Disappointed in David's Vacation Club Rentals

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Take a look at the huge thread about renting points on the DVC boards titled something like "I trusted and now I'm sorry" and you'll understand why someone would rather go through a DIS-approved company rather than a private party.

And if an MBA can't figure out how the dude makes money on such an operation, I'd call the school for a refund.
LOL

I agree, the question probably came across very insulting, offensive or 'sneaky' sounding on chat. He doesn't want to share his business model with the world, he wants to make money and run his business, not give someone an outline/details to his process. I am sure he was a bit surprised by the type of question he got, and I would be too. It just seems inappropriate on some level, especially through a HELP chat. i see nothing wrong with the business owners response too- he was very polite and I probably would not have been as polite. :confused3
 
Personally I didn't find the question or the response insulting. After all, wasn't it Bob who always told us to just ask? (They can't hit ya!) I find it reasonable to do a little research on a company prior to doing business...even if it is endorsed by the Dis. When I purchase my DVC points through the Timeshare Store, I received their name from the Dis but that didn't prevent me from digging in a little deeper...I'm sure Pete and John wouldn't find issue with this and would do the same.

One a side note, I don't think it's very nice to get overly personal and start ripping on the OP's MBA. Let me tell you, my husband is working on his PhD and when he says something I find silly, I don't just start ripping into him and insulting his intelligence. It is possible to disagree with someone without ripping them down.
 
One a side note, I don't think it's very nice to get overly personal and start ripping on the OP's MBA. ... It is possible to disagree with someone without ripping them down.

Well said.
 
I found the question a bit odd and off putting. I wouldn't call up DVC member services, go visit Derek at Doorway 2 Dreams, call The Timeshare Store, or e-mail Dreams Unlimited Travel and ask how they made money. Its in poor taste, invasive and impolite.

With minimal investigating, it is easy to find that here on the DIS, DVC points can be rented for around $10 per point. The service that is offered charges slightly more than that rate. It should be relatively easy to surmise how he makes a profit. Perhaps a question such as, "Are there any other fees/surcharges besides the per point rental cost?" might have been better.

I don't advocate spending a large amount of money without some amount of research, but this was handled poorly by the OP's DH.
 


he buys points at 9 to 11 dollars and sells them at 13. i doubt that he inventorys points...............i wouldnt................a little risky...........my guess is he goes and gets them after he has a client.......the same way you would if you used the rent/trade board. he could have told you that, it is not a secret...........his knee jerk reaction was just.............whats it to you.............
 
Take a look at the huge thread about renting points on the DVC boards titled something like "I trusted and now I'm sorry" and you'll understand why someone would rather go through a DIS-approved company rather than a private party.

And if an MBA can't figure out how the dude makes money on such an operation, I'd call the school for a refund.

This is slightly off the OP's subject but unless you choose to spend hours reading the entire "I trusted" thread--I did! this post is very misleading about private rentals (and yes I haved rented my points). The situation involved was a relatively isolated incident and the bottom line is do your research! Most of the people who are renting their points are completely honest. Also the moderators cannot recommend or advise anyone on specific people but if you have a problem or suspect a bad situation contact them.
 
I just think the OP's husband asked the wrong question in the wrong way. My guess is he just wanted assurance that he wasn't going to get ripped off. It's a very common tactic in today's manufacturing world for customers to inquire about how much money their vendor is putting into a product, that way they can negotiate down the price if the vendor is making too much money (doesn't make it right though).
 


my .02... and thats all its worth...

when someone goes out of their way to point out that they have an MBA, they are immediately trying to point out how much smarter they are than you.

This is why I could never do customer service... no way I would have perceived this as anything except obnoxious and made every effort to put the guy in his place, even if he meant nothing by it.

I looked over the website myself and it seems like a pretty good operation he has going, besides Pete and the gang would never allow a crooked advertiser on the site. If they approve, I trust it.
 
also, you actually have no way of knowing if you were indeed talking to the proprietor, he may have "people"........................and just throwing something out there...........are or arent there programs that can answer common questions........in other words is it at all possible that they were talking to a computer??????????????????
 
Sorry to pile on, but I totally agree with his response. :thumbsup2
 
I also want to remind everyone that we do extensive research before we bring any company on as an advertiser. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do your own research, but we stand behind our advertisers and hold them accountable when they do not meet our expectations.

We had initial contact with DVCrequest.com in December, and after a month of research and communication, I decided to bring them on.

If you find value in the service he offers, great. If you would rather rent points on your own, great. This is another tool you have. None of our advertisers should ever be threatened because they refuse to disclose their income.
 
I can understand wanting to ask the question. There may have been a better/more tactful way to ask.

The problem with communicating through computers it that you miss out on the inflection/tone of a person's voice. How many times have we seen harmless statements posted on the boards get taken wrongly by someone else, all because they read it with a different "tone" in their mind?
 
You just worded your question wrong. If your main concern was if there were going to be any fees included in your dealings with him, then you should have asked him that. But, income is a personal matter. I don't have a clue how much any of my BEST friends' husbands make. i know it's more than mine because they get to do a whole lot more shopping than me. But, income is a sensitive subject. You crossed the line in how you worded your question.
 
