I’d like to give my perspective since we’re one of those in the pending column for AKV on DVCRM. I’ve been looking at AKV resale prices going on three years now. I remember back in 2017 when listed prices were consistently sub-$100. At the same time, BWV was around $105, so it’s not just AKV.
The reason I chose to buy now were two-fold. First, I was a renter on David’s and had a reservation cancelled and got the pseudo-credit. I told myself never again would I put myself in that situation. I wanted to be in control of my plans and how I choose to cancel my trip. I didn’t want to be at the mercy of another company like that. Second, we’re passholders at DLR and all of our trips to SoCal this year are essentially cancelled as well as a Hawaii trip. This freed up a bunch of cash not going on trips so it could be put to good use in the future.
We just purchased Riviera direct with a March use year since we will travel spring break to June. We wanted to add on another resort to give us options for an every other year type of deal. My wife loves AKL.
During quarantine, I was in the same boat as everyone else. I thought resale prices would drop 15-25% And I would jump in and grab a deal. I stalked the resale market sites daily, and honestly, this never really came to fruition this summer. Hardly any downward movement. What I also saw were these small 100 or less point contracts go pending the same day.
I was also being picky about what I wanted. I wanted a 100 point March use year. I think since quarantine may have seen three. I saw one pending on a discount site for $108 that I don’t ever recall seeing available. That would have been ideal, but 99.9% sure I would never have access to a contract like that. So I had to evaluate what I was willing to pay for a perfect contract.
So when my ideal contract did show up unexpectedly, I had to seriously consider my time and my money. Do I want to shop around for the perfect price and risk waiting another three months, or do I pay more for the peace of mind of getting what I wanted? I chose the latter. The offer was $129, I put in $123, and they accepted within the hour (note the learning experience here folks). Yes I could have gone lower, but I put in a bid that assumed there would be another buyer and I didn’t want to be outbid. I put in a bid that I was happy and could live with. I put in a bid that placed a value on the 2020 points already banked for me.
So OP, I hope this helps answer your question as to what was going through my mind. Could I have gotten a better price? Yes. But with the rarity of my contract and demand, I didn’t want risk my time and mental energy.
