Cypress Pointe Rip Off UK Visitors

[Scott]

I am staying at Cypress Pointe resort we have family visiting us from the UK. My BiL likes to keep up to date with what is happening at home in England so every day he purchases a UK newspaper that is printed here in the USA. The newspaper (Daily Mail) has a cover price here in the US of $2.25. My BiL normally buys the paper at the small supermarket just outside the resort; but the other day we went across the street to the 2nd phase pools and he bought the paper at the store there. I noticed that the cover price had been blacked out and I asked my BiL how much he had been charged he said $3.25.

The resort store is adding $1.00 onto a newspaper that is printed here in the USA and inking out the cover price. If the owner of the store is doing this on one item he may be doing it on other items please be aware.

When I challenged the store owner he shrugged his shoulders and made a comment about different distributors having different prices. Needless to say we have not used the store since.

Scott

 

[AwayWeGo]

Convenience Stores Rip Off U.S.A. Customers (& Everybody Else Too).

Needless to say we have not used the store since.

A more inventive response from the "convenience" store clerk would have been to mumble something semi-creative about how the dollar has tanked recently vis-a-vis the euro & the pound sterling.

Shux, I own Floating Diamond 3BR lock-off timeshare weeks at Cypress Pointe -- Phase I and Phase II -- & I never buy stuff at the on-site "convenience" stores on either side of the street.

Not only that, I generally avoid buying anything at 7-Eleven, Quick-Mart, Tiger-Mart, UniMart, Stop & Go, WaWa, etc., in favor of shopping instead at Wal*Mart, Kmart, Winn-Dixie, Target, & similar establishments that are more inclined to discount their prices than to jack'm up.

I specially like the nice Winn-Dixie supermarket right around the corner from Cypress Pointe -- don't know whether they carry UK newspapers, though.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia.​

 

[timeos2]

Is it really that big a problem?

I am staying at Cypress Pointe resort we have family visiting us from the UK. My BiL likes to keep up to date with what is happening at home in England so every day he purchases a UK newspaper that is printed here in the USA. The newspaper (Daily Mail) has a cover price here in the US of $2.25. My BiL normally buys the paper at the small supermarket just outside the resort; but the other day we went across the street to the 2nd phase pools and he bought the paper at the store there. I noticed that the cover price had been blacked out and I asked my BiL how much he had been charged he said $3.25.

The resort store is adding $1.00 onto a newspaper that is printed here in the USA and inking out the cover price. If the owner of the store is doing this on one item he may be doing it on other items please be aware.

When I challenged the store owner he shrugged his shoulders and made a comment about different distributors having different prices. Needless to say we have not used the store since.

Scott

First I think your Subject is a bit over the top for a newspaper that is $1 more than other places.

Second that store is NOT at Cypress Pointe Resort - it is Cypress Pointe Grande Villas (aka Phase 2). While the two resorts share all common areas each is operated by it's own Association and has control over it's property.

Third the resort does not operate that store, it is leased to a third party who runs it and as an independent business can set the prices at any level they want to make a living.

As Alan points out no one is forced to shop at any of the resort stores. They are there for convenience and, as is often the case, that means an inflated price. One of the great things about Cypress Pointe (both resorts) is the location that is surrounded by services that are easily reached walking or a very short drive. You have many choices for groceries, trinkets, newspapers, etc without having to travel far. Not many resorts in Orlando have that as most are remote locations or so large that simply traversing the resort requires a drive.

I hope you won't let the paper price influence your enjoyment of your stay. Orlando is a great place to be and Cypress Pointe is (naturally) one of our favorite place to enjoy it from.

 

[suenmike32]

Scott,
As John indicates, there are bigger battles to be fought. I wouldn't let the additional buck bend you out of shape.
Unfortunately, distributors, (like all of us), are getting hammered with gas prices ridiculous as they are.
It would not surprise me if the store was hit with a "fuel-surcharge" for deliveries under a certain minimum... and consequently, the store is passing it along.
That's happening up here in the great northeast on many products.

Relax and enjoy Florida...I'll bet its a bit more comfortable than the weather in the UK right now.
Happy Thanksgiving
Mike

 

[bnoble]

Want to save the $1? Cross the street. Not so hard. Convenience afoten comes at a price.

 

[timeos2]

An answer from the Resort

I sent a message to the resort about this post. This is their reply:

The Pointe Gift shop located off the Lobby in the Cypress Pointe Resort
Club House has the British Daily Mail newspaper, and the price is $ 2.40
during the week and $ 2.93 for the weekend issues. The law in Florida
requires that you pay 6.5% sales tax on the newspapers bought from a store,
but if you buy the newspaper from a machine you do not pay sales tax on it.

