Carcassonne Central

Off Topic => Anything Else => Topic started by: dirk2112 on April 12, 2016, 04:17:34 AM

Title: I love debt....
Post by: dirk2112 on April 12, 2016, 04:17:34 AM
Quote from: wamboyil
when I clicked on the "pay with PayPal" option, it would not let me do that (something about their website not being able to accept PayPal from other countries?). I changed my payment method to "bank transfer", and the order seemed to go through, but I have no idea how I am supposed to make the payment to them. I never received an order confirmation e-mail from them, and my e-mail to them has not been answered yet, after 5 days.


I'm in Maryland and Cundco orders take 10 days to get here.  It may take an extra day to get to you in Illinois, but it shouldn't be 3 weeks. 

Paypal is the only way I have done business with cundco and nostheide.de.  I have no idea why you got that message.  I can't speak to the bank transfer method.  It seems very popular with German Ebay sellers, but I have avoided it like the plague (until the plague went on sale).  I'm not sure what Europeans have against credit cards exactly, but Paypal is the way to go.  The site keeps great track of when the payment was made and who it went to so they can't say you didn't pay them. 


Possibly my favourite mini-expansion; not because of the mechanics, but the spacial boundaries it broke, it feels very different to any other expansion and generally simple to implement. I always thought the Blue Rose should have been the start tile.

I don't like the Blue Rose at all.  It doesn't really make sense and it rarely makes a difference.  If it comes out first, it basically becomes the start tile.  If it comes out last, it does nothing.  It is predicted that the poles will shift in our world someday.  The consequences of that go from bad to catastrophic.  When it happens in Carcassonne, the pig doesn't even fall over.   
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: hunnymonster on April 12, 2016, 04:25:10 AM
I'm not sure what Europeans have against credit cards exactly


Trust me - we don't have anything against credit cards - but I know many people have a big downer on paying exorbitant fees (3½%+) for something that can otherwise usually be done for free - move money from one account to another (even over a border)
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: dirk2112 on April 12, 2016, 04:29:23 AM
I'm not sure what Europeans have against credit cards exactly


Trust me - we don't have anything against credit cards - but I know many people have a big downer on paying exorbitant fees (3½%+) for something that can otherwise usually be done for free - move money from one account to another (even over a border)

Got it.  For a lot of us though, the credit card exchange rate was better than what our banks gave us.  So it was a wash.  Now, I am not sure that is the case.  Also, our business just raise the rate of cash purchases to match that of credit card purchases so it doesn't matter which you use. 

Speaking of Europeans and credit cards.  There seems to be 2 classic mistakes Europeans make when they come to the US.  For whatever reason, some British folks think they can land in Washington DC and drive to Orlando Florida in 2 to 3 hours.  The other problem is purchasing gas (petrol).  Some don't know how to pay with cash and others try the credit card method and fail miserably.  The gas station credit card machines ask for your zipcode.  If you are a foreigner, make sure you google "gas station zip code foreign credit card" before visiting. 
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Decar on April 12, 2016, 04:31:32 AM
Yes that never makes sense to me.  In the UK we put petrol into the car and then pay for what we've taken.  Over in the US you have to know how much you want to spend, pay for it and then take the petrol.  How on earth do you 'fill 'er up?'
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: dirk2112 on April 12, 2016, 04:34:14 AM
Yes that never makes sense to me.  In the UK we put petrol into the car and then pay for what we've taken.  Over in the US you have to know how much you want to spend, pay for it and then take the petrol.  How on earth do you 'fill 'er up?'

2 ways.

1.  Use a credit card.
2.  Pay cash for more gas then is required, fill it up, and go back into the station to get your change.
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Decar on April 12, 2016, 04:35:01 AM
well that'll save me a few dollars next time I'm over here  :(y) :(y) ^-^
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: danisthirty on April 12, 2016, 04:37:14 AM
Yes that never makes sense to me.  In the UK we put petrol into the car and then pay for what we've taken.  Over in the US you have to know how much you want to spend, pay for it and then take the petrol.  How on earth do you 'fill 'er up?'

Last time I bought petrol it stopped on EXACTLY £40! #truestory #amazingbuttrue
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Paul on April 12, 2016, 04:38:57 AM
In Sweden you only pay for the price given.
  Anything else, fees and such, is allowed, provided it is stated clearly / informed to customer before purchasing.

A good example is, banks in Sweden has added a fee for paying with your card (any type) having stores adding a small fee towards customer paying with cards. This fee has to be stated (usually on a sticker note next to the card machine) to make it legal.
  Today, though, this fee is not added, rather it's been integrating into the store's merchandise overall or, for the smaller stores, there is a minimum purchase of 5 Euro if paying using a card.

As for PayPal and credit cards, not sure it relate to this, but many stores now demand a verified credit card linked to your PayPal account in order to pay online, even if using PayPal funds.
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Paul on April 12, 2016, 04:39:25 AM
Yes that never makes sense to me.  In the UK we put petrol into the car and then pay for what we've taken.  Over in the US you have to know how much you want to spend, pay for it and then take the petrol.  How on earth do you 'fill 'er up?'

