The salesman at timeshares are going to hate me for this, but I have gotten some really good advice from ebay and thought I would share the wealth. Before I go into the tips I would like to share what occured on my honeymoon. Me and my fiance went to a bridal show and registered for everything free that there was. We were called and told we won free hotel accomodations just for attending a presentation on cookware. The cookware cost over $2k and is royal prestige. This can be found on ebay much cheaper. In my opinion it is the best cookware out there, but its expensive as hell. With the warranty though it may be worth it, but I have seen what I bought for like $800 on ebay. So now I check here for any purchase before I buy, if possible. I must admit if I buy clothes I like to try them on before i buy so ebay is not good for me buying clothes. For most its great though.

After me and my wife were married we used our free hotel stay to go to Orlando, Florida (there were like six options). When we got there they offered us two tickets to disneyworld for like $70 if we took a two hour timeshare tour. I did not want to at first so they dropped it to $50. The boss ( aka wife) wanted to so I said yes. We were told it would take no more than two hours.

The next day we went to the timeshare tour. Me and my wife discussed it and agreed that since we were just married and she was recently laid off we would not buy. We also were not homeowners yet. The company was Fairfield resorts and our agent was some russian lady who spoke very bad english. They offered us breakfast which was basically fruit and cereal. I think for the kind of money they expect you to spend on a time share they should be offering steak and eggs. We went on a tour being told how great it is. We were constantly asked during the tour if we wanted to buy it. When we got back to the headquarters from the resort that is when the problem started. Our agent was real happy said how things worked aked us now for something like this how much could we afford to pay per month. I said I don't know maybe $100 bucks. She then said with a frown. " hundred bucks, what is hundred bucks". I must have told her 10 times we were not interested at this time it was too much money. I think they were offering a price of like $20k. In our no exchange she made a veiled insult to me by saying that my wife will leave me because I am cheap if I don't buy one.My wife was interested as I was, we simply could not afford it. We said that we would like our disney tickets and to leave as my wife and I were starting to get upset. She said ok I have to get someone to check you out then you can leave.

The next guy that came over turned out to be a closer. I knew I was not going to like him. He had that look of evil in his eyes. He made us the same offer only he offered us like $12k then like $6k. But when you factored in the maintenance fees and the monthly fees it came out to like $300 per month plus yearly maintenance fees. I figured it was more important to buy a house than a timeshare. This guy tried to tell me that this would be worth over $100k in like 10 years.I told him he was nuts. Then he said well I could get you the payment cheaper just put it on a credit card. I told him that is a bad idea. He said they offer great rates and pulled out a bunch of offers from his pocket. I told him they are teaser rates that are not usually long term. I also informed him that everyone gets low offers that does not mean you will be approved. And it is financially reckless to use a credit card for a purchase like this a majority of the time. He said his companies rates were so high I should not buy it at their rate, but transfer it to a credit card. I informed him that the company can also arbitrarily raise the rate. ( If you are victimized by high credit card rates check out my guide on credit cards) 

They they tried two very strong arm tactics. Our agent tried to have me talk to him and my wife talk to her. I said hell no. They knew she wanted it and figured that they could push her to push me into buying it. I was told that they do this because they think women are easier to manipulate by a friend who used to sell timeshares. She then told me to hold my wallet in one hand and my wifes in the other and asked which do I let go of first. I said obviously my wife means more to me than money. The guy then said that he had a friend that died of brain cancer and wished he took vacations, since vacationing was not my top priority. This was actually the first one I took in my adult life. He basically then told my wife that I was overworked and if I did not buy a timeshare and take vacations I would be dead within 10years. This upset my wife which she started crying. Then he said did the truth hurt. After I told him, to be politically correct, that I was about to practice reconstructive surgery on his face without a license he excused himself while my wife calmed me down. Our agent then said to push a chair at the table out when we decide. after I calmed her down we did she came back.

They then had us speak to a third person who was a bit nicer but still tried to sell us something he was going to sell us what was called an exploratory membership for like $2k, which they would credit to our purchase if we decided to buy. This way we could go on a few getaways to their resorts. In a brief lapse of sanity I agreed to buy then later cancelled when I came to my senses. All told we were ther like six hours, my wife was hysterically upset and our day was ruined and also we got were disney tickets for half price. We found out that in this case we got the hotel either way. In this case most make you take the tour just to get the hotel and whatever gift. We also went on another timeshare tour with another company ( i dont recall the name) at  Williamsburg plantation that was basically the same thing, but alot nicer. And their breakfast was better, but the same set up, rep, closer, then a no pressure closer. The prices went the same started in the $20k then $8k then I think they offered us like $1.5k. Now for the tips.

1. Always know that they will make at least two high offers, the more interested you appear the higher they start. If you appear not interested then they do other offers. They usually do not tell you the other person is going to try to sell you something. They say that they are going to check you out.

2. Don't be fooled by the credit card tricks they are a mistake to use on something like this. People file bankruptcy everyday for buying stuff they cant afford, and no one who does not own a home should buy a timeshare first.

3. I did not know at the time but if I said no a couple more times before the tour I probably could have gotten the disney tickets for free. They will offer all kinds off stuff to get you there.

4. I have never seen a timeshare go up in value. You can usually buy them on ebay for under 6k for what they offer for over 10k at the presentation and I have seen good ones for as low as 2k.

