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Fantasy pricing... (by KC):
jayjay has correctly observed, in relevant part: >> ...just because an owner has listed a week for sale at $12,000 on Redweek doesn't mean they will get any takers .... most people are looking for the best deal out there.<< ================================================
As a current and very real example / reinforcement of this point, at this very moment there is a fixed week listed on eBay at a particular Florida resort I know, with a "Buy it Now" price of $12,000. Presently, there are no offers, no bids (and none are likely to be forthcoming).
The very same fixed week at the very same resort (different seller, but exact same size unit, located on the exact same floor as the one in the listing mentioned above) sold about 10 days ago on eBay for exactly $1.00 (with only one bidder, by the way).
The moral of the story is: "A timeshare is worth what it's worth --- today --- to someone buying in the open resale marketplace. The resale marketplace does not know (and does not care) what a seller may have paid originally. The resale marketplace also does not much care about "asking price", since the exact same product is likely available elsewhere today (and if not today, then tomorrow) for a mere fraction of any overly optimistic, unrealistic, inflated figure".
The "upfront fee" companies routinely appeal to personal greed as a pretty effective tactic of persuasion. They know that would-be sellers begin to salivate when they are (falsely) told "...Oh, we can probably get you about $12k for your timeshare".
The truthful translation of the above boldfaced lie:
"We don't know, nor do we care, what your timeshare is actually worth in the resale marketplace. Once once we collect our fee from you, we don't really care whether you EVER sell it or not. All of our money is made the moment we collect our upfront fee from you. There is not another penny in it for us after that point, whether you ever sell or not, at ANY price."
The starry eyed big bucks pitch sounds appealing. Unfortunately, the unvarnished truth is far less so...