Sketchy Checklist

[Prospero Barela]

Commutingflight attendants don't live in the cities they're based in, meaning they have to find a place to crash when spending the night in their base cities. In many cases, flight attendants stay in shared spaces called "crash pads," which Insider described as hostels for airline workers. When crash pads aren't available, flight attendants must book hotel rooms or Airbnbs.

In September, Williams needed to spend a few nights in her base city, so she booked herself into a cheap hotel. Unfortunately, the property was "sketchy," but she didn't check out. Instead, she used the stay as an opportunity to share some safety tips with her TikTok followers. Here's what she had to say:

The phrase refers to the belief that one can distinguish regular mirrors from two-way mirrors by looking for a gap between an object and its reflection. Some believe that if there is a gap, then the mirror is "regular." However, Snopes said this test isn't full-proof.

"Transparent [two-way] mirrors are most obviously distinguishable from ordinary mirrors in that they're not hung on walls as ordinary mirrors are, but they're set into walls (or doors) as windows are. In other words, if there's a wall behind a mirror, the mirror is almost certainly an ordinary one; a transparent mirror would be part of the wall itself," Snopes said.

A spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) told Newsweek that hotel guests should also lock all windows, keep a flashlight and their hotel key on their nightstands, and take note of all fire exits.

Additionally, guests should "verify with the front desk the identity of anyone at your room door, including room service, before allowing them inside" and avoid mentioning room numbers "in the presence of other hotel guests," the spokesperson said.

Williams said she receives a $250 monthly stipend for commuter hotel costs in her base city, but she didn't want to spend the entire stipend in that one week. So, she booked a cheap hotel without looking at the reviews.

"Lodging and transportation [are] booked by the airline for flight attendants. There are rare circumstances where flight attendants may have to get their own transportation or lodging, [but] that will be reimbursed by the airline," they said.

Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. Sara joined Newsweek in 2021. She is a graduate of Florida State University. You can get in touch with Sara by emailing s.sa...@newsweek.com. Languages: English.

I recently sold a pretty expensive item on ebay, and when the item wasn't paid for i checked the buyers feedback out of curiosity. Now i understand sometimes items aren't paid for immediately, but this buyer in particular raised a lot of red flags immediately because 2-3 of his most recent feedbacks were for not paying for an item after winning the auction.

If thats not bad enough, the feedback he's left for others has me concerned as well, as he has gone off claiming that items he's recieved were not authentic/fake. This has happened multiple times from what i can see, and thats just from light skimming.

I want to cancel this purchase from him as i'm not 100% comfortable with sending him such an expensive item, i've tried contacting him directly and letting him know in a professional manner that payment is due soon and that i will raise a case of "item not paid" if he doesn't pay, and yet no response.

My question is, what fees are associated with this if i want to end the purchase earlier then usual. I know ebay says that i can raise a case withing 48 hours but i've had other buyers waiting to purchase the item before the timespan of the case could end.

When selling an $1100 pair of shoes via a seller account with 25 feedback comments, you're mostly going to get nothing but sketchy buyers. If you do get out of this transaction, I would not recommend relisting those here except perhaps for Local Pickup Only, in cash.

If he hasn't paid yet, stop sending emails and just file the Unpaid Item dispute as soon as you are able, which will be after 48 hours from end of listing. This is certainly not his first rodeo. If you do get paid, ship with Signature Confirmation. If you don't get paid, close it out as Unpaid as soon as possible, which will be after 96 hours (four full days) from the time you opened it. Put him on your Blocked Bidder List to avoid future problems, and don't list other big scammer targets in future unless you want this headache all over again. Harsh, I know, but that is the audience that such a listing as yours is going to attract, unfortunately.

Thats what im afraid of... this doesn't seem like the first time he's purchased a high price item and then claimed it was fake. i've done my due diligence with recording all the paperwork proving my item is authentic, but i've heard horror stories of ebay siding with buyers even if the seller recieves bricks. We'll see if he pays by friday, i've notified other buyers that i'm awaiting response from him.

Every single thing about this purchase screams scam to me, from the feedback, to having no contact, to the buyer having only a po box as a shipping address. If i lose these shoes i'll be out $1100 and i won't really have a way to track him down...

There are a few things you might consider. If your bidder is off-shore, have your non US payment block set up in Paypal. Do this EVEN if a US shipping address is given. Some folks of the scamming persuasion reside off shore.

