I mean at this point, why is anyone buying direct?

[AstroBlasters]

Agreed. Figuring out how to program eligibility is like high school computer science. Hell you could up with some nested if statements in excel and come up with a database of eligible members.

My guess is that the data lives in some MS DOS based system that talks to 10 other legacy systems.

 

[Matty B13]

Maybe Disney can pick up some of those laid off Google and/or Meta (Facebook) programmers..... and get it fixed. Then again, I'm guessing they laid off the ones that were either not very good or not productive.

 

[CarolMN]

Maybe Disney can pick up some of those laid off Google and/or Meta (Facebook) programmers..... and get it fixed. Then again, I'm guessing they laid off the ones that were either not very good or not productive.

Isn't most of Disney's IT outsourced somewhere internationally? I remember reading something (a few years ago) about IT layoffs & complaints about severance package payouts predicated on the employee about to be laid off training replacements.

 

[StarCruzer]

Isn't most of Disney's IT outsourced somewhere internationally? I remember reading something (a few years ago) about IT layoffs & complaints about severance package payouts predicated on the employee about to be laid off training replacements.

After the Magicband system was developed, Disney laid off a huge chunk of the IT team and developers who created it. They were told they would only get their severance package if they trained H1B visa holders (I might be getting the visa type wrong) to do their jobs for a fraction of the pay. It was actually a huge scandal about 10 years ago.

Again, having worked at the IT dept of a Fortune 500 company...execs NEVER want to be the one spending money to upgrade tech that 1. Still technically works and 2. will not bring in money.

If Disney were to upgrade their software so pay points automatically recognized whether someone was eligible for a discount (DVC Blue, AP, military, etc.) then they would actually lose money--because not everyone remembers to ask for merch or food discounts every time.

They currently have no way of tracking if Cast Members are giving discounts to white card vs blue card members, because the discount doesn't require CMs to enter a membership number or even get manager approval to enter the discount. And if course, Disney does not pay or treat their operations level employees well enough for them to care.

So technically, it could be costing Disney money to not have a system in place that auto tracks discounts. But it's either not enough to make a dent in bottom line profits, or no one at Disney wants to be the one to point out an issue that could take millions of dollars in development costs to program, test, and effectively deploy, when there is no way to estimate if it will actually save the company money in the long run.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I don't think direct is worth it anymore. If you buy where you want to stay chances are you will mostly use those points at your home resort. If I purchase riv, it will be resale. I personally think disney made a huge blunder with restrictions. To me the restricted points are a reason to not buy direct. While direct gives you unrestricted points and AP discounts, the new resorts will feel the repercussions of restrictions.
Have to do math to see if AP discount is still worth the difference in price.

 

[gisele2]

I am resale, and for my first stay I was at my home resorts. Now I hope I will be able to stay at a different resort for my coming vacation, but there is nothing easy about it. It will be a good surprise if I am able to put it off.

 

[bakerworld]

Direct is a hard purchase for product. Our decision is based on ease. Ease of purchase, point accessibility, and the surety of handing over our hard earned funds directly to a vendor willing to do all the legal, while sending documents proving membership. I guess because we never purchased large contracts the cost savings for resale wasn't much.

The other part was the 'work' of resale. If I was buying something on Amazon or eBay with a 'we'll let you know if it buys the product you want, the product should arrive in 4 to 8 weeks and you'll need to handle the legal aspects' we'd walk away from our 'shopping cart'. DVC says your Home costs this, send the funds and it's yours. Purchase documents will arrive shortly.

 

[tom1944]

Direct is a hard purchase for product. Our decision is based on ease. Ease of purchase, point accessibility, and the surety of handing over our hard earned funds directly to a vendor willing to do all the legal, while sending documents proving membership. I guess because we never purchased large contracts the cost savings for resale wasn't much.

The other part was the 'work' of resale. If I was buying something on Amazon or eBay with a 'we'll let you know if it buys the product you want, the product should arrive in 4 to 8 weeks and you'll need to handle the legal aspects' we'd walk away from our 'shopping cart'. DVC says your Home costs this, send the funds and it's yours. Purchase documents will arrive shortly.

You are willing to pay extra for convenience. Nothing wrong with that

 

[JoeyPeligroso]

One other thought relative to “why would anyone purchase direct?”… I do believe that the overall worth of direct purchases is based, in part, upon the solid resale market that exists with DVC. Although all of my purchases have been direct, it is absolutely fair to say that a portion of my consideration in buying this product is the strong resale market, which is very unique to DVC.

The relative worth of my direct contracts on the resale market, was substantial and immediate. This is a timeshare product that does have the ability to have a reasonable exit.

“I purchased direct because of resale“ (amongst other factors)

 

[tom1944]

One other thought relative to “why would anyone purchase direct?”… I do believe that the overall worth of direct purchases is based, in part, upon the solid resale market that exists with DVC. Although all of my purchases have been direct, it is absolutely fair to say that a portion of my consideration in buying this product is the strong resale market, which is very unique to DVC.

The relative worth of my direct contracts on the resale market, was substantial and immediate. This is a timeshare product that does have the ability to have a reasonable exit.

“I purchased direct because of resale“ (amongst other factors)

I am making a calculation that my points will be worth 50% of what I paid for them when I go to sell them in the future. That is one factor I am using to estimate my overall cost

 

[pangyal]

We did purchase direct (most of our contracts are resale) in order to take advantage of really good incentives for a fixed week Christmas at CCV and also for a price of OKW-E that was very close to what it was selling for resale at that time.

