Resale vs direct from Disney

[pennylane16]

I did a fair amount of research into DVC a few years back, but as far as I understand it, things have changed since I last looked into it.

When I was looking before, everyone was recommending to purchase via resale. But I just read that the perks associated with a DVC membership, like discounts on dining etc, are not applicable for people who have purchased via resale after 2016. Can anyone confirm if this is accurate?

Is it still the current recommendation to buy via resale anyway? We're here in WDW now and this is our fourth trip since 2013, so I'm thinking DVC might just be worth it for us.

Thank you for any info/advice! Have a great day!

 

[Great3]

Unless you plan on buying Gold Annual Passes, buying resale is still the recommended way.

You only get benefits if you buy at least 75 points directly from DVC, else no discounts on anything, just the right to use your timeshare. You have to decide if the additional upfront cost is worth it, usually > $4500 (on 75 points) depending on the resort chosen.

You save about $420 plus taxes on Gold AP versus Platinum AP, so you would need to buy about 10 annual passes total to come out ahead buying direct, so depending on the size of your family, it can be 1-10 years to recoup the extra upfront cost. And once you have the annual pass, the discount having AP is about the same as discount for being a DVC member.

And once you have an annual pass, you will just end up going to Disney more days during the 1 year timeframe to get your money's worth from buying an annual pass, so you will be spending more on Disney. So, evaluate if you really need the direct purchase to get the direct benefits versus just buying resale. Of course, evaluate if buying Disney at all make sense for you family!!!

Great3

 

[SherylLC]

And you can always get 10% merch & dining discounts with no annual fee Disney Visa credit card. They are even offering $50 statement credit on new cards right now.

 

[giovanni2231]

I'd buy the 75 point required from DVC to receive full DVC benefits like Gold Annual Passes and then buy the rest of my points resale in the same resort with the same use year that way when booking and using your points there are no issues. The Gold Annual Pass is worth its weight in Gold (no pun intended). As you know Park prices keep climbing, this is a good value. Almost half price of what a regular annual pass goes for these days.

One thing to think about when buying these points that i wish i followed at the time, the smaller the point contract, the easier to sell should you decide to dump them down the road. You will pay more for the smaller contracts if buying them on the resale market, but when and if you decide to sell, they always fetch top dollar and go quickly. And if you decide to buy directly from Disney, for example lets say you want 100 points from them, buy 2 50 point contracts from them, not 1 100. Costs you the same when buying them from Disney, just easier for future resale. Food for thought...

 

[pennylane16]

Unless you plan on buying Gold Annual Passes, buying resale is still the recommended way.

You only get benefits if you buy at least 75 points directly from DVC, else no discounts on anything, just the right to use your timeshare. You have to decide if the additional upfront cost is worth it, usually > $4500 (on 75 points) depending on the resort chosen.

You save about $420 plus taxes on Gold AP versus Platinum AP, so you would need to buy about 10 annual passes total to come out ahead buying direct, so depending on the size of your family, it can be 1-10 years to recoup the extra upfront cost. And once you have the annual pass, the discount having AP is about the same as discount for being a DVC member.

And once you have an annual pass, you will just end up going to Disney more days during the 1 year timeframe to get your money's worth from buying an annual pass, so you will be spending more on Disney. So, evaluate if you really need the direct purchase to get the direct benefits versus just buying resale. Of course, evaluate if buying Disney at all make sense for you family!!!

Great3

Ok gotcha, thanks! And if we didn't plan to buy AP bc we only plan to come every 2 years, it's still better to buy resale, right?

 

[Marionnette]

The newest resale restrictions (imposed 1/19) prevent resale purchasers from using their points at any new resorts (Riviera, Reflections or any built after them). They can only be used at the original 14 DVC resorts. Reflections resale points can only be used at Reflections.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have both direct and resale points, we just sold two resale contracts with 150 points each to AK and WL and made an excellent profit. They both sold within a couple of weeks. We then bought 220 extended points at OKW resale for 100 a point. We still made money from our sale. We still have 250 vero beach points which we bought under 60 a point. We bought 220 points at Boardwalk direct back in 1998 for about 60 a point, bay lake direct for 110 a point, AK on a cruise ship for less than 100 a point, and 320 points at aulani which we got at opening price and the lower maintenance fees. All in all we have about 1300 points, resale and direct, so we can take advantage of all the benefits. We have never regretted a resale purchase nor a direct one. We only bought OKW because it has become our favorite DW resort. And all the direct points have a June use year so we can combine them when needed for seven month reservations. Given the current prices, I personally can’t imagine buying direct.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Ok gotcha, thanks! And if we didn't plan to buy AP bc we only plan to come every 2 years, it's still better to buy resale, right?

