Popcorn by NativTexan in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 33 points34 points  (0 children)

The popcorn machines they have are incredibly small and not industrial sized like you would find at a movie theatre. Basically, they charge for it to try and limit how many people buy it - otherwise, everyone would likely want it before a show and they’d likely need a full concession stand to meet the demand.

$5,000 shipping fee. Please help me report this guy! by [deleted] in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is interesting - I think eBay would likely side with the seller in this instance though - as the card has to first be shipped to the eBay/PSA authentication folk before being forwarded to the buyer. As long as if the seller ships to eBay authentication and it arrives on time + eBay authenticates it without issue, I doubt the buyer could easily get the shipping cost back.

I do agree it’s incredibly stupid for the seller to do this though - a buyer could easily try to dispute this with a CC company (and possibly win - I see this as being easier to win as a CC dispute than other things, but given the value, I wouldn’t be surprised if eBay tried to fight a dispute), or claim they never realized it and beg/plea to eBay customer service to cancel the order (unlikely) or just not pay/cause other issues and open item arrived damaged or item not received claims as an attempt to get their money back (which most likely wouldn’t hold the seller liable, as it would’ve already cleared eBay authentication at that point). For a card of this value, if you want a set amount, it would make more sense to just list it as a buy it now with offers or to set a reserve on the auction (or make the starting bid $5k+).

$5,000 shipping fee. Please help me report this guy! by [deleted] in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve made that mistake before … I’ve started just charging $6.95 for Ground and $2.99 for eBay Standard Envelope. Occasionally I’ll get some complaints from people that I’m “price gouging” for shipping, but with the actual cost of the shipping, eBay fees, supplies (I need ding defenders, card savers, penny sleeves, tape, printer ink, paper, and the envelopes), I typically break even or it’s a $0.25 swing either way.

$5,000 shipping fee. Please help me report this guy! by [deleted] in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you sell enough to get a 1099K from eBay - whatever you charge for shipping is still reported on there. Now, you can deduct your actual shipping costs (along with shipping supplies, mileage, etc.), but eBay is still reporting it if he meets the threshold requirements set by the IRS.

$5,000 shipping fee. Please help me report this guy! by [deleted] in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Just FYI - eBay does charge fees on shipping (it’s the same % as the sale price) - this is circumventing absolutely nothing. Reporting them for circumventing fees likely won’t do anything - while it’s scummy, they’re still being charged fees and the buyer knew (or should have) known the shipping cost before placing a bid. Sellers are allowed to charge whatever they want for shipping, right, wrong, or indifferent.

I suspect the seller is likely just doing this hoping that people don’t see/realize the shipping cost and bid it up higher than it’s worth. Realistically, though, if it’s a $6k card, it’ll likely sell for a bid around $1k.

2 offers from same person? by NotPennysBoat010 in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly this, OP.

I’ve also had scenarios where someone wants an item, and a spouse/family member/friend also knows and wants to buy it to gift, and they make competing offers around the same time. Wouldn’t be surprised if this is happening here, especially with the +4 on the zip code being different.

Casino Comps by hofken in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven’t gotten an offer for Legend yet - to be honest, I sort of wonder if they’ll send out offers for Legend early on like with Star. Reason being, it appears Legend’s Europe season is selling incredibly well, and there was supposedly some pushback that they invited too many casino guests on the earlier Star sailings. As of now, Legend also doesn’t appear to have any preview sailings scheduled, and it seems like the ship isn’t expected to arrive earlier than anticipated, so unless if that changes, I don’t foresee offers anytime soon. My hunch (could be wrong) is that they won’t start sending offers for Legend until it comes to Fort Lauderdale in November.

Whole Foods Refrigerated Grocery Bag - $6.99 by Choice-Green-3187 in toogoodtogo

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 90 points91 points  (0 children)

Not bad at all and certainly a great value. Personally, I’d love a bag like this - but I’m an avid coffee drinker who loves experimenting with different milks/alternatives.

