***Official SF Bay Area Sightings/General Thread***

Originally Posted by albeee

Take your car for example, Rick. If that vert cost a tenth of what it did, you wouldn't bother going to Socal just to see it. You would be less scrupulous and have a trusted friend or relative OK on your behalf and probably just have it towed up there, because there's less to lose. But no, you wanted the full experience because of the sentimental value, and probably the price.

And because he wouldn't ship

No, in all seriousness, if it was a dealership where I could hold there feet to the fire, I would have shipped it. I tried hard to get KY to ship the friggin car but they wouldn't.

Private seller is harder because it's just a dude. It really comes down to how much you trust the seller.

Yes, if the cost is cheaper, then it becomes easier to justify taking a risk - BUT All that is irrelevant. I'm trying to determine why you see the internet as one big risk when that clearly is no longer the case.

Amazon, Zappos, etc - These are big time no BS merchants that operate exclusively online. There's no reason not to trust them just as much as you would another retailer.

Originally Posted by albeee

Cost is very important..

I'm saying you're using cost as a red herring for trust. Trust is the issue here.

Originally Posted by Devious21

I'm saying you're using cost as a red herring for trust. Trust is the issue here.

So money and trust are mutually exclusive? I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to disagree. It's far too volatile just to be left to blind trust.

Originally Posted by albeee

So money and trust are mutually exclusive?

No, I didn't say that. I'm saying you keep coming back to money when your issue is whether or not you trust them. The cost of the item may raise the threshold of how much you need to trust the seller, but he matter is still trust, not the ancillary issue of money.

Originally Posted by albeee

It's far too volatile just to be left to blind trust.

At no time did I imply blind trust. This is exactly what I said:

That's the crux of the issue. I don't have hesitation to purchase from a reseller just because they are online. I have the same hesitations as any other retailer. Are they legit? How long have they been in business? how is their customer service, reviews, etc.

Me and Albeee are like 2 sides of the same coin. I'm an anthrophobe and he's a technophobe.

Originally Posted by Devious21

No, I didn't say that. I'm saying you keep coming back to money when your issue is whether or not you trust them. The cost of the item may raise the threshold of how much you need to trust the seller, but he matter is still trust, not the ancillary issue of money.





At no time did I imply blind trust. This is exactly what I said:

And this is where it ends. We are talking about a purchase, a business transaction. Trust and money are VERY connected in this scenario, as they are two of the biggest elements. Why are people so upset of shady sellers that "scammed" them in a sense? Because it involved money. It is not ancillary, because the moment money is involved-and the moment the amount reaches a certain number-the more trust issues emerge.

Originally Posted by Devious21

Me and Albeee are like 2 sides of the same coin. I'm an anthrophobe and he's a technophobe.

How am I a technophobe? I have a modern car, a computer, a cellphone, a television, game consoles, Apple products, a dSLR (as in digital), do online banking, and online transactions. I am as immersed in technology as any modern youth.

Originally Posted by albeee

And this is where it ends. We are talking about a purchase, a business transaction. Trust and money are VERY connected in this scenario, as they are two of the biggest elements.

I didn't say they were weren't.

Originally Posted by albeee

because the moment money is involved-and the moment the amount reaches a certain number-the more trust issues emerge.

That's pretty much exactly what I said.

The cost of the item may raise the threshold of how much you need to trust the seller

You said you don't trust the shady internet. I said a retailer being on the internet doesn't signify it's shady and I use the same criteria when choosing to make a purchase from an online retailer as a physical one.

I would buy a $2,000 TV from a TRUSTWORTHY brick and mortar OR a TRUSTWORTHY online retailer. That's why I said the cost wasn't the issue. It's the trust. You don't trust an online retailer to make that purchase but you trust a brick and mortar. I don't make that distinction. I trust a trustworthy seller regardless of medium.

Originally Posted by Devious21

I didn't say they were weren't.



That's pretty much exactly what I said.


You said you don't trust the shady internet. I said a retailer being on the internet doesn't signify it's distru****l and I use the same criteria when choosing to make a purchase from an online retailer as a physical one.

I would buy a $2,000 TV from a TRUSTWORTHY brick and mortar OR a TRUSTWORTHY online retailer. That's why I said the cost wasn't the issue. It's the trust. You don't trust an online retailer to make that purchase but you trust a brick and mortar. I don't make that distinction. I trust a trustworthy seller regardless of medium.

Yes, and again, there's a certain price to where I'd have to see it first.

Originally Posted by albeee

How am I a technophobe? I have a modern car, a computer, a cellphone, a television, game consoles, Apple products, a dSLR (as in digital), do online banking, and online transactions. I am as immersed in technology as any modern youth.

