6000 credits for $8,700 with 8,600 thrown-in!

This auction on eBay shows someone trying to scrape their money back:

Due to personal circumstances these shares need to be sold. Worldmark Trendwest shares 6,000 credits accumulated each year at no further cost for credits. Approx 8,600 not used. Terrific opportunity for overseas travel. Unfortunately the starting price cannot be much lower than $8,700 as the credits are not owned outright. Information sessions for how to use shares frequently occur. Nevertheless please don't miss this great opportunity to take your family on holidays without worrying about accommodation costs. We will be paying the transfer costs.

eBay item: 6516343325
eBay seller: amanda8636 (0 rating)
Starting bid: $8,700

I like the phrase "cannot be much lower". They obviously owe $8,700 to Trendwest and don't want to sell their units for less than they owe.

However, this is flawed logic! I shall explain...

• They committed to paying Trendwest long-term
• They now wish to exit this arrangement because they feel the benefit does not outweight the cost, or they are unable to make the remaining financial commitments
• They are only willing to sell their units for the amount remaining
• In other words, they don't want to come out with a loss

However, what is their alternative? They can keep the units ("cost") and take holidays ("benefit"). But obviously they don't want to do this, or they wouldn't offer to sell. If they can't sell the units for the remaining value, they're in trouble!

An alternative is that they should sell for a loss. Let's say they only get $6000 ($1/unit). This means that they have lost $2,700. But this is better than "losing" $8,700 with only holidays to show for it! Especially if they can't afford those repayments!

I don't care how good the holidays are -- if you can't afford them, they won't be enjoyable!

There are other alternatives -- they could "rent" their yearly credits out to other people. This is similar to selling their annual share, but Trendwest and other timeshare operators refer to it as "renting" because it's just like letting out an apartment. There are various listing on the Internet where people are trying to rent these points. Actually, this is a great way to holiday at a WorldMark location without having to become a unitholder!

As is, at $1.45/unit it's better than buying directly from Trendwest, but still not the best bargain around.

Tags: trendwest worldmark