Recent posts

#1

Traffic Control / Re: Erroneous road signs

Last post by 74/171FAN - Today at 05:00:52 PM

SC 322 WB at SC 274 WB in Rock Hill (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10220256398520636&set=a.10220256482402733)

#2

Traffic Control / Re: Unique, Odd, or Interestin...

Last post by 74/171FAN - Today at 04:56:54 PM

Some different speed limit text on Route 1 in Colonial Heights, VA:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bVhXxi9n3qPxZiAo6

That signage has been around for my entire life, probably much longer than that.

#3

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by kkt - Today at 04:37:59 PM

If I had my druthers, merchants would not be allowed to sell anything with a deferred-redemption component unless the full value of said component were kept available to the customer without expiration.  This would mean:

*  Store gift cards and gift certificates would never expire.

*  Stored-value debit cards would never expire.  (I believe federal regulations already require this.)

*  Loyalty points would remain permanently available to the customer until used up.

*  At any point, the customer could demand the full face value in cash.

If this forced supermarket chains to phase out loyalty programs, I would not shed a tear.

Okay, but what does "never expire" really mean?  Businesses don't stay around forever.  They don't have any way of knowing how to get ahold of people who have gift cards they issued, and I wouldn't want to be on their mailing list if they did.

#4

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by SEWIGuy - Today at 04:33:33 PM

What do you have against supermarket loyalty programs?

They undermine price transparency.  I prefer to shop by value as measured against net price, and loyalty programs--especially ones based on points that do not have an explicit and easily found dollars-and-cents value--introduce an added layer of calculation.

For similar reasons, I support legislation that prohibits perpetual sales and requires display of unit cost for every price level accessible to the customer.  (With digital coupons, it is not uncommon to see three price levels:  without loyalty card, with card but without digital coupon, and with card and digital coupon.)

Anyway, I am with you until the last point. Why should the store have to redeem the card for cash?

Vdeane mentions one of the reasons--the value of the card should not be tied to the issuing establishment in any way.  Another is that a redemption requirement serves as a check on loyalty programs in general.  If it makes such a program uneconomic for a store to pursue, that is a benefit to the consumer.

I have read that one of the rationales for giving a gift certificate instead of an equal amount in cash is to ensure that the money is spent on items the store actually sells.  While I understand the appeal of this in the case of, e.g., a black-sheep relative who might otherwise spend cash on street drugs, the reality in economic terms is that buying a gift certificate amounts to setting some of the money on fire since the loss of convertibility equates to a reduction in the face value.

So because someone bought a bad gift, a card to "a place they aren't interested in shopping at", the store is now responsible for making it right?  People get bad gifts for one another all of the time.

Yes, absolutely.  Having to refund unwanted merchandise is a normal commercial risk.

But it is not required that returned merchandise be returned for cash. (It's almost always in-store credit - which is basically a gift card.) So I have no idea why gift cards should be. I mean these are gifts.

And I think you are way overthinking why people get gift cards for others. I don't purchase them because I am afraid that the recipient would buy drugs with the cash. I think they merely give the impression that someone put SOME thought into the purchase.

And I think you also overthink the loyalty programs. They're just nice things to get people to shop somewhere more regularly.

#5

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by J N Winkler - Today at 04:22:45 PM

What do you have against supermarket loyalty programs?

They undermine price transparency.  I prefer to shop by value as measured against net price, and loyalty programs--especially ones based on points that do not have an explicit and easily found dollars-and-cents value--introduce an added layer of calculation.

For similar reasons, I support legislation that prohibits perpetual sales and requires display of unit cost for every price level accessible to the customer.  (With digital coupons, it is not uncommon to see three price levels:  without loyalty card, with card but without digital coupon, and with card and digital coupon.)

Anyway, I am with you until the last point. Why should the store have to redeem the card for cash?

Vdeane mentions one of the reasons--the value of the card should not be tied to the issuing establishment in any way.  Another is that a redemption requirement serves as a check on loyalty programs in general.  If it makes such a program uneconomic for a store to pursue, that is a benefit to the consumer.

