The Imperial Country Club

The Imperial Country Club

I have always thought that being a member of a prestigious
country club has its privileges of being treated special.
However, it is not the case with a country club at Lippo
Karawaci. I first bought a membership for my family about a year
ago. Back then we were enticed into joining with the assurance
that the membership could be resold and was transferable.
We were also told that the maximum membership would not exceed
2,000 members, in order to avoid overcrowding. On top of this we
paid monthly subscription dues in order to be allowed to use the
facilities.

The problem arose when we had to move from West Jakarta to the
South. This gave us no choice but to give up our membership, so
we tried calling the club concerning the sale of our membership.
We spoke to one of the membership managers and inquired about the
sale of our membership and assistance from the club to sell it on
our behalf. The reply received was a very disappointing one. The
manager first told us that they could not assist us in the sale,
because the club has its own sales target to achieve. As a
result, priority would be given to achieving the club's own sales
target. It seems pretty obvious that selling a new membership
earns commission compared to one that is resold.

The current offer price is Rp 8,200,000 with a promotional
discount of 25 percent, making it Rp 6,700,000 plus free vouchers
and sports gifts. I asked how much the gifts and voucher totaled
up to and the reply was around Rp 500,000, which would make the
membership cost around Rp 5,650,000 without any frills. I told
the manager that I was prepared to sell it for less than Rp
5,650,000, with a discount between Rp 300,000 and Rp 500,000.

Instead of getting assistance from the manager, she ended up
telling me that my membership was not new any more and it was
considered secondhand. It would be very difficult to sell it at
that kind of price. When asked what price would be appropriate,
her reply was at least a 50 percent discount, otherwise there was
no way I would be able to sell it.

This is the first time I have ever heard of a country club's
membership being classified as secondhand, depreciating in value
instead of appreciating.

Name and address

known to the editor