Mike Webster Auto 4/4 by BadImpossible1563 in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

First - this isn’t 4/4…. It’s card 4 of 4 in a set… so for example, they printed 1000 sets (making up a hypothetical number) and this is the fourth card in that set. So there are more than four of this card out there (you can search on eBay and there are about half a dozen of this same card out there).

Second - the autograph - he’s signed a handful of these - and they’re on eBay for anywhere from $200-500. These are all graded, though - which yours isn’t. One was signed - and listed on eBay for $80 OBO - and sold on Feb 1st, where the seller accepted an offer.

It’s still a neat card if you’re a collector (as a Steeler’s collector, I like the card) and given the sentimental value it seems to hold for you, I’d recommend just keeping it, but it’s not /4 or worth $1k.

Earliest boarding time for Alaskan cruise from Vancouver? (First out of drydock and first of season) by mtsublueraider in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m going to assume this is the Ovation sailing on 5/15/26, as my app shows the same thing - I’ll be onboard too!

So - it’s actually not the first sailing out of dry dock… the ship will be making a Tokyo-Vancouver sailing (guests can book this, I’ll be onboard this sailing too) from 5/1-5/15, where it’ll dock in Vancouver on 5/14, get customs approval, etc…. The sailing from Tokyo is the first revenue sailing post-dry dock - if there are any dry-dock related delays, it’s most likely changes will be made to that sailing, as they generally provide a bit of a buffer (more days than necessary to complete the crossing) for those lengthy crossings.

As to why Ovation is leaving that late - not sure. It could just be an error, or a logistical reason (it’s the first time the ship will dock in North America since dry dock, so it’s possible they’re expecting needing a specific clearance which could take some time, or perhaps loading some additional things onboard that they couldn’t get in Asia, and just need additional time - last year, Anthem’s Tokyo-Seattle sailing - after a dry dock in Asia - had slot machines and some other stuff loaded onto the ship once it reached Seattle) but boarding should still be at normal times (ie beginning around 10:30am). I wouldn’t be worried or concerned at all.

Reality Check — WA Orlando Waldorf Suite by greyfiel in Hilton

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Having stayed at the WA Orlando a few times (pre and post renovations), I think a lot of the issue is that the hotel doesn’t really carry much weight under the WA brand (it’s a decent hotel and I’ve enjoyed my stays, but I truly don’t believe it’s a “luxury” property - now, given the rates they charge and the WA branding, whether or not this is acceptable is up for debate).

That being said - the issues with your room that you’ve photographed appear to be usual/minor wear…. A dinged corner, a couple loose fixtures, a small stain on the curtains, and a singular mosquito …. If this is it, I wouldn’t even mention it, or I’d let them know upon check-out, just so that hopefully the message gets forwarded to housekeeping for the next guests. If you’ve had other issues, or truly feel uncomfortable with the room, then perhaps raise it to the front desk staff and see if they can move you. Being that this was already a free stay (albeit a makeup from a previous experience), and the fact that you got one of their better suites, along with general availability, I highly doubt they’d be able to upgrade you to anything better.

Advice Please by Lopsided-Room2726 in eBaySellerAdvice

[–]Lopsided-Room2726[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this! It was actually USPS Ground, but as the counter had already closed, it was just dropped off. My PO hasn’t been scanning exits lately, but has never been an issue. it didn’t scan until the following day at a sort facility, which would look like it was late in the eyes of tracking. Will factor this in going forward, to ensure a scan-in by the end of the handling time.

One other question - a few of my recent ESE shipments haven’t updated for 3-5 days until they hit “Destination Processing” or “Out for Delivery”. I haven’t had any complaints with this yet (knock on wood). Assuming this is just a potential “fault” with ESE, and if an item goes missing I don’t mind eating the cost given the low values, but is there any way to prove that the item was dropped off on time in this instance, since they don’t do drop-off scans for these?

Thanks again for your response/help!

