Marriott Certs Sale

[igal6810]

selling 2x 35k nights $250 for 2 or 125 for 1

[olindacat]

IMO the $ should not be refunded to the buyer. He owns the cert and can use it for another stay or is responsible to re-sell it. That is why it is important to disclose at purchase that there is risk with international hotels, and the buyer should know the expiration and leave room for it to be used else where in case he is unsuccessful.

It is not fair to the seller, to sell a certificate and now he has to worry whether it will get returned to him, and now he has to try to sell it again

IMO it should be the reverse. The seller is making money, and the buyer is paying money to a stranger based on trust and the activity they see on this thread. I have bought here for int'l and everything worked. Imagine going all of the way across the pond, with a booking, only to be rejected/ Where is the accountability?

I'm surprised as moderator you would be advocating for the buyer to be burned. It is the responsibility of the seller to make dead sure they buyer can check in, and if not, the seller needs to be dead sure the property will return the certificate, and the seller needs to if anything compensate the buyer by arranging ground to another property in that city that will accept the certificate.

Just my opinion, but I see little if any protection for buyers here, and I want to buy!

[olindacat]

Sorry. Not trying to be inflammatory, but if I buy a certificate, the seller needs to be held accountable until the booking has gone perfectly. IMO.

[YitzyS]

Sorry. Not trying to be inflammatory, but if I buy a certificate, the seller needs to be held accountable until the booking has gone perfectly. IMO.

I think that there is a lot of merit for the risk to remain at the buyer, and I'll explain.

Whatever the policy is about who is responsible, the risk will be built into the standard rate of certs. If the risk transfers over to the seller, then naturally the price of the certs will rise. If the risk remains with the buyers, then sellers will be willing to sell certs at a lower price, because they don't have to deal with any headaches after the sale.

Being the the entire "industry" of selling certs is a bargain industry, as anyone who doesn't care spending money will just book the hotel outright, it is important to keep the prices low. If you transfer the risk to the seller and the prices rise, it sort of defeats the purpose of the entire thread.

All that being said, if the seller is at fault than obviously he should be accountable. Just my thoughts.

[olindacat]

I think that there is a lot of merit for the risk to remain at the buyer, and I'll explain.

Whatever the policy is about who is responsible, the risk will be built into the standard rate of certs. If the risk transfers over to the seller, then naturally the price of the certs will rise. If the risk remains with the buyers, then sellers will be willing to sell certs at a lower price, because they don't have to deal with any headaches after the sale.

Being the the entire "industry" of selling certs is a bargain industry, as anyone who doesn't care spending money will just book the hotel outright, it is important to keep the prices low. If you transfer the risk to the seller and the prices rise, it sort of defeats the purpose of the entire thread.

All that being said, if the seller is at fault than obviously he should be accountable. Just my thoughts.

That's a rational argument, but buying anything online is risky, and we all try to buy for 'less'. I buy points when they are cheap enough, but the service is not reduced. Most sellers of certificates have gotten them for their annual card renewal, so their annual fee is their hard 'cost'. Making a call to book a room, at the front desk for example, and getting a name, is not exactly hard work is I guess my point.

As a buyer one has no idea who the seller is, and how they are actually handling the booking. A seller could be negligent, lazy, etc., and the buyer is left holding the bag is my only point. Is there any recourse here for the buyer?

If we throw a seller under the bus, nobody will want to sell to us (I speak only for myself as a buyer. If I buy an 85K cert for the St Regis and show up and am denied the room, and seller tells me he can't get his cert back, how can I verify that?)

I've bought many certificates without issue here, so please don't mistake my posts as a being negative about sellers. I'm just trying to protect the buyers too :-)

[mochjas]

IMO it should be the reverse. The seller is making money, and the buyer is paying money to a stranger based on trust and the activity they see on this thread. I have bought here for int'l and everything worked. Imagine going all of the way across the pond, with a booking, only to be rejected/ Where is the accountability?

I'm surprised as moderator you would be advocating for the buyer to be burned. It is the responsibility of the seller to make dead sure they buyer can check in, and if not, the seller needs to be dead sure the property will return the certificate, and the seller needs to if anything compensate the buyer by arranging ground to another property in that city that will accept the certificate.

Just my opinion, but I see little if any protection for buyers here, and I want to buy!

First of all, I am not a mod... I am not advocating for a buyer to be burned. All I said was that if a seller sells the certificate, then that it what he is selling. The  buyer needs to do his research and make sure there will not be issues at the hotel he is using it at. Obviously if there is negligence by the seller as you said in your later post, then the seller is responsible.

It is not fair to a seller to sell in May, a certificate that expires in December, for a staying October and now the buyer cant check in, and he has 2 months to try to sell the certificate.

