Things I hate
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
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Staff member
I remember when fireants came to SC when I was a kid. One summer, the backyard suddenly looked like Caddyshack. The black ants would sting and you'd go, "Ouch, a black ant stung me." Then, fireants came around and it was like, "MOTHER OF GOD HOW CAN ONE TINY ANT STING LIKE THAT OH NO THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THEM ON MY FEET"
My dad's solution for extermination was gasoline. Works on beehives and anthills. For whatever reason, it kills them dead instantly. Some people light it, but that's overkill and dangerous. No need. The gas itself kills 'em dead. Also kills the grass, though.
My dad's solution for extermination was gasoline. Works on beehives and anthills. For whatever reason, it kills them dead instantly. Some people light it, but that's overkill and dangerous. No need. The gas itself kills 'em dead. Also kills the grass, though.
GasBandit
Staff member
Our war is long over. We, like the black ants, lost.
Those are supposedly all fire ant mounds.[DOUBLEPOST=1445976046,1445975986][/DOUBLEPOST]
My great grandma poured boiling water on the mounds. Not quite so bad for the plants, but also not as guaranteed a complete kill.
GasBandit
Staff member
Oh, you just get used to living with them. You simply learn to watch for and not step on the mounds, and also whenever you are not on pavement/sidewalk, you don't stop walking. You just keep moving. Stand any one place on grass for too long, you're going to get bit.[DOUBLEPOST=1445976304,1445976194][/DOUBLEPOST]
Could be, I've seen areas around Fort Worth that kinda look like that, too. I got the picture from Texas A&M, who, for the information our non-Texan fellow forum users, is the world's leading research authority on Red Imported Fire Ants.
I know. I live in Florida after all. We have several varieties of fire ant. Like Fade, I use to pour gasoline on them. There was also the joy of mowing over their mounds with the lawnmower. Or feeding them to antlions.
GasBandit
Staff member
Psh, next you'll be telling me you've never been stalked by a coyote on your evening walk, and don't have to worry about rattlesnakes or Africanized (AKA "Killer") bees, and your property has never been ravaged by feral hogs.
Raccoons get into my trash.
People who can't be arsed to put back their unwanted purchases in the grocery store. Nothing like reaching back on the shelf for a bag of egg noodles only to have your hand goosh into a formerly frozen chicken that's probably been sitting there on the shelf for a few hours, leaking over all the bags. Yuck.
--Patrick
--Patrick
In Hawaii we have: fire ants (2 varieties), centipedes (several species), scorpions, black and brown widows (plus other spiders), wild boar and feral pigs, feral dogs, feral cats, feral chickens (yes really), and 19 species of cockroaches. There's been a rash of shark attacks recently, too. No snakes though.
I know you're kidding, but honestly the local governments are crazy about keeping snakes off of the islands. There's even a statewide hotline to call if you spot one alive or dead.Yet.
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Staff member
Well I mean, come on.
Coming on boobs would definitely belong in the NSFW threads.
GasBandit
Staff member
The lady "helping" me did in fact carry an inordinately thick yardstick and wore a predatory glare...
Sounds like Visions Electronics in Canada. Their staff is on commission. They will say literally anything to get the sale credited to them. For example, was shopping for a TV, they didn't have it, but "claimed" the store across town did, so wanted me to pay here (where he'd get a commission), and with a proof of sale, pick it up at the other store. I was skeptical, so just left and went across town... where they proceeded to tell me that it wasn't there, but they could sell it to me and pick it up across town... where I started. 
I'd had bad experiences before just walking around in those places, but that one utterly proved to me how scumbag they are.
I'd had bad experiences before just walking around in those places, but that one utterly proved to me how scumbag they are.
I love commissioned sales. The first thing I do after negotiations start is bypass them and talk to the manager. The manager will gladly gut the sales guy's commission just to make a sale. I usually get mattresses at least 50% off the sale price.Sounds like Visions Electronics in Canada. Their staff is on commission. They will say literally anything to get the sale credited to them. For example, was shopping for a TV, they didn't have it, but "claimed" the store across town did, so wanted me to pay here (where he'd get a commission), and with a proof of sale, pick it up at the other store. I was skeptical, so just left and went across town... where they proceeded to tell me that it wasn't there, but they could sell it to me and pick it up across town... where I started.