5. Legally they cant void giving you what they promise as long as you meet all the guidelines like income ect, ect, ect.

6. I found the best thing to do is tell the person at the start that you have done a detailed budget and cant afford it, I tell them how bad I was treated by fairfield and usually dont get high pressure tactics.

7. Always look for the best deal usually you should get the hotel stay and tickets to a theme park.

8. If they are really high pressure you can always buy it get a free gift then cancel it. You get like 10 days to do it.  UPDATE: I have been     informed that this can very from state to state, but the timeshare presentations that I have went to and friends of mine have always been 10 days. I offer this for an FYI.

9. Another thing is figure out how likely you may be to use it. If you are like me and keep a detailed budget this is easier. I figure that on a vacation the majority of of the time is spent away from the hotel. Therefore its not as important as long as its nice. In buying a timeshare you are basically paying more for the hotel when you will still mostly be going out to attractions. I figure i spend under $1500 in a typical year on vacations ( factoring in years i dont go). In buying a time share I would be spending over $1700 per year wether I go or not. Plus there are always deals out there that can be found on hotels, tickets, ect, ect, ect.

One final piece of info the guy from williamsburg plantation, the closer, said I needed this and "What are you going to do go on free timeshare tours your whole life?" I thanked him for the idea theoretically you could since there are quite a few. The key is only go on one per year. He about hit the ceiling. Feel free to contact me through ebay with any questions or if these tips work for you.

update I have gotten some unhelpful votes. That person is either A. stupid  B. smoking crack C. works for a timeshare company and is ticked that I am cutting into their commission. . Just kidding everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I wish I saw this guide before I went there.

UPDATE

got this from ebay member in florida and he or she  likely works for a timeshare company

Typical attitude from someone who is a professional tour taker. Someone so cheap they will give up valuable time with their family to sit through a tour to save a couple of bucks while blowing smoke up the sales persons but. Real class, by the way if grammer and spelling is any indication I'll wager you are a rocket scientist as well.

Some errors are in this person's grammar. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. I must be doing something right for someone to write me like this. I have also had a couple people publish this is newspaper columns. Nothing big yet just local but nice to know I am helping. I would have never wrote this if that jerk did not upset my wife the way he did. He probably does not realize how lucky he is I contained myself. I think most husbands would feel the same way.

There is a company called ripoffreport. They have lots of stories similar and worse than mine about fairfield an other companies.

another update from a friend of mine

A buddy of mine ( who did not consult me) bought an exploratory membership called experience the dream with a company called kings creek plantation in williamsburg, virginia. Turns out that in additon to like the $1600 for the package he also had to spend $379 per week for two of the trip so total is like 2000 for lodging at i believe 4 vacations. Two of them are one week and two are 3 days. SO as you can see the price is a rip off. The salesman named joe informed the couple that they would only pay $379 for one of the trips, but it was two. A lady, I use that term loosely, name Lisa told my friend there was a contract and he agreed to that. He did not. Turns out there is a contract and then a seperate document that has the things that you get. They apparently had his wife initial things while he was in the restroom. He did attempt to dispute it with DISCOVER card as bait and swith ( more of that later) but they not only sided with the merchant, but they gave the merchant extra time to respond ( lisa waited like 5 days after the deadline to call in)

************ KIngs Creek Plantation  ( virginaia )Warning *******************

He is the issue that my buddies had and this is new to me. They took the tour and actually liked it and had every intention of one day buying. They bought the experience the dream in order use that as a down payment on the final price of a timeshare. The both planned to buy it. The problem arose when they tried to use it. They called the company in the package and got some guy's voice mail. He never called them back at all. They then found another number and were trying to book the trip. The person they spoke to said they do not stay at the resort, but a hotel in the area. THis upset both of them greatly as they were told they would stay at the resort and that is why they paid that kind of money. They then call joe three times over like 2 weeks and he never called them back. THey lied and told discover there were no calls and there was no misinformation communicated to the couple. The final time they called they let a message for that "lady" Lisa, and she called back finally called back. SHe infomed them they do stay at the resort and that the other person told them the wrong thing. My friends were worried in general. Lisa also informemd them they pay for two trips not just one as joe informed them. My friend had never been to the resort and simply informed lisa that they would not like to do business with a compnay like them and asked to cancel the membership. She kept saying about having a contract. Apparently she thought they made a pact with the devil or something. When a customer is that unhappy it would make more sense to just not do it. My buddy said he will do everything that he can in order to cost them business within the realms of the law by sharing his story and ask me to put this as part of my review here. THere was bait and switch used and also horrible customer service. They asked for the owner to speak to them and Lisa said his lawyer would call them and she did not want them at the resort. That is pathetic and Discover card was made aware of that ( both of use have cancelled our discover cards).

Now my buddy is a bit of hothead especially when he feels he has been wronged. He told me he is going to tell people how much cheaper you can find timeshares ( you can rent a night for like $90 certain places online compared to what they charge to own one). They will lose more money in business by having angry customers. I am making it a point to go there on a tour just to say no. I talked a colleuage from my job out of buying there by telling him what occured. I am sure it will cost that company more in the long run. My buddy also still gets the vacation. He informed me he is handing this article out while he is there and sees people going in for the tour.