I don't care how much Disney can get for BLT points or soon GFV points. I don't see how they can't see a huge problem with their REAL ESTATE business when DVC points at OKW and Vero, just to name two, are going for as little as $35 on the resale market. That's like being in a 'hood with relatively stable home prices, and you put your house on the market for $400,000 ... and then see neighbors selling very similar homes for $180,000. It takes most of your value and tosses it away.
I hope you know Im a huge fan of your posts, but I have to disagree a little with you here. I don't think this is a fair comparison. House values are affected by a great number of external things....local taxes, crime rates, perceived value of school districts, square footage, condition, amenities, etc. A DVC share doesnt have some of these varying factors. Some, like local taxes, could be compared to member dues. But the point Im making is that there are very real differences between a share at BLT and share at say, VBR.
A DVC property is an partial interest property with a limited life. Each DVC location expires at a date certain. If memory serves, an interest in BLT expires in 2060. However, an interest in Vero Beach expires sometime in 2042. The value of a DVC interest depreciates on a very specific and definite schedule. Given the remaining live of a Vero Beach interest, it would make a great deal of sense that Vero Beach shares are priced lower.
Moreover, there's an inverse relation between member due price and point price and the member dues for these locations are different. From what I understand, vero beach shares carry some of the highest member dues in the system. BLT shares are some of the lowest. I suspect DisneyDVC did all they can to suppress due costs when sellign BLT, so they can charge more per point....this was a problem at Aulani about a year ago, as member due costs were severely underestimated.
I still don't quite grasp why folks would buy from Disney when there are so many great deals on the resale market, but I also would never buy timeshare in my life.
I think it can be a value for some, but very few and far fewer than those who actually buy it.
Up until a few years ago, I would've agreed with you...but Disney/DVC changed its policies on resale points about 2-3 years ago. Prior to the change, points purchased on the resale market held very little difference, in terms of owner value, to brand spankin new points purchased directly from DVC. After the change, an owner that purchased points off of the resale market could not use his/her points for anything other than stays at a Disney resort. That means stays through Adventures by Disney, transfers into RCI and, I think, (someone correct me if Im wrong) DCL cruises were no longer obtainable with a resale contract purchased after that date (which escapes me) 2-3 years ago.
While I'm sure there are plenty of people here that are going to rip into Disney/DVC for this, I think it was a smart idea on their part. They were selling a product that basically had a transferable, non-deteriorating life (from a perspective of year to year value, not expiration of ownership). If I were selling a product that had a thriving resale market, where I captured zero dollars from said resale -- and the product people were reselling held no value difference from what I was selling, I'd do something to protect my business as well. Also, I do not think there's another time share company out there that wouldn't do (or has done) something similar to protect it's original sales potential....
Getting back to point, Im not sure these store closings should be read into as *only* being a factor of the DVC sales economy. There are some outside factors not being considered here. I live near the Roosevelt Field mall store and in my youth, I worked as a retail manager in a store franchise with a location at the mall. It's one of the most successful malls in the country and the particular chain I worked for, the store location in this mall was routinely #2 or #3 in sales in the country....I'd be willing to bet that the rent on this location just went up. The store originally opened up in the fall of 2008, if I recall. I bet their lease is up this coming fall and the mall's management has upped the rent to something that doesn't make sense for Disney/DVC. I've seen such a thing play out in this mall over several years. Stores will get drummed out of the place due to skyrocketing rent....It's a very common factor.
It is Disney doing what Disney does best - the upsale. Many people join DVC thinking that buying into it they "own" a piece of the magic. It's the ultimate red brick in the MK sidewalk or Leave a Legacy tile at Epcot. As a local, it's been very interesting to observe over the years. Much like the Dining Plan, it doesn't affect me in the least (beyond the new buildings), but it provides a very interesting outside-the-box perspective.