Absolutely. An every two year cadence gets very little benefit from direct perks.

 

[pennylane16]

Thanks so very much! I really appreciate all the info!

 

[Great3]

I would 100% always buy resales if I am only going once every two years!!! The only caveat is if you buy resales now, you can't book at Riviera, but I don't care, I am happy enough to get SSR, just as long as I am onsite to get 60 days FP's and other benefits of being onsite.

Great3

 

[CanadaDisney05]

I would 100% always buy resales if I am only going once every two years!!! The only caveat is if you buy resales now, you can't book at Riviera, but I don't care, I am happy enough to get SSR, just as long as I am onsite to get 60 days FP's and other benefits of being onsite.

Great3

Just to clarify, it's not only Riviera that you cannot book at. It is Riviera, Reflections, and any other resorts that are built over the next 23 - 50 year left in your contract. This is all under the assumption that they don't eventually lift this.

 

[Lumpy1106]

OP - just write a spreadsheet to look at the total costs of DVC direct vs. DVC resale vs. rack rate if you don't buy DVC. You'll have to make some assumptions on rack rate inflation and dues inflation, but it will give you a good idea what the payback period would be for all the options. Don't forget you can rent out points you don't use. What we found is, going every other year, the payoff is about 10 years for resale, and closer to 20 years for direct. Direct with financing does not pay off going every-other year. You won't be buying annual passes so forget about discounts and perks. What finally sold resale for us is that if we get a few years in and change our minds, we can probably resale our resale contract for what we paid for it - maybe even turn a little profit, and essentially only pay dues for our vacations for as long as we own it.

 

[ELMC]

OP - just write a spreadsheet to look at the total costs of DVC direct vs. DVC resale vs. rack rate if you don't buy DVC. You'll have to make some assumptions on rack rate inflation and dues inflation, but it will give you a good idea what the payback period would be for all the options. Don't forget you can rent out points you don't use. What we found is, going every other year, the payoff is about 10 years for resale, and closer to 20 years for direct. Direct with financing does not pay off going every-other year. You won't be buying annual passes so forget about discounts and perks. What finally sold resale for us is that if we get a few years in and change our minds, we can probably resale our resale contract for what we paid for it - maybe even turn a little profit, and essentially only pay dues for our vacations for as long as we own it.

Good thoughts, and I just have two things to add.

The first is that the real money saving comparison when determining the break even point is actually renting points. Using a broker makes it safe enough that only the biggest of worriers should dismiss this as an option. When you enter that column into your spreadsheet, at today's prices the break even point for resale pushes past ten years and direct pushes past 25. I expect that to change, as point rental prices have historically lagged behind other price moves. But until that happens, renting points is the most economical way to go for a long period of time, assuming you want to deal with the "hassle".

As for reselling, I agree that buying resale gives you better exit options than does buying direct. However, at today's prices, I would be cautious about thinking that you could get out of it what you paid in. There are lots of people predicting a drop in prices, myself included. I've been wrong to this point, but all it takes is one economic downturn, which lots of "experts" are predicting. So while I agree with your premise, I would suggest that the days of using and selling resale contracts for a profit might be behind us.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

One thing most here fail to mention...
The Gold Pass is a great deal, but completely useless if you travel during the blackout periods. Granted, unlike Silver the Gold is only blacked out the time periods surrounding Easter, Christmas, and New Years.
Still worth mentioning IMO.

 

[E2ME2]

One thing most here fail to mention...
The Gold Pass is a great deal, but completely useless if you travel during the blackout periods. Granted, unlike Silver the Gold is only blacked out the time periods surrounding Easter, Christmas, and New Years.
Still worth mentioning IMO.

