Make no mistake: Selling your timeshare unit is likely to involve an even longer, more drawn-out process than you endured when you bought it in the first place with wide eyes and big hopes for the future. The long-haul experience is likely to be your reality no matter where your unit is, no matter how nice of a resort it is part of, and no matter what season of the year you have the right to use it.

The simple fact is that timeshare resale has been a buyer's market pretty much since the market came into existence nearly forty years ago. Far, far more people are out there trying to sell their units than you may imagine, and there are easily a dozen or more resale timeshare owners for every single person who is looking to buy a unit.

Once you start to look for places to advertise your timeshare, you will realize that your competition is literally everywhere: in the Sunday newspaper classified ads, on the television, on the radio, in real-estate office brochures, on consumer group Web sites, in timeshare magazines, in telemarketing phone calls, and, of course, posted in multiple places on the World Wide Web.

It is important that you understand from the outset that your expectations should not be to make a $10,000 or $20,000 profit on a sale that occurs the same day you post your first timeshare advertisement. You may have gotten lucky and made deals like this in the primary housing market during the recent boom, but they are virtually unheard of in the world of timeshares. Disabusing yourself of the idea immediately will save you a lot of angst and heartache in the long run.

What can you realistically expect in terms of time and money? Usually, the answer is just the opposite of what you are hoping to hear: You'll tend to spend a lot more time, and make a lot less money, before actually closing a deal.

Length of Process

Some timeshares sell within a couple of weeks, some timeshares sell within a couple of months, some timeshares sell within a couple of years, and some timeshares never sell at all. It is impossible to say which one of these categories your unit will fit into, but you would be wise to prepare yourself for a longer process rather than a shorter one.

A simple look at any classified section, whether in print or online, will open your eyes to timeshare units that have been on the market for anywhere from five days to five years. Unfortunately, the only resale factor that you truly have any control over when it comes to speeding up the sale process is price — which means that you may have to ask for a much lower amount than you intended if you need to move your timeshare unit off the market quickly.

Profit and Loss

When you get into the nitty-gritty of trying to figure out how much money you can get for your timeshare unit, your best bet is to set your expectations at no more than 50 percent of the price you originally paid.

Only a handful of people ever make more than half of their original purchase price back — and even fewer people are so lucky as to see the smallest of profits. A reasonable assumption is that the price you end up taking will be between 30 percent and 50 percent of your original purchase price, and not a penny more.

If you own your timeshare unit only a year or two before you decide to sell it, your financial loss will likely be far greater than that of someone who owned the very same timeshare for five or ten years — and at least got some value for the money she spent before having to sell at a loss.