Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

[Mathuin]

My company orders custom printed cardboard boxes that we used to ship out our orders. Our last box order was 15,000 boxes at a price of about $9000.

Of course, some of these boxes did not print out correctly. Some had partial printing, others were printed badly offset, and some other boxes were just not made to spec.

So I took photos and emailed the company and told them that we had about 300 boxes that were not properly made. When I placed a new order I asked for a credit for those 300 boxes which would’ve amounted to about $180.

The salesman of the company came to my warehouse because he wanted to inspect the poorly made boxes. However we had already used them all because we needed to ship our Christmas orders. He said sorry we cannot give you credit for boxes that you have used. You only get credits for boxes that are unusable.

Talk about a horrible customer service policy. He expected us to set aside each box that was not made to specifications in order for us to get a $.60 credit on each one. I told him that on this next order we are going to inspect each box and let him know right away and reject any boxes that are not made to specifications. I told him that there was probably more than 300 boxes but I just gave him a round a number estimate.

Needless to say I am looking for a new box supplier because the supplier is willing to lose a $20,000 a year account over $180.

Check out the photos. What more proof do you need? Don’t be this company!

This box had no printing at all on it.
View attachment 41653

The text paragraph was missing on this one.
View attachment 41655

Off topic but your brand looks awesome!

 

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[InspireHD]

Needless to say I am looking for a new box supplier because the supplier is willing to lose a $20,000 a year account over $180.

Is this something you're looking for locally to you? I might be able to get you in contact with a large box company, but I'm in Pennsylvania.

 

[Rabby]

I didn’t grow up on a farm, my little town is actually pretty nice, but we are surrounded by smaller towns (with mostly older people - who are almost all good people). Yes, they love guns, BBQ, and fishing. They also love their families, church, and helping their communities. (Ironically, some of these people actually aren’t religious. There are lots of conservative “rednecks” who don’t go to church.)

Anyway, my family - aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, extends in lots of ways from successful business owners to people who actually did grow up on farms...without electricity.

Most of my family is rural too, and I'm always annoyed at how the normal non-institutionalized people are portrayed as ignorant toothless hicks. Overall, my observation of people outside of major cities is that they're more tolerant, more polite, more willing to give someone a chance if life is kicking their butts, less racist, way more broadly skilled, have a better work ethic, and they're often healthier because they aren't having heart attacks from stress and pollution. I probably missed a few things, but that's the gist of it

I tell my daughter that we're barbarians who crawled out of the woods to join civilization for a while. But if it gets too corrupt, we can walk right back into the treeline and survive, no matter what. I think that embodies a family ethic that's mostly a rural phenomenon... internal locus of control combined with an unwillingness to delegate basic survival, and the basic production skills to back it all up.

 

[thechosen1]

internal locus of control combined with an unwillingness to delegate basic survival, and the basic production skills to back it all up.

about sums it up - independent by nature!

 

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[Antifragile]

Overall, my observation of people outside of major cities is that they're more tolerant, more polite, more willing to give someone a chance if life is kicking their butts

I believe this to be true. Maybe thats because in a smaller community being an a**hole is harder. Everyone knows each other. But in a big city, you move one block and it's like a different world. Community tends to be defined as your "building". Which is good for some, but not so much for me.

Having lived in both environments, I love the energy of a big city and the calm of nature of a rural. Suburbia next to mountains and the ocean is where I chose to live. Small community right next to a big city. Best of both worlds. Plus you get some really good restaurants in the city... any foodies here?

 

[Rabby]

Plus you get some really good restaurants in the city... any foodies here?

Yep, chefs and sushi restaurants are part of what keeps me in orbit around civilization. And Indian food. Good lord, what could be better than korma and biryani?

Living in some cities can be fun, but my preference is to visit them for a while, then escape to somewhere less crowded and polluted.

 

[biophase]

Is this something you're looking for locally to you? I might be able to get you in contact with a large box company, but I'm in Pennsylvania.

