Timeshares: The Ultimate Impulse Buy

After I filled my gas tank yesterday, I strolled inside the gas station to pay. It was a busy time of day, and the price of gas was cheaper than it has been recently, so there was a long line in front of me at the checkout counter. While I was waiting, my eyes began to feast on the candy prominently displayed below the counter top. As a professed chocolate addict, I freely admit that as soon as I got to the front of that line, I greedily snatched a King Size Reese’s and tossed it next to the register; I couldn’t help myself! Spending $0.99 on a candy bar is a relatively harmless exercise in impulse buying, but timeshare salespeople use a very similar method of appealing to emotions other than the purchase itself in their pitch.

Marketing and advertising are everywhere, and they’re here to stay. A product or service no longer sells itself on its own merit, there’s just too much sales competition, too much market research, and too much profit to be gained. As a practice, marketing toward impulse buying is generally an unethical exercise, but usually potential buyers see through the shtick and are responsible with their purchases. However, one major exception is buying a timeshare.

Most people that are invited to a timeshare sales pitch assume they’ll sit through a little speech, qualify for their free meal or gift, and be on their merry way, but the relentlessness of the salesmen make this impossible. The trick is to offer these gifts in exchange for a simple, brief, conversational meeting to discuss a potential vacation opportunity. These supposedly low-pressure sales presentations quickly devolve into an intense and uncomfortable bullying session. The salesmen use a full arsenal of anger and shame to play on your emotions in the hopes of pressuring you into an impulse buy. They extended the pitch far over the allotted time, and they’ll deny you the promised gift if you refuse to buy.

Here are a few tips to avoid the impulse buy. Keep these in mind if you agree to attend a sales presentation:

• Drive yourself to the presentation: This is probably the single most important thing to remember when attending a timeshare sales pitch. Many times, the resort development will suggest a meeting at a central office and then transport you to the actual presentation miles away. This is their sly way of kidnapping you and should be avoided at all cost!

• There’s no need to be polite: Be firm from the beginning and maintain a disinterested stance throughout the presentation. These salespeople are determined to capitalize on any indication that you may be willing to buy a property and they will use your kindness against you when you refuse to buy. If you’re only there for the free gift, be sure to make this known from the beginning and don’t waver on this stance.

• Beat them at their own game: Before you attend the presentation, do a little research online. Find the resale prices of some of the timeshares for the resort you’re visiting, print them off, and bring your homework with you to the pitch. Early in the salesperson’s speech, publicly ask if they can match the lowest prices on the sheet. This will serve as a crippling blow to the foundation of their proposal and drastically shorten the presentation.

A timeshare sales speech is much more than a minor inconvenience; it’s a manipulative assault on your emotions. Remember that you don’t owe these people anything regardless of how they will try to guilt you into an impulse buy. Stay strong, don’t lose your cool, and keep the tips listed above in mind.