In regards to the internet as a medium for shopping.

Originally Posted by Devious21

In regards to the internet as a medium for shopping.

That's one aspect of it. It's a pretty broad term.

Originally Posted by Devious21

I didn't say they were weren't.



That's pretty much exactly what I said.


You said you don't trust the shady internet. I said a retailer being on the internet doesn't signify it's shady and I use the same criteria when choosing to make a purchase from an online retailer as a physical one.

I would buy a $2,000 TV from a TRUSTWORTHY brick and mortar OR a TRUSTWORTHY online retailer. That's why I said the cost wasn't the issue. It's the trust. You don't trust an online retailer to make that purchase but you trust a brick and mortar. I don't make that distinction. I trust a trustworthy seller regardless of medium.

And once again, you go back to electronics, which I already mentioned earlier is not completely applicable to the human element where this discussion stems from. It just doesn't work, and you keep going back to it. You don't have to try it on for size. You don't have to feel the materials. You don't have to verify that the components are genuine or not (as is the case with jewelry). None of that applies, as long as it works as advertised. If you keep sticking to just electronics, then yes, you can go by what others say over the internet.

Originally Posted by albeee

That's one aspect of it. It's a pretty broad term.

And that's how I meant it, in the context we were talking about. Wasn't implying you embodied every conceivable application of the term just as I wasn't implying the same for myself with Anthrophobe. And I was just sort of poking fun at both of us.

Originally Posted by albeee

And once again, you go back to electronics, which I already mentioned earlier is not completely applicable to the human element where this discussion stems from. It just doesn't work, and you keep going back to it. You don't have to try it on for size. You don't have to feel the materials. You don't have to verify that the components are genuine or not (as is the case with jewelry). None of that applies, as long as it works as advertised. If you keep sticking to just electronics, then yes, you can go by what others say over the internet.

Fine, you used the example of the watch. Change it to watch and I have exactly the same view.

I already conceded the "trying on something for fitment" part. The components being genuine, fine but that's really something you can easily research online and doesn't really have to do with a retailer being online. It has to do with the product itself.

I keep bringing forward the same exact point and you seem to be addressing everything but. You said you don't trust online retailers because they are online, don't trust the internet, think it's shady etc. I'm saying I make no distinction but you haven't addressed that, so I'm assuming we just differ there.

:pulls popcorn:

Originally Posted by Devious21

Fine, you used the example of the watch. Change it to watch and I have exactly the same view.

I already conceded the "trying on something for fitment" part. The components being genuine, fine but that's really something you can easily research online and doesn't really have to do with a retailer being online. It has to do with the product itself.

I keep bringing forward the same exact point and you seem to be addressing everything but. You said you don't trust online retailers because they are online, don't trust the internet, think it's shady etc. I'm saying I make no distinction but you haven't addressed that, so I'm assuming we just differ there.

You forget where this talk came from-buying something sight unseen, and, consequently, how much money can you pay for a product sight unseen. And I didn't say I didn't trust online retailers altogether; I said I trust them with certain products up to a certain price point. Why? Because I'm paying first, not seeing the product first. If I went to the store, I can see the exact product I'm about to buy, and if I don't like the seller but okay with the product and price, I would still buy it because I've tested the product and it works. With an online retailer, I have nothing but their word to go by. And reviews? Even they can be skewed. Most of the time, people who leave reviews feel strongly for or against some or all of the components of an item or the seller.

Originally Posted by albeee

And I didn't say I didn't trust online retailers altogether; I said I trust them with certain products up to a certain price point. Why? Because I'm paying first, not seeing the product first. If I went to the store, I can see the exact product I'm about to buy, and if I don't like the seller but okay with the product and price, I would still buy it because I've tested the product and it works.

Sure that makes sense. It still doesn't bother me because I have no issues with returning it if it ends up being not as I thought but you seem uncomfortable with that. Like I said before, if I ended up having to return a majority of what I bought, it would cease to be as convenient but of course it turns out the opposite for me.

Could have saved some forum posts if you'd addressed the point that I made over and over about you appearing to have an unjustified aversion to online retailers. Every time you refuted one of my points incorrectly (money vs trust, absolute trust) I addressed it immediately so there was no confusion. But I rambled on about how I didn't have an issue with online vs offline merchants and you didn't correct me. It sounds like your saying you don't have an issue with online retailers just buying things in general if you can't see them first.

You made a comments about having no faith in the internet and about there being shady sellers online and not spending money on online retailers when all those points were basically besides the point. You really just don't like buying things you can't see. That's why I was confused.

stop your bickering girls

We haven't had a good bickering in a few weeks!

I like this emotional NGC.

Good morning from Missourah!