Frustrated with my ads on Redweek. I am getting grouchier about cheapskates in my old age

[DRIless]

So two people contacted me about renting yesterday. Peacock Suites was one. I rent for my cost to recover my outrageous maintenance fees, so I don't make money on anything. I have dates advertised on Redweek of $50/night for weeknights and I explain in the text of the ad that weekends are 3X the price.

So I get an email from someone who wants two weekends included, so a 9-night stay, in summer, and they didn't like the price I was charging because it wasn't $50 per night. I told them Wyndham would charge $147/nt + tax for their dates, and my price was only $75 per night. I was giving them a bargain price.

I was not polite. I told them to read the text of the ad and see that I never said it would be only $50 per night for weekends.

I wasn't nasty or mean, but I told them to find someone else to rent them anything a mile from Disneyland for that price. Then when they came around, I told them I wouldn't rent to them. They were saying I lied in my ad, basically. I had another similar one for Peacock, but not as bad.

I also had someone offer me $700 for our oceanfront 2 bedroom Hono Koa, the only unit Rick and I don't mind paying $1,750 per week to stay and enjoy every dollar of that week. I am asking my COST on it.

I also had someone offer me a ridiculously low price for my OKW studio I have reserved for October, right before Halloween. I told her that I am not interested in her offer at all. "Well, there are lots of people renting full weeks in one bedrooms at Saratoga Springs, and those are one bedrooms, not just studios, and those are full weeks!" she tells me. I told her, "Well, go ahead and rent from one of those people, because you very definitely could be out the money, when these people get their RCI accounts shut down." Apparently, no one has the week she wants. She actually emailed me again and said she had done it before but had no problems. I told her to stop emailing me.

So I am a grouch the last few days.

I have the same problem on Airbnb. Airbnb quotes the lowest nightly price I offer, but allows me to program weekend pricing. So, when someone books a week, Airbnb gives them my correct price and the guest can't understand why their average price per night is higher.

 

[TravelTime]

Wow!

I did not realize that Grammarhero is two people. But, what is is.

I thought grammarhero was a woman but now I see she is a he.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Has anyone ever watched the TLC show "Extreme Cheapskates?" LOL it's probably scripted, but hilarious nonetheless as to the extremes people will go to to save a penny. For example, one cheapskate took his wife for their anniversary to a matinee, and then plucked a large popcorn bucket and drink cup out of the trash, got refills and gave it to his unsuspecting wife who was blown away by his sudden generosity. In another episode a guy re-used his mouthwash. Yuck!

There is a grey area between someone negotiating to get the best price (perfectly okay) and someone acting as an extreme cheapskate (harrassing/playing games if the landlord rejects the offer - not okay.) OTOH Sometimes owners have unrealistic expectations as to what their property is worth so a low ball offer is fine. They can always say no, or ignore and move on.

 

[Grammarhero]

Has anyone ever watched the TLC show "Extreme Cheapskates?" LOL it's probably scripted, but hilarious nonetheless as to the extremes people will go to to save a penny. For example, one cheapskate took his wife for their anniversary to a matinee, and then plucked a large popcorn bucket and drink cup out of the trash, got refills and gave it to his unsuspecting wife who was blown away by his sudden generosity. In another episode a guy re-used his mouthwash. Yuck!

There is a grey area between someone negotiating to get the best price (perfectly okay) and someone acting as an extreme cheapskate (harrassing/playing games if the landlord rejects the offer - not okay.) OTOH Sometimes owners have unrealistic expectations as to what their property is worth so a low ball offer is fine. They can always say no, or ignore and move on.

I watched that episode. Those people are pathologically cheap. There was a family that ate roadkill and used the same tub water for a week. At the end of the week, the tub water turned brown.

Then there was this CPA that didn’t use toilet paper. She dumpster-dived, fed dumpster food to her guests, did her laundry while showering, and turned off her gas.

 

[Grammarhero]

Has anyone ever watched the TLC show "Extreme Cheapskates?" LOL it's probably scripted, but hilarious nonetheless as to the extremes people will go to to save a penny. For example, one cheapskate took his wife for their anniversary to a matinee, and then plucked a large popcorn bucket and drink cup out of the trash, got refills and gave it to his unsuspecting wife who was blown away by his sudden generosity. In another episode a guy re-used his mouthwash. Yuck!