I think the response was completely appropriate. But the Question was certainly not. And threatening the business owner with putting it on the boards and actually DOING it was a pretty childish thing to do. If the customer wanted to find out how it works then they should have asked "How does this work" and NOT "How do you make your money". Its a personal question.
 
After listening to this week's podcast discussion I was super-excited to go online and check out the new sponsor- David's Vacation Club Rentals. My husband and I are planning a trip to the World on 2/20-2/24 and this seemed like a great way to try out a DVC and support a DIS sponsor. I checked the site out, as did my husband, and he had a few questions so he clicked on the live chat icon. This is the conversation that followed:

Give me a few minutes to connect and respond to your question.

Currently 1 users waiting for Live Help. [Refresh]
Would you like to continue waiting or leave an Offline Email ?

David: Thanks for initiating a chat with me. How can I assist you?
Jonathon: My wife was looking into DVC points for an upcoming vacation - just wondering how you make money as a reseller?
Jonathon: Sorry for asking - I'm an MBA
Jonathon: Smilie
David: I don't think that is a question I am going to answer through a help chat
Jonathon: Would you talk over the phone? I'd think a "how does this work?" type of question is pretty standard. I asked my wife why we would buy through you rather than elsewhere - she said to ask you.
David: I appreciate your curiosity about my business but I will keep that information to myself. If you are interested in how my rental process works, I invite you to review my easy rental process.
Easy Rental Process
http://www.dvcrequest.com/rental_process.htm
Jonathon: OK - we'll post this conversation on the dis message board. Best of luck.
David: Thank you.

We've decided not to do business with David's Vacation Club Rentals. I wanted other DISers to know about our experience- then you can decide.

I have used David's service, and he was very professional. The whole process from start to finish was very well handled and organized. I paid with paypal.

David went out of his way to ensure my family had a wonderful vacation at AKV.

I would rent points from David in a heartbeat.
 
OP thanks for the post about David's. I just checked out his website and it looks fantastic. I am going to use his service for my next trip. Again OP, thank you. :)
 
There was nothing wrong with the question. And the OP did not ask him how much money he made. I think the question was fine. Would you ask a realtor how much commission they were making?
 
There was nothing wrong with the question. And the OP did not ask him how much money he made. I think the question was fine. Would you ask a realtor how much commission they were making?

Only if they are selling your house for you. If you are buying a house it isn't any of your business how much the seller is paying their realtor.

Jonathon: My wife was looking into DVC points for an upcoming vacation - just wondering how you make money as a reseller?

Sounds like "tell me how to do you business so I can copy it" Sorry, but I just don't see the connection to a realtor commission.
 
Thanks to those of you who provided thoughtful constructive responses. This is Jonathon, and I am Princess Figment's husband, the same Jonathon in the chat. I joined the boards specifically so I could respond to this thread.

This was a chat that went downhill very quickly - as many of you surmised, I was trying to get detailed and proprietary information on David's business. In conjunction with my business partner Zerg, our intention was to setup an offshore operation in Bangalore and crush him with our lower operating costs. When my plan was foiled, I of course thought the intelligent thing to do was to post it here. I only hope Zerg can forgive me - he has quite a temper.

So what's really going on here?

My wife is an angel. My birthday is coming up, and to celebrate, she wanted to take me to Disney, so at long last we could ride what turns out to be one of our favorite rides together - the People Mover (aka Tomorrowland Transit Authority) - no snide remarks - thanks for offering. For whatever reason, we both liked the ride as children.

After listening to a Dis podcast - my wife wanted to look into buying DVC points so we could stay at the Animal Kingdom Club level - where we wouldn't stay under normal circumstances. When I came home from work at 9:00 - tired, but glad to be home, she told me about it and it sounded too good to be true.

Before I spend $1000+ with a business, I like to understand who I am dealing with. So I got on line and asked the question in a bad way. What I wanted to know about was how the program worked? Are there any additional fees beyond the presumed spread in the cost of the points? Is this transaction even legal within the terms of the Disney contract - might we show up and have no place to stay? What happens if we show up and cant get into our room? What are our realistic risks here? Out of the last 100 trips hes brokered, how many people have been stuck (again what is the likelihood we will get stuck?) Probably several others as well.

I tried to back peddle and offer to talk to clarify what I was asking. I mentioned by degree not as a threat, but to offer clarity on my perspective. But it was too late. If I had asked he question correctly, maybe this doesn't happen. But David never tried to clarify either; he could have helped but he made a mistake too and yes, we were disappointed in the way it was handled.

I never threatened David - nor would I ever do that (Corey - I at least give you credit for not deleting this post). I shared the transcript - and figured people could read and judge for themselves.

If anyone is inclined to help, we are visiting WDW Feb 20 - 24 (4 nights) and would consider buying points from a reputable source if this is actually legitimate. Whether or not it is reasonable on our end, going with David is not an option given the history.
 
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