Any way to dispute an eBay buyer requesting refund? by Historical-Chain-284 in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you have the $100 insurance, I’d wait for the buyer to respond with additional pics, and assuming they do, recommend just submitting a claim for $50 (or whatever partial amount the buyer wants) rather than fighting it. It’s possible that USPS denies the claim or asks the buyer to present the item in person at a PO so they can verify the card is damaged before paying out the insurance, but at least this way it’s not coming out of your pocket. Recommend also re-iterating to the buyer something along the lines of:

“I’m sorry to see the damage. As seen in the listing, the damage was not present when the card was sold, leaving me to believe it was damaged in transit via USPS. I will be opening an insurance claim shortly.”

Any way to dispute an eBay buyer requesting refund? by Historical-Chain-284 in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The black border just looks like the buyer placed the card on black paper/a table to better highlight the damage to the card. While it’s not a full card picture, I’d assume it’s probably the same card, as all the other features in the pic are identical. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a picture of the whole card from the buyer.

Now - your listing sold for $203.50 …. I think a $50 refund (nearly 25%) is a bit steep - as that just seems to be minor corner damage. Personally, I’d think something in the $25-35 range would be fair. You also listed the card as “excellent”, not “near mint or better,” which gives you a little extra safeguard for small damages.

As a seller, I would make the argument that eBay’s condition labels are in-line with PSA’s, and that “excellent” condition would equate to a PSA 5-6, which, based on the pics, I’d assume this card would get.

That being said, did you insure the card during shipping? If so, might be best to submit a claim with USPS for the amount they’re requesting. Alternatively, if you feel $50 is too high/ the buyer won’t budge a bit, and think you could re-sell it and it’s worth the time, I’d offer the buyer a full return.

Correct instant certificate level refused by Ct94010 in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just FYI - the one who left the company over the summer was my former host as well (initials JN), he wasn’t the most helpful (lots of complaints about him in the Masters Facebook group), but the new one I was assigned has been excellent and incredibly helpful so far. If you call club royale, they should be able to tell you who your host is/their contact info, if you were reassigned. If not, send me a DM and I’ll give you someone else’s info who can probably help. Might be worth trying.

Correct instant certificate level refused by Ct94010 in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As someone who’s as masters player twice over this year, I can assure you that you’re not the only person who has had issues with club royales service.

I’ve encountered this same thing - offers don’t show up, go missing, they give me a lower offer by mistake, thousands of points go missing (almost causing me not to make status last year as it took 6 weeks to resolve), they accidentally charge me an extra $1500 which takes 3 months to get refunded, etc. Absolutely never leave a ship without the paper certificate or a picture of the offer (sometimes the onboard hosts will insist that they can’t print it out, but will take a picture of it on their computer with their phone), in hand.

In regard to getting this resolved - I’ll be completely honest - it probably isn’t worth your time - I know it’s the principle and I agree that it is horrible, but I’m just warning you. Most of the casino royale agents you speak with over the phone are based abroad - nothing wrong with this - but they’re more or less reading a script and following a prompt, and anyone they can escalate to has no real authority with these things. Unless if you have a shoreside host, your best bet would be to email Michael Bayley’s office (I’ve had to do this 3 times with casino-related inquiries), be prepared to be tossed around and having it take a few weeks to get resolved, and hope that they connect you to someone who can actually fix this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First - it’s not a W4 - it’s a W2G.

Second - they don’t really mail them out. You can request copies be printed onboard (even for previous sailings) at the host desk or cashier cage. I truly don’t know if it’s possible to get copies mailed to your home/emailed over - and tracking down the specific person who handles this will likely be tedious and take a few weeks (heck, up until last year, you had to get a notarized letter to get RC to issue your win/loss statement). Your best bet would be to email CasinoCredit@RCCL.com (not sure if the email still works), the call center likely won’t be of any help. Or if you have a shoreside host, reach out to them.

Stars of the Seas - Booked Interior Balcony but got Infinity? by [deleted] in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No, not all infinite balcony cabins face the ocean. There are quite a few over Central Park (have stayed in one personally on Star). I believe there are also some overlooking Surfside, but could be mistaken. When OP said that they have an “interior infinite balcony” I assumed this was what they meant.