There is a grey area between someone negotiating to get the best price (perfectly okay) and someone acting as an extreme cheapskate (harrassing/playing games if the landlord rejects the offer - not okay.) OTOH Sometimes owners have unrealistic expectations as to what their property is worth so a low ball offer is fine. They can always say no, or ignore and move on.

There was also this millionaire who ate dumpster fried rice, recooked and fed it to her family saying recooking killed the bacteria, converted a trash can into a grill, peed into a mason jar instead of flushing, and made her fiancé do the same.

 

[OldGuy]

peed into a mason jar

gotta catch that kidney stone

serious!

 

[hurnik]

Wow,and I get called "cheap". haha!
Just because I use coupons for things and look all over the internet for deals (cash back sites, select credit cards, coupon codes, etc.) haha

I'd rather say I'm frugal. If you have to spend money, might as well spend it wisely.
Only thing I haven't been able to do is get points (credit cards) for my utilities. They charge fee-fees.
Or those lovely property/school taxes (I live in NY so there goes about 2 months of my take home pay just for that).

 

[TravelTime]

I wonder if people are cheap or competitive. I noticed on TUG that some people just want to "snag" the best deal. It does not seem to be about being cheap. Instead it seems to be about competition and winning. If they can beat the all time low by fifty cents, they are happy and feel superior to everyone else who paid more.

 

[TravelTime]

Wow,and I get called "cheap". haha!
Just because I use coupons for things and look all over the internet for deals (cash back sites, select credit cards, coupon codes, etc.) haha

I'd rather say I'm frugal. If you have to spend money, might as well spend it wisely.
Only thing I haven't been able to do is get points (credit cards) for my utilities. They charge fee-fees.
Or those lovely property/school taxes (I live in NY so there goes about 2 months of my take home pay just for that).

I am surprised you live in NY given how cheap (frugal) you are. LOL Where are you planning to retire?

 

[hurnik]

I am surprised you live in NY given how cheap (frugal) you are. LOL Where are you planning to retire?

LOL! I don't want to really be here, but I have a job with the State government and have the "golden handcuffs" as it were (Pension). Only 20 more years to go (although my CFP says I can leave earlier if I keep saving properly).

Definitely NOT retiring in this state. Haven't decided yet, but will probably rent condos for 2-3 months in various parts and see how it goes. Carolina's slightly appeal, maybe Texas (maybe not--haha). My ideal would be to spend 3 months during winters in nice tropical areas (mexico, caribbean, etc.) But we'll see. You never know what life is driving around that hairpin corner (big semi truck with my name on it--haha).

 

[OldGuy]

(big semi truck with my name on it--haha).

Changing your name to Prime?

JB Hunt?

 

[Tank]

The ones to me that don't make since are the prime time slots. Basically when the kids are out of school.
Ive had people looking for weeks for clients expecting below cost pricing because that's the going rate that they get all the time.

Look them up to rent from the resort and see what Christmas , New Years , or any prime week goes for vs the week after when the kids are back in school.
Even in Orlando !

When the kids are in school the price drops for sure, I don't reserve these weeks anywhere.

I can custom your stay if available and agree on price BEFORE making the reservation.


Dave

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I wonder if people are cheap or competitive. I noticed on TUG that some people just want to "snag" the best deal. It does not seem to be about being cheap. Instead it seems to be about competition and winning. If they can beat the all time low by fifty cents, they are happy and feel superior to everyone else who paid more.

For me it's not competitive. It's more like a game. As a buyer, I don't mind negotiating. The hunt can be fun for certain items (not everyday items though).

I've made some mistakes in the past (e.g. paying retail for our first timeshare!) so I now feel guilty if I haven't shopped it around - once burned, twice shy. With that said, I will look for deals up to a point. We didn't get the absolute best deal on our recent resales but we were in the top 25%. Well within a fair price. It wasn't worth it to save an extra $1000 or so waiting for the perfect deal, or losing to ROFRs (and missing vacations) when we've already saved tens of thousands off the developer price; prices had reached the point of diminishing returns. Especially when the $1000+ will be amortized over 25 years.