Valid consideration if you plan to travel to WDW during those prime seasons.
We do not, and we have been getting the GOLD Pass.
Theoretical math, comparing current GOLD AP to non-discounted APs, we saved a lot on that purchase (~$840)
& we buy every 3 years (get 2 trips out of it), third year we skip the parks. If I were to save an average of $840 every 3 years, in 30 years I'd save approximately $8,400. If I divide that by the 210 points I purchased, that's $40/Point, and makes my Direct Purchase look pretty good. (??)
If someone uses the DVC APs perpetually, they are definitely gaining on their Direct Purchase Price.
Now, if I were to add on, I may consider resale, as I already have the DVC perks.
Is this a crazy assessment ??

 

[Lumpy1106]

Valid consideration if you plan to travel to WDW during those prime seasons.
We do not, and we have been getting the GOLD Pass.
Theoretical math, comparing current GOLD AP to non-discounted APs, we saved a lot on that purchase (~$840)
& we buy every 3 years (get 2 trips out of it), third year we skip the parks. If I were to save an average of $840 every 3 years, in 30 years I'd save approximately $8,400. If I divide that by the 210 points I purchased, that's $40/Point, and makes my Direct Purchase look pretty good. (??)
If someone uses the DVC APs perpetually, they are definitely gaining on their Direct Purchase Price.
Now, if I were to add on, I may consider resale, as I already have the DVC perks.
Is this a crazy assessment ??

Is there any scenario where it is economical to buy more than 75 direct points? I'm having a hard time justifying it. Maybe if you plan to bank & borrow points from your direct and resale contracts to go every other year from each contract and you need more than 150 points for that annual trip?

 

[CanadaDisney05]

Is there any scenario where it is economical to buy more than 75 direct points? I'm having a hard time justifying it. Maybe if you plan to bank & borrow points from your direct and resale contracts to go every other year from each contract and you need more than 150 points for that annual trip?

Not an economical consideration, but the points above 75 purchased directly can be used at Riviera, Reflections, and any future resort built in the 23 - 50 years remaining on your contract. Of course, you are paying a premium for this right.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Is there any scenario where it is economical to buy more than 75 direct points?

I would say this isn't truly "economic" in a sane sense of the word, but if you really want a home resort that is the New Hotness, direct is the best approach. Right now, that means Riviera, and it will mean Reflections in a few years. Last few years it meant CCV, and prior it meant Poly. If you want a specific new home resort, before a resale market kicks in, direct is what it is.

Buying BCV or VGF direct right now has nearly no economic math to support. Even if you want Gold passes, that $50+ per point makes the ROI horizon dank.

 

[kniquy]

Is it still the current recommendation to buy via resale anyway? We're here in WDW now and this is our fourth trip since 2013, so I'm thinking DVC might just be worth it for us.

DVC can be worth it if you plan on regular travel to WDW (or the other locations) at least every other year. If you think trips would be less frequent then DVC is not a good option because you run the risk of losing points.

As for buying direct or not - the answer can vary on what resort you want to buy. So if you want to buy Riveria - people may sway you to stay away because of the potential decreased value if you need to sell. Some of the older resorts VGF and Poly both have extremembly inflated direct prices so resale for the savings can make more sense. For example I just bought a 100 point poly resale and saved $9000 compared to direct. So no discounts offered buying direct would make sense to pay that more. But if you were looking at OKW - buying direct can make more sense because you will get a 2057 expiration and the buy in direct is $155 per point (as far as I know) and some OKW extended resales are a bit over $100 per point.

You can create some of your own discounts too without buying direct - disney visa often offers some discounts, or one person in your party could get an AP which provides shopping and dining discounts very similar to what DVC gets.

Some people will buy a combination of points - if they really want say CCV - they will buy resale CCV for most of their points then may add on direct -- either choosing to stick with CCV or they will just add on cheaper direct points at OKW (but keeping the same UY) -- this way at the 7 month mark they could use those cheaper OKW points to book a split stay.

There are a variety of ways to work the DVC system. You just need to start with what your budget is and how you can get the most bang for your buck for that budget while choosing a resort that you love. More often than not buying resale makes a better purchase decision when you can afford to get more points compared to going direct, spending the same amount of money and getting less points. Most people want or always need more points.