3 ms·

A few years ago my wife got a call about a free cruise but the catch was sitting through the timeshare sales pitch. We had no intention of buying in, especially

by jetti 8y ago

A few years ago my wife got a call about a free cruise but the catch was sitting through the timeshare sales pitch. We had no intention of buying in, especially since we couldn't afford it at the time, but we wanted the free cruise (well my wife did, I didn't want to go). Well we sat through the horrible sales pitch and then they put us in a room to get the cruise. We sat in the room for maybe 25 minutes before we gave up. Nobody came in to help us in that time. The reason we left wasn't because of the wait, I was determined to get that free cruise despite not wanting to be there. The reason was the restrictions behind the cruise. There were tons of blackout dates and you couldn't pick the exact date of travel. You picked 3 dates and they would let you know which one. I also believe there was a very short window of when they would notify you that you had the tickets to the cruise. I was starting my career at the time so I didn't have the flexibility of just taking a week off at the last minute.

ghaff 8y ago
Quite a long time ago, I went to a big ski show and being younger and more foolish than I am today I filled out a bunch of contest entries. I was positively bombarded with "you've won a free vacation" sorts of calls and mails for the next year or two. All I had to do was listen to some timeshare pitch. I never actually did but I'm sure it would have been similar. I've met a few people who at least convinced themselves they liked their timeshares but the idea never appealed to me.
acomjean 8y ago
My friend won a "dive trip" after entering a contest at a dive show. just sit through a timeshare pitch. I went with him, because my dad spent some times in car sales and I'm good at not buying things. Plus as his dive certified friend I could go too. We went to a rented conference room in a hotel for the pitch. It was agony.. High pressure sales (If they have to pressure you to buy, you probably don't want it) He got the trip voucher, but it ended up being worthless. It was cheaper to book another trip normally because of added fees and such on the free trip. He never took his "free" trip.
- jetti 8y ago
  > It was agony.. High pressure sales (If they have to pressure you to buy, you probably don't want it) It wasn't as bad for me. I spent most of the time in my own head pointing out all the flaws in their logic.
jfroma 8y ago
We had a similar experience 10 years ago. I got a call about free vacations or another prize, catch was sitting through 1h timeshare sales pitch. It was an horrible experience, everything was fake, there were actors in the back screaming "We are so HAPPY TO BUY THIS", etc. I don't remember the number for the timeshare but what I remember is that it was impossible for me to buy that, there wasn't anything I could do even if I wanted, but they insisted , insisted and insisted. We wanted to go away from that horrible place and we didn't care about the prize at that point but we felt like "politely" kidnapped. Is an horrible experience I never had in my entire live. Finally they gave me the prize, it was 7 days in a place I didn't care and it had a lot of blackout dates as well, tax not includes, and a lot of items "not included". Note: this was in Argentina, probably in the first world there are more strict rules.

by jetti 8y ago

ghaff 8y ago

Quite a long time ago, I went to a big ski show and being younger and more foolish than I am today I filled out a bunch of contest entries. I was positively bombarded with "you've won a free vacation" sorts of calls and mails for the next year or two. All I had to do was listen to some timeshare pitch. I never actually did but I'm sure it would have been similar. I've met a few people who at least convinced themselves they liked their timeshares but the idea never appealed to me.

acomjean 8y ago

My friend won a "dive trip" after entering a contest at a dive show. just sit through a timeshare pitch. I went with him, because my dad spent some times in car sales and I'm good at not buying things. Plus as his dive certified friend I could go too. We went to a rented conference room in a hotel for the pitch. It was agony.. High pressure sales (If they have to pressure you to buy, you probably don't want it) He got the trip voucher, but it ended up being worthless. It was cheaper to book another trip normally because of added fees and such on the free trip. He never took his "free" trip.

jetti 8y ago
> It was agony.. High pressure sales (If they have to pressure you to buy, you probably don't want it) It wasn't as bad for me. I spent most of the time in my own head pointing out all the flaws in their logic.

jfroma 8y ago

We had a similar experience 10 years ago. I got a call about free vacations or another prize, catch was sitting through 1h timeshare sales pitch. It was an horrible experience, everything was fake, there were actors in the back screaming "We are so HAPPY TO BUY THIS", etc. I don't remember the number for the timeshare but what I remember is that it was impossible for me to buy that, there wasn't anything I could do even if I wanted, but they insisted , insisted and insisted. We wanted to go away from that horrible place and we didn't care about the prize at that point but we felt like "politely" kidnapped. Is an horrible experience I never had in my entire live. Finally they gave me the prize, it was 7 days in a place I didn't care and it had a lot of blackout dates as well, tax not includes, and a lot of items "not included". Note: this was in Argentina, probably in the first world there are more strict rules.