Don't bother with the back and forth (I guess in this case no response yet from bidder, so only half right). Open the UPI 48 hrs after item ends, then wait another 4 days before being able to close is pretty standard stuff for bidders without all the other red flags. While it is unlikely your bidder will pay, UPI could be one option.

With the additional red flags and the knot in your gut, yes, you can cancel. ebay has yet to come up with a "shady/suspicious bidder on my item, I'd much rather not deal with further worsening a potentially bad and worrisome, for me, situation, and, frankly, I would rather not proceed all willy-nilly with this sale due to A,B, or C very legitimate reasons", option. So, I would use "buyer request", and take bidders silence as consent to do so. Some sellers have even been known to cancel a sale, and refund a payment that had already been made.

Yes. There may be consequences, depending on how things proceed. Defect, neg feedback, possible loss of fees. All of which can be taken up with ebay at the appropriate time. You have to weigh that vs your gut.

With his record, I'm curious at to why other sellers have not reported him - Because sellers can block buyers with 2 Unpaid Strike and with 4 Policy Violations. You could have avoided this buyer by setting your preferences on your listing to help weed out scam buyers.

OP - Emerald was giving you advice - the best advice we give everyone - do not list something here unless you can afford to lose it - it doesn't matter if you are a new seller or old - scammers hit everyone at one point. For new sellers like yourself - it's much worse.

You listed without knowing the downside of a listing such a high dollar amt item, you contacted the buyer about payment, you now would face a defect and lose your privileges to sell if you cancelled the sale - so you are backed into a corner. Here's hoping the buyer doesn't pay and you suffer no bad effects. Do not contact any other buyers - because 10-1 - you'll still end up scammed. Sorry to be such a debbie downer - but that is the way things are here when it comes to new sellers and in demand or high volume items.

Actually, having a PO Box is a good thing. You can't rent one without showing the post office some ID, and once the package arrives at the post office, it's as good as Delivered, with no risk of porch thefts, etc., to worry about.

First thing, bidder feedback. If bidder does have 2-3 neuts/negs as "positive" buyer feedback, you are ahead in the game. Pretty sure the bidder themselves has to report the "positive w/neg comments" to have it removed. May not know, or care.

On to your dilemna. First, as it would appear you ship US only, make sure your non US payment block in Paypal is set up to filter out buyers with physical addresses off-shore but who use US forwarding shippers address to get around your US only preference.

Chances are, buyer won't pay. Open UPI within 48 hrs, close claim in 4 days, recover fees.....is pretty standard fare for "normal" non-payers. The fact that yours raises additional red flags and gives you cause for concerns, it gets a little more dicey.

To the point, you can cancel. There may be consequences, defect, neg feedback, etc. You can read up on these further. ebay has yet to account for these additional red flags in terms of offering up a reason that fits, like "very suspicious buyer ahead, please slow down". Might use the "buyer request", in a round-about way, reasoning silence means consent?? In fact, it has been known to happen, sellers canceling items and even issuing refunds, even to buyers with no apparent red flags (raises buyers hand high!).

Tip 1: Invest in quality equipment.

I'll admit that when I was first starting out I didn't have a lot of spare money to spend on market supplies. A canopy, weights, tables, chairs, table clothes and display items all add up very quickly! I borrowed from friends and family for quite a few of my first markets (which made for a very eclectic display...yikes) until I had enough money to buy my own equipment.

When I was ready to invest in my own equipment, I made sure to spend a bit more on higher quality items to ensure I wouldn't be replacing tables or canopies after just one season. I still use the same folding tables and wagon! So save up to buy the better canopy, the sturdier tables and the more reliable wagon.

Tip 2: Do your homework

Research your potential market's online presence and even reach out to past vendors to get their opinions. Stalk the market's Instagram and check their tagged photos by previous vendors to find them! I'm very open to people asking about the quality of a market and I find most fellow vendors are just as forthcoming with information about their experiences, both the good and the bad.

Doing your homework also includes researching your location within the market. If you're doing the market solo...request a spot closer to the restrooms and food. If it's outside, consider which way the sun will pass over you so you're not baking in your booth or melting any perishable products. Plan your booth layout to provide shade for your customers so your booth is inviting on a hot day. And also make sure you plan for neighbors who may have unsightly booths...I always bring my canopy booth walls so I can block out the back of my booth and any messes around me. Always check the weather too to see if you should bring extra weights to hold your booth down in the wind!

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