It's all relative to the opportunities at hand and what is a must vs. nice to have. For example, I am interested in a particular Vistana SVV EOY timeshare, but with 3 TS already in our portfolio it is a nice to have. So unless someone is giving it away, I am not very interested. I can wait this out until a downturn, or if it never happens we will be fine and it was never meant to be.

For some renters, the ability to get the rental at a certain budgeted price may mean whether they can go on vacation. Remember 40% of Americans can't handle an extra $400 bill. There is probably another 20% above that which cannot handle an unexpected $1000 bill. You may be doing them a favor by holding firm on your price and forcing them to seek less expensive options.

 

[TravelTime]

For me it's not competitive. It's more like a game. As a buyer, I don't mind negotiating. The hunt can be fun for certain items (not everyday items though).

I've made some mistakes in the past (e.g. paying retail for our first timeshare!) so I now feel guilty if I haven't shopped it around - once burned, twice shy. With that said, I will look for deals up to a point. We didn't get the absolute best deal on our recent resales but we were in the top 25%. Well within a fair price. It wasn't worth it to save an extra $1000 or so waiting for the perfect deal, or losing to ROFRs (and missing vacations) when we've already saved tens of thousands off the developer price; prices had reached the point of diminishing returns. Especially when the $1000+ will be amortized over 25 years.

It's all relative to the opportunities at hand and what is a must vs. nice to have. For example, I am interested in a particular Vistana SVV EOY timeshare, but with 3 TS already in our portfolio it is a nice to have. So unless someone is giving it away, I am not very interested. I can wait this out until a downturn, or if it never happens we will be fine and it was never meant to be.

For some renters, the ability to get the rental at a certain budgeted price may mean whether they can go or not go on vacation. Remember 40% of Americans can't handle an extra $400 bill. There is probably another 20% above that which cannot handle an unexpected $1000 bill. You may be doing them a favor by holding firm on your price and forcing them to seek less expensive options.

The hunt and the game is exactly what I meant. I called it competitive but to many on TUG, it is a game. With a hunt, there are winners and losers. With a fair negotiation, it is win, win.

 

[OldGuy]

The thrill of the search . . . the anticipation during the wait . . . the week where you want to be

Each used to be a 24-month process for us.

Ah, the good ole days.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

The hunt and the game is exactly what I meant. I called it competitive but to many on TUG, it is a game. With a hunt, there are winners and losers. With a fair negotiation, it is win, win.

I prescribe to the economic notion of that market value is what the seller and buyer agree upon. No losers because no one is forcing the seller to sell or the buyer to buy.

There are studies that show that extended negotiations can yield better benefits for both parties because it can yield more creative alternatives that were not discovered in the first proposal. I often do this in business and sometimes my vendors come back with a much better plan for all because they had to exert some effort to look around and discover a better source or new way to approach that they hadn't considered in the past. A first proposal is often based on path of least resistance - it's easiest to do it the same way as in the past.

 

[TravelTime]

I prescribe to the economic notion of that market value is what the seller and buyer agree upon. No losers because no one is forcing the seller to sell or the buyer to buy.

There are studies that show that extended negotiations can yield better benefits for both parties because it can yield more creative alternatives that were not discovered in the first proposal. I often do this in business and sometimes my vendors come back with a much better plan for all because they had to exert some effort to look around and discover a better source or new way to approach that they hadn't considered in the past. A first proposal is often based on path of least resistance - it's easiest to do it the same way as in the past.

I did not get the sense you were trying to take advantage of anyone. You seem like a win/win type of Tugger.

For me, if the delta is $50 to $400 or so, I do not care to negotiate. So I look for the lowest prices and avoid haggling/negotiating. You can be sure if I am buying a car or a house, I negotiate. This involves thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it is worth the effort.

 

[rickandcindy23]

So what do you all think of my Craig's List ad in Orange County, CA, being taken down over and over again, probably by someone who is also renting their Peacock Suites (there is one definite poster). I hope that is not a TUG member doing it. I feel like taking down all of the ads I see on Craig's List for Peacock, but I cannot be like that. It's not in my nature to be vindictive.

