3 guys one hammer official video

I realize this is a niche situation but it bothered me so much I wanted to share here.
For years I’ve shopped at Eddie Bauer, it makes up maybe 80% of my daily wardrobe and I’ve never had an issue. All of my shopping is done at the retail location in VV mail.
The last time I had a problem was about 2 years ago when one of their fleece jackets zipper broke after a couple months. Since they have a 365 day warranty and it was a defect issue there was no problem.
So yesterday I stop by with my autistic son to buy a pair of dress socks for him and noticed some cool looking hemp button up shirts that were 50% off which was a pretty good deal so I snagged 3 of them. And since my son is not cool with me going into dressing rooms (and because I’ve shopped there for maybe 20 years and know their sizing) I just grabbed them off the rack.
Service was friendly and we exchanged a few jokes and paid for the shirts and left.
So this morning it’s a nice sunny day and I think hey what a great day to wear my new hemp shirt. So I pop the tag and put it on, but hold up - the shirt fits like ass, it has a broad lapel that goes halfway down my chest and so I think “ok swing and a miss, I’ll take these back this afternoon.”
So I bring the 3 shirts back with the receipt less than 24 hours later thinking no problem, same couple of people working this afternoon too, so this should be a breeze.
Right away I notice there’s a problem, the cashier who sold me the shirts doesn’t look happy to see me again. I make a joke and some small talk as she scowls and take the shirt out of the bag.
“Did you take the tag off?” She asks.
Well yeah I said I tried it on and thought I was going to wear it so of course I took the tag off. But what difference does it make?
YOU HAVE A 365 DAY RETURN POLICY AND ITS BEEN LESS THAN 24 HOURS.
But apparently this is not the case.
According to the store workers, if you remove a tag, there is no return.
“What do you think, I wore the shirt last night and decided I’d just “borrow” it and get my $35 back the next day?”
“Well if you didn’t do that why would you have taken the tag off?”
So things went downhill from there. This policy is nowhere on the EB website and not mentioned at all in their 365 day return policy - only that you return with a receipt within a year of your purchase.
Again this was purchased less than 24 hours ago, never worn, and returned with receipt.
But because I removed the tag I was told I had to suck it up and take the loss.
So BUYER BEWARE, I realize I’m speaking to maybe 12 people on this subreddit that shop at Eddie Bauer LOL…
But don’t take that tag off!
Oh and I did get my refund, it wasn’t pretty but I was enormously insulted not only by the “policy” but how I was treated by the staff after spending $$$ over many years which was clear from my rewards account (with maybe 3 returns in the past decade).
Sorry guys had to rant 😜

Just finished my (M19) first year at college and I had a pretty gross roommate. Aside from being disgustingly messy, he was deaf and very horny. Basically every day, while I was in the room, he would jerk off in his bed, and it would be loud. I guess he didn’t know it made sound. I can only describe the sound as sticking your fist in and out of a large tub of mac and cheese repeatedly. And every time, he would go into a birth giving position and I would even be able to see his hand going up and down, so there’s no way this sound could be anything else. He even kept is moisturizer right on his bed for everyone to see.
The worst part of it was that he would cum in his sheets and leave it, so it would sometimes stink up the room BAD. There were visible stains on his sheets and idk if he ever washed them. Me and my friends held a black light up to his area once and it was disturbing. By the end of the year he wasn’t even laying on a fitted sheet, he was just raw dogging his mattress.
The first time it happened, I walked into the room and heard the Mac and cheese, so I instantly left and waited in the lounge. That happened a bunch of times and then at a certain point he would start doing it while I was already in the room. At that point I was like fuck it, if it’s like that then ima just stay in here and pop my AirPods in.
I was like grossed out but I also thought it was kind of funny and a fun story to tell people. One day I had the door and windows open to air out the room cause it stunk, and he started jerking off, not even caring that people could prolly see him from the door. I decided to take a video of him cause I thought it was funny. I showed my parents it over winter break and they made me delete it tho smh.
On the first day of the second semester, I came back to my room and didn’t notice that he was there too cause he sometimes blends into his bed, and so I was unpacking. Then I heard the Mac and cheese sound and instinctually looked over to the sound. My roommate and I locked eyes. I was like, fuck. But it turned out to be a great thing because after that, he stopped jerking off while I was in the room. I guess it was at that moment that he realized jerking off isn’t silent.
He didn’t stop doing it all together tho, sometimes I’d wake up in the middle of the night and hear it and be like god damn it and I’d have to put my air pods in. I also would walk in on him doing it pretty often but at least he’d stop once he saw me walk in. He never even locked the door tho so it’s like bruh.
When my parents came up to move me out, I left the room for 5 minutes to let my them in the building and when we came back, he had already started jerking off, and my dad didn’t know and like waved to him, and my roommate took his hand out and like awkwardly waved back.
So yeah that was my first college dorming experience. Honestly it wasn’t the worst cause we were in a triple, so my bed wasn’t directly next to his bed so I felt like I at least had my own little area, which I kept VERY neat. Lmk if you guys have any questions cause there’s def stuff I left out.

Since people liked me ranking the faction knight sets, I thought I’d come back and rank all types of knight sets present in the game. I managed to find 28 in my own stock and the wiki and was able to test out a majority of them in combat. So let’s see which fan favorites and slept on get swept under the rug or come out on top.
Now obviously heavy knight/endgame sets will have a blatant advantage over others so I will emphasize what I think is the best early to mid game armor set (start to when you first enter Leyndell Royal Capital) around when we reach the top 12. I’m judging based off weight and all defense stats and only, immunity, robustness, and poise. So let’s dive right in!
28: The Zamor Knight Set
Now when it comes to rankings like these there’s always gonna be the objective worst set, and here it’s so obvious it kind of hurts. Zamor knight set is the armor you wear if you wanted to dual wield two colossal weapons and that’s pretty much it. It ranks dead last consistently in everything and has solid robust resistance and that’s about it. Being the lightest armor basically means you can live out your fantasy of wielding the greatsword and the fingerprint shield at the same time and not heavy roll. Other than that, it’s just worth having in your inventory.
27: The Drake Knight Armor
What is with this game and having a lot of endgame armor just outright suck. Don’t get me wrong, ranking this by drip, it’s incredible. But holy cow is almost as bad viably as Zamor. The only thing this armor has going for it is its weight and truly that’s it. I was almost tempted to rank it last because at least Zamor is alright with Frost resist. However Drake still at least outperforms it almost everywhere else so putting Zamor ahead doesn’t really feel right.
26: The Carian Knight Armor
I want to meet the guy who designed the stats for this set because whoever did absolutely does not like Carian’s lmao. For some bizarre reason it mirrors the faction knight sets in a lot of it’s numbers but is always one decimal off for every stat. Making this objectively worse than all of them. It’s got solid magic and fire resist but as I’m saying that, you might as well just go for the Cuckoo knight set which is basically the direct upgrade.
25: The Bloodhound Knight Armor
This one kinda hurts me, hands down the most unique set of the bunch and the lore of these guys is cool as shit. But everything about this one is just kinda meh for defense. It’s not last in a lot like the other 3 but it doesn’t exactly have an exact niche situation you can use like the Carian and Zamor. It does boast pierce defense but it’s kinda the average anyways. As far as drip armor goes you can certainly do worse when it comes to stats.
24: The Eccentric Knight Armor
You get this set after killing Jerren either in Sellen’s hideaway or invading him and as far as side quest rewards go. Meh. At the point in time you’ll probably get this set, you’ll probably come across better sets. It does have better stats than a majority of the sets we’ve just talked about but all but the Carian you have to go out of your way to get like this one vs others that are not only better stat wise but easier to find, leaving you with no reason to really wear it outside of drip.
23: The Standard Knight Armor
Ah the infamous set many players put on to face Margit and Godrick. And for good reason because it is the perfect set for the beginning of the game…..afterwards this set falls of hard. Technically in regards to **EARLY, early game this is about the best you can get save for a few if you have the patience to farm them. It is the perfect definition of average, average defense, average resist, it is pretty close to the median when putting all the sets stats against each other. But once you claim your first great run, it’s probably best you set your sights on an upgrade as the new enemy types and damage will punish hard if you stick with this. But for the very start, it’s hard to say no.
22: The Fingerprint Knight Armor
Definitely up there as one of my favorite sets look wise. Definitely one of the weaker ones stat wise. It’s got some things going for it. It’s fire defense and robustness are really solid all things considered but apart from that it’s very similar to the standard knight armor. I also find it peculiar that Vyke known for his relationship with Lannsseax and lightning incantations has the second worst lightning defense of all of them. I get the fire defense and robust being as high as it is but not that.
21: The Briar Knight Armor
One of the champion sets you can get after defeating great enemies. And when it comes to knight’s it is by far the weakest one. That sounds harsh because what ya see is what ya get. For a heavier weight than all the sets we’ve talked about you get mildly better stats than all of em. But where it surprisingly seems to shine is having the best robustness of any medium weight armor. So if ya need to hit an enemy hard and are worried about frost or bleed, this might be your best bet
20: The Vagabond Knight Armor
The biggest lie Elden Ring tells you is that the standard knight’s set is better than the starter class one. Like I said in regards to Limgrave and Stormveil, the standard does indeed reign supreme. But in the long run, the vagabond set does seem to outclass it as you move along when coming across enemies with weapons and combos that inflict more than one type of damage and build up. So while yes for innate physical damage the standard is supreme. It won’t hold out when the game decides to add more later on
19: The Haligtree Knight Armor
I’ve already talked about the faction knights sets in the past so here’s the quick notes version. Some stats are really good for a medium weight armor and some are just outright abysmal. It’s a set that’s so all over the place with it’s only true talent being it’s holy defense. Other than that, you have no reason to not put on the other faction sets
18: The Redmane Knight Armor
Initially this is what I considered to be the worst faction knight set. But upon closer inspection, I gotta say it outclasses the Haligtree by a hair. Aside from Holy it does better in every other type of elemental damage, the Haligtree has the worst poise of any faction knight. So in the field surprisingly so the Redmane set does indeed outclass by just a tiny bit
17: The Cuckoo Knight Armor
When it comes to pure magic defense, you won’t find a medium armor better than this one. Boasting the highest second to Carian while not compromising on other stats like the other two faction and Carian sets do. And given magic enemy abundance in Elden Ring, this one can stick around a lot longer than the other two
16: The Mausoleum Knight Armor
Man if this had a helmet I would call this the best faction knight set. But alas I cannot. Sure the lack of a helmet makes for a lighter load, but it also opens you up to a lot more hp and posture damage than all the others combined. Now obviously in game you’d remedy this by attaching a helmet but I’m talking the pure sets themselves without modification. So I can’t exactly rank this higher despite it’s amazing medium armor stats
15: The Leyndell Knight Armor
This one has definitely risen since I ranked the faction sets, carrying a lot of the highs of the Haligtree set with only a few lows and carrying solid lightning defense. The best of the faction knight’s in fact and rivals a few of the heavy armors. If you really need the lightning defense boost, this is the one
14: The Godrick Knight Armor
Technically the best knight set you can get the earliest. You just have to have the skill and patience to farm the same enemy several dozen times. Because it’s physical defense compared to weight is one of the best you can get out of all of these. Only faltering in fire but that’s not the worst thing. This armor can easily carry you through the entire game but if you’re willing to go through some extra trouble there is one mid game armor better than this
13: The Gelmir Knight Armor
This one’s the complete package, it keeps all of Godrick Knight’s great physical while improving it’s elemental defense. On all objective measures it is the best faction knight set and is the best early-mid game medium knight set you can get in the game
12: The Night’s Cavalry Armor
However the overall best medium armor set you can get in Elden Ring is the Night’s Cavalry set. To the point where it kinda borders on just being the weakest heavy. Taking every strength from the faction knight sets and combining them into this ultimate result
11: The Cleanrot Knight Armor
We’ve now entered the Heavy Armor section of the list where all these armors are just objectively better than anything we’ve discussed so far and the only thing this comes down to is weight requirements. And Cleanrot is definitely the weakest of the bunch but does have some surprising strengths namely in it’s pierce defense and very high immunity making this ideal for mob clearing especially in the Haligtree and Caelid
10: The Crucible Tree Knight Armor
This is a weird one to talk about since these two sets share gauntlets and boots. So going off just the helmet and armor. The tree knight is slightly weaker than it’s axe variant. It’s clear strength is having the highest holy damage of any knight armor in the game bar none. Making this the ideal set to go with for the final boss. While still having solid physical defense. Although having a surprising weakness to fire damage (I mean it is a tree) but it is definitely a holy damage go to
9: The Crucible Axe Knight Armor
First off why in the hell is it called the Axe knight; any lore experts explain this part to me? Basically the only reason this thing excels over the tree variant is because it also has strong holy defense and doesn’t stink at fire.
That’s all
8: The Royal Knight Armor
Best Magical defense knight set in the game. It isn’t just oh it’s good for a knight set. It’s just flat out great for magical enemies. I will say it does struggle with mediocre robustness and especially poise given it’s a heavy set. But I think the trade off is pretty obvious here and worth it.
7: The Draconic Tree Sentinel Knight Armor
Imagine being known for lightning and you still don’t have the best lightning defense. Okay that’s mean, so while it doesn’t have the highest, it at least has the second highest and perhaps that’s better given which set does have the #1 spot in that regard. It’s definitely one of the more well rounded sets and doesn’t really struggle anywhere making this one of the better armors to main when just exploring.
6: The Scaled Knight Armor
Technically speaking this is the best mid game knight armor you can find, the only catch is by the time you find it, you’ll probably be heavy rolling it just with the armor alone, so Gelmir is still probably your best bet for the mid game. But if you’re a complete psychopath who only leveled endurance and uses the great jar talisman. Then this is the best mid game armor.
5: The Best Champion’s Knight Armor
The top 5 are just flat out some of the best armor you can get in the game, most of which are locked behind tedious farming or very tough traversal/fights. Recusant Bernhal’s armor. Having one of the most well-rounded physical defense of any set regardless of knight. Strong immunity and robustness. And elemental damage not too far behind, it’s one of the best armors you can get. If you can defeat his bs invasion that is.
4: The Bull-Goat Knight Armor
Technically speaking, this is the best armor in the game purely on defense. It ranks number 1 in like half of the defenses, and even at it’s worst it is still top 5 in the game. However one thing hold it’s back from being the number one knight set in Elden Ring. That being its weight. Weighing nearly 40lb’s this armor is reserved for very late game, post game and arguably just NG+. Because with 60 Endurance you will still be medium rolling this just on the armor by itself. That’s not adding the talismans you’ll be using, and the various weapons. It’s why you never see invaders and coop users wearing this full set because it’s just not worth it because it severely limits your weapon options. What good is the best defense if you can’t even put on an offense. But if you can manage with this weight and have an ideal light weight weapon. Then yeah this is the best armor.
3: The Banished Knight’s Armor
One of the most annoying to get in it’s peak form. The unaltered Banished Knight set offers some of the best bang for you buck defense to weight. Having only the 4^th heaviest weight of the knight armors and consistently ranking in the top 3 for all stats and being the best for Slash. It’s one of the best sets to fully main all it’s components, whereas the top 2 often see more customization, but are objectively better and more feasible to pull of if you’re willing to put in the work.
2: The Tree Sentinel Knight’s Armor
Ironic the first knight you see is one of the best armors period. Having the best elemental defense of any Knight’s set ranking exclusively number one with fire. And number 2 in the rest. The physical defense is also rock solid. It’s the godrick knight of heavy armor. Master of none.
1: The Lionel’s Knight Armor
Don’t act surprised, everyone wears this armor at some point when they think the damage is what’s causing them to die so much to this boss. And Y’know what they’re probably right. The best physical defense and second highest elemental defense of any armor. Capping the stat at 99 for robustness on it’s armor. This is the armor you wear after being all about drip until you reach Malenia and Radagon. It’s just lying around in Leyndell so you don’t even need to go through the bs that is farming or questing. Underwhelming result but it is indeed the best knight armor in all of Elden Ring.