I have read that one of the rationales for giving a gift certificate instead of an equal amount in cash is to ensure that the money is spent on items the store actually sells.  While I understand the appeal of this in the case of, e.g., a black-sheep relative who might otherwise spend cash on street drugs, the reality in economic terms is that buying a gift certificate amounts to setting some of the money on fire since the loss of convertibility equates to a reduction in the face value.

So because someone bought a bad gift, a card to "a place they aren't interested in shopping at", the store is now responsible for making it right?  People get bad gifts for one another all of the time.

Yes, absolutely.  Having to refund unwanted merchandise is a normal commercial risk.

#6

Traffic Control / Re: Unique, Odd, or Interestin...

Last post by mglass87 - Today at 04:17:55 PM

Some different speed limit text on Route 1 in Colonial Heights, VA:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bVhXxi9n3qPxZiAo6

#7

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by SEWIGuy - Today at 04:09:05 PM

What if the person has a gift card for a place they aren't interested in shopping at?  Or wants to change grocery stores without leaving a rewards balance (essentially impossible where I shop, as you can't redeem and earn points in the same transaction).

So because someone bought a bad gift, a card to "a place they aren't interested in shopping at", the store is now responsible for making it right?  People get bad gifts for one another all of the time.

By the way, I have had friends use this service. You get about 80 cents on the dollar, but if you truly do not like the store, you can get some cash for it.

https://www.cardcash.com/

[YES]

#8

Great Lakes and Ohio Valley / Re: Michigan Notes

Last post by rhen_var - Today at 04:02:28 PM

Cavnue: We want to test out some automated car stuff on a public roadway.
MDOT: Wanna take a GP lane on I-94 between Detroit and Ann Arbor to test out said features?
Cavnue: YES!
MDOT: 

I think that's actually pretty neat.  It's funded by Cavenue, not taxes, and regular cars can still use the lane (except for dedicated testing times, which, as noted in the video, only happens when the loss of the third lane isn't an issue).  It's also now a unique little stretch of freeway which is cool to see.

#9

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by 1995hoo - Today at 03:56:53 PM

Y'all might find the following Ninth Circuit opinion interesting. Essentially, when a woman in Oregon was released from jail, they returned her money via a debit card that charged her fees.

https://casetext.com/case/brown-v-stored-value-cards-inc-2

(The case was still going as of last fall—a Google search revealed another opinion from the district court.)

#10

Off-Topic / Re: Minor things that bother y...

Last post by vdeane - Today at 03:39:47 PM

More irritating to me are store gift cards, i.e. actual cash, that expire (how the fudge does cash expire?) or deduct a monthly "maintenance fee" after some number of months after purchase, like they have to take my card balance out for a walk or something.

I remember reading about those in the book Gotcha Capitalism (which has a lot of very, very good advice on avoiding BS fees and the like).  Gift cards even have a whole chapter in and of themselves.

That book also has a chapter on grocery stores, although it notes that rewards program BS isn't entirely unavoidable unless you want to pay more for groceries, as the stores also use it to track what customers buy.

If I had my druthers, merchants would not be allowed to sell anything with a deferred-redemption component unless the full value of said component were kept available to the customer without expiration.  This would mean:

*  Store gift cards and gift certificates would never expire.

*  Stored-value debit cards would never expire.  (I believe federal regulations already require this.)

*  Loyalty points would remain permanently available to the customer until used up.

*  At any point, the customer could demand the full face value in cash.

If this forced supermarket chains to phase out loyalty programs, I would not shed a tear.

What do you have against supermarket loyalty programs?

Anyway, I am with you until the last point. Why should the store have to redeem the card for cash?

What if the person has a gift card for a place they aren't interested in shopping at?  Or wants to change grocery stores without leaving a rewards balance (essentially impossible where I shop, as you can't redeem and earn points in the same transaction).