Help! I need to sell my timeshare– what do you suggest? This is probably the number one question we get as we travel on the 18 timeshare vacations we take every year. We have written a couple of posts about selling a timeshare and you might want to read both of these for some background information. One is titled How Do I Sell My Timeshare? The other one is Selling a Timeshare.
One of the most popular ways people are selling their timeshares is by using eBay, and we thought we would give a summary of how to go about it. First you should ( if you are not already a member) join the eBay community. It is easy and doesn’t cost you anything to sign-up. I would then spend some time looking at current listings of timeshares. You need to do a search for timeshares and begin to study some of the ads for timeshares. You can also search for your own resort that you are interested in selling, and again read and study those. Another suggestion is to do an advanced search and get a list of completed auctions. This would show you what timeshares have sold and for how much.
At this point you should have an idea of what you might get for your own timeshare if you try to sell it on eBay. If you are not discouraged by that price, you could follow a couple of different routes. One is to select a company that would take over everything and sell it for you. They take care of writing and posting the ads and working with the entire process. This makes it easier, but of course they take a cut.
One company we worked with in the past takes the first $399.00 of the sale. So if it sold for $1000.00, they would take $399.99 and you would get $601.00. But if it sold for $300.00, they would get $300.00 and you would get nothing. But of course you would no longer own your timeshare and have those yearly maintenance fees, which is the reason that many people need to sell their timeshare.
Most of these companies use a closing company that handles the transaction after the auction has ended so neither the buyer or the seller can be ripped off. I would look closely at both companies’ feedback scores and read comments that people have given to make sure you are getting a good company to work with. If still interested, I would call them and discuss the process and get a feel for that company before you go ahead. As we have indicated in previous posts, DO NOT pay any money up front to sell your timeshare.
The second choice would be for you to list it yourself. Again, you must do your homework and study the listings and create your ad. You can use current ads for a basic structure and go from there. You can also get pictures of your resort off the internet to use in your own ad. You will need to think about and decide a number of issues: length of the auction, starting bid, closing costs, etc. I would recommend that if you go the route of listing your timeshare yourself, that you select a closing company. I don’t think many people would bid on your timeshare if you don’t.
Given the current economic situation, and more importantly, the housing industry in general, it is not a good time to be selling a timeshare. But many have no choice. We wish you luck and suggest you move slowly. If you have additional questions feel free to leave a comment and we will get back to you.
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Online advertising is the most effective and popular way to sell your timeshare. I’d say the best way to advertise it online is to do your research, Google it. If you were a buyer and went online to find a timeshare, you’d type in some keyword terms that typical buyers use like “buy timeshare” “buy resort name” etc..
Pay attention to the top ranking companies, you’ll want to advertise your timeshare with the company that is constantly at the top of the search results. This will get you the biggest audience for your listing and hopefully the best price. More information on this can be found at http://www.thetimeshareauthority.com.
It definitely is tough to sell a timeshare. I think it might be easier just to spend time to rent it each year you don’t use it, and you probably won’t lose as much money. That being said, besides ebay, there are auction sites coming up every day. Plus Craigslist and any other free advertising company.
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