i met this guy on hinge and he seemed like a chill vibe. Based off of his photos he seemed to be someone i would be attracted to. dark complexion, medium build , introverted, and kind of nerdy. We had matched, exchanged numbers, and developed somewhat of a connection but nothing serious. we had mutual interest like video games, and x-men comics. i wanted to get to know him better outside of messaging and asked him if he wanted to see a movie. he responded with “i would love to, but i am currently not working and wouldn’t be comfortable with you paying for your own ticket on the first date.” i found that commendable, and understood that it was currently hard to get a job in our city at the moment (Toronto/GTA AREA). as we continued to talk he became eager to meet me in person, and asked if we could go on a walk. i agreed, but he proposed that we meet him somewhere five minutes away from his house, which was a 30 minute drive away from mine. i expressed that i didn’t feel comfortable doing that because i didn’t see the difference in paying for my own movie and paying for my own gas there and back to see someone for the first time. he also didn’t offer to meet anywhere in between which i would’ve been fine with. for context he told me he didn’t drive or have his license. he agreed with my sentiments and apologized, so we met somewhere in between the both of us. we walked around a local mall for an hour and i told him where to meet me. he had a little bit of trouble but we saw each other and embraced each other with a hug. he then pressed me for not giving him better details on where he could find me but i never thought anything of it. if i’m going to be honest i expected him to look different. firstly he lied about his height, which didn’t make any sense to me but whatever i don’t care for height. i also noticed his hygiene was off. he had insanely cracked dry skin, peeling lips, foam in the corner of his mouth, and an insane amount of build up under his long finger nails. i ignored it and just continued to walk and talk. i notice he couldn’t hold a conversation for his life making it very awkward but i sympathized with him, as he could’ve been nervous. time goes by we’re just walking, window shopping and then he asks for us to go get patties. we went to the patty shop, i bought a patty and he bought one. he noticed the hiring sign, and while on the date he filled out an application for that job. while he was filling out the application i was planning an exit in my head out of this situation. i found it a bit awkward and maybe rude to do so on your first date with someone. i didn’t say anything and then we went home. i went to my car and asked if he needed a ride. he said no, i drove here. at this point i wanted a gun to shoot my self. he had already told me he doesn’t have his license so i was confused how he drove here and why he wanted me to drive all the way to his end of the city if he could drive. i confronted him and told him i thought he didn’t drive. he told me its his dads car and he just takes it sometimes. we then hugged and went our separate ways. the next day he messages me talking about the kind of relationship he wants and tells me he just wants a sexual relationship but nothing serious. i was thinking of a response as this was random and we never had this convo or any conversation like this before. but as time went on i couldn’t think of a reply and ended up ghosting him. do you think i was justified in my actions, or should i have made a better effort to come up with a response?

Warning: abuse
At 19F in the middle of active alcoholism 3 years after my mom went to jail for murder for hire, I was a SW (looking?) for a SD? - while out at a bar I got approached by a 43M that I found attractive and very charismatic. Thinking we’d end up having “fun”, I returned the honest sentiment of attraction. We stayed together 2.5 years after that. He was a Chemist who laughed and made light of everything, his alcoholism and drug addiction became apparent from the beginning, but not to the extent that it got to/really was.
Like all relationships, things started out fun, a very Glee movie summer-like love, very free-ing. He was a Doctor of chemistry and worked in the oil field prior to my meeting him, because of his living situation and luxury cars he seemed like he was doing well. He never was any type of SD. The night I met him, we made eye contact and never looked away. Our chemistry, pun intended- was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
I’m the youngest, not the smartest nor prettiest. I quit my jobs because I simply didn’t want to work sometimes, I made a lot of mistakes and I’ve been in the receiving end of family based bullying and school bullying, SA, R@p€, abandonment and trust issues, I’m bipolar, I practice/d SH, depression, GAD… things of the human condition that make it feel like I’m faulty.
This man was the first person that ever sat with me and listened to me vent to the extent that I did the first tight we spent together. We rarely had sex, but we shared breaths as we slept, (he inhales my breath as I exhale his breath, vise-versa and so on and so forth) to keep it brief and give example. He’s the most intimate partner I’ve ever experienced.
I notice others micro expressions and cater to their benefit if it seems they are troubled or asking for help.
I’m having so much trouble these days accepting the fact that I’m never going to meet him again. Specifically because he was so attentive and catering to my needs. He knew immediately when I was masking. I’m so confused and perplexed about the feeling of not having anyone in my life that has that interest in me. I felt so understood. That’s been my first and last experience with feeling understood like that.
He drank from morning to night nonstop. Together we became aware of what alcoholism was. Brown urine, blood, pain… regret that then led to arguments, accidents, threats, drugs, danger, fear turned to bonding, helping each other, trying to get better, failing. Trying again. Do it all over again. Fail. Again and again.
We managed to get sober a few days. His parents loved me. I understood and loved him. He hadn’t been sober for that long and trying for a long time. He was doing better, that’s what his mom would say.
Every relapse got harder, more dangerous medically and physically as well as economically.
Sleep deprivation was torture I hadn’t experienced before. I would be awoken with yelling because of delirium, anger and he would degrade me so badly. Use that bond we had against me, my own experiences turned against me he’d repeat the insults I shared with him to me. Yell those at me. Then love bomb. Then threaten me and my family with guns. I lived in fear when he blacked out. Felt lonely because with all of the yelling, smashing things around, being stared at by neighbors crying, being called an idiot dumbass in front of people and them witnessing me at a low point and then, agreeing with him? No neighbor knocked after crying and yelling to see if anyone was ok or dying. Public shame feels so. Fucking. Lonely. Isolation doesn’t help.
He stopped functioning. His body started giving out. I loved him. Took care of him cleaned his wounds after falls, his body after incontinence. He literally shed blood, shit and tears, regret and asked for forgiveness when I cared for him in his sober state.
In return, I’d receive non stop verbal abuse if I didn’t stop and do what he wanted me to at the time he wanted me to and how he wanted me to. If I didn’t give him my attention he’d end up getting it by threatening my family. And he would! Fight my brother and go after him with loaded guns. So there I would go do what he said. Forced to ride in a vehicle, with him locking the doors, blasting Phil Collins yelling at me. Driving erratically, dangerously. And I’d be so fucking scared of crashing. Just imagining the police report, “f19 dead alongside 43m after drunk reckless driving”. He’d speed in traffic so I couldn’t really jump out the car. I’d end up just drinking to numb the fear.
I had enough and attempted to sleepies forever by taking a sweet deadly cocktail of whatever handful of pills I could get my hands on. We had plastic gallon moving boxes filled with narcotics- he was a pharmacist too. I told him I was going to KMS he said go ahead, so I attempted and I filmed it.
From the setting up the phone in that closet, the one I color coordinated for him, his button-ups and suits in those dry-cleaning bags that hadn’t been opened since leaving the laundry shop… I watched my su!c!d€ afterwards. Out of morbid curiosity. “What a dumbass!” was what he said when he found me. I won’t go into detail of the full video but chest compressions hurt a lot, 10/10 would not recommend. And EMS left the AED stickers on my chest 🤷🏽‍♀️
After that 24hr watch, an awkward taxi drive to a crisis clinic that was understaffed and left me in a room by myself for two hours and walking in public with those see-through paper hospital clothes. Embarrassment is a light expression. When I was taken home, I didn’t have keys, or phone, or anything. Just my discharge papers and my cut vomit stained pajamas in a biohazard bag. - I lived in a gated neighborhood with key-fob-entry-only. I was fucked and waited what seemed like 4 hours for anyone to help me but no one showed up until HE did WITH MY BROTHER. The one who was threatened with a gun, that brother.
JFC the amount of insults, “what a fucking dumbass, what were you thinking? You’re a fucking idiot!” To summarize in the friendliest way. I was dressed in a see through hospital gown, I went straight to the shower, didn’t have the energy to get dressed when they kept just YELLING at me. INSULTING me- I had enough and wanted to defend myself. That’s when my brother pulled out his phone and started filming me pleading with them to let me sleep, calling me crazy, threatening to “show the family how fucking crazy you are!” - I threw my phone. Broke the microwave door. More insults, while still filming me, I was ordered to, “clean it up” - and at that moment. Completely detached, I did.
I put my brother on the soon-est bus to Mexico and sent him to rehab after 2 hell filled weeks of him living with us because he was so fucked in alcoholism he was homeless. To this day I don’t know how I did that.
I managed to leave my ex. 2 weeks later I receive calls from worried friends. Ryan was missing.
After investigating, (calls to police,hospitals, checking out the “usual” spots) - turns out he went to a Circle K looking for Peroni after the liquor store wouldn’t sell to him, tripped on the steps, hit his head on the pavement, STILL MANAGED TO PURCHASE ALCOHOL, left, got into a fight, and somehow miraculously ended up in his apartment where he tried to shower, fell face forward towards the water tap, (which left a softball sized bruise on his right eye and fractured his nose) he then tried to walk towards the kitchen? Passed out in the living room leaving blood all over the walls, puddles on the ground and the biggest blood clot stain on the floor ( we had to get crime scene cleaners). He apparently had a fit where he trashed the apartment by throwing my things, my plants, bottles of crown… anything. Everything was trashed when I found him in the apartment. I counted at LEAST 20 bottles of crown. He was so fucked up we thought he had been assaulted.
COVID hit and hospitals were in full lockdown. As an “essential worker” I could travel to the hospital to see him, and because someone somewhere said I was his wife/fiancée I was the ONLY one allowed to see him.
I snuck behind friends and family’s backs checking in on him at the hospital. Singing The Carpenters songs, wearing his favorite perfumes, reading Bill’s Story (IYKYK), playing Phil Collins. The whole 9 yards.
The last time I saw him, he was in Physical therapy/Rehab. He ended up moving back to his parents in California. Then February the next year, on Valentine’s Day - his mom let me know he passed.
She grieved very much attached to me. It was one of the saddest things I ever had to help someone through - alongside helping her son go through alcoholism.
I became a CNA as a tribute to helping him during those hard sober times where his body gave out. Helping others like that, bathing them, diaper changing, g-tube cleaning, hygiene essentials…
The classic grief started with what-if’s. Etc. it’s been hard lately because all my family is against him and his family resents me for being the only one with access to his medical records during COVID. I’m in a relationship now and our therapist told me to “put a break on it”. Recently. My mental illnesses keep getting worse and I feel like no other has taken such interest in me as much as Ryan did. He was so observant. So in-sync with me. And he was so shitty to me. He’s like the sweetest tasting radioactive flower that once was and will never be. And I’m grieving. And it’s so lonely out here.
I don’t know. I’m not suicid@l, I’m medicated and 4 years sober. It’s been hard and it’s getting harder to understand. I feel neglected and lonely. Anything helps please.