If a buyer needs a 100% guaranteed reservation, and does not want to be stranded, you should book a fully legitimate reservation in your name. You cannot expect to book a reservation thats not fully in your name and not have risk

[rileywiles23]

Selling 35k cert. 6/1 expiry @$115 obo

[olindacat]

First of all, I am not a mod... I am not advocating for a buyer to be burned. All I said was that if a seller sells the certificate, then that it what he is selling. The  buyer needs to do his research and make sure there will not be issues at the hotel he is using it at.

Apologies. I thought you were a moderator. I saw all of the stars by your name and was confused. Sorry.

But IMO sellers are not selling physical certificates. If I buy one, I do not have any control. None. Zero. I cannot book a thing with said certificate. I am totally 100% trusting the seller to do the right thing. If I call referencing a certificate I bought, I risk hurting the seller and myself. If I call and ask if I can check-in as an 'additional guest', my mileage will vary.

Obviously if there is negligence by the seller as you said in your later post, then the seller is responsible.

I want to buy, and have bought, in the past. So it is in my best interests to promote the sale off these things, as I want to buy them. But there is zero recourse here for buyers, and all I am trying to do is see if other buyers want some kind of protection. Maybe not. Maybe I'm just a PITA and if so I am sorry for that! If I don't raise a concern, my bad....

It is not fair to a seller to sell in May, a certificate that expires in December, for a staying October and now the buyer cant check in, and he has 2 months to try to sell the certificate.

Buyers and seller are motivated by greed. My only point is there needs to be some way to provide protection for all parties. Some kind of way to do this. I have read a few posts here where the argument is on the seller's behalf. I was just voicing a buyer's perspective. I see your point about someone tying up a certificate. Don't have all the answers by any means....

If a buyer needs a 100% guaranteed reservation, and does not want to be stranded, you should book a fully legitimate reservation in your name. You cannot expect to book a reservation thats not fully in your name and not have risk

Why can't the risk be shared?

[Pickles]

I think the risk is shared. Buyer should know that there is always a chance that they will be denied a check in due to the absence of the primary guest. If you somehow stumbled upon this forum and didn't read anything at all and ended up buying a cert with zero research, that's completely on the buyer. Now, I personally will refund the $ if the cert goes back to my account (again every seller can set their own rules such as @mochjas ) but I think I want buyers to fully understand that they won't get their money back if the property rejects them and lets the reservation go to waste/no-show (and now we're talking about international properties, and properties in Florida lately). There should no complaining when you're trying to book 85k night at a discount and are fully aware that technically I'm supposed to be there checking in also.

Maybe if we add a little caveat to the seller's posts it'll be easier, something like:

"Selling 1x 85k FNC, exp xx/xx, $xxx. NO refunds if the property rejects 2nd guest check in, and the FNC is not returned back to the seller's account."

Also, I personally want buyers to understand that if it's a standard room with 1 bed, and they are a 2nd guest, bringing a 4 person family probably will not work out.

[Yehudaa]

Selling one 85k cert @ $400. Expires April 2024.

Platinum account. Can top up.

[shapsam]

Selling 2x 35k award, same gold account, $140 each.

[Belmar Boy]

Selling 35K night
Exp. 6/3/23
Gold account
$130 OBO

Bump

[Rivky]

Selling 1 35k cert $120 expires June 2

[Kumaraswamy83]

Have 4 cert for sale.

2 50k expiring - Jan 10 & Sep 12 -$275 each
2 85k expiring - Feb 03 & May 04 - $500 each

Platinum account. Will top up upto @15k @0.8 cpp

Bump

[igal6810]

Selling 1x 35k certificate. Expires June 2nd. $105

also selling 1x 35k night same account expiring July 2nd $125

[S209]

I am totally 100% trusting the seller to do the right thing. If I call referencing a certificate I bought, I risk hurting the seller and myself. If I call and ask if I can check-in as an 'additional guest', my mileage will vary.

It is the seller’s obligation to make the booking, and in order to receive positive feedback here (and to be a good person) they should additionally do whatever they can to make it work if guest is refused check-in (such as being available and calling the hotel and the hotel chain if need be).

With all that said, it is ridiculous for the buyer to assume the seller will eat the loss if the buyer made a poor decision when buying the cert/choosing the location. Do your own research before purchasing certs on the gray market. Caveat emptor. Please don’t conflate the seller’s obligations or lack thereof with additional protections you think they should be offering.

I have bought and sold many certs on the forums.

[aaa]

Selling 2 x 35k nights that expire next year for $135

[mimb]

Any experience using certs in Canada, specific Quebec City? Do they care about names like some other countries?

[momo]

@rileywiles23 tnx for smooth transaction. Buying 1 more night for $90 pm me

[igal6810]

Selling 1x 35k certificate. Expires June 2nd. $105

also selling 1x 35k night same account expiring July 2nd $125