A more advanced "rec.woodworking"

[Don Fearn]

I think it was "Leon" who stated:

It's 42. You're using the wrong base.

-Don (NEW math student)

-- I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it

[bridgerfafc]

that sounds like the exact sort of thing that could be fixed with a greasemonkey script.

[Andrew Barss]

: I'm one of those people who doesn't have a credit card. I have my : reasons for that, and it's served me well. So I emailed and asked about : alternative methods of payment: snail mail cheque, PayPal, online bank : payment, etc. NO, I was told by Taunton. CC is the ONLY payment method : we take.

And I'm sure they have their reasons for that.

If you're going to deliberately eschew the default means of payment for web services, you might not be able to get the full range of them. Why are you even surprised, much less offended?

-- Andy Barss

[J T]

Fri, Jan 12, 2007, 8:50pm (EST-1) dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca (Dave=A0Balderstone) doth sayeth: But y'know what? I think I'll just keep hanging out here with the dumb guys.

I'm not sure what it says about me, but I'll stick with the dummies too.

Anytime someone starts telling me how much smarer than me he is, I get suspicious.

JOAT I do not have the huge amout of faith needed to be an Atheist.

[Lobby Dosser]

Where else could you sell it?

[Lobby Dosser]

Free Advice.

One Size Fits All.

Actually the smallest size in toothpaste is now 'sample' and costs a buck.

[B A R R Y]

You can't get a Visa debit card from your checking account?

With it, you can pay as a credit card while paying cash, with added fraud protection. My credit union debit card has a Visa logo whether I want it or not.

[Tanus]

Maybe I can. I haven't checked and I'm not about to. Getting a VISA or M/C is something I can do. That's not the point.

Tanus

[B A R R Y]

The funny part is that I didn't ask for it. All of my new ATM cards simply arrived with MC or Visa logos on them as expired cards were replaced. I have a feeling that Visa pays the issuing institution something for the logo to be there.

Don't be surprised if your next ATM card arrives with a credit card logo. I can no longer get an ATM card from the two credit unions or one bank that I deal with without a credit card logo.

[Swingman]

I understand your reluctance about CC's ... although I have two, I rarely use them and have the same aversion. Like you, and for the better part of my life, I refused to touch the things, and still do for the most part.

But don't let the Visa on the check/debit card fool you ... keyed to a checking account and only good up to the balance in the account, it is one of the handiest things in the current world we live in, bar none, and one thing I really don't want to EVER be without.

Better/safer than carrying wads of cash or a check book, and you can use it anywhere you can use a credit card.

Although she doesn't have a checking account, I got a similar debit (VisaBuxx) card for my youngest daughter when she was in Jr High School. It's been safer for her than carrying cash in an urban setting, and convenient for me, as I can transfer money from any one of my accounts on the phone, or online, _instantly_ (and I mean INSTANTLY, 24/7)... that is "peace of mind" for a father!

She's been in a shop in England and needed something, called me, and two minutes later ... the time it took me to go online or call the number ... the money is on her VisaBuxx card.

While she's away at college it is how I fund her monthly allowance, or any emergency purchases that need to be made, like books, etc.

And it comes in especially handy when she's traveling overseas as I can make sure she has available cash 24/7 anywhere in the world there is an ATM or credit card terminal.

Mine has the same protections as a credit card as far as fraudulent use, and I've been using it for online purchases, like the Taunton site, for the better part of ten years.

Got to be one of the best inventions of our time, IMO!

[Leon]

Oooohhh. ;~)

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Not only handy, but that is where I get the best exchange rates. The money changers at the airport are thieves to be avoided. Many places will not accept Traveler's checks either.

I still use a credit card for car rentals though. They can put a big hold on your debit card and you lose some of the available funds.

[Nova]

My daughter has been in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for the last three years (I'm still trying to figure out how to get some hardwoods shipped home). We deposit money into her checking account here in the states and the funds are immediately available to her in Honduras via her debit card.

One thing to watch is the fees associated with the debit card's use, especially overseas. Initially she would was using the card for a single $.75 purchase and was getting hit for a $3.50 transaction fee. She has since changed to withdrawing amounts of $50 - $75 cash at a time to cover small expenses incurred during the week avoided the multiple ATM fees.

[Swingman]

We didn't have that problem two years ago with her VisaBuxx card in Europe, but times change, so it is definitely something to watch for ... thanks for the heads-up!

There is a $2.50 transfer fee (charged to my account) when transferring to the VisaBuxx card, no matter the amount ... but that is the only charge, other than the below, that has been associated with the card, with two different banks, since we first started using it nine years ago.

For me that is cheap for an instant transfer of funds, and the peace of mind it brings.

That said, don't overdraw the account (something that is not easy to do, but can be done), because then they stick you with a $15 charge ... that's happened twice in nine years and both times it came out of the next transfer of her allowance, so she has always been REAL careful about it. AAMOF, she keeps a close eye on it and will call me if it gets lower than $20 ... and an added attraction is that I also get an instant e-mail alert from the issuing bank when the account drops below $20.

[Swingman]

I know I sounded like a damn commercial ... but I can't tell you how high the convenience/cost ratio of my youngest daughter's VisaBuxx card is for my/our purposes.

Yep .. I do the same.

[Doug Miller]

I bet you can if you make a fuss about it. I've had my checking account at Bank A for 25+ years, but (mostly due to better terms) I've done all my loan business at Bank B. About 5 years ago, Bank A sent me -- unrequested -- a new ATM card with a MC logo on it. Except it wasn't *just* an ATM card, it was a debit card too. And it looked almost identical to the MC that I already carried in my wallet. Worst of all, the paperwork accompanying it informed me that my current ATM card would no longer be valid 30 days later.

So I called and protested. Told the customer service rep that the last thing I wanted was a card that looked like a credit card, was accepted like a credit card, and took money directly out of my checking account. Don't want it, don't need it, not gonna use it. Want to keep using the old ATM card, too.

He told me that's impossible.

I pointed out that *every* time I've gone into Bank B for a loan, they ask me when they're going to get my checking account business too, and I always tell them the same thing: I'm happy with Bank A, and I'm staying there unless they do something to tick me off.

Then I told the fella from Bank A "Now you guys have done something to tick me off -- and I promise you that tomorrow morning I'm moving my checking account to Bank B unless you find a way to make that work."

He said, "I can't do that."

I said, "Then transfer to someone who can."

Transferred. Same statement, same response.

Transferred again. Got somebody with some real authority that time, who said "Let me see what I can do." An hour later, he called me back and said he had it all fixed.

And I'm *still* using the same ATM card. With only the bank's logo on it.

[B A R R Y]

But how does that benefit you?

[B A R R Y]

Ma'am, please remove the wood from your luggage...

Does UPS do Honduras?

[Robatoy]

B A R R Y wrote: [snip]

there's,1,2,3,4,5...you brought enough Honduran mahogany skis for 6 people?"

[Nova]

Yes but to ship a 5 lb (15x15x10) package with a declared value of $30 from Buffalo to Tegucigalpa would cost just under $300 USD. She uses a PakMail service that cost about 1/3 of UPS's charge but takes about three times as long to arrive. Customs, especially at the Honduran end, have been a problem. Things often end up missing.