I am somewhat new to anole keeping, and I have had my little guys for about 3 months now. I adopted two females after using them for a research project in one of my college courses, and they were very healthy, eating well, and high energy. I brought home a third female from the same research group about a month later and introduced them, and then one of the anoles stopped eating a couple weeks after that. I tried hand feeding, I tried new foods, and I even tried separating them. She was basking less and more lethargic, but still green most of the time. She seemed to be turning a corner a couple days ago, but the poor thing died this morning. Temperature and humidity are okay and the same as they had been. I feed crickets, soldier fly larvae, and occasional mealworms. The other two anoles are healthy, active, and happy, but I’m worried now that I’m doing something wrong and they will not make it. I have lots of leaves, sticks, plants, and basking spots for them, there’s hardly any empty space on the floor of the enclosure. I mist them frequently to keep the humidity up and the temperature is never too low.

TLDR at the end
F28 with Ovarian Cancer I am really struggling with medical negligence not just from one doctor, but multiple. Just an FYI this is a long post about my overall experience since getting diagnosed with cancer and learning I have an underlying autoimmune disorder(s). I’ve been dealing with a lot of discrimination because I’m young and “healthy looking” and doctors constantly dismiss me or discriminate me for some reason and I’m tired of it. I’ve been sick and disabled since last November and I had a great job and was running my own business but lost everything because of negligent doctors and cancer.
I originally posted this on legaladvice because I thought maybe I had a case but at this point I don’t even know if I have a case or not and I’m starting to just accept that this is how this shitty system works. Anyways I thought I’d at least share my experiences with the medical field in the US specifically in LA California. I imagine I’m not the only person who has gone through this and that many people who are struggling with disabilities face these kind of obstacles when navigating the healthcare system here. I’ve had to learn how to advocate for myself and I only hope that my post and experience helps those struggling with their health.
In order for me to advocate for myself I’ve had to basically become just as knowledgeable about my condition(s) to get the proper care. I’ve had to fight for my diagnosis and proper treatment and had I not been looking up my symptoms, possible diagnosis, lab work results, I may have died or came to the verge of it had I fully trusted any of the doctors I’ve come into contact with. Always do your own research using trusted resources and have someone with you who can help advocate for you when you can’t advocate for yourself. Not only am I dismissed for being a female but also for being young and healthy looking despite having serious debilitating symptoms.
For two years I was seeing a rheumatologist for an underlying autoimmune disorder(s) like SLE OR MS and was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Primary immunodeficiency, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, CIDP and still being investigated for more issues.
In November I decided to go on a LOA because my flares were starting to become more frequent and severe. My psychiatrist was the one who filled out the LOA paperwork for the time from Nov-Dec because I was hesitant to ask my Rheumatologist. I was told by my rheumatologists office that filling out LOA paperwork was $300 out of pocket and at the time I didn’t have that money so my psychiatrist signed it because I was also struggling with my mental health and family issues that time.
I was supposed to go back to work in January but at the start of the new year I got really sick and my flares started to ramp up again so I had to request a new LOA. My psychiatrist couldn’t help me with my LOA paperwork anymore because it was more health related now and told me to go see my rheumatologist. I was still hesitant because of the fee and then when I was about to see my rheumatologist again and get my bloodwork done I got a surprise bill from the lab where I get my bloodwork done for $400 after insurance. They wouldn’t let me get additional tests until I paid the fee and I couldn’t see my rheumatologist until I had my bloodwork done. I made an appointment with my rheumatologist anyways but the soonest I could get wasn’t until after the LOA deadline in March. I also couldn’t get any disability benefits until that LOA form was filled out by my doctor so I had no income to pay for any of this.
I ended up in the Emergency Room on 2/16/24 a little over a week before I needed to submit the forms for LOA and at this point my employer was threatening to fire me for failing to provide the LOA paperwork. I tried explaining the situation to one of my managers but he wasn’t having it and didn’t care.
When I went to the first emergency room I went in for multiple serious symptoms, they knew I had an underlying autoimmune disorder causing the flares and that I had surgery 3 years prior to remove ovarian cysts on my right ovary. I told the emergency room that I had a lot of abdominal pain across multiple areas, I was really weak, fatigued, dealing with vertigo, migraines, blood in stool, persistent bloating, frequent urination, appetite loss, rapid weight gain, insomnia, tachycardia, high bp, neuropathic itch/ polyneuropathy and my symptoms were to the point where I was losing my ability to walk. My partner was holding me the entire time so I wouldn’t fall.
The emergency room did a bunch of tests that included a basic blood panel, physical exam and a CT scan of my abdomen. They didn’t find the bleeding but instead found that I had a complex 14cm tumor on my right ovary which they deemed a dermoid cyst.
When they gave me the news they officially diagnosed me with a “dermoid cyst from birth” even though I countered their diagnosis and told them that was impossible because I had surgery 3 years prior. The doctor didn’t backtrack at all, just stuttered and continued to discharge me because it “wasn’t an emergency” just because I wasn’t bleeding out despite all of my serious progressing symptoms.
I angrily left the ER knowing it was utter BS and deep down I knew it was cancer because of how sick I was. I could literally feel I didn’t have much time but because I looked young and healthy and my basic blood panel didn’t throw up any huge red flags at them even they dismissed me and misdiagnosed me. I wasn’t even given anything to manage the pain.
I even told them I was already on a medical leave and that I’ve been really sick but that it was getting bad and I couldn’t see my rheumatologist. However I didn’t know about the tumor until then. I told them I needed help with the LOA paperwork too and had they admitted me I would have been able to get an extension and still have my job and benefits. I could have started treatment sooner and received disability pay but instead was forced to continue living with this pain. It was so large that I was at risk of torsion rupture and necrosis, Not to mention permanent nerve damage.
The next day I called up every gynecologist I could to see where I could go for the soonest appointment for an ultrasound. I found a doctor who took me as an emergency appointment a few days later and he confirmed it was most likely malignant and that I needed surgery ASAP. I talked to him about my LOA situation too because I was running out of time and I was too disabled to work. He also refused to help me sign my LOA paperwork because according to him, “ovarian cancer can’t cause systemic symptoms and you’re going to need to wait until surgery before I put you on leave”. I told him I had an underlying autoimmune disorder that I think is being exasperated by the cancer and I was just dismissed yet again despite needing someone to physically help me walk so I don’t fall. He also didn’t give me anything for the pain I was in.
I had to turn in my LOA that day but because of this I was forced to resign my position or face getting fired and becoming un-hirable so I had to quit. In quitting I lost everything, benefits, stocks, my job, my health, doctors. I’m now in debt with multiple cc going to collections because I haven’t been getting an income since January and I’m just starting chemo so I have no idea when I’ll be able to work again. I don’t know what to do here. I was going to try to settle my debt but with what money?? I might be forced into bankruptcy for 7 years now.
After I lost my insurance I applied for medi-cal but something with my application in there system wasn’t right and it was in a never ending pending limbo state(Took about two months to actually sort it out and I only sorted it out that quickly because my friend works for medi-cal). I tried waiting it out for two weeks, calling them sorting it out and doing it right by the system but every day I was getting sicker and weaker and I felt I was running out of time as I was bed ridden at this point.
Two weeks later I went to a different ER because at this point I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat and I started getting migraines after doing anything. I was miserable from enduring all the symptoms and never ending anxiety and mood swings of possibly having an autoimmune disorder like SLE, MS and ovarian cancer.
The second ER I went to finally admit me for emergency surgery after a full day of being in the emergency room and they confirmed it was in fact a tumor. It also grew to 20cm by that point. By this time the tumor had already ruptured and twisted my ovary. The entire time I was there though it was a battle. I had been living with this for so long that I was perceiving my pain as a 6 when in reality I had nerve damage and the pain was likely higher. I seemed calm at first but anytime someone came in trying to tell me I was fine I couldn’t hold it together and would start crying because I was at my breaking point. I was suffering and no one was taking me seriously. I had to make it a point that because of the misdiagnosis from the last hospital, I lost everything and was in a position where I couldn’t get any care because of the issue I was having with my medi-cal application. It would’ve been months before I found a PCP, got referred to specialists, confirmed it was cancer, and scheduled a surgery. At one point during my time in the emergency room, the head of the ER came to me and literally told me, “I want to help you but you’re going to have to SELL it to me”. After that I kept having to tell them that my pain was like an 8-10 and that the pain meds weren’t working. They put me on gabapentin which didn’t really do anything for me actually. But then they started giving me morphine and while it helped tremendously I also found out that day that I either have an allergy or a sensitivity to morphine.
Anyways now to my current situation. I started chemo about two weeks ago and my current oncologist is also being negligent.
I found out the other day that she blindly prescribed a medication for nausea that interacts with a medication that I was already on. The interaction is known to cause arrhythmias apparently. During my first week of chemo I was taking both meds and mentioned that my chest had been feeling heavy and I had pain. I was told it was steroids. It continued and then one night as I was falling asleep my heart started to pound really hard for about 10-15 seconds. I told my doctor about it and again steroids.
That same day I went to pick up a prescription and just happened to ask if anything interacted and that’s when I found out that it was a major interaction and I literally could have died had I not luckily already been titrating off of the offending medicine. I stopped taking those meds and immediately the chest pain stopped and I haven’t had an episode like that since.
I am freaked out and don’t want to continue my care with her due to her negligence. This should have been a conversation at minimum and she didn’t even tell me she prescribed it let alone double check for interactions(she had the list of my current medications). I just got a notification from my pharmacy that it was ready. I also didn’t know about the interaction when it was picked up because my mom picked it up for me and she doesn’t speak English very well.
I talked to my care teams assistant and told her I wanted a change of doctors because I didn’t trust her after this and she said she was going to put in the request. They called me yesterday though and said they weren’t going to switch me because I had already started treatment. They refused to switch my doctors despite everything that’s happened even though she literally almost accidentally killed me. I am livid and don’t want to continue with them but they’re giving me no choice but to continue seeing her.
I already set up an appointment for a second opinion but that’s not for another two weeks before the appointment and I don’t want to interrupt the treatment.
I have a rare type of ovarian cancer with a high grade tumor. It was a germ cell tumor called an immature teratoma. They said it is stage 1 but because I had emergency surgery, the tumor had already ruptured, and everything was rushed I don’t feel this is an accurate diagnosis because I have pain in all of the surrounding areas where the tumor was pushing up against. (I also mentioned this to my oncologist but instead of running tests or anything else I was given a psych referral for anxiety because I have an adhd & bipolar diagnosis even though I’ve been stable for years and I wasn’t overreacting in this case). The tumor was exasperating all of my autoimmune symptoms and causing me to be in a never ending flare so my body has been heavily damaged. Im becoming disabled at 28. I have so much anxiety with doctors now because I’m traumatized from my experience with them dismissing me and discriminating against me. Like I’m young so I “must be able to tolerate more”. I have to constantly look up my lab results, medications, conditions, because of how much negligence and dismissal I’ve been dealing with over the years. I’m scared I’m going to die from something preventable and not cancer at this rate.
TLDR: F28 w/ ovarian cancer and pre-existing autoimmune disorders struggling to get care, proper diagnosis, treatment, negligence by multiple doctors, losing everything. US health care system is incredibly difficult to navigate and we need to constantly advocate for ourselves to get proper care in this for profit healthcare system.

