Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: wintersun on December 19, 2007, 02:25:15 AM
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Today is not a normal day. Something is really terribly wrong. So let me start from the beginning...
I was just talking to my friend on the MSN (who I will call Mark here), who is form London. I asked him if he was willing to buy a POD 2.0 for me (which was suppose to go to my other friend anyways), after I would send him the money, and then he would mail it to me as a gift. There are no PODs in croatia, so this was the only way. He agreed, and, knowing that croatian taxes are abnormal, I intended to do a little frod on a Croatian tax law, and asked him to mail me the receipt. I was about to perform the same frod me and someone else has done when i was getting my pedal: scan the receipt, make it look like it was faxed, lower the price, and give it to the duties. It worked that time!
But Mark found it bad to be against the law, and didnt like the idea. So I started to explain him what is the political situation here in Croatia. I told him how we have a curopted government, how people are cheated in many ways, taxes are insane, that we have undercover cops dealing drugs and stuff. And I told him that this is the real world, unfortunately. At least for us here.
And can you imagine what he did after I told that?? HE F**** BLOCKED ME! I'm not sure whats wrong with this guy, but I'm guessing he wasn't aware of this kind of life, so I must have scared him away! He must have found me being a part of a "Croatian mafia" or a terrorist or something. I mean he always was a fair guy, but THIS???!!
I mean, you guys are from UK, does this story really affect you all the same way? Or is this guy hypersensitive or something :?: I'm still in shock and can't belive that this is a way to lose a friend. :cry:
So, comments?
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Thats a simple insane thing.
eitehr the guy has less than 18 and is affraid of doing any of this shite, or he doesn“t belong to the planet earth, or he“s a prick
Q:P
iface the same problem here in brazil.
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I can partly understand.
If the guy felt he was getting into a situation which could get him into serious implications - He has a right to his own safety, etc.
And Trust me - A $%&#ing POD isn't worth Jailtime! :D
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I can partly understand.
If the guy felt he was getting into a situation which could get him into serious implications - He has a right to his own safety, etc.
And Trust me - A #$%!& POD isn't worth Jailtime! :D
No, he wasn't getting into that kind of a situation. I told him that. And for heavens sake, he was my friend lol. You cant block a friend for that.
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strange he blocked you indeed.
did you ever meet face to face, or is he an 'internet only' friend?
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strange he blocked you indeed.
did you ever meet face to face, or is he an 'internet only' friend?
Internet only.. But still, everyone is trying to avoid the taxes in any way, and mostly the duty guys just ask for a receipt so they can just write it down and good bye.
But this guy wouldn't even download a something from the internet. I admire his ways, but still, you cant just block someone without saying a word (I forgot to mention HE DIDN'T SAY A WORD).
Btw, taxes would cost me 50 GBP! 50 percent of a POD 2 price!!
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If a real friend in real life is like having sex with a reasonably attractive woman, then an internet friend is like masturbating to a picture of Margaret Thatcher... :?
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I don't suppose it's unusual, it's just.. weird?
When your friend ceases to talk to you. Full stop. And s/he won't explain, you're just standing there saying: What?
And that's the end of that.
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As he has never met you in person he may be wondering if he is being roped into something potentially larger. In the UK people are always being warned to be on their guard against scams & money laundering scam from Nigeria and Eastern Europe.
Just as you do not know all his circumstances, he dosn't (really) know yours and he has run away from the situation.
Just mail him and say sorry if I placed you in a situation that you feel uncomfortable with, and that his friendship means more than the tax saving on the Pod
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A little OTT for sure, I can understand why he might not want to do that but it's still a really weird reaction.
Plus everyone does it, who here hasn't received something US-bought off ebay and it comes as a "gift" to save on duty? I never ask for it but it always happens, works out better for both parties.
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I can understand you... I saw the importation tax of England, and it's smaller than the tax from national products here in Brazil... Our importation taxes get the thing more than doubled in the price, if you get it by air mail... if it's parcel air, is about 80% + price... :shock:
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Import taxes suck. It's pure theft in my book when it becomes more than 20%.
I think you scared your friend a little. There's so much talk about internet fraud and crime these days.
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For legality's sake, let me say that what you proposed is wrong and I'm glad it didn't work out, because it's illegal!
Now, that being said, you have two issues here --
First, can you really ever 'know' or 'trust' anyone you met solely through the interweb? I would be very skeptical of this. As machine-of-god rather comically put it, it doesn't really meet the criteria of actual 'friendship'.
Second, some people get very freaked out when the word 'fraud' is thrown around. Fraud is a very bad word -- I wouldn't use it in polite company. ;)
Further to that point, some people get very freaked out when they find out that it takes work and a bit of thought to send something from country X to country Y and not get burned by customs. Not everyone is up to creating/altering receipts, and not everyone is up to receiving said altered receipt.
