#ASDG vs Plastic $$$
8 messages in this thread
I might add that more and more companies (mail-order, particularly)
actually PREFER shipping C.O.D. these days, over Credit card purchases,
simply because the *know* they will get their money within 10-14 days.
Frankly, this pleases me to no end. I cut up all my credit cards, and
prefer to pay in *cash* anyway. I figure, if i can't pay it in cash, i
simply can't afford it, period.
However, it is much easier to stop payment with plastic than it is with a
check or COD, because it offers you a measure of security should the
product be faulty that cash can't give.
Be sure to check the fine print on your credit card contract… an awful
lot of them these days do NOT automatically give you credit if you try to
stop payment on an out of state purchase. Some friends who had trouble with
this (to their surprise, of course) cued me in.
I'm not so sure. If the shipper permits paymrnt of C.O.D. orders with a
personal check, there's no problem. I can stop a check cold IF there is a
problem…only takes me one phone call. If the shipper insists on cash, I
make sure that A> the company I'm dealing is reputable, and B> keep a copy
of their advertising, as well as a reciept from them (In the form of a
shipping invoice stamped PAID), or I refuse delivery. This way, if there
is a problem, and the shipper refuses to make good, I let the post office
handle it (as mail fraud).
I went through this twice in the past year. In one case, I got my money
back *immediately* from the company I did business with, and in the other
case, I recieved brand new functional merchandise. Seems that when the US
Post office "explains" to them that my complaint is not just another civil
complaint, and the severe penalties are explained to them for mail fraud,
most outfits think twice. Of course there are those fly-by-night
operators… More often than not, they're easy to check out before hand,
and avoid entirely.
Let's say I buy a product, say from Perry, and I'm not happy with it when
it arrives. I write to Perry and tell him so. Perry says "get lost". (Not
that he would o course). Here's what I do… A> I then initiate step two.
I publicly "question" him on it, say here on CIS, or in anther public
forum. B> If I still get no satisfaction, I then warn everyone I know that
is con- templating buying from Perry (Without actually telling them NOT to
buy from him, or *I* could be sued), explaining in detail what happened.
Do you think Perry can afford this kind of publicity?
Still, the best policy is to *know* who you're dealing with in the first
place. If Tramiel's axiom "Business is war" is true, then I say "Know your
enemy", plain and simple.
If Tamiel's axiom "business is war" is true, perhaps he should raise the
white flag<grin>.
John
While I agree with all you said, I really don't like your using me as an
example. Suppose someone were to read this completely out of context. Or
someone else edited out the line saying that this was only an example and
posted it to other boards?
pk
Perry:
Gee, I was thinking the same thing! A more proper example would have been
The John Doe Company, and the product in question was (of course) the
Widget!
-Mike Schiller
CIS: 76416,3065
My apologies, Perry…. won't happen again.
-Rick