i met this guy on hinge and he seemed like a chill vibe. Based off of his photos he seemed to be someone i would be attracted to. dark complexion, medium build , introverted, and kind of nerdy. We had matched, exchanged numbers, and developed somewhat of a connection but nothing serious. we had mutual interest like video games, and x-men comics. i wanted to get to know him better outside of messaging and asked him if he wanted to see a movie. he responded with “i would love to, but i am currently not working and wouldn’t be comfortable with you paying for your own ticket on the first date.” i found that commendable, and understood that it was currently hard to get a job in our city at the moment (Toronto/GTA AREA). as we continued to talk he became eager to meet me in person, and asked if we could go on a walk. i agreed, but he proposed that we meet him somewhere five minutes away from his house, which was a 30 minute drive away from mine. i expressed that i didn’t feel comfortable doing that because i didn’t see the difference in paying for my own movie and paying for my own gas there and back to see someone for the first time. he also didn’t offer to meet anywhere in between which i would’ve been fine with. for context he told me he didn’t drive or have his license. he agreed with my sentiments and apologized, so we met somewhere in between the both of us. we walked around a local mall for an hour and i told him where to meet me. he had a little bit of trouble but we saw each other and embraced each other with a hug. he then pressed me for not giving him better details on where he could find me but i never thought anything of it. if i’m going to be honest i expected him to look different. firstly he lied about his height, which didn’t make any sense to me but whatever i don’t care for height. i also noticed his hygiene was off. he had insanely cracked dry skin, peeling lips, foam in the corner of his mouth, and an insane amount of build up under his long finger nails. i ignored it and just continued to walk and talk. i notice he couldn’t hold a conversation for his life making it very awkward but i sympathized with him, as he could’ve been nervous. time goes by we’re just walking, window shopping and then he asks for us to go get patties. we went to the patty shop, i bought a patty and he bought one. he noticed the hiring sign, and while on the date he filled out an application for that job. while he was filling out the application i was planning an exit in my head out of this situation. i found it a bit awkward and maybe rude to do so on your first date with someone. i didn’t say anything and then we went home. i went to my car and asked if he needed a ride. he said no, i drove here. at this point i wanted a gun to shoot my self. he had already told me he doesn’t have his license so i was confused how he drove here and why he wanted me to drive all the way to his end of the city if he could drive. i confronted him and told him i thought he didn’t drive. he told me its his dads car and he just takes it sometimes. we then hugged and went our separate ways. the next day he messages me talking about the kind of relationship he wants and tells me he just wants a sexual relationship but nothing serious. i was thinking of a response as this was random and we never had this convo or any conversation like this before. but as time went on i couldn’t think of a reply and ended up ghosting him. do you think i was justified in my actions, or should i have made a better effort to come up with a response?

1. Amazon Store Rent
First, let's talk about the monthly rent for an Amazon store. Registering an Amazon store is free, but using a company registration instead of a personal one is recommended. This approach is safer and has a higher approval rate. After registering, you can choose between an Individual account and a Professional account.
Individual Account: This account has no monthly fee, but you'll pay Amazon $0.99 for each item you sell. It’s suitable for sellers who are just starting out and have lower sales volumes.
Professional Account: This account costs $39.99 per month, but you won’t pay a fee per sale. This option is more cost-effective if you sell more than 40 items per month.
Recommendation: If you’re just starting and your sales are low, opt for the Individual account. As your sales increase and you consistently sell more than 40 items per month, switch to the Professional account to save on per-item fees.