I'd had bad experiences before just walking around in those places, but that one utterly proved to me how scumbag they are.
My technique: Walk in, tell them what you're looking for, ask about price, hear what they have to offer by way of a "deal". When they tell me that's the best deal they can do, I ask to speak to a manager to try to get a better deal. Oftentimes, that doesn't work. So I look at my phone and say "Well, you're number 3 on the list. I have 4 more stores to hit, and since you all sell the same mattresses, I'm going to buy from whichever store gives me the best price. Can I have your card? I'll call you if I can't do better than your price."
At that point, the manager knows that if I leave the store, that they'll never hear from me again. I've politely told them that I'm going to hit stores until I get the price I want, and it won't be them because they offered me a shitty deal. Sometimes, they let me leave or offer me crap offers like "We'll throw in a free pillow set!". But at least half the time, they give me their best deal on the spot, because a sale with shitty commission is better than no sale at all. If it's in the 50% off range, I'll take it on the spot.
I've never, ever, had to call anyone back because I ran out of stores and they ended up having the best deal.
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Most furniture stores pay 20-40% of the advertised price..usually on the lower end of that scale. You should be able to get them down to 50-60% of the advertised price, especially if you're paying cash and letting them know you're buying on the spot. There's a lot of margin to play around with in the furniture world.
You lose negotiating position if you have to finance or use a credit card.
Sometimes, it's best to just be blunt and say "I'm paying cash. I have X dollars to spend. Can you make me a deal?" (Say you have around 60% sale price). If they say no, be prepared to walk. Sometimes you have to hit 2 or 3 places before someone wants to play ball. If they quote you a higher price than you offered, but it's what you're willing to pay, try to get some free shit out of it. I had a sales person refuse to come below 70% on a nice marble-topped dining table once. So I ended up agreeing to it, but I got 6 dining room chairs thrown in for free. Since I was going to be buying new chairs anyway, the total price ended up in the range that I was looking for.
Always, always always try to get them to throw in free delivery after you've negotiated price. They usually will. Especially if you let them talk you up from the amount you said you could spend--that's your bargaining chip. "Well, I only had $300 to spend, but now I'm spending $400. And you want to charge me $75.00 for shipping? I can't afford it." Then you just wait. Don't argue past that point, no matter what they say. Just look at them until they agree on free shipping. They'll feel the sale slipping from their fingers.
It probably helps that I have the confidence from having done software development with a guy who owned a furniture store, and actually have gone to the giant wholesale furniture convention in Tupelo and seen the wholesale prices.
Be prepared for this tactic: They try to steer you toward "more affordable" furniture and make you feel like you're a poor/cheap/shitty person for not having enough money to spend. At that point, I just thank them and walk. Because, yeah, I could spend more if I wanted to. I just don't want to.
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Oh, something I just found out about recently.
If you have a Big Lots near you, check to see if they sell furniture. Sometimes they do. They sell the same national brands that you can find at stores like Ashley Furniture. But usually at "so low you don't need to negotiate" prices. At least the one around here does.
We got a couch a couple of years ago when we bought the house. I talked them down to somewhere around $300-ish (though that's a fuzzy number, because it was part of a package deal that included a coffee table, love seat, end tables and lazy boy--incidentally, that whole setup cost me about $1000..less than half what all the individual pieces cost added up). Found the exact same sofa at Big Lots while we were doing the man cave down stairs..for $298. I did have to pay for delivery, though..they don't deliver. I hadda hire an independent guy to come bring it.
So, protip: If you don't like to negotiate, hit up a Big Lots
If you have a Big Lots near you, check to see if they sell furniture. Sometimes they do. They sell the same national brands that you can find at stores like Ashley Furniture. But usually at "so low you don't need to negotiate" prices. At least the one around here does.
We got a couch a couple of years ago when we bought the house. I talked them down to somewhere around $300-ish (though that's a fuzzy number, because it was part of a package deal that included a coffee table, love seat, end tables and lazy boy--incidentally, that whole setup cost me about $1000..less than half what all the individual pieces cost added up). Found the exact same sofa at Big Lots while we were doing the man cave down stairs..for $298. I did have to pay for delivery, though..they don't deliver. I hadda hire an independent guy to come bring it.
So, protip: If you don't like to negotiate, hit up a Big Lots