I feel that the fixed week option is a huge asset to direct purchases, though of course they are possible to find on the resale market if you are committed to the search. The fixed week was our reason for buying direct for sure.

 

[AstroBlasters]

We did purchase direct (most of our contracts are resale) in order to take advantage of really good incentives for a fixed week Christmas at CCV and also for a price of OKW-E that was very close to what it was selling for resale at that time.

I feel that the fixed week option is a huge asset to direct purchases, though of course they are possible to find on the resale market if you are committed to the search. The fixed week was our reason for buying direct for sure.

That is a really good point. A guaranteed week at busy time of year in a hard to secure room type and/or property definitely has value.

 

[hglenn]

One other thought relative to “why would anyone purchase direct?”… I do believe that the overall worth of direct purchases is based, in part, upon the solid resale market that exists with DVC. Although all of my purchases have been direct, it is absolutely fair to say that a portion of my consideration in buying this product is the strong resale market, which is very unique to DVC.

The relative worth of my direct contracts on the resale market, was substantial and immediate. This is a timeshare product that does have the ability to have a reasonable exit.

“I purchased direct because of resale“ (amongst other factors)

I think this is super fair to consider.... However, how do you think resale restrictions will affect this going forward? Not sure what resorts you own direct, but if you were to sell them, they wouldn't be valid for RIV right now, and potentially VGC and Poly2.... and then whatever comes after the 2042 resorts expire.... Do you think that changes your potential value of resale?

 

[Sandisw]

I think this is super fair to consider.... However, how do you think resale restrictions will affect this going forward? Not sure what resorts you own direct, but if you were to sell them, they wouldn't be valid for RIV right now, and potentially VGC and Poly2.... and then whatever comes after the 2042 resorts expire.... Do you think that changes your potential value of resale?

Just to clarify, its VDH resale points won't be good at...VGC is the existing DL DVC!

In terms of resale value, I have always been one that thinks resale value should not be considered in the purchase...at least not in terms of it maintaining or gaining value.

When we bought , we first decided how long it would take to "break even" if we had to sell at 50% loss, and how long it would take if we had to give it away. IIRC, it was 5 years of ownership at 50% loss, and 10 years to get nothing back.

 

[hglenn]

Just to clarify, its VDH resale points won't be good at...VGC is the existing DL DVC!

In terms of resale value, I have always been one that thinks resale value should not be considered in the purchase...at least not in terms of it maintaining or gaining value.

When we bought , we first decided how long it would take to "break even" if we had to sell at 50% loss, and how long it would take if we had to give it away. IIRC, it was 5 years of ownership at 50% loss, and 10 years to get nothing back.

Thank you for that! Yes, VDH!

Yes, I know many feel that way. And, TBH, I think that's the wisest way to go about it... however, I do know that the historical data shows that DVC retains its value due to the solid resale market so I was just wondering if the new restrictions would affect @JoeyPeligroso's opinion on future buying....

That 10 year break even aligns well with the average contract holding time..... I think I've seen 7-10 years noted on here before....

 

[tom1944]

Just to clarify, its VDH resale points won't be good at...VGC is the existing DL DVC!

In terms of resale value, I have always been one that thinks resale value should not be considered in the purchase...at least not in terms of it maintaining or gaining value.

When we bought , we first decided how long it would take to "break even" if we had to sell at 50% loss, and how long it would take if we had to give it away. IIRC, it was 5 years of ownership at 50% loss, and 10 years to get nothing back.

I am using 50% because to me that is a very conservative estimate

I would think that historically it is a very limited number of contracts that sold for 50% of the original cost if any

 

[davidhr]

Just to clarify, its VDH resale points won't be good at...VGC is the existing DL DVC!

In terms of resale value, I have always been one that thinks resale value should not be considered in the purchase...at least not in terms of it maintaining or gaining value.

When we bought , we first decided how long it would take to "break even" if we had to sell at 50% loss, and how long it would take if we had to give it away. IIRC, it was 5 years of ownership at 50% loss, and 10 years to get nothing back.

I know I’m a bit extreme in this, but for me the purchase price is a sunk cost. I say to myself “I paid for x years of vacations in advance”. That’s done.

If I have to sell, anything I can recoup is a “win” because I was considering 0. I know most people don’t do this and that’s ok. I see it this way because any money I use for DVC wasn’t going to be invested. It was going to be spent on something anyways. Trips, a nice car, or something like that.

 

[Brian Noble]

I also approach timeshare analyses with an “assume it is worth $0” mindset. It’s true that DVC probably won’t be. But, I can imagine a number of different scenarios in which demand for WDW is significantly lower than it is now in the 10-ish year timeframe we are talking about. If the purchase still makes sense (and it certainly can) then any residual value is found money.

 

[tom1944]

I know I’m a bit extreme in this, but for me the purchase price is a sunk cost. I say to myself “I paid for x years of vacations in advance”. That’s done.

If I have to sell, anything I can recoup is a “win” because I was considering 0. I know most people don’t do this and that’s ok. I see it this way because any money I use for DVC wasn’t going to be invested. It was going to be spent on something anyways. Trips, a nice car, or something like that.

I think that is also a reasonable position to take.

When I went over the numbers with my wife I gave her both examples on our break even date

 

[808blessing]

I do plan to sell at least half my points. I have a small reserve of direct solely in case I want to expand to new dvc visits. I am of the rare few that started resale and did a few direct later with no intentions of blue privileges. I now wish I would have just stayed resale and then just rented out or swapped if I wanted an extra stay.