1. Product Selection Tools

Choosing the right products to sell is crucial for the success of your e-commerce business. Fortunately, there are several tools available to assist with this process, each offering unique features to help you make informed decisions.
Popular Paid Tools: JungleScout and Helium10
JungleScout: Priced at $49/month, JungleScout is widely recognized for its comprehensive suite of tools designed to help sellers identify profitable products, estimate sales, and analyze competition. Its features include:
Product Database: Allows you to filter products based on various criteria like price, sales, and competition.
Product Tracker: Helps track the performance of potential products over time.
Keyword Scout: Provides keyword research and optimization suggestions to enhance product listings.
Sales Analytics: Offers insights into sales trends and revenue estimates.
Helium10: At $79/month, Helium10 is another powerful tool that provides a wide range of functionalities for Amazon sellers. Key features include:
Black Box: A product research tool that allows you to find profitable niches.
Xray: A Chrome extension that gives you a quick overview of product performance metrics directly on Amazon.
Keyword Research: Tools like Cerebro and Magnet help you discover and optimize for high-ranking keywords.
Listing Optimization: Features like Scribbles and Index Checker ensure your product listings are optimized for maximum visibility.
Free Tool: 4SELLER
4SELLER: For those who are looking for a budget-friendly option, 4SELLER is a free tool that offers a robust set of features to aid in product selection and management. It includes:
Product Selection: Assists in identifying profitable products by analyzing market trends and competition.
Inventory Management: Helps track inventory levels, forecast demand, and manage stock efficiently to prevent overstocking or stockouts.
Supplier Finder: Aids in locating reliable suppliers, which is essential for maintaining product quality and consistency.
Why Product Selection Tools are Essential
Using product selection tools is vital because they provide data-driven insights that help you make informed decisions. These tools can save you time and reduce the risk of choosing products that may not sell well. They offer features that allow you to:
Identify Trends: By analyzing market data, these tools help you stay ahead of trends and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Evaluate Competition: Understanding your competition is crucial. These tools provide detailed analysis of competitors' products, pricing strategies, and sales performance.
Optimize Listings: Well-optimized product listings are more likely to attract buyers. These tools offer keyword research and listing optimization features that improve your product's visibility on e-commerce platforms.
Manage Inventory: Efficient inventory management ensures you have the right products available at the right time, which is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and maximizing sales.
Whether you opt for a paid tool like JungleScout or Helium10, or a free option like 4SELLER, leveraging these tools can significantly enhance your ability to select profitable products, manage inventory effectively, and optimize your listings for better performance.
3. Initial Stock Costs
Purchasing your first batch of products involves a significant initial investment, and the amount required can vary widely depending on the type of products you choose to sell. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what to consider when estimating your initial stock costs:
Factors Influencing Initial Stock Costs
Product Type and Price: The nature of the products you choose to sell will greatly influence your initial costs. Higher-priced items tend to have less competition but require a larger upfront investment. Conversely, cheaper products are more budget-friendly but often come with higher competition.
Quantity: The number of units you decide to purchase initially is another major factor. A common recommendation for new sellers is to start with 200-500 units. This range allows you to test the market demand without overcommitting financially.
Calculating Initial Costs
To estimate your initial stock costs, you need to multiply the quantity of units by the purchase price per unit. Here’s a simplified formula:
Initial Stock Cost=Quantity×Purchase Price per UnitInitial Stock Cost=Quantity×Purchase Price per Unit
For instance, if you decide to buy 300 units of a product that costs $5 per unit, your initial stock cost would be:
300 units×$5/unit=$1,500300 units×$5/unit=$1,500
Typical Budget Ranges for New Sellers
Low Budget: If you’re starting with a tighter budget, you might opt for products with a lower purchase price. For example, if you choose items costing around $2 per unit and purchase 200 units, your initial cost would be $400.
Moderate Budget: A more common range for new sellers is between $1,000 and $3,000. This allows for a balance between purchasing a reasonable quantity of units and managing the risk of unsold inventory. For example, buying 400 units at $5 per unit would total $2,000.
Higher Budget: With a larger budget, you can consider higher-priced items that might have less competition. For instance, purchasing 300 units at $10 per unit would result in an initial cost of $3,000.
Why Initial Stock Costs are Important
Understanding and planning for initial stock costs is critical because it ensures you are adequately prepared for the financial outlay required to launch your business. Here are a few reasons why this is essential:
Market Testing: Buying an appropriate number of units allows you to test market demand without over-investing. This way, you can gauge the product's popularity and adjust future orders accordingly.
Cash Flow Management: Proper planning helps manage your cash flow effectively. Ensuring you have enough funds to cover initial stock costs, along with other expenses like marketing and shipping, is crucial for maintaining business operations.
Risk Mitigation: Starting with a moderate quantity of units helps minimize the risk of unsold inventory, which can tie up capital and lead to losses. It’s better to start small, analyze performance, and scale up gradually.
Carefully estimating and planning for your initial stock costs is a vital step in setting up your e-commerce business. By understanding the factors that influence these costs and budgeting accordingly, you can make informed decisions that set the foundation for a successful venture. Whether you have a limited budget or can invest more significantly, strategic planning will help you manage risks and maximize your chances of success.
4. UPC Codes
UPC stands for Universal Product Code, a standardized barcode used by retailers, including Amazon, to track products. Obtaining UPC codes is a critical step in setting up your products for sale. Here’s a detailed explanation of why you need them, where to get them, and the associated costs.
What are UPC Codes?
Definition: UPC codes are unique identifiers assigned to products. Each code consists of a series of black bars and a corresponding 12-digit number that can be scanned by barcode readers.
Purpose: These codes help retailers manage inventory, streamline the checkout process, and track sales. For e-commerce platforms like Amazon, UPC codes ensure each product is uniquely identifiable, reducing errors and simplifying logistics.
Where to Buy UPC Codes
Official Source: GS1: The Global Standards 1 (GS1) organization is the official provider of UPC codes. Purchasing from GS1 ensures the authenticity and uniqueness of your codes, which is crucial for compliance with Amazon’s policies.
Why GS1?: While there are third-party sellers offering UPC codes at lower prices, these codes might not always be unique or compliant with GS1 standards. Using GS1 guarantees that your UPCs are globally recognized and legitimate, preventing potential issues with listing products on Amazon.
Cost of UPC Codes
Initial Purchase: GS1 sells UPC codes in packs. A pack of 10 UPCs costs $250 initially. This upfront cost covers the registration and issuance of the codes.
Annual Renewal Fee: In addition to the initial purchase cost, there is a $50 annual renewal fee. This fee ensures your codes remain active and your registration with GS1 stays current.
Breakdown of Costs
Initial Cost: For a pack of 10 UPC codes, the initial cost is $250.
Annual Renewal: The $50 annual renewal fee applies every year to maintain your codes.
Example Calculation:
If you purchase a pack of 10 UPCs, your total cost for the first year would be:
$250 (initial cost)+$50 (annual renewal fee)=$300$250 (initial cost)+$50 (annual renewal fee)=$300
In subsequent years, you will only pay the $50 renewal fee to keep your UPCs active.
Why UPC Codes are Important
Inventory Management: UPC codes play a crucial role in inventory management, allowing you to track stock levels accurately. This helps prevent stockouts and overstock situations.
Product Identification: Each UPC code is unique to a specific product, ensuring that Amazon and other retailers can correctly identify and catalog your items. This reduces the risk of listing errors and mix-ups.
Compliance and Credibility: Using GS1-issued UPC codes ensures compliance with Amazon’s listing requirements. This adds credibility to your listings and prevents potential issues that might arise from using unauthorized codes.
Efficiency and Automation: UPC codes facilitate the automation of various processes, including checkout, shipping, and inventory updates. This enhances operational efficiency and reduces manual workload.
Investing in UPC codes from GS1 is an essential step for any e-commerce business aiming to sell on platforms like Amazon. The initial cost of $250 for a pack of 10 UPCs, along with the $50 annual renewal fee, ensures that your products are uniquely identifiable and compliant with global standards. This investment not only helps in effective inventory management but also enhances the credibility and efficiency of your business operations.
5. Shipping and Distribution Costs
Shipping and distribution costs are critical components of your overall budget when selling on Amazon. These costs encompass various fees and charges that ensure your products reach Amazon’s warehouses and, ultimately, your customers. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what to consider and how these costs can impact your business.
Components of Shipping and Distribution Costs
Shipping to Amazon’s Warehouse: This involves the costs of transporting your products from your supplier to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Factors influencing these costs include the size and weight of your products, the shipping method, and the distance between the supplier and the warehouse.
Packaging: Proper packaging is essential to protect your products during transit. This includes boxes, cushioning materials, and labeling.
Inspection Fees: To ensure quality and compliance with Amazon’s standards, you might need to pay for product inspections before they are shipped.
Import Duties and Taxes: If you are importing products from another country, customs duties and taxes will apply. These costs vary based on the product category and the country of origin.
Estimated Shipping Costs by Product Size
Small Items: For smaller products, shipping costs are generally lower. On average, you can expect to pay around $4 per unit for shipping.
Mid-sized Products: For larger or heavier items, shipping costs increase. These costs can range from $8 to $12 per unit, depending on the specific dimensions and weight of the products.
Amazon FBA Fees
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Fees: Once your products are in Amazon’s warehouse, the company handles storage, packaging, and shipping to customers. Amazon charges FBA fees for these services, which are based on the size and weight of the product.
Small and Light Items: FBA fees for smaller items typically range from $2.92 to $6.13 per unit.
Larger Items: For bigger or heavier products, FBA fees can be higher, reflecting the additional handling and shipping costs.
Breakdown of Costs
Shipping Costs to Amazon’s Warehouse:
Small items: $4 per unit
Mid-sized items: $8-$12 per unit
Amazon FBA Fees:
Small items: $2.92-$6.13 per unit
Larger items: Higher fees depending on size and weight
Example Calculation
If you are shipping 300 small items to Amazon’s warehouse, with each unit costing $4 to ship and an average FBA fee of $4.50, your total costs would be:
Shipping to Warehouse: 300 units×$4/unit=$1,200300 units×$4/unit=$1,200
FBA Fees: 300 units×$4.50/unit=$1,350300 units×$4.50/unit=$1,350
Total Shipping and Distribution Costs:
$1,200 (shipping)+$1,350 (FBA fees)=$2,550$1,200 (shipping)+$1,350 (FBA fees)=$2,550
Why Shipping and Distribution Costs are Important
Budget Planning: Understanding and accurately estimating these costs is crucial for budgeting and financial planning. Unexpected expenses can significantly impact your profitability.
Pricing Strategy: These costs need to be factored into your pricing strategy to ensure you maintain healthy profit margins. Underestimating shipping and distribution costs can erode your margins and affect your competitiveness.
Customer Satisfaction: Efficient shipping and distribution are key to timely delivery and customer satisfaction. Using Amazon FBA ensures reliable and fast shipping, which can enhance your seller ratings and lead to repeat business.
Operational Efficiency: Managing these costs effectively can streamline your operations and improve cash flow. By optimizing packaging, negotiating better shipping rates, and accurately forecasting demand, you can reduce expenses and improve efficiency.
Shipping and distribution costs are a significant part of your overall expenses when selling on Amazon. By carefully estimating these costs, including packaging, inspection fees, import duties, and Amazon FBA fees, you can better manage your budget and pricing strategy. Understanding these costs helps ensure smooth operations, enhances customer satisfaction, and supports your business's profitability and growth.
6. Inventory Storage Costs
Inventory storage costs are a critical consideration when using Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service. These fees are based on the size and quantity of your inventory stored in Amazon’s warehouses and vary throughout the year. Here’s a detailed breakdown of these costs and their implications for your business.
Amazon’s Storage Fees
Amazon charges monthly storage fees that depend on the size category of your products (standard-size or oversized) and the time of year. The fees are higher during the holiday season (October to December) due to increased demand for warehouse space.
Standard-Size Storage Fees
January to September: $0.83 per cubic foot
October to December: $2.40 per cubic foot
Oversized Storage Fees
January to September: $0.53 per cubic foot
October to December: $1.20 per cubic foot
Calculating Storage Costs
To estimate your storage costs, you need to know the cubic footage of your inventory. Here’s how you can calculate it:
Cubic Footage=Length×Width×HeightCubic Footage=Length×Width×Height
Once you have the cubic footage, multiply it by the applicable storage fee rate.
Example Calculation for Standard-Size Products
Let’s say you have 500 units of a product, each measuring 1 cubic foot. Your storage costs would be:
January to September: 500 cubic feet×$0.83/cubic foot=$415500 cubic feet×$0.83/cubic foot=$415
October to December: 500 cubic feet×$2.40/cubic foot=$1,200500 cubic feet×$2.40/cubic foot=$1,200
Example Calculation for Oversized Products
If you have 200 units of an oversized product, each measuring 3 cubic feet, your storage costs would be:
January to September: 600 cubic feet×$0.53/cubic foot=$318600 cubic feet×$0.53/cubic foot=$318
October to December: 600 cubic feet×$1.20/cubic foot=$720600 cubic feet×$1.20/cubic foot=$720
Why Inventory Storage Costs Matter
Budget Management: Accurately estimating storage costs is crucial for budgeting and financial planning. These costs can add up, especially during peak seasons, impacting your overall profitability.
Inventory Turnover: High storage costs can incentivize better inventory management practices, such as maintaining optimal stock levels and ensuring a higher inventory turnover rate. This helps in reducing long-term storage fees and minimizing the risk of overstocking.
Seasonal Planning: Knowing that storage fees increase during the holiday season can help you plan your inventory levels more effectively. You might choose to stock up on faster-moving items or reduce slower-moving inventory before the fees increase.
Cost Control: By understanding these fees, you can implement strategies to minimize them, such as reducing the size of your packaging, negotiating better storage terms, or using other fulfillment centers if necessary.
Strategies to Manage Storage Costs
Optimize Inventory Levels: Maintain a balance between having enough stock to meet demand and avoiding excess inventory that incurs high storage costs.
Seasonal Adjustments: Plan your inventory levels based on seasonal fluctuations in storage fees, ensuring you minimize costs during peak periods.
Efficient Packaging: Use packaging that minimizes space without compromising product safety. Smaller packaging reduces the cubic footage and, consequently, storage fees.
FBA Inventory Management: Use Amazon’s inventory management tools to monitor and adjust your stock levels based on sales data and forecasts.
Inventory storage costs are an important aspect of selling on Amazon using FBA. These costs, varying by product size and season, can significantly impact your business’s profitability. By accurately estimating these fees and implementing strategies to manage and reduce them, you can optimize your inventory management and control expenses effectively. Understanding and planning for these costs will help ensure a smoother and more profitable operation.

1. Platform Commission

When selling on Amazon, it’s essential to account for the platform commission, known as the referral fee. This fee is a percentage of each sale and varies by product category. Understanding these fees is crucial for pricing your products and calculating your profit margins.
Amazon’s Referral Fees
Amazon charges a referral fee on each sale made through its platform. The percentage varies depending on the product category. Here are some common examples:
Electronics: 8%
Beauty Products: 15%
Books: 15%
Clothing and Accessories: 17%
Home and Kitchen: 15%
How Referral Fees Are Calculated
The referral fee is calculated as a percentage of the total sales price, which includes the item price and any shipping or gift wrap charges.
Referral Fee=Sales Price×Referral Fee PercentageReferral Fee=Sales Price×Referral Fee Percentage
Example Calculations
Electronics: If you sell a gadget for $100, the referral fee would be: $100×8%=$8$100×8%=$8
Beauty Products: If you sell a skincare product for $50, the referral fee would be: $50×15%=$7.50$50×15%=$7.50
Why Platform Commission is Important
Pricing Strategy: Knowing the referral fee helps you set your product prices appropriately to ensure you cover costs and achieve desired profit margins.
Profit Margin Calculation: Understanding the commission allows you to accurately calculate your net profit after deducting all fees.
Category Selection: The commission rate can influence your decision on which product categories to focus on. Lower commission rates in certain categories might lead to higher profitability.
Competitive Pricing: Factoring in the referral fee ensures your prices remain competitive while still being profitable.
Impact on Different Product Categories
High-Commission Categories: Categories like beauty products and clothing with higher referral fees require careful pricing to maintain profitability. High fees can significantly impact margins, especially for low-cost items.
Low-Commission Categories: Categories like electronics with lower referral fees can offer better profit margins, but these categories might also have higher competition.
Strategies to Manage Referral Fees
Optimize Pricing: Adjust your pricing to ensure it covers all costs, including the referral fee, while remaining attractive to customers.
Product Selection: Consider the referral fee when selecting products to sell. Products in categories with lower fees might be more profitable.
Bundle Products: Creating product bundles can help increase the average sales price, potentially offsetting the impact of the referral fee.
Platform commission is a significant cost factor when selling on Amazon. By understanding the referral fee structure and calculating these fees accurately, you can make informed decisions about pricing, product selection, and profitability. Properly managing and accounting for these fees ensures your business remains competitive and financially sustainable on the Amazon platform.
8. Advertising Costs
Advertising is a crucial component of your e-commerce strategy, driving visibility and sales for your products on Amazon. Effective advertising can help you reach potential customers quickly, but it requires a financial investment. Here’s a detailed breakdown of advertising costs, strategies, and their impact on your business.
Types of Advertising
Amazon Advertising: The primary form of advertising on Amazon is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads. These ads appear in search results and on product detail pages, allowing you to target specific keywords and audiences.
Sponsored Products: These ads promote individual product listings and appear in search results and product pages.
Sponsored Brands: These ads feature your brand logo, a custom headline, and multiple products.
Sponsored Display: These ads target audiences both on and off Amazon, helping to re-engage shoppers who have viewed your products.
Off-Amazon Advertising: To broaden your reach, you can also advertise on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These platforms allow for targeted advertising based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Budgeting for Advertising
A typical budget for new sellers on Amazon ranges from $700 to $1,000. This budget should cover various advertising strategies, including PPC campaigns and social media ads.
Cost Breakdown
Amazon PPC Ads:
Sponsored Products: These are the most common and can cost anywhere from $0.10 to $2.00 per click, depending on the competitiveness of your keywords.
Sponsored Brands: These ads generally cost more per click due to their higher visibility and brand promotion capabilities.
Sponsored Display: Costs vary but can be effective for retargeting potential customers.
Social Media Advertising:
Facebook Ads: Costs typically range from $0.50 to $2.00 per click, depending on targeting options and competition.
Instagram Ads: Similar to Facebook, Instagram ad costs range from $0.50 to $2.00 per click, with the advantage of visual storytelling through images and videos.
Example Budget Allocation
Let’s allocate a $1,000 advertising budget across different platforms:
Amazon PPC Ads: $600
Sponsored Products: $400
Sponsored Brands: $150
Sponsored Display: $50
Social Media Ads: $400
Facebook Ads: $200
Instagram Ads: $200
Why Advertising is Important
Increased Visibility: Advertising ensures your products appear in front of potential buyers, increasing the likelihood of sales.
Competitive Edge: With many sellers on Amazon, advertising helps you stand out and reach customers who might otherwise not find your products.
Sales Velocity: Effective advertising can boost your sales velocity, improving your product rankings and increasing organic visibility over time.
Strategies for Effective Advertising
Keyword Research: Use tools like Amazon’s Keyword Planner or third-party tools to identify high-performing keywords for your PPC campaigns.
A/B Testing: Continuously test different ad creatives, headlines, and targeting options to find the most effective combinations.
Monitor and Optimize: Regularly review your ad performance data to optimize your campaigns. Adjust bids, pause underperforming keywords, and allocate more budget to high-performing ads.
Leverage Social Media: Use Facebook and Instagram to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your Amazon listings. Engaging content, such as videos and customer testimonials, can enhance ad performance.
Advertising is a vital part of your e-commerce strategy on Amazon and beyond. Allocating a budget of $700 to $1,000 for advertising can significantly enhance your product visibility and drive sales. By utilizing Amazon PPC ads and leveraging social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can reach a broader audience and increase your chances of success. Effective advertising requires continuous monitoring and optimization, but the investment can lead to substantial returns in terms of sales growth and brand recognition.
9. Returns and Refunds
Managing returns and refunds is an inevitable part of selling on Amazon. While they can impact your profitability, understanding the associated costs and implementing effective management strategies can help mitigate their effects. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the costs and considerations involved in handling returns and refunds.
Amazon Return Processing Fees
Amazon charges a return processing fee that varies depending on the product’s size and weight. This fee is applied when a customer returns a product, and it covers the cost of handling and processing the return.
Standard-Size Products: Fees for standard-size products are typically lower due to their smaller dimensions and weight.
Oversized Products: Fees for oversized products are higher because of the additional handling and storage space required.
Example Fee Structure
Standard-Size Product Return Fee: Approximately $2 to $5 per unit, depending on the specific dimensions and weight.
Oversized Product Return Fee: Approximately $5 to $20 per unit, depending on the specific dimensions and weight.
Additional Costs of Returns and Refunds
Restocking Fees: Amazon may charge a restocking fee for certain returned items. This fee is deducted from the refund amount and can range from 10% to 20% of the item’s price.
Return Shipping Costs: In some cases, you may be responsible for covering the cost of return shipping, especially if the return is due to a defect or error on your part.
Product Condition: Returned items that are not in resellable condition may need to be disposed of or liquidated, leading to additional losses.
Why Returns and Refunds Matter
Customer Satisfaction: Efficient handling of returns and refunds is crucial for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and positive reviews. Poor management can lead to negative feedback and damage your seller reputation.
Cost Management: Understanding and anticipating the costs associated with returns can help you better manage your budget and pricing strategy, ensuring you account for these potential expenses.
Inventory Control: Effective return management helps maintain accurate inventory levels and reduces the risk of overstocking or stockouts.
Strategies to Manage Returns and Refunds
Clear Product Descriptions: Provide detailed and accurate product descriptions to reduce the likelihood of returns due to customer dissatisfaction or misunderstandings.
Quality Control: Implement rigorous quality control measures to minimize defects and errors that could lead to returns.
Customer Service: Offer excellent customer service to address issues promptly and potentially resolve problems without necessitating a return.
Return Policies: Establish clear and fair return policies that balance customer satisfaction with protecting your business from excessive costs.
Example Calculation
Let’s consider you sell 100 units of a product, with an average return rate of 5%. Here’s how you can calculate the potential costs:
Product Price: $50 per unit
Return Rate: 5% (5 units)
Return Processing Fee: $3 per unit
Restocking Fee: 15% of the product price ($7.50 per unit)
Return Shipping Cost: $5 per unit
Total Return and Refund Costs:
Return Processing Fee=5 units×$3=$15Return Processing Fee=5 units×$3=$15 Restocking Fee=5 units×$7.50=$37.50Restocking Fee=5 units×$7.50=$37.50 Return Shipping Cost=5 units×$5=$25Return Shipping Cost=5 units×$5=$25
Total Costs:
$15+$37.50+$25=$77.50$15+$37.50+$25=$77.50
Handling returns and refunds is a necessary aspect of selling on Amazon, and the associated costs can add up quickly. By understanding the fees and implementing strategies to manage returns effectively, you can minimize their impact on your profitability. Clear product descriptions, stringent quality control, excellent customer service, and well-defined return policies can all contribute to reducing return rates and associated costs. Efficient return management not only helps maintain customer satisfaction but also supports better cost control and inventory management.

