Outdoor World Campground Membership

[moon]

Hello,

I am looking at buying a membership to Outdoor World Campground Resorts. I have located a used membership from a broker for $1500 (including Transfer); life time membership that will have 1 transfer left after me. I have shopped around and noticed that others listed avg. from $4,000-$15,000. Does anyone know if there is a difference in types of memberships at Outdoor world? Do they have Deeded and non-deeded memberships?

Thanks,
Moon
Adrian Smith

 

[Albslb2]

Run as fast as you can. Been there done that. Others will tell you the same, I'm sure.

 

[moon]

Run as fast as you can?  Could you please elaborate?

Until now I have heard nothing but positive feed back from current members (from post at another forum)...."If I could go back in time I would do it again (member since '84), wouldn't trade it for anyhting...etc........

Thanks,
Moon
Adrian Smith

 

[Ron]

I agree with Albslb2.  Run away as fast as you can.  I very strongly recommend avoiding membership campgrounds.  You will never even break even.  We have also been there done that.  Oh did I mention IMHO membership campgrounds are NOT a good idea. I think some folks recommend thing like this because they like company in their mistakes. ;D ;D

If you are still working there is no way you will be able to utilize your membership enough to offset just the annual membership fees.  If you are retired you will find the membership campgrounds are not located where you would use them along your route.

Save yourself some money and headache and use Passport America or even GS or KOA usually just two or three nights at a passport America park will offset the cost of membership.

Once again RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN from the membership park hype.

 

[Albslb2]

Ron AMEN  I aknow I have a membership, not in OWC but in C2C  They are all the same When we 1st bought ours back in the 70's  Used it quite a bit.  $128 yearly  Dues back then. Now 324 And never use  If we don't pay the dues we lose our membership even tho it's paid in full./  We have Executive Membership in Beautiful Lost Valley Lake REsort, Owensville, MO Great place but convienent to nothing. 2hr dirve and least and that's what most of those membership places are.  Beautiful but near nothing.  Our membership is a deeded membership, now selling for some 14K  would gladly sell mine for 4500.  But if yo want a prestige #  I could certainly supply that, like Exc #00059 and they are in the 10000's now.  to me you can use the prestige for good old fashion TP.  Been 4 yrs now since we used it, Id'd rather have a club house on a lake somewhere and be better off.So RUN buddy RUN

 

[Ron]

I know what you mean.  We did bail out and figure its a lesson learned.  Expensive but well learned.  I just hope I can keep other unsuspecting folks from making the same mistake.

 

[moon]

For what is worth OWC is not the same as the others you fellows are talking about.  They are not a network for discounts.  They have their OWN campgrounds; you buy membership, pay anual dues and pay ZERO for unlimited camping at there resorts.  BTW: there resorts are spotless and offer tons of amenities such as primo mini-golf, par 3 golf course, water park, boat rentals (motor boats not paddle boats), multipal pools.  All there amenities are top notch, not just an effort to list something on a punch list.  They have 6 resorts within 3 hours of my house, 1 on Lake Gaston, 1 in Orlando and plenty more on the NE coast totaling 15.  I am also buying my membership used at ROCK bottom price.  I am really just concerned that the price I am paying is providing me with less than memberships selling new for $15,000 and am curious if this is just what happens if you try and re-sell used memberships.

Thanks,
Moon
Adrian Smith

 

[Ron]

We are talking about the same kind of membership parks.  IMHO membership parks are a rip off and should be avoided.  You just might if your lucky get some worth out of it the first year but then it will become like a lead anchor.  Sounds like you have your mind set to jump in and if so I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

While we also do not endorse membership parks, there are those who love them and use them extensively. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  They can indeed save you $$ if you use them extensively, but you gotta keep going to the same set of parks. Those of us who enjoy traveling to the many different places in this huge country seldom get to do that.  But if you like going to a park and staying there to participate in the social life, i.e. the park is the destination rather than incidental to the area, a membership may work well for you. 


You might also consider why you are able to buy a resale (used membership) for something like 25% (or less) of its supposed market value. If it is really such a good deal, wouldn't others be snapping them up at full price?  I believe the answer is that there are a lot of disillusioned owners dumping their sites after they found they were paying far more in fees then they were getting back in value. And there are more sellers than buyers too.  Remember: the annual dues don't stop because you decide to go to some different [non-affiliated] park or decide to travel in an area where your club does not have a park.

If you are new to RVing, I stongly suggest that you wait a couple years before buying a campground membership. Travel around a bit, see the USA and develop your RVing lifestyle BEFORE making a substantial financial commitment to a particular set of parks, both upfront and ongoing in annual dues.

 

[Jim Dick]

Hi Adrian,

I agree with the others. Membership campgrounds lock you into certain areas of the country. The RV lifestyle should be about seeing ALL of this great country of ours and Canada. Even Mexico could be a fun trip.

For my money the only "membership" system to join is Passport America. They offer 1/2 off any of their member campgrounds but there are time limitations. The good part is they are all over this country and can help tremendously with saving money while traveling. Membership is around $45/year. You can recoup that very quickly and drop out anytime you want. Many membership campgrounds make you keep paying forever.

If you decide you really want to do this be sure to read the contract VERY CAREFULLY, especially the fine print!!!!

 

[Albslb2]

Moon-- Some Memberships can't be resold,  others can, some once, twice and a third time.  All in the fine print.  Toughest job is finding someone to buy it.  You're much better off, chipping in with a group of friends, buying a spot on a lake somewhere and sharing the properties.  At least you won't have to paid the maintenence each year, you can share it.  Also you can share the taxes.  Oh yeah,  Who do you think is paying those taxes on the resort,  It's all the members that own a membership withthat yearly dues. They can raise those fees any time their little ole heart desires.  Got some claim on some property on Jupiter if you're interested,  you can go check it out should you like.  I'll sell it.  Same as our campground membership.  Gladly.

 

[2006F350]

Can't spell, but I'm sure you will find the big word "perpetuity" in the contract somewhere. What that means is that you are hooked for life, the life of your family, their familiy, etc, etc. Once you join, you will have annual dues forever, unless you are legally able to break the contract. Run away, be afraid, very afraid. They are the only ones that will ever benefit.

Larry