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Murky waters and shady characters...

The waters of the timeshare industry are indeed murky, inhabited by many assorted parasites and opportunists. The wary survive --- sharks eat the rest. You are certainly wise to keep an eye open for scams, but also need not see the bogeyman behind *every* bush. First, not all systems even possess or exercise ROFR (right of first refusal) in the first place. Hyatt does, Marriott does, HGVC does. Wyndham does not, Diamond does not. Independent resorts (those not affiliated with any corporate "chain") do not possess or exercise ROFR. Second, where ROFR exists (again, that right must ALREADY exist within governing documents to ever be exercised at all), there is frankly little or no discernible consistency in its' exercise. There is just no way to know when a system might be looking to recover additional inventory, nor what their ROFR dollar threshold might be at any given time. There are always discussions on various timeshare sites about specific properties and numbers, but no consistent patterns seem to emerge. It's a craps shoot, plainly and simply stated. There are far too many explanations for all the $1 timeshare offerings ALWAYS found on eBay to list here. Understand that there are numerous "companies" (e.g. GroupWise, et al), often referred to as PostCard Companies (PCC's) which collect serious money (generally a few thousand dollars) from owners desperate to get out of their ownership but unable or unwilling to exert the effort on their own to do so. Under a Power of Attorney granted to them from such desperate owners, the PCC then "dumps" the timeshare for a buck on eBay. The PCC ALREADY pocketed a few thousand dollars; they don't really care what it sells for. Also, many PCC's also get a "piece" of the closing costs from the (ahem) "closely affiliated" entity they work with for transfers --- just more "gravy". Many other scenarios as well, including many completely legitimate but desperate owners who just want "out" ASAP. Systems have their own mandatory and unavoidable "transfer fees", regardless of seller or buyer involved. Hyatt's is $599 per deed, Wyndham's is $299 per deed, don't know Marriott or HGVC fee. Closers often add their own gratuitous "processing" or "escrow" fees as well. Closings rarely cost less than about $350, but there are exceptions. Some PCC's / sellers will even absorb all closing costs in order to dump "dog" intervals. Again, PCC's ALREADY pocketed a few grand before their listing was ever posted; everything additional is gravy.