1. Miscellaneous Expenses

In addition to the primary costs associated with setting up and running your Amazon business, there are several miscellaneous expenses that can significantly impact your budget. These costs, while often overlooked, are crucial for creating a professional and efficient operation. Here’s a detailed breakdown of these potential expenses and their importance.
Graphic Design for Product Listings
Importance: High-quality graphics and well-designed product listings are essential for attracting customers and conveying professionalism. Poorly designed listings can deter potential buyers.
Costs: Hiring a freelance graphic designer can cost between $50 and $200 per listing, depending on the complexity and the designer's experience.
Services: Graphic design services might include creating product images, infographics, and enhanced brand content (EBC) that highlights your product's features and benefits.
Professional Photography
Importance: Professional photos can make a significant difference in how your product is perceived. High-quality images help build trust with customers and increase conversion rates.
Costs: Professional product photography can range from $100 to $500 per product, depending on the number of images and the photographer’s expertise.
Services: This may include standard product shots, lifestyle images showing the product in use, and detailed close-ups of key features.
Virtual Assistant (VA) Services
Importance: Hiring a virtual assistant can help manage various tasks, such as customer service, inventory management, and order processing. This can free up your time to focus on strategic growth.
Costs: VAs typically charge between $10 and $30 per hour, depending on their skill level and the tasks they perform.
Services: Tasks handled by VAs can include responding to customer inquiries, updating product listings, managing social media accounts, and handling administrative duties.
Other Potential Miscellaneous Expenses
Subscription Services: Tools and software subscriptions for keyword research, inventory management, and sales analytics can cost anywhere from $20 to $200 per month.
Legal and Accounting Services: Professional advice for legal and tax matters is crucial. This can include incorporating your business, trademark registration, and tax preparation, costing several hundred dollars annually.
Packaging Design: Custom packaging design can enhance your brand image and customer experience. Costs can range from $100 to $500, depending on the complexity of the design.
Marketing and Promotional Materials: Additional marketing efforts, such as email campaigns, social media ads, and promotional giveaways, can also add to your expenses.
Example Budget Allocation
Let’s break down a potential budget for these miscellaneous expenses:
Graphic Design: $150 per listing for 5 listings = $750
Professional Photography: $300 per product for 3 products = $900
Virtual Assistant: $20 per hour for 10 hours per month = $200 per month
Subscription Services: $100 per month
Legal and Accounting Services: $500 annually
Packaging Design: $300
Marketing and Promotional Materials: $200 per month
Annual Costs:
Graphic Design=$750Graphic Design=$750 Professional Photography=$900Professional Photography=$900 Virtual Assistant=$200×12=$2,400Virtual Assistant=$200×12=$2,400 Subscription Services=$100×12=$1,200Subscription Services=$100×12=$1,200 Legal and Accounting Services=$500Legal and Accounting Services=$500 Packaging Design=$300Packaging Design=$300 Marketing and Promotional Materials=$200×12=$2,400Marketing and Promotional Materials=$200×12=$2,400
Total Annual Miscellaneous Expenses:
$750+$900+$2,400+$1,200+$500+$300+$2,400=$8,450$750+$900+$2,400+$1,200+$500+$300+$2,400=$8,450
Why Miscellaneous Expenses Matter
Professionalism and Trust: Investing in professional services like graphic design and photography enhances your product listings and builds trust with potential customers.
Efficiency and Focus: Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to delegate time-consuming tasks, enabling you to focus on growing your business.
Operational Smoothness: Subscriptions to essential tools and professional legal and accounting services ensure your business operates smoothly and compliantly.
Brand Building: Custom packaging and marketing materials contribute to a strong brand identity, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.
Miscellaneous expenses, while sometimes overlooked, play a vital role in the success of your Amazon business. By budgeting for high-quality graphic design, professional photography, virtual assistant services, and other essential tools and services, you can create a professional and efficient operation. These investments not only enhance your product listings and customer experience but also free up your time to focus on strategic growth, ultimately contributing to your business's long-term success.
Summary
Setting up and running an Amazon business involves various costs that need careful consideration to ensure profitability and efficiency. Here’s a summary of the key cost components:
Product Selection Tools: Essential for choosing profitable products, with popular tools like JungleScout ($49/month) and Helium10 ($79/month). Free alternatives like 4SELLER also provide valuable features for product selection and inventory management.
Initial Stock Costs: Depending on the product type and quantity, initial stock costs can range from $1,000 to $3,000. Starting with 200-500 units is recommended to test the market without overcommitting financially.
UPC Codes: Necessary for product tracking, these should be purchased from GS1. A pack of 10 UPC codes costs $250 initially, plus a $50 annual renewal fee.
Shipping and Distribution Costs: Includes fees for shipping products to Amazon’s warehouse and Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fees, which range from $2.92 to $6.13 per unit. Shipping small items might cost around $4 per unit, while mid-sized products could cost $8-$12 per unit.
Inventory Storage Costs: Monthly fees for storing products in Amazon’s warehouse vary by size and season. Standard-size storage costs $0.83 per cubic foot from January to September and $2.40 per cubic foot from October to December. Oversized storage costs $0.53 per cubic foot and $1.20 per cubic foot during these periods, respectively.
Platform Commission: Amazon takes a commission on each sale, typically between 8% and 15%, depending on the product category. For instance, electronics have a referral fee of 8%, while beauty products have a fee of 15%.
Advertising Costs: To drive visibility and sales, set aside $700-$1,000 for advertising. This includes Amazon PPC ads and potentially social media ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Returns and Refunds: Handling returns incurs costs, including Amazon’s return processing fee, restocking fees, and return shipping costs. These fees vary based on product size and weight.
Miscellaneous Expenses: Other costs include graphic design for product listings ($50-$200 per listing), professional photography ($100-$500 per product), and virtual assistant services ($10-$30 per hour). Additional expenses may include subscription services, legal and accounting services, packaging design, and marketing materials.
In total, you'll need at least $5,000 to start an Amazon FBA business today. Plus, you'll need to spend a lot of time managing your store and optimizing your product listings. This includes continuously monitoring your sales performance, tweaking your advertising strategies, and keeping an eye on competitors to stay ahead in the market.
By understanding and planning for these costs, you can effectively manage your Amazon business, ensuring it remains profitable and efficient while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.