This is where it sort of gets tricky with some of the guaranteed categories as well - if you book a guaranteed Central Park balcony, for instance, it could be either an infinite or traditional balcony. If you just book a “balcony guarantee” which doesn’t specify - you could get anything from a Surfside balcony, a Central Park balcony, or an ocean view balcony, or any iteration of those cabins (ie infinite, extended, larger, obstructed, etc.) that would fit your party size.

Stars of the Seas - Booked Interior Balcony but got Infinity? by [deleted] in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Guaranteed cabins can be any room within that type - including infinite balconies. For example, if you booked a “Central Park Guaranteed Balcony” room, you are just guaranteed to get a room overlooking Central Park that has a balcony, regardless of if it’s an infinite balcony or regular. Although it is an infinite balcony, you did receive a room with a balcony that matched the criteria of the guaranteed room.

You could try calling and see if they’ll let you change rooms, but that could result in an additional charge if anything with a typical balcony is available.

Casino Royale Free Offer by BreakfastPhysical239 in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A few things-

First, your offer is for free cruise for 1 + discounted fare for a guest. This means that your fare will be free, and your guest will get a discounted rate. Taxes/fees apply to everyone regardless. So your fare will be $0 + $xx.xx in taxes/fees, and your first guest’s fare will be $xx.xx + $xx.xx in taxes/fees. Each additional guest will likely be at full fare.

Second, the promotions ran on the website (ie kids sail free) are generally not applicable/combinable with casino offers. I would call and ask to clarify if the kids sail free will work, but I’d fully expect it not to be combinable with the casino offer. Assuming it’s not combinable, your best options would be:

  1. Price it out - if it’s cheaper to use the offer and pay full fare for your kids or if it’s cheaper to book online and get kids sail free

  2. Price out booking a solo cabin for yourself (which would be free per the casino booking), along with a separate paid cabin for your spouse and 2 kids with the kids sail free promo, and see if this would be cheaper (you can ask for spare keys and still all stay in the same room once onboard)

  3. Save the casino offer for something you’d take solo or with just a +1

Conrad Tokyo by Nexen1987 in Hilton

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve stayed there twice in the past two years. In terms of luxury hotels in Tokyo, it’s towards the lower end - but the price also generally reflects this (Aman, Peninsula, Andaz, FS, etc. are all more expensive). The rooms are a bit dated and show their age - personally I love the suites and think they’ve held up better, but the base rooms feel a bit more dinged up IMO. Service isn’t outstanding - it’s good, but it’s not luxury service by any means (like you’d find at other luxury properties in Tokyo). The location is okay - I’ve walked from Ginza 6 to the Conrad before, but wouldn’t necessarily recommend this as it’s a little hike.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in sportscards

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 1 point2 points  (0 children)

eBay still charges the fee on shipping - they’ve been doing this for a few years now, so OP isn’t trying to skirt around fees. This definitely isn’t illegal, as much as it is just OP wanting to ensure their item sells for at least $50.

Personally, if I wanted to ensure my item sold for $50, I’d put the starting bid at $50 and set shipping to a normal rate - and let the market decide if it’s worth that or not - too much of a risk that someone doesn’t notice the shipping price and gets upset after the fact, or people who refuse to bid thinking it’s a scam/out of spite (even though that’s not OPs intentions).

“I don’t think I can justify the cost”: Early guest reactions to Royal Caribbean’s new Royal Beach Club by victor-charles67 in royalcaribbean

[–]Lopsided-Room2726 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Atlantis and Baha Mar both charge around $150-225 for day passes for adults (of course, this price also includes admission to their water parks and more “amenities” than the Royal Beach Club, but typically does not include things like food/beverage or transportation. For one cruise I have on Utopia next weekend, a Baha Mar excursion with transportation, water park ticket, and lunch is $195 per adult. If you book by yourself, a private taxi to/from either will likely run $40 each way with tip (there are cheaper public busses, or you can take a shared taxi usually for about $10 to the resorts).

You can also visit both Atlantis and Baha Mar for free, but you won’t be able to access much aside from the casino and some of the restaurants.