Keeping in mind that you can expect to make back no more than 30 percent to 50 percent of your timeshare's original price, there are some other factors that may help you to move that number upward a bit — or at least to walk away with closer to the 50 percent mark after spending as little time as possible on the resale market.

Doing your homework is going to be key when it comes to setting a price that will get the attention of worldwide buyers. You also can learn from the mistakes that other people have made when selling their timeshares, be it in the same region, the same city, or even the very same wing of your resort.

Worldwide and Local Trends

One broad indicator that it would help for you to keep in mind is what is happening with worldwide and local economies in general. Setting your price high during a period of recession, for instance, is sure to do nothing but drive away the vast majority of potential buyers. During a recession, you are likely to have only bargain-hunters looking at your advertisements, and they will pass you by because they will know that you need them more than they need you.

Another indicator that it pays to watch is the trend in new timeshare sales. A slowing in the city where you own a unit, for instance, could indicate that that city has reached its capacity — and that you are going to have to charge far less than the new resorts if you want to get your unit off the resale market.

Still another indicator that will affect the way you set your price is whatever is happening in the city where you own your resort. Many owners along the Gulf Coast and Southern Florida, for instance, either lost their timeshares altogether or had to give them away for pennies on the dollar after the 2005 hurricane season, which included the devastating Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. These are factors that will be beyond your control, unfortunately, but they will play a major role in helping to determine how high a price you can hope to set.

Historical Data

Barring any destructive acts of nature that substantially change your region's outlook in terms of overall vacation travel, you can sometimes find historical data about previous timeshare unit sales not just in your city, but in your very own resort.

Historical sales data are a good map to follow when determining what your final selling price might be, but they are not to be taken as gospel. Just because somebody else got $24,000 for a unit identical to yours when the market was at its peak does not mean that you will be able to do the same. You may, in fact, end up with substantially less.

Where should you look to find historical sales data? If you are working with a resale broker, she should be able to help you. If you are working on your own, go back to your tried-and-true standbys:the Timeshare User's Group and TimeSharing Today magazine. All the historical data their members have agreed to share are posted on the groups' Web sites.

Resale Broker Tips

A qualified resale broker — one who is licensed and who deals with timeshare resales on a regular basis — should be able to give you valuable tips about pricing your timeshare unit. If you are working with a resale broker who seems fuzzy on what kind of price you should set, walk away and find another person to help you. Better resale brokers understand the market and should lead the way for you, not the other way around.

A good resale broker may know, for example, that the resort where your unit is located recently finished selling the last of its new timeshare units — meaning the market may be ripe for a used unit like yours at a price just slightly lower than the new-unit buyers were paying. On the other hand, a good broker may be aware that the timeshare units in your resort have historically low selling prices because of factors you never dreamed of, and that you will have to stomach a far lower asking price than you had hoped if you want to sell at all in the near future.

Before signing on with any resale broker, ask how many timeshare units she has sold altogether, in your resort's region, and in your resort itself. The more specific knowledge a given broker has about your unique marketplace, the better tips she will be able to give you about pricing your timeshare unit properly.

Other Owners' Advice

You may decide, as many timeshare owners do, to forgo hiring the resale broker (and paying her commission) and simply set the price for your timeshare resale yourself. There is nothing at all wrong with this approach, and in some cases, you will be able to make as much money as you would have had you gone with a broker at all.

Being out on your own, though, does not mean you should turn away the advice of people who may be able to help you. Specifically, you should talk with any friends you have met at your timeshare resort, as well as with your homeowner's association, to find out what prices similar timeshare units have garnered in recent resales.

If you are dealing with a particularly friendly fellow owner, you might also ask what helped the highest-price units get more money than the lower-priced ones. It could be a matter of simply positioning yourself in the marketplace in a certain way — such as writing a classified ad with specific catch phrases or advertising in a certain geographic location. You don't have to pass up this kind of insider information simply because you are choosing to work without a resale broker.

Appraisals

There are companies out there that specialize in timeshare appraisals, and you can get one done with a single phone call if you think it will be worthwhile in terms of setting your price. Any local Realtor or resale agency can put you in touch with a reputable appraiser, or you can simply look under “appraisals” in your resort's local telephone directory.

Usually, though, it is the buyer who pays for the appraisal, not the seller, and even that is done only when there are other matters at hand, such as working with a trust or an estate. The vast majority of timeshare resales are handled without an appraisal for the simple reason that the appraisal itself can cost several hundred dollars — money that sellers usually do not want to spend when their entire sale may only be worth a few thousand dollars in the end.

If you truly do not know where to start in setting the price for your timeshare unit, then investing in an appraisal might be worth that sort of payout to you. But usually, you can find information about similar sales either online or by working with a resale broker, either of which will save you the cost of the appraisal in the long run.