Hi everyone,
I've been facing a persistent and frustrating issue with my MacBook M2 Max, and I’m hoping someone might be able to help or provide some insight.
The Problem: My MacBook works fine most of the time, but it consistently freezes and then restarts itself. This issue only occurs when I’m playing game, World of Warcraft and at the same time watching videos (just once it restarted itself on idle). I've contacted with the apple support and I did everything they've said. Diagnostics found nothing, I've started in a safe mode and reinstalled the whole macOS etc but still I have the issue.
Especially it happens while playing the game and watching a video either it's a YouTube or one of mines. While the video ends and a new one starts at that moment everything freezes and the restart occurs.
FYI: I'm also using an external screen.
Error code:
"panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffe001958f358): userspace watchdog timeout: no successful checkins from logd (2 induced crashes) in 120 seconds service returned not alive with context : unresponsive dispatch queue(s): com.apple.firehose.io-wl logd has not exited since first loaded service: logd (2 induced crashes), total successful checkins in 16754 seconds: 1556, last successful checkin: 120 seconds ago service: WindowServer (2 induced crashes), total successful checkins in 16690 seconds: 1552, last successful checkin: 120 seconds ago service: opendirectoryd, total successful checkins in 16754 seconds: 1567, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago service: configd, total successful checkins in 16754 seconds: 1568, last successful checkin: 0 seconds ago"
starts with this and continues like that - every time the same error
Details:

• MacBook Model: Macbook 16" M2 Max - 96GB Ram
• OS Version: [include your macOS version here]
• Symptoms: Freezing and unexpected restarts

Troubleshooting Steps I’ve Tried:

1. Safe Mode: The issue doesn't seem to occur
2. Software Updates: Everything is up to date, including macOS and the game etc
3. Checking for Overheating: Temperatures seem normal of course while playing it increases but around 70 celsius for cpu temp
4. Running Diagnostics: No hardware issues detected.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Any suggestions on what I might be missing or additional troubleshooting steps I could take would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi, guys! Back for a fourth try in requesting this DLC.
I think, between KF1 and KF2, I honestly love KF2 more than the first game, which is a surprise seeing as I logged many hours into the game. I love the improvements that KF2 made, like the look and feel of the weapons (laying down the trigger on the AA-12 on a horde of approaching zombies never fails to bring a smile to my face and get the adrenaline running) to the sheer satisfaction of just seeing the game go all zed time/slow-mo when you kill a zed and you see it ragdolling as you continue to rip and tear into the corpse. Add to that the awesome metal soundtrack, some fun locations, with my favorites being the Airship and Monster Ball as they remind me of a classic arcade game I used to play a lot called CarnEvil and you got a recipe for some good ole fashioned zombie killing! Honestly, I've been playing the game since it came out on Xbox in 2017 and I consider it one of my favorite zombie killing games to date. The game also holds a very special place in my heart: It was the very first game I ever reviewed professionally as, back in the day, I used to work for an online radio station called The Cove Radio before they shut down in 2020 (In fact, out of all the companies whose games I reviewed, they were the most enthusiastic of all of them to hear my thoughts).
Now, the only thing that I didn't care for, and this is honestly the only thing that hurts the game for me personally: Most of the weapons that been released since 2019 are now locked behind DLCs, which I personally never understood. Skins and other cosmetics I can sort of understand but why weapons were put as DLC and not offered as free content to go along with each update, I just don't get. Now, yes, I know KF1 had DLC weapons and skins but, oddly, that didn't really bother me as much (I attribute that to the addition of the Steam Workshop and all the weapons on there). Fast forward to now when I saw there was an Ultimate Edition of KF2 which, after doing a lot of research to see just what it includes, I found out includes not only a bunch of cosmetics that were released via DLC...but all the DLC weapons ever released as well! From the G36C, a gun I first fell in love with when I saw it in the original (can't believe I have to say that) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, to the MG3 Shredder, a gun I used a lot in Call Of Duty Vanguard's multiplayer (Hey, don't laugh! I actually like this game), to even the Rhino Revolver, a gun which I always thought was the coolest looking revolver out there. Heck, even the skins, something I usually just gloss over in games, look amazing too! The Reaper outfit gives me some mad Ghost Rider vibes and, come on...Gary Busey as Santa. I'll say that again, GARY BUSEY as Santa! Can't get much better than that!
So, why am I'm coming here to make this request for the Killing Floor 2 Ultimate Edition Upgrade? Right now, money is tight for me as I currently need whatever money I have to afford minutes for my phone (Tracfone) and, until I'm able to find a job again and be finically stable once again, items like this is just not something I can afford to get myself at this time.
Really don't have much else to say, so I'll just say this: Thank you for taking the time to read my request and I hope you have a wonderful day!
My GamerTag - https://account.xbox.com/en-us/profile?gamertag=S3ANW0LF
Store Link - https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/killing-floor-2-ultimate-edition-upgrade/9NTLNLR2JXZC/0010

So, as I stated in the title, I’m new to sculpting. I’ve always had an interest, but have never actually done anything, especially not to completion. I watched one guy making Master Roshi on YouTube and based my process off that. Otherwise, haven’t had any experience with sculpting. This is my first full sculpture.
I made the armature out of foil and used [Action (German dollar store)] polymer clay. Don’t really have any tools, so I used a lot of finger sculpting and shaping and made myself a little loop tool out of thicker aluminum wiring to work on details.
Obviously this isn’t perfect, but I would love feedback on it and to get your thoughts on what I did well and where I can improve. I had a ton of fun with this, but I know I have a lot of hang ups too. This was made over the course of a day, in total about 3-4 hours or so. My reference photo was the first one you find on Google when searching “Charmander.” I was going for likeness, but I was sure how to capture it. I know it’s off and I can see that, I just don’t know how to get it there (next time). For now, I’m really happy with this, but definitely want to improve.
All feedback is welcome!

Hey guys,
I’m going to be visiting krakow on August an I’m starting to plan the itinerary and one of the places I want to visit is the Schindlers factory; I saw that it has free entry on Mondays but that it has limited tickets and that I should book in advance; that’s the problem…
I can’t get to buy tickets for any Monday on the website; it appears as if there were no more available, even for the 19th of August, which is like 3 months from today.
Is it this disputed or am I doing something wrong?
I plan on visiting at the 26th August (which isn’t available as well), but any of the days of that week seems to be available so I think that I am a bit to early, but already worried since I can’t seem to find tickets for any Monday.
Any help is welcome! Thank you all!

Me (27M) and my gf (21F) have been dating for close to 6 months. I went to see the results portion of my gfs Hackathon over the weekend. Her group had worked for 16 hours straight the day prior to create an app. As we were watching the presentations of other groups, one of her group members puts his arms around the chairs of two of his group members on either side of him, one of these chairs was my gfs. After a few minutes he took his arm off the chair of one group member, so now his arm was just around my gfs chair. It bothered me a little that this was happening right next to me but I decided not to say anything in the moment. After the contest, as we were leaving I asked my gf what that was all about and she said that she didnt even notice it was happening (which I find hard to believe since we were watching presentations in the room for over an hour). Additionally, she mentioned that they were talking to each other for 2 or 3 weeks about 8 months ago but nothing ever came of it. She says they only ended up kissing and that was it. This added detail made the situation even worse in my eyes that she allowed this to happen, right next to me, with a guy she had feelings for it the past. My gf sees this as no big deal and thinks I am making something over nothing. Am I overreacting over this whole situation? Is putting your arm around someones chair harmless?

Played survivors:

• Matías Recalt (Roberto Canessa): He calls Dr. Canessa “Robert”. Although they don’t resemble each other physically (other than having big noses), they do have similar personalities. Matías could not cry on set, his emotions were kind of blocked (his father had passed away very recently), but Roberto says he was never able to cry in the mountains either. Matías is also headstrong and would sometimes do things his way instead of the way Bayona asked for him, which was very Canessa of him (1).
  
• Agustín Pardella (Fernando "Nando" Parrado): He calls Nando his favorite hero and feels that he has taught him a lot about resilience, and makes him want to become a better person (2). He considers Nando a friend, someone with a lot of emotions and warmth, which he had to block in the mountains. Rather that portraying the “superhero” that the media has often painted Nando as, he focused on getting to know him as a person and bring his humanity onscreen (3).
  
• Agustín Della Corte (Antonio "Tintín" Vizintín): He and Tintín had already met before, since Tintín used to be the president of the Uruguayan Rugby Union, and Della used to be part of the national rugby team (3). They hugged when they met for the movie for the first time (4). tThey met a lot of times, and he got very interested in what Tintín felt in each moment, the emotional details, which is exactly what the survivors wanted. Him being a rugby player helped a lot. Tintín feels that he was able to capture a lot of the essence of what he lived in the mountains. The first time Tintín watched the movie, he didn’t know how he felt about it, because it transported him to the mountains (2).
  
• Felipe "Pipe" G. Otaño (Carlos "Carlitos" Páez R.): His mother made him read The Society of the Snow when he was younger, so he was more familiar with the story that the average Argentinian. He guessed that he was playing Carlos Páez before the roles were revealed because of his age, physical traits, and what lines he they made him read. He not only Carlito’s book, but also the ones written by his parents. He also watched a lot of interviews with Carlitos (3). He went to Carlitos’ house and met his family. They texted a lot during the process of filming, and still text semi-regularly (2). He also relied on Pablo Vierci on set for details of his personality (3).
  
• Tomás Wolf (Gustavo Zerbino): He didn’t only get close to Gustavo, they had a barbecue together, and he always answered his questions (3). He also got close to Lupe Zerbino, a daughter. He played in a football (soccer) match, Zerbinos vs Canessas (Zerbinos won). Zerbino still shows him support in social media, even liking more political posts (5).
  
• Esteban "Kuku" Kukuriczka (Adolfo "Fito" Strauch): He read the book as soon as he got a clue of what the movie was about. At first, they talked at the hotel for around three hours, then he went to his home and met his family, they could empathize with each other (3). Fito and his wife recently went to watch one of Kuku’s theatre performances (2).
  
• Francisco Romero (Daniel Fernández): They talked a lot. The first time they met up alone, it was in a hotel. Daniel had a lot of love when talking to Fran. Fran feels like he would have played a similar role/made similar decisions in the mountains. According to Chori Segura, Daniel is physically a lot bigger than Fran irl (4). From Daniel, Fran takes away temperance, listening to others, being able to put the group first (3).
  
• Rafael Federman (Eduardo Strauch): When they met, Eduardo gave him his book as a gift. He would always answer Rafael’s questions (3). Eduardo always received him warmly (2). Rafael took the exit sign of the plane as a souvenir from set, same as Eduardo irl (5).
  
• Andy Pruss (Roy Harley): He got his information from the books and interviews. But also from talking to him, and how he sees himself in the mountains, 50 years later, what he did right and what he did wrong, specially about not being able to keep his emotions in check, which ended up affecting him a lot (3). Roy took him out in his car to see the places where he grew up, where he studied, his childhood house. Roy also went with Andy and his parents to the beach (2).
  
• Juan Ignacio "Juanicar" Carusso (Álvaro Mangino): Álvaro as a character had never existed in the other movies, so he felt a lot of responsibility playing him. Álvaro took him home and personally taught him how he used to crawl with a broken leg. He would always answer any question he had (3). Álvaro and Margarita also took some of their family to set, for the hospital scenes (2).
  
• Simón Hempe (José Luis "Coche" Inciarte): Once his participation got confirmed in the movie, he bought the Society of the Snow and another book about the event, on a whim. It ended up being Coche’s book (3). He feels like he bonded with Coche, since day 1, almost like a grandfather. He also got close to his family, specially his (now) widow, Soledad (2). His death was very hard on Simón (3). They talked a lot, at his house, by phone, on set. They got close enough that Simón could show up to the Inciarte household unannounced (2), and Coche called him his “favorite actor”(2). Coche personally coached him on set for the rescue scenes (told him to remember to smile) and in the hospital (him and Soledad still remembered very clearly how their reencounter was). Soledad says that the movie was something that gave Coche energy despite being ill, and that watching it made him proud. He once met some friends of Coche by chance, and they shared pictures and memories of him (3).
  
• Valentino Alonso (Alfredo "Pancho" Delgado): When they first met by themselves, they couldn’t look at each other in the eye. Pancho is still very affected by what happened, and Valentino wanted to transmit the emotions (including impotence for nor being able to convince Numa to eat enough to live) that he could still see in him, but also fears the movie broke him a bit too (2). According to ML Berch, his manners are similar to Pancho’s, also him being very good at talking while still being reserved (4). Pancho told him still considers Numa his life’s biggest friend (3).
  
• Esteban Bigliardi (Javier Methol): Javier had already passed away (2015) by the time the casting started (2021). He got his information from reading books, watching interviews. He got to know that Javier, despite having a hard life, had a very strong spirit, passion for life, compassion. He asked the survivors about him, and they would say that Javier was love (3).
  
• Rocco Posca (Ramón "Moncho" Sabella): For the last round of casting, they sent him a video of Moncho, and he says that he nurtured himself with it, he felt like Moncho (3). They became really close, and he talks to Moncho informally, as a friend, on Moncho’s insistence (2). They talk a lot on the phone (2). Rocco feels that they formed a kind of connection, that he got some of his energy. Their families stories are a bit similar (ie. Moncho helped his father in the fruit market stall, while Rocco’s uncles did the same on the other side of the river, in Argentina), and also he would get certain feelings or trains of thoughts while in character, that he would later discover were similar to Moncho’s own in the mountains (3).
  
