My wife and I were finishing eggs at the resort breakfast. Two tables over, a couple was having an animated conversation we could hear every word of. It was a timeshare horror story and it was fascinating in a rubbernecking way.
The Story
"She bought the timeshare in 2008 for $32,000. Weeks 38-39 at a Westgate property. Annual maintenance fees $1,200 at purchase, now $3,400. Special assessment two years ago for $1,800 because of building renovations. She hadn't used it in 6 years."
"She tried to sell it. Redweek, eBay, Timeshare Resale Company. Nobody wanted it even at $5,000 below purchase. Eventually she paid a 'timeshare exit' company $8,000 who promised to get her out — they did paperwork that transferred ownership to a shell company which promptly went bankrupt. She's now being sued for unpaid maintenance fees that the shell company never paid."
"Last month she sold it on Timeshare Users Group for $1 to a guy who agreed to take it on. She paid $700 in transfer fees. She's out. Twenty years of ownership, $32K purchase, $45K in fees, $8K in exit scam, $700 to transfer = she paid $86K+ to eventually pay someone $1 to take it away."
Why I'm Sharing This
Not to scare anyone off vacpacks. These are completely different things.
A vacpack is a one-time transaction — you pay the preview rate, you stay the nights, you attend the presentation, you leave. There's no ongoing ownership, no maintenance fees, no assessments, no exit scams. It's a marketing sample, not a purchase.
What Rob in our anonymous interview confirmed: the vacpack is literally the lowest-friction product in the timeshare industry. Use it. Enjoy it. Don't buy.
What's the Real Resale Value of a Timeshare?
| Brand | Original Purchase | Resale Value | Annual Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westgate fixed week | $25K-$35K | $0-$500 | $1,500-$4,000 |
| Wyndham points | $20K-$40K | $1,000-$5,000 | $1,200-$3,500 |
| HGV flagship | $35K-$80K | $5,000-$20,000 | $2,500-$6,000 |
| Marriott Vacation Club | $40K-$100K | $8,000-$30,000 | $2,800-$8,000 |
HGV and Marriott retain meaningful resale value. Westgate and Wyndham retail contracts typically resell for <10% of purchase.
Back to the Breakfast
We finished our eggs. The woman and her husband finished their coffee and left. My wife and me looked at each other and confirmed: we will never sign a timeshare contract. But the $99 vacpack that brought us here? Absolutely worth it.
Browse vacpacks only — no ownership, no commitments, no maintenance fees, no exit scams.