Prices?

[entropy]

When I was trying to purchase the house I live in now, I was outbid by two other cash offers over asking price.

I wrote a personal letter to the seller, and gave it to my agent to deliver to their agent. My offer was 10K under asking and they take care of closing. I'm sitting in that home right now, and was informed that my letter was the determining factor in the seller making a decision.

I wrote about how this house would help my daughter and I, yadda yadda type stuff. Turns out the seller was a college professor. Actually, wrote me back, and made mention of my penmanship.

Not applicable... my ass!

Same. Our offer beat a cash offer because of our letter.

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[Austin23]

I live in Austin. A realtor friend of mine told me that last week a home listed at $600k just sold for $890k. And similar transactions of "sold above listing" has become the new norm. I'm no economist, but this type of runaway market can't be healthy long term.

 

[GladiSD]

What's blown me away recently is the price of older sports cars. I'm 42 and have been nostalgia shopping for a mid 90s to mid 2000s sports car. Here's some of what I've found:

2004 Mustang Cobra Conv (5k miles) - $49,999
1995 Viper (34k miles) - $48,000
2002 Trans Am WS6 (18k miles) - $44,900
2008 Honda S2000CR (91k miles) - $45,999
2006 S2000 (56k miles) - $29,000
2006 Z06 (36k miles) - $42,999

I know some of these may be considered collector cars, but damn.

I have an 08' Base model S2000 with 18k miles and a 2008 CR S2000 with 36k miles. Both are bone stock and pretty much flawless and are worth too damn much to drive.

 

[2nd 392]

I have an 08' Base model S2000 with 18k miles and a 2008 CR S2000 with 36k miles. Both are bone stock and pretty much flawless and are worth too damn much to drive.

Heck— A Rubi 392 is almost worth too much to drive.

 

[Bill_P]

For sure. But I think instead of "kept ignorant" they remain ignorant on their own choice.

At least in my school where "Life Skills/Home Ec" class was an elective that was shunned by the Uber Straight kids...

I was the only guy in my Home Ec class in Jr High. Why did I take it you ask? Because, like I said, I was the only guy in the class . Learning a little was an added benefit

 

[Sean L]

This is part of the overall problem we are witnessing today. Not that you don't write in cursive, but the fact no one does anymore.

When was the last time you wrote a personal thank you note, letter, etcetera to someone? Writing in cursive by pen (blue personal / black professional) is a time consuming and personal endeavor. It shows gratitude/appreciation towards someone else's deeds, and/or thoughts. It tells the recipient that they are meaningful, and deserve the time and effort.

For those that do not find showing appreciation, gratitude, and patience towards others as still being applicable today... very sad.

We now live in a world where I get mine, and you're on your own - an instant gratification society that takes no accountability makes it easy to sell out on pretty much anything at all. Hence, a lot of the problems you face today.

A hand written note that takes ten minutes to put together lends much more weight in thoughtfulness than a ten second text message. I wonder which of these societies would tend to care for the "whole" more?

By the way, prices do suck!

When Possible, I've made my gratitude known verbally, face to face and with a solid handshake or a hug. The last Hand Written note that I wrote in cursive and sent in the mail was in 2014, and that's because I was overseas.

 

[Gladius Nova]

Call us old fashioned, but the wife and I still send out birthday cards and Christmas cards through the mail. The Christmas card list dwindles down every year though.

 

[Sean L]

I was the only guy in my Home Ec class in Jr High. Why did I take it you ask? Because, like I said, I was the only guy in the class . Learning a little was an added benefit

While I wasn't the only guy in the class, it still managed to knock me down several rungs in the middle school hierarchy. lol

 

[Bill_P]

While I wasn't the only guy in the class, it still managed to knock me down several rungs in the middle school hierarchy. lol

It knocked me down a couple to start with, then when everybody figured it out I moved a few higher than I was to begin with LOL.

 

[BigFeet]

When Possible, I've made my gratitude known verbally, face to face and with a solid handshake or a hug. The last Hand Written note that I wrote in cursive and sent in the mail was in 2014, and that's because I was overseas.

Just to clarify, my remarks were not directed at you, but for general consumption.

Your statement was just a great example of how societal norms have changed, and what possible consequences those changes can have on day-to-day life for everyone.

I can guarantee you (listen up, young men)... keeping some of the "old" traditions in your "tool kit" will make you stand out compared to others. It is unexpected now. Show off a little.

 

[sentience]

Unless your target audience is eligible for social security, cursive is effectively a dead skill. Anyone under 30 are not expected to read it, let alone write it.

My advice on penmanship is to learn to write like an engineer or architect. It’s precise, easy to read, professional, and once you learn it, quick to write. The architectural style is a little more elegant and I use it professionally even though I’m in the government IT field.

 

[Sean L]

Just to clarify, my remarks were not directed at you, but for general consumption.

Your statement was just a great example of how societal norms have changed, and what possible consequences those changes can have on day-to-day life for everyone.

I can guarantee you (especially for you young men out there)... keeping some of the "old" traditions in your "tool kit" will make you stand out compared to others. It is unexpected now. Show off a little.

Oh for sure if you have the use for it then I'm all for it. I think my initial comment on it was more on how learning computers and mathematics has gotten me through life more than my handwriting ever has.

 

[Ratbert]

Oo


Oops- posted a response to wrong quote.

That never happened in the good old days of BBSing before this newfangled interwebs thing!!!!

 

[Hennessey17]

Sure, the customer is paying that. A few dollars more on a McDonald’s order isn’t “holding” anybody down though. While it doesn’t help, present inflation has little correlation with increased minimum wage.

I worked back of the house in Merchandising for Crate & Barrel for 7 years. It's amazing the amount of money a company will waste... but then turn around and say they don't have the money to pay employees. Totally anecdotal, but they were offering a flat rate of something like $6 on shipping. It was nearing the end of the summer season and inventory was slimming down. A customer bought an oversized lantern (like 3' tall and mostly glass) and wanted it shipped over night. The lantern was *on sale* for $199... with all of the packaging and overnight shipping, it cost the store $240 to ship it... with the customer being charged $6 for shipping. But at the same time, they were cutting back hours of the employees (and asking for twice as much out of the people)... one more worker would have cost the store $80 a day... but that was too much... but they had no problem losing $234 to keep a customer happy... this is why the whole argument on wages is bullshit. My father is a small business accountant... an extra $2 an hour does nothing to the bottom line unless the business is failing... it's $4k a year for a fulltime employee. People are making the employees the bad guys while ignoring all the waste that corporations make.

 

[Hennessey17]

“Locomotive Breath” seems appropriate since they’ve got us by the balls!?

I'm thinking "Breadfan" by Budgie as well...

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