• Luciano Chatton (Pedro Algorta): They met alone at least once in Punta del Este, in 2021. They walked together, and Pedro asked him if he had read his book. He had, but hadn’t finished. They ended up talking for about 4 hours. He doesn’t want to talk a lot about Pedro, because what he says may be different from reality. Pedro seems to still carry wonder and timidity from the mountains. (2)
  
• Agustín Berruti (Roberto "Bobby" Francois): He too is from Tacuarembó, part of the Uruguayan countryside. He went to Bobby’s house. Bobby said that he didn’t have any idea as to why they sent him there, because he wouldn’t be able to help him with anything. So they drank wine and talked about the countryside life instead (1)
  

Played Victims

• Enzo Vogrincic (Numa Turcatti): He didn’t get to meet Numa’s twin, Leonardo, as he passed away in 2009. But he did meet Daniel Turcatti, another brother, and his children. He was given a tour of the Turcatti’s childhood home, and Daniel would recall different anecdotes in each room. Numa would have absolutely hated being a protagonist. The survivors and Bayona say that he resembles Numa in the fact that he would constantly bring himself down for not being good enough (1)
  
• Fernando Contigiani (ArturoNogueira): After the dinner with the survivors, he was taken to the Nogueira’s house and had a big tea time with them (3). They also accompanied him during the whole process of the movie. Arturo’s siblings, Gabriel and Selina are very thankful towards him, say their family is open towards him, and think Arturo would have liked his work. Cristina, another sister, says he helped her close her mourning process. He was the first person Selina called after she watched the movie for the first time (2).
  
• Benjamín “Chori” Segura (Rafael "El Vasco” Echavarren): His biggest source of information were Rafael’s sisters, Daniel Fernández helped him a lot too, since he held a lot of love towards Vasco while in the mountains. He tried to see what all three sisters shared, because Rafael could have had those same things too (4). The first time he met the Echavarren sisters, they asked if he would be their brother, and he answered that he would try. They hugged and cried, they laughed and talked for hours. The sisters have both said that they love Chori and that having him is like having their brother back, somewhat (but that Rafael was more shameless) (2).
  
• Paula Baldini (Liliana Navarro): She was able to talk to a sister, a friend, and her daughters (3). The most emotional part of filming was meeting the Methols daughters in the airport, since she was dressed exactly as their last memory of her. They all cried, and thanked her a lot (5). Male Methol says that the movie helped her picture the mother she didn’t get to grow up with (1). The other children also say that the movie helped them close the cycle (3).
  
• Diego Vegezzi (Marcelo Pérez del Castillo): He says that he got a lot of who was Marcelo from the Society of the Snow book, and also from "Del Otro Lado de la Montaña", the book written by the families. He had the same role as an empathetic leader in his family, the team and in the mountains (3). When they first met him, the survivors gathered around him because he looked so alike Marcelo (6). Stella, sister, says that what she saw in the movie feels like the Marcelo she knew, that his death onscreen brought forward the feelings she had bottled up for 50 years, and that the movie remembered that the 16 that made it back did it so because of the 29 left behind (1).
  
• Blas Polidori (Gustavo "Coco" Nicolich): He relied a lot in Coco’s letters, since they have so much of his personality (3). He mostly talked with Álvaro, also nicknamed Coco, the younger brother. They met at his office, alongside an acting coach. They talked about what Gustavo’s essence was, their family, their parents, how them, as a family lived the tragedy. Álvaro tends to leave supportive comments on Blas Instagram from the Nicolich family business account, he says that Blas could bring Coco back in his last moments and was thankful for it, even if he saw him suffer (2). He also keeps contact with Álvaro´s daughter, Coco’s niece, Pauli (3).
  
• Emanuel Parga (Sgt. Carlos Roque): Roque’s family didn’t want to talk much with the production, because they were still angry and felt disrespected because of his portrayal in Alive (1993) (3). He got in contact with Alejandro, Roque’s son, and also people from the Air Force. The first time he met Alejandro, they couldn’t speak, but they cried and hugged, it felt like two friends meeting again after a long time. He promised that he would honour his father, bring his dignity back (2). Roque’s sister got in contact with Ema only after the release of the movie, and was both relieved and happy with it. She liked that they portrayed the love he had for his job (3).
  
• Felipe Ramusio (Diego Storm): He had played rugby as a kid. He got in contact with Diego’s brother, and also a family friend. The survivor that helped him the most was Carlitos (very close to Diego, even named one of his kids after him), who invited even him to his house. After the movie, the family contacted him again and congratulated him (3).
  
• Alfonsina Carrocio (Susana "Susy" Parrado): She mostly talked to Nando. He was very descriptive on how she was injured, what she could and could not do after the crash, how Liliana would take care of her (3).
  
• Santiago Vaca Narvaja (Daniel Maspons): He was welcomed to Daniel’s nephew’s house with tea and chocolate. He keeps contact with the Maspons sisters, specially with Rosario, the eldest. They showed him a lot of love. She thanked him for helping her understand what happened in the mountains. He does not resemble Maspons in personality, since Daniel was very shy and not very talkative, and had to learn to have a silent presence (3).
  
• Juandi Eirea (Juan Carlos Menéndez): He did play rugby for 15 years, which helped him with characterization. The Menéndez family didn’t take part in the movie production (3).
  
• Federico Aznárez (Enrique Platero): His father trained in the Old Christian’s gym as a kid, so he had always had a big connection to the story. He re-read the books after being cast. He got in contact with Roberto Canessa, before the casting even finished, and they talked for about 30 minutes in Dr. Canessa’s workplace (the hospital), mostly about how their life were before the crash. He phoned Roberto before the last round of casting, because the books had very little information about Enrique, and Canessa invited him home to practice his scenes, and also to talk a lot about Enrique and his family. Netflix wasn’t able to contact the Platero family, so Gustavo Zerbino did it instead. They had a barbecue with Enrique’s nephews and nieces, who knew very little about him, and Fede asked Zerbino a lot of questions, with some chime-ins from the Plateros (3). He later got in contact with Martín Zerbino (son), Juan Pablo Nicola (son of the Nicolas, who passed away in the crash) and, alongside Juani Eirea went to the Valley of Tears in February 2023, where they left letters for Enrique and Juan Carlos (2).
  
• Jerónimo Bosia (Franciso "Panchito" Abal): Netflix was not able to contact the Abal family, most of them had already passed away. After the movie release, a step sister sent Carlitos an audio message, which got to Jerónimo through Pipe Otaño, talking about how she could now understand that Pancho didn’t make it back so that some would be able to (3).
  
• Agustín Lain (Carlos Valeta): They told him that he resembles Valeta in his looks and his youth (3). It’s unclear who “they” are, if they were survivors, Vierci or Valeta relatives.
  
• Lautaro Bakir (Julio Martínez-Lamas): He got to meet the family while filming, which was something very impactful for him. He met a sister while filming at the airport, him in character with a beard. He got most of his information by what Pablo Vierci and Zerbino told him. He was not a rugby player, but was a big fan of the Old Christians and would always participate in the chants (3).
  
• Lucas Mascareña (Fernando “Flaco” Vázquez): He met Teresa Vázquez, a sister, and her family when they saw him characterized at the airport, and hugged him without saying anything. They recognized him, and could see both his eyes and facial expressions that he played Fernando. A friend of el Flaco says that Lucas’ acting brought him back (2). Fun fact, the actor is a commercial pilot.
  
• Federico Formento (Daniel Shaw): He was initially unable to contact the Shaw family, so he got bits and pieces from the books. He eventually met with Miguel Shaw, Daniel’s brother, after Pablo Vierci got him his contact, while they were filming the Uruguay scenes (3).
  
• Francisco Bereny (Felipe Maquirriaín): Sandra Maquirriaín (sister) was involved in the process of the movie (1). I could not find any interview with him.
  
• Toto Rovito (Alexis Hounié) and Julián Bedino (Guido Magri): Although they do have interviews, I could not find footage of him talking about whether he met the families of who they played, or if they talked with the survivors about them.
  
• Louta (Gastón Costemalle), Maximiliano de la Cruz (Lt. Col. Dante Lagurara): Although they have speaking roles, I could not find interviews with them talking about SOTS.
  
• Pablo ??? (Dr. Francisco Nicola): To Juan Pedro Nicola, son, seeing him acting at the airport was magic, like seeing them again (1).
  

Did not board the plane:
- Fran Burghi (Alfredo Cibilis): He couldn’t meet Alfredo due to schedule conflicts (3).
Sources:
1) Behind the scenes documentary/Netflix interviews
2) Actors and personal Instagram accounts
3) Interview by Moobys (YouTube)
4) Interview by Fangirleando y Chismeando (YouTube)
5) Juanicar’s livestreams
6) Society of the Snow book (newest edition)

I wrote this down for a close friend and thought might post it here for the benefit of the entire community (hopefully 🤞🏼)
Okay so step 2 unlike step 1 is super clinical which is why there are certain limitations to it in terms of available resources. Uworld is the primary go-to resource for step 2. If one can do it religiously, you don’t need anything else. I personally did my first pass of Uworld and repeated my incorrects. I started second pass but ended up doing 40% only because most of it felt like repetition and just helped me recall things that I probably would’ve forgotten otherwise. That being said, Amboss was my second primary resource. Amboss for step 2 is amazing. The library and the questions, both of them are super nice. If someone has no time limitations, I recommend doing 60-90% of it’s q bank but if someone has limited time, I definitely recommend amboss study plans. Some of them are a must do. 200 HY concepts, vaccination, screening, ethics are the ones I can recall from top of my mind. I tried BnB for Step 2 but not very helpful, wouldn’t particularly recommend. Divine podcasts are alright but I thought they weren’t super helpful to me personally (not a podcast fan generally) and it felt like they were outdated too. Dr. A.K notes are Uworld notes that I used for my last minute revision. Inner circle notes are decent too but I found them super extensive so it’s really subjective. Give them a try though. Do last 5 NBME’s at least and if time allows, do all the CMS forms. These are very exam oriented and might help u in the actual exam. Do all the self assessments (uwsa 1,2,3 and Amboss SA too). Lastly, this is super subjective and solely my personal opinion but I felt like my step 2 tutor was super smart and extremely helpful. I joined her classes for the last 2 months of my actual prep time and she was so quick with her revision that she not just helped me revise Dr. AK notes quickly but also kept spitting out super HY facts/concepts that improved my exam taking strategy and also helped me do great on the actual exam day. Happy to connect anyone with her. She has been teaching for 3 yrs now and does a free one time demo session too. 10/10 recommended.
Exam day: Please eat something super light. I’m an anxious test taker and decided I’ll definitely try propanol after my step 1 exam freak out. It was my first time trying the beta blocker and it honestly did wonders (for me at least). I went for 2 blocks and a 10 minute break. Ate granola bars intermittently but nothing too fancy (was playing it super safe lol). You got this guys! I believe in each one of you. Good luck amazing people!!

Sorry for long context but months ago she broke up with me to go back to her ex because she still had feelings for him and I was being needy and over pursuing in the relationship. During no contact I tried reaching out to her which led her to block me and after 4 months of no contact, her and the ex broke up and after a few days she unblocked me, apologized for everything, and asked if we could be cool which I accepted.
Things had been going well, we were being flirty and playful with each other while she was mirroring my behavior and doing 100% of the calling, texting, interacting with me in person, and was showing a high level of interest again. At one point one of our mutual friends told me my ex still had feelings for me but wanted to wait to get back together. I took this as a sign that she was going to process her feelings for the ex but, I believe I was mistaken.
2 weeks later her interest started to drop, she was texting me less, and wasn’t as enthusiastic to see me and on Friday the mutual friend told me my ex didn’t want me anymore. Honestly I was devastated and the next day I asked her if she was playing games or leading me on again and if she was then I don’t think we should speak to each other which she replied, “Idk how I’m leading you on I never said we were talking you never said we were talking I thought we were friends”. I responded with “I understand that but that’s how I feel right now.” Which she replied with “Ok well just to clarify we’re not talking and I’m not interested in talking.”
I’ve read How to be a 3% Man 3 times when we broke up and part of me feels like I was too needy, in my head, and made the dumbest decision to tell her how I feel while another part of me feels like I was standing up for myself and wasn’t going to sit around and be an option for her since she once told me she had other guys flirting with her that she wasn’t really interested in. I want to be with her again but make the right choice in doing so. Thanks for reading any advice is appreciated.