Last time I bought petrol it stopped on EXACTLY £40! #truestory #amazingbuttrue

Imagine if it would have stopped at 30! :D
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Decar on April 12, 2016, 04:40:55 AM
Imagine if it would have stopped at 30! :D

But then he'd be thirsty for more!
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: danisthirty on April 12, 2016, 04:41:44 AM
Imagine if it would have stopped at 30! :D

But then he'd be thirsty for more!

If I could fill up for £30 I'd have more money left to spend on Carcassonne. Never going to happen though...
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: dirk2112 on April 12, 2016, 04:51:02 AM
Luckily I never had to rent a car in Europe.  I think my wallet would have cried.  We pay per gallon what you guys pay per liter (1 gallon = 3.79 liters).  The down side is our infrastructure is terrible.   I can't live without a car here or pretty much any US city with the exception of NYC. 

I didn't intend to make this the "I love the gas station" thread. 
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: hunnymonster on April 12, 2016, 07:47:40 AM
I'm not sure what Europeans have against credit cards exactly

Was talking to a German colleague at work today - and there is a historic aversion to debt (even transient credit card debt) in Germany - http://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everything/
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Valheru on April 12, 2016, 08:02:40 AM
I'm not sure what Europeans have against credit cards exactly

Was talking to a German colleague at work today - and there is a historic aversion to debt (even transient credit card debt) in Germany - http://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everything/

Might have something to do with history, without deliberatly offending anyone, which is not my intension.
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: hunnymonster on April 12, 2016, 08:11:20 AM
Er, yeah - and also as the article linked points out - the words for debt & guilt are linked (in German)...  I suspect that predates the historic economic crises that the article writes of.
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Valheru on April 12, 2016, 08:25:23 AM
Er, yeah - and also as the article linked points out - the words for debt & guilt are linked (in German)...  I suspect that predates the historic economic crises that the article writes of.

I'm sorry, I didn't check the link you posted. My comment was a bit hastily.  :-\
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: dirk2112 on April 12, 2016, 08:43:55 AM
I'm in debt to whoever cut this out of the other thread.

OK so we have explained why Germans hate debt and thus credit cards.  We still need to work on why they hide old magazines in basements, but that is for another thread.  So what about the rest of Europe?  I didn't see credit cards being used in the Netherlands (possibly the German reason spilling over) and Belgium.  My Ukrainian born coworkers have been here for years and still can't believe that Americans use credit cards to purchase coffee and other small items. 

Perhaps Americans are the weird ones.  We don't include taxes and fees in our purchase prices.  We absolutely love revolving debt.  Almost every store takes credit cards here.  Actually there is one well established store in the US that doesn't take credit cards.  They also don't give you bags for your groceries and are starting to change the way Americans shop.  You can probably guess the name of the store and the country it comes from.     
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: hunnymonster on April 12, 2016, 10:31:01 AM
That really ticks me off (and I toned the sentiment down there a lot) when someone produces a credit or debit card to pay for a coffee. The additional time it takes to complete the transaction (after the card is declined because it's bent, or the contact reader in the machine is worn) compared to handing over cash ticks everyone in the queue off too...

Contactless payment is a solution looking for a problem - with the side effect of transferring liability to the cardholder if some criminal element steals the card and uses it (which they'll be able to for at least a couple of transactions before the PIN is required) and for which the transaction limit has gone from £20 to £30 recently...

Then the next thing the banks whine about is people getting into too much debt - open your eyes! Give people easy credit and make it hard to track how much they're spending and they run up debt.
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Rosco on April 13, 2016, 01:20:45 AM
So if bank transfer is the only option then I have found transferwise to be very good.

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Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: danisthirty on April 13, 2016, 01:38:12 AM
That really ticks me off (and I toned the sentiment down there a lot) when someone produces a credit or debit card to pay for a coffee. The additional time it takes to complete the transaction (after the card is declined because it's bent, or the contact reader in the machine is worn) compared to handing over cash ticks everyone in the queue off too...

The price of coffee in coffee shops ticks me off enough to just not go into them in the first place unless there are social reasons to be there, but that's already another topic. Bent cards and knackered readers aren't especially common in my experience, and the people working in the shops are so used to people paying by card that when you try to pay using cash it ends up taking just as long anyway (initial shock of seeing money, finding the correct till compartment to put individual notes/ coins into, working out how much change to give, working out how the correct amount of change can be given using coins available, handing change over without dropping any of it) and that's without people trying to be helpful by paying with a £10 note AND a 20p coin for something that cost £5.20. That will usually warrant a blank stare for at least 5 seconds before the 20p is returned, and 2 minutes lates, £4.80 in change (if you're lucky).

Personally, I find contactless payment to be especially quick and convenient. But then, I have small kids so when I am ever going to be spending more than £30 on anything fun or interesting.

Sent from my computer using fingers and a keyboard
Title: Re: I love debt....
Post by: Valheru on April 13, 2016, 01:58:46 AM

Sent from my computer using fingers and a keyboard

  :D :D Hahaha