shared family beach house - issue with damaged item

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cousin should have offered to pay full price, but OP is also being a jerk.

If an outdoor recreational item is left at a beach house in a “hey we all borrow stuff” sort of way, any reasonable adult would assume it’s the kind of thing where if it breaks, NBD and you replace it. No one would suspect that a freaking boogie board—a $20 item at Sunsations—would cost close to $300.

That’s as stupid as leaving a pair of Manolos in someone else’s closet. If an item is that expensive and that freaking precious (an irreplaceable color scheme, really?), you don’t leave it at someone else’s vacation house where you know darn well that people use other people’s stuff.

Like, the cousin was probably 100% prepared to pay $50 for a new boogie board, max. And here comes a $275 price tag, which is beyond stupid for a recreation item left at someone else’s house. Don’t be absurd.

But the norm isn't "hey we all borrow stuff". That's the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cousin should have offered to pay full price, but OP is also being a jerk.

If an outdoor recreational item is left at a beach house in a “hey we all borrow stuff” sort of way, any reasonable adult would assume it’s the kind of thing where if it breaks, NBD and you replace it. No one would suspect that a freaking boogie board—a $20 item at Sunsations—would cost close to $300.

That’s as stupid as leaving a pair of Manolos in someone else’s closet. If an item is that expensive and that freaking precious (an irreplaceable color scheme, really?), you don’t leave it at someone else’s vacation house where you know darn well that people use other people’s stuff.

Like, the cousin was probably 100% prepared to pay $50 for a new boogie board, max. And here comes a $275 price tag, which is beyond stupid for a recreation item left at someone else’s house. Don’t be absurd.

It was very obviously left in the "hey don't borrow this shed" instead of the "hey we all borrow stuff shed."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cousin should have offered to pay full price, but OP is also being a jerk.

If an outdoor recreational item is left at a beach house in a “hey we all borrow stuff” sort of way, any reasonable adult would assume it’s the kind of thing where if it breaks, NBD and you replace it. No one would suspect that a freaking boogie board—a $20 item at Sunsations—would cost close to $300.

That’s as stupid as leaving a pair of Manolos in someone else’s closet. If an item is that expensive and that freaking precious (an irreplaceable color scheme, really?), you don’t leave it at someone else’s vacation house where you know darn well that people use other people’s stuff.

Like, the cousin was probably 100% prepared to pay $50 for a new boogie board, max. And here comes a $275 price tag, which is beyond stupid for a recreation item left at someone else’s house. Don’t be absurd.

But the norm isn't "hey we all borrow stuff". That's the issue.

Well, things happen with kids/tweens/teens, don’t they? That’s why cousin should be paying full amount, but again: it’s absurd to leave an expensive, “irreplaceable item” anywhere but your own damn house, or a storage space that you are ***paying for.***

(I know paying for something like storage is a foreign concept to OP.)

If a cousin wanted to leave a pair of shoes at my family’s lake house for ease of use next summer, go ahead. But it’s nobody’s fault but yours if those shoes are Manolos and another cousin’s dog chews them up. Don’t be stupid with your expensive possessions. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Oh man, we would have replaced it with a $60 one. Who pays $275 for a boogie board to leave at someone else's house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to be really jealous of people who had "family beach houses" that they could use, then I found DCUM and found out that it probably sucks.

DCUM seems to be full of pretentious 40- and 50-somethings who don't actually own a beach house, they just mooch summer houses from parents, grandparents, in-laws, even aunts and uncles. Proletariat who think they're bourgeoisie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh man, we would have replaced it with a $60 one. Who pays $275 for a boogie board to leave at someone else's house?

Exactly this. This is a life lesson my 8-year-old and 5-year-old have already learned: you don’t bring expensive or irreplaceable items on vacation, and you don’t leave them in someone else’s keeping. If it’s that expensive and that precious (cOloR ScHeME), you take care of it yourself.

[Anonymous]

Cousin should have offered to pay full price but OP is also being petty. I think going forward there should be a ",if you don't want someone using it, put a note on it". That's what my brother and I do for our family beach house. We let friends and family use it, and because people fly in, they often buy stuff and leave it or use our stuff. If there is something in particular we don't want them using, it goes far away from the other stuff and has a note not to use it. I think having things be much more clear helps and what you all should do going forward. The different shed thing can be confusing and is much more likely to lead to something being used. That's not supposed to be.

[Anonymous]

Cousin should pay full price, but I have to say, you telling them they owe $275 for a damn boogie board is pretty rich.

And yes, it was used.

[Anonymous]

Does OP have proof he paid $275? No chance. If it was only used for 2 days (read milking the BRAND NEW spiel ), then it was clearly purchased on sale at the end of the season. Maybe it was originally priced at $275, but there's no chance some miser like OP paid that at the end of the season, to use for only two days, to then just put in some garage they wouldn't see for the next 6 months.

OP is a miser mooch. I guarantee this isn't the only instance of he and his family being obnoxious tightwad guests, hence even the aunt jumping in.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if it ever crossed OP's mind that they had no idea it was such a valuable item and truly cannot afford the full replacement cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if it ever crossed OP's mind that they had no idea it was such a valuable item and truly cannot afford the full replacement cost.

^^ I mean who would ever envision something as simple as a boogie board could cost that much? I wouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if it ever crossed OP's mind that they had no idea it was such a valuable item and truly cannot afford the full replacement cost.

It sounds from OP's initial post that cousin had some clue this wasn't a run of the mill boogie board. He did say he wanted to see how it rode. I'm assuming he wouldn't care to see how a normal boogie board rides...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if it ever crossed OP's mind that they had no idea it was such a valuable item and truly cannot afford the full replacement cost.

It sounds from OP's initial post that cousin had some clue this wasn't a run of the mill boogie board. He did say he wanted to see how it rode. I'm assuming he wouldn't care to see how a normal boogie board rides...

So he grabbed it out of the shared closet at the shared beach house…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You sicken me with your pettiness and greed.

It’s not pettiness and greed. I was a PP who said she should have accepted the 50% and never left anything there again, but come on. The house has rules that everyone has followed for 12 years, and the cousin broke them, and then acted like a cheap jerk. Not everyone is rich enough to replace an expensive item with no issue. But lesson learned, don’t leave anything expensive somewhere you may lose it.

But staying there for free(???!!!) ...surely one must have enough to replace this expensive it.

[Anonymous]

I have a feeling that this shared time at the beach is going to come to an end. Way to ruin it OP.