points to use each year. You could reserve a two-bedroom home for a week’s stay in June or enjoy a five-day family reunion in July in a three-bedroom Grand Villa. Other options would be to reserve a two-bedroom home for a nine-day stay in September or an incredible stay of several weeks in a studio unit.

Disney’s timeshare operation is typical of the exciting future for the industry and astute timeshare buyers. There are timesharing options throughout the U.S., with huge multi-site options like Hilton Grand Vacations (813/482-7766); Fairfield Communities (800/251-8736); and the Lawrence Welk Resort Group (619/485-5556); as well as small and intimate single-resort operations. You’ll find apartment-like accommodations in a resort-like atmosphere.

WORLDWIDE OPTIONS

Timesharing is not limited to the U.S. at all. This worldwide industry is very popular in Mexico, South America, Europe, and several other parts of the world.

More than 100,000 weeks were sold in Mexico last year at more than 100 different resorts. Prices tend to be lower than the average $9,000 purchase price in the U.S.

Potential buyers should consider Cancun and Cozumel; Puerto Vallarta; Acapulco; Ixtapa; and Manzanillo, a regional resort area for Mexico City, which is favored by Mexicans and generally features even lower prices (less than $5,000). To get started in Mexico, contact reputable multi-resort operator COSTAMEX at 305/267-7855.

South America is a relatively new hot-spot for timesharing, but the industry there is growing quickly. The Argentinian coast and mountains (skiing during the U.S. summer) are currently the most popular spots for development. Visitors to Argentina should explore the options in Buenas Aires, Mar del Plata, Miramar, and the Cerro Catedral ski area. The Uruguay coast resort area of Punta del Este is also becoming a timeshare hub.

Timesharing actually started in Europe, before blossoming in the U.S. There are hundreds of options throughout Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and Scandinavia. As can be expected, resorts are most prevalent along the coasts and in the Alps.

Southern Spain is probably the leader in sunny European timesharing. Dozens of timeshare resorts dot the Costa del Sol area. It’s easy to comparison shop along the coast, but definitely check out several of Club Riviera’s options (011-34-52-831252). Other timeshare hotspots include the Canary Islands, Portugal, the French Riviera, Greece, and Turkey.

The Alps appeal to many timeshare buyers and for good reason. A timeshare unit can save lots of money on ski trips or a summer vacations in the mountains. There are several options in the French Alps, Switzerland, and Germany’s Bavaria, but Austria seems to have the best overall bets. Timesharing Ferienclub Jausern in Sallbach-Hinterglemm (011-43-65-41-503) is typical of Austria’s club-like mountain resorts.

BUYERS BEWARE

Timesharing isn’t for everyone. It’s not a true real estate “investment” and the resale market is tight. Simply put, plan to buy it, keep it, and enjoy it.

The industry body ARDA (see below) has many excellent publications about timeshare purchase. Their office is a great starting point for interested buyers.

It actually makes great sense for the kids. In previous articles we have told the story of the Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco. For those who missed it, the 1942 nightly rack rate was $5.00 single and $7.00 double. By 1974 it was $45.00 and $55.00. Last year it was $210 to $270 single or double depending on location. Carrying that price increase forward another 50 years will set the price at $9,058.00 per night!! Can’t happen, you say? It did happen and there is absolutely no reason it won’t happen again. Now what will the kids think of you when they are saving this kind of money down the road? They will think their parents were just about the brightest people in the whole world and they will think that every time they vacation. What a great legacy!!

Why, then don’t they want it now? Even for free? Well, you think back. Several years ago did you wake up one morning, look at each other and say, “This is sure a great day to go out and buy a timeshare?” We all know that didn’t happen. No, you went out not to buy, but just to pick up your free car, Hawaiian vacation or other “free” gift. After you had left the sales presentation, you said, “What happened?” Not only had you paid for your own “free” gift, but you had also paid for those of the other nine people who didn’t buy. You probably didn’t give a lot of logical thought to this purchase as you were intentionally swept away by the slick emotional sales method employed.

So now you offer it to the kids and they decline. Why is that? It is almost always the cost of upkeep that the kids focus upon. The dues of from $350 to $500 and taxes of from $30 to $90 knock them out. They can’t envision spending that much on a vacation. The fact is that they will probably spend a lot more than that even now for a product that isn’t one tenth as good. But the reality is that they have not been sold the product. How many parents will become salespeople to their kids to show and sell them on the advantages of the product before it is offered?

Part of it is timing. If the kids are too young or really financially struggling, it is not a good time to offer the gift. Wait until they don’t have those kind of pressures. Also, have you used the timeshare as a family? If not, how could they know how good it is? On the other hand, if they have used it with you as kids and really enjoyed it, and if they now have kids of their own and are struggling with the ever-increasing cost of vacations, their reception will be much different. Timing is everything.

Don’t neglect the selling of the benefits. Before offering it to them, open the RCI or Interval International catalog and show them all the neat places they can go. If you have already taken them to some of these, it will just be that much easier. Don’t overlook the fact that you should really be able to offer one to each of your offspring. Fortunately, resales offer the opportunity to pick up these additional timeshares at a fraction of what you originally spent. And what a gift it is!! They talk about the gift that keeps on giving. This is one that will provide your children with a lifetime of pleasure. And their children after that.

You might also clip out this article for your kids for the time when they will pass it along to their children.

One final caution. Don’t just add their names to the Deed! In disposing of resale timeshares one of our worst problems has been straightening out improperly deeded property. In some cases it has resulted in the property being unsaleable. In one case a mother just added her four kids names to the deed without any thought to their spouses some of whom were ex-spouses by the time we got into the picture. A nationwide manhunt insued to find the ex-spouses and talk them into signing a quit claim deed. Don’t forget that most timeshares are in fact real property and follow those rules. You are almost always better off obtaining the services of a professional.

The lifetime value of timeshares is just starting to be realized now. It will still take a few more years before it is completely obvious to everyone. When it does, the value of resales will increase dramatically.