Are Timeshare Owners Dummies? Part 6, Conclusion

Over the course of this series, we've examined the battle for timeshare owners' hearts and minds - in-depth, and from various perspectives. We've done our best to define the battle lines between those that believe in timeshare, despite its flaws, and those that malign it, in spite of its value. Ultimately, the argument comes down to one simple question, "Are Timeshare Owners Dummies?" After much examination,
I'm glad to say the answer is categorically NO!If anything, timeshare is a product whose time has not come
yet. Timeshare owners are simply the
early-adopters; out-of-the-box thinkers able to see the value behind the sales-pitch. Ask any veteran
timeshare owner about their experiences, and they will tell you: Timeshare is a tremendous way to vacation in luxury on a budget,
once you learn how to make the system work for you
. (
And that they wish they'd bought
timeshare resale in the first place.)
So then, if timeshare owners
notdummies, why are there so many schemes to deceive them and erode the value of their timeshare investment? To answer this question is folly;
to do so is to concede the question itself has merit
. It does not. The world is full of ways in which fools and their money are quickly parted.

Timeshare, like all other industries, has its share of scams to be avoided. However, since the number of timeshare owners is still quite small (around 6% in the U.S.), and the timeshare community fairly insular, a
vocal minority can quickly turn the conversation negative. If timeshare owners as a group have a flaw, it's a certain naivety about the industry ...and that is ultimately the reason for this series: to educate and empower timeshare owners.

Warning: An Industry Full of Scams & Complaints?

Some will still maintain that timeshare as a product is no-good, worthless, or even worse; insisting that the prevalence of complaints is evidence enough that timeshare is not to be owned. Hopefully, if you've read and understood the message of this series, you'll turn a deaf ear. Should you feel inclined to defend your decision to own timeshare, perhaps you'll find this fact useful:

A recent
L.A. Times story reported the results of an annual consumer survey, conducted jointly by the Consumer Federation of America, the National Assn. of Consumer Agency Administrators and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators. The survey showed that "it's clear from the nation's economic woes that consumers and consumer agencies were hit hard last year." The product with the highest number of complaints?
The Car
.
Perhaps, then, we should all be riding bicycles.