I used to get a lot of my rentals from Craig's List. It was really a great venue.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@rickandcindy23 What do you mean by having an ad being taken down? (I haven't rented before so this is educational to me) This sounds similar to some businesses who write negative reviews on competitor websites. Not cool. Not ethical.

 

[chapjim]

So what do you all think of my Craig's List ad in Orange County, CA, being taken down over and over again, probably by someone who is also renting their Peacock Suites (there is one definite poster). I hope that is not a TUG member doing it. I feel like taking down all of the ads I see on Craig's List for Peacock, but I cannot be like that. It's not in my nature to be vindictive.

I used to get a lot of my rentals from Craig's List. It was really a great venue.

Whatever you do, don't go to the flag help forum. It's just a bunch of trolls who live in their Moms' basements. They'll drag out rules like your postings are supposed to be local. So, for example, posting a rental in California when you live in Colorado is a no-no.

Complain to the trolls and you'll get more postings flagged.

 

[chapjim]

@rickandcindy23 What do you mean by having an ad being taken down? (I haven't rented before so this is educational to me) This sounds similar to some people who write negative reviews on competitor websites. Not cool.

Craig's List is "user moderated." Some listings get taken down by Craig's List's computer. Others are taken down if enough (?) users (trolls) flag them.

That they know nothing about the kind of listings they flag is unimportant (to them).

 

[CPNY]

Be

How does AirBnB work? Can you get paid in advance or do you collect your money after they check out?

be careful with airbnb If you don’t set it up right you can be screwed. I set it up so my unit was only available for a specific week. The next year without knowing how it worked. Airbnb reset the availability and someone booked dates I didn’t have and paid. I have to cancel the reservation and it screwed a bunch of stuff up. I no longer rely on airbnb for my rental. Plus they take a ridiculous amount in fees.

 

[HudsHut]

Just set an alarm to remind you to repost it on CraigsList each day, Cindy.

The "flagging" happened to me once when I had either Magic Mountain or other theme park tickets. Every day my ad would disappear. In the title, I changed the spelling of the theme park name to have * in between each letter, and had 2 - 3 different titles for each time I reposted.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Just set an alarm to remind you to repost it on CraigsList each day, Cindy.

The "flagging" happened to me once when I had either Magic Mountain or other theme park tickets. Every day my ad would disappear. In the title, I changed the spelling of the theme park name to have * in between each letter, and had 2 - 3 different titles for each time I reposted.

Unfortunately, copying and pasting the ad is okay to do, but the pictures get deleted and you have to do them all over again. So annoying.

By the way, just this afternoon, I rented HONO KOA with my Redweek ad that was expiring 8/8. So I am super excited that someone saw my ad. I cannot help but wonder if this post helped me rent it. It's whale season, and they already paid half.

So happy about that. I don't have to renew that ad again. What a relief.

 

[OldGuy]

There may be better, more effective, more convenient places to advertise than CL, but I dunno about them because I have never had to use them.



CL ad management is very simple if you wish to refresh it to page 1 every couple of days. You do have to repost and delete every 45 days. Photos I use are saved on my computer, so easy peasy.

I've done hundreds of CL ads, probably since it began, and it only takes a few minutes. I open my CL account, hit refresh, & it's done. Every 45 days I open it in two windows, and bing, bang, boom, ding, and it's done.

Flagging normally happens if you place multiple ads . . . the same ad under different titles . . . the same ad on more than one CL. Sometimes you get away with and sometimes you don't. Frinstance, when I advertise our FL Week for rent, or anything else, our location is smack between two CLs, and our location is related to both of the cities because of the location of county lines. So, I often get by with posting on both.

Of course, flagging can be done for inappropriate content. . . . Not all that different than the Report button here.

If someone flags you wrongly, a CL rep will take care of them for you. Granted, CL customer service is kinda hard to find, but it's there.

Can you believe it, people on the Internet sitting at their computers, poring through post or ads, looking for someone to badger.

Who would do that!!!!????



(Actually, for the unmoderated free-for-all folks like to say it is, it's pretty civil.)

(Been looking for a jet ski the last 1/2 hour. A couple of possibilities.)