The person that we get this newspaper from told us that each vendor uses
the price that fits their cost structure .... in some cases they double the
price paid to the distributor. We are using the most used price by the
stores who carry that newspaper.

Cordially,


Gaston Correa (Manager, Cypress Pointe Resort)

So you can get the paper at the resort - in the Clubhouse - for the face price plus tax. Hope this helps.

 

[johnmfaeth]

On Thursday, the price of a USA Today newspaper at the St. Thomas, USVI airport was $4.95.

That's price gouging for sure, but lots of folks like reading the news by the pictures

 

[Scott]

Thank you for all the replies.

I think that I understand the laws of economics and supply and demand.

John
1. At what level should one not accept a wrong and inform people of shady practices?
2. I never said the store was at CPR.
3. It is the store at CP.
As I stated in my post I voted with my feet.

The point that I was making is that this is a newspaper that is printed in the USA with a cover price listed in US dollars. The owner of the store had blacked this out and charged over the pubished price of $2.25. I understand the tax issues; the store owner charged the extra plus tax.

My main issue is that the store owner is taking advantage of foreign visitors to the resort (the Sentinel was been sold for it's cover price). I love the USA that is why I choose to live and work here. But I do not think that it is good practice to rip off tourists. If the store had displayed the higher than recommended price, I would not have got "bent out of shape".

Regards
Scott

 

[timeos2]

Not Cypress Pointe

The problem? Your post makes it seem like Cypress Pointe Resort is somehow trying to rip off euro visitors. It isn't CPR as they sell the paper in question at face price. The store in question is at Cypress Pointe Grand Villa's - a different resort - and that resort doesn't even operate that store. What an independent shop wants to charge is up to them. If you want to say they are dishonest fine. Just don't drag CPR into it as they have no association with that operation.

 

[Scott]

My issue is that CPR allows the store in question to prominently advertise it's presence and services in each of its villa's therefore I feel that CPR is endorsing the store and its practices.

Regards

Scott

The problem? Your post makes it seem like Cypress Pointe Resort is somehow trying to rip off euro visitors. It isn't CPR as they sell the paper in question at face price. The store in question is at Cypress Pointe Grand Villa's - a different resort - and that resort doesn't even operate that store. What an independent shop wants to charge is up to them. If you want to say they are dishonest fine. Just don't drag CPR into it as they have no association with that operation.

 

[dougp26364]

It's not just UK visitors they are trying to "rip off" and it's not just CPR. My bet is everything in that store is priced above the retail price you'll find just a block or two away from the store. It's only there as a convenience and not to save anyone at the resort, UK or otherwise, money.

Take our last stay at HGVC LV Strip as an example. They have a Starbucks Express on site. It sells a tall cafe americano for around $2.65. A couple of blocks off the strip there is a regular Starbucks and it sells it's cafe americano for $1.95. Down the street in the Monte Carlo there is also a Starbcucks Express and they sell their tall cafe americano for over $3.00 (I'm wanting to say $3.65).

I could buy my coffee at Monte Carlo, the HGVC LV Strip or at the regular Starbucks. I'm paying for the convenience to get it right on site. That's what you're experiencing at CPR. It's not just UK visitors that get tagged with the higher prices........it's everyone.

 

[bnoble]

I think that I understand the laws of economics and supply and demand.
...
1. At what level should one not accept a wrong and inform people of shady practices?

From where I sit, I'm not at all convinced you understand the economics of the situation. Choosing to offer a paper (and probably everything else) above its face price, for convenience, is not a "shady practice." It's a convenience. That's why people call them convenience stores. They are more expensive, yet more convenient. Anyone who finds that price acceptable for that paper will be happy they did not have to go farther looking for it. Anyone who finds that price unacceptable will keep looking.

In any event, a couple of US dollars is probably below the level that most reasonable people would find worthy of complaint. You've already spent more than that in your time complaining about it here.

 

[Dave M]

Is it really a "shady practice", as you suggest, when one business charges more than another for the same product or service? Not in my book. Your comments would suggest that of five gas stations in the same general location that charge different prices, four must be engaging in a shady practice. To the contrary, that's free enterprise!

The wonderful thing about our society is that business owners can generally set their prices as they choose. We as consumers can make our own decisions about how much research we are willing to do to get the best price. If enough of us aren't willing to pay the higher prices, those businesses will ultimately fail.

Some businesses have higher costs (including paying rent to a resort) and need to charge higher prices to make a profit. Other businesses set prices higher intentionally in an effort to make more profit. There is nothing wrong with either scenario and you don't have enough info to determine which is which.

You can complain about prices that seem to high. But to state that the one that charges higher prices is ripping you off and engaging in a shady practice seems more than just a bit strong.