When I sent WFD his first BK pickups, I knew how insane the customs are in Brasil. So, I made sure that they actually looked the part of a gift: no original packing, and even put a card in the box for authenticity's sake. Made it through with no problem.
Now, I've never met WFD or many of the other forum bros I've helped out sending gear to over the years, but I look at it like putting money in the bank -- it's an investment into Good Karma. :)
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When I sent WFD his first BK pickups, I knew how insane the customs are in Brasil.
Are you dealer on USA of BKP?
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When I sent WFD his first BK pickups, I knew how insane the customs are in Brasil.
Are you dealer on USA of BKP?
Nope, just a guitar player like yourself.
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As he has never met you in person he may be wondering if he is being roped into something potentially larger. In the UK people are always being warned to be on their guard against scams & money laundering scam from Nigeria and Eastern Europe.
Just as you do not know all his circumstances, he dosn't (really) know yours and he has run away from the situation.
Just mail him and say sorry if I placed you in a situation that you feel uncomfortable with, and that his friendship means more than the tax saving on the Pod
agree 100% with this post
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Thats what I don't like about the internet, that block button is quite pointless it seems, people aren't as accountable to each other as with a conventional friendship where that would be talked out.
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Thats what I don't like about the internet, that block button is quite pointless it seems, people aren't as accountable to each other as with a conventional friendship where that would be talked out.
well, obviously it makes sense if you are a girl being hasseled by some arsehole
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yeah, but to me thats the use of the delete button thats needed.
people block and unblock a lot it seems, or just block and just leave you there on their contact list :?
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well, simply put, a friend would have said "no" and you'd have said OK. The described behaviour makes it clear that there was no friendship, just aquaintance.
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Everyone you've ever 'met' if thats even the word, on the internet is an aquaintance.
Dont get cut up about it! I was expecting a story from the really real world (the one out of the window! Amazing graphics and NPC AI in it, btw) when I saw "Lose a friend", cos, y'know, thats where friends live. Real world.
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really real world (the one out of the window! Amazing graphics and NPC AI in it, btw)
I disagree. see any newspaper.
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really real world (the one out of the window! Amazing graphics and NPC AI in it, btw)
I disagree. see any newspaper.
AI and RS (Real Stupidity) are both available in the latest build of Real World (tm).
It came in the last patch.
The press needs to be nerfed anyway. Unrepresentatively weighted depiction of negative events with biasing spins makes it unbalanced against rational consideration of available evidence directly.
Give science journals 200% more hit points and increase Press cost by 5000% to prevent spamming them early game.
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Never trust an internet friend with money that just seems logical especially one as volatile as this?
I hear ya about the whole tax shite, I'm constantly ordering stuff from the USA and getting sellers to declare it as low value + gift so I can get it cheaper. The guy your so called mate sounds like a fool, just ditch him and move on. In the UK there is a real dislike of tax and government basically because its badly run and unfair our system is probably just as screwed as yours. Our government would charge 100% tax if they could! So this guys reaction is probably because he is worried about getting into trouble.
If you want a POD so badly maybe try buying one second hand online off ebay and ask the seller to claim you paid £10 for it or something like that, I think you will find most UK sellers very sympathetic to your cause. A good uk site where people sell second hand music items is www.sospubs.co.uk check under readers adds.
Hope this is of some help mate
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Everyone you've ever 'met' if thats even the word, on the internet is an aquaintance.
Dont get cut up about it! I was expecting a story from the really real world (the one out of the window! Amazing graphics and NPC AI in it, btw) when I saw "Lose a friend", cos, y'know, thats where friends live. Real world.
But... But, but - MDV - Aren't we best mates?!?!
THAT'S IT.
YOU'RE OFF THE CHRISTMAS CARD LIST!
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really real world (the one out of the window! Amazing graphics and NPC AI in it, btw)
I disagree. see any newspaper.
AI and RS (Real Stupidity) are both available in the latest build of Real World (tm).
It came in the last patch.
The press needs to be nerfed anyway. Unrepresentatively weighted depiction of negative events with biasing spins makes it unbalanced against rational consideration of available evidence directly.
Give science journals 200% more hit points and increase Press cost by 5000% to prevent spamming them early game.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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I'll tell you a $%&#ed up way to lose a friend.
This "friend" of mine borrowed 1 of my guitars, a week later when I asked about it he said he sold it. Apparently he thought the guitar was lent to me by another friend.
It was only worth $300, but it really taught me something.
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I'd say he over reacted, and if he was uncomfortable he should probably have just said no.
As for 'real friends are in real life', gonna disagree here, mostly true I'm sure, but not always.
This "friend" of mine borrowed 1 of my guitars, a week later when I asked about it he said he sold it. Apparently he thought the guitar was lent to me by another friend.
Thats $%&#ed up. It sucks, but I'm also puzzled as to why he thought it would be ok to sell it if it wasn't yours? That's some strange logic.