We get it made locally in Arizona. So their price includes shipping. I don’t think an out of state factory can compete simply due to shipping costs.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I'm really impressed with what Dollar General is doing around here. For the last decade, you could barely get me to step into a DG. Wouldn't be caught dead buying food there. I live in a small town. DG is the biggest retail store, and until a few months ago, our DG was terrible. It was in a cramped building and it was always trashed inside. The products were crap, the food was junk, and it was hard to make it through the aisles without tripping over stuff.

But recently DG changed. The first thing they did was moved to a different location. The building is like 30 seconds drive from my house so that's a plus. And they didn't just move buildings, they built a brand new building. It's the only building in town with automatic sliding doors, and when I went through them, my jaw hit the floor. The place was so fresh and clean I couldn't believe it was a Dollar General.

They've basically refreshed their brand from the ground up. The aisles are wider with plenty of space. It's easy to find things. Not only that, but they've upgraded their food options. They now sell things I normally go out of town to find, including some items that I usually get at Natural Grocers. So now I've actually bought food at Dollar General and it didn't feel weird. They haven't gone to self-checkout, but they have added automated receipt dispensers.

What impressed me most is that even though they have the word "Dollar" in their name, they're adapting for inflation. Now their prices are as high and in some cases higher, than Target and NG for similar items. What's interesting is that it's fine because our town has higher-income families and we're happy to pay a little more to not have to leave the town for quick trip items.

I honestly believe that this saved their store. It was dying, but now they have a lot of customers there every day. I've gone there more times in the past few months than I've been in the past 12 years. They also did the same thing with their other store on the outskirts of the other side of town. Seems like a smart move to me.

 

[Mathuin]

I've been reading through TrustPilot reviews, looking for opportunities to skew value.

Is this a sign from the Universe?

 

[thechosen1]

I've been reading through TrustPilot reviews, looking for opportunities to skew value.

Is this a sign from the Universe?

View attachment 41664

It’s moments like this when I imagine having the finished product with team to back it up, and replying “hey screw those guys. Try this!”

Go for it!!

 

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[Timmy C]

That aged well, lol.

The covid agenda is too strong down under.

Novak Djokovic has left Australia after losing his final appeal to avoid deportation

Only in Australia can you get deported after winning a court case against your deportation.

 

[GPM]

This video by JP is unreal. I've been a fan of his for what seems like forever, the first video I ever saw of his was from about 6 years ago about how to always be offended by everything.

Who knew he would become a literal freedom fighter in the modern war against the citizen.

 

[Rabby]

We have this super connected world, yet it can still take a long time for personal news to reach us. Everyone knows what color underpants the Kardashians are wearing (well, I don't... but still), and this has no impact on our lives. Yet to discover that a friend, old friend, or acquaintance has died, maybe even a cousin? That might not come to us as quickly. It's not news after all, so there has to be someone who knows we care, and who takes the effort to call us. Or, we can just be looking them up to say "hi" and find their obituary.

I wonder if that's a sign that everything we've done with technology and communication is wrong, and backwards.

 

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[thechosen1]

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Corporate Speak: We've updated our Terms of Service to be more inclusive.

True Speak: We've updated our Terms of Service to be more exclusive so we can legally segregate/discriminate/censor/ban those who dare question our contribution to the woke cult.

Is this something you're looking for locally to you? I might be able to get you in contact with a large box company, but I'm in Pennsylvania.

Westrock? I think they supply Amazon.

 

[InspireHD]

Westrock? I think they supply Amazon.

Acme Corrugated Box. They are adding 80,000sqft to their existing factory. It's massive.

 

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[Mathuin]

Dec 20, 2021

Pfizer Bets On Medical Cannabis With $6.7 Billion Acquisition

Pfizer is entering the medical cannabis industry by acquiring Arena Pharmaceuticals and its promising cannabinoid-based bowel disease treatment.

www.forbes.com

Damn, those gents at Pfizer really do have impeccable timing.

 

[Lex DeVille]

New business just opened up locally. Good for them for having the moxie to take the risk, and for trying something different. Our local area has around 50k people. Most people 30 and under are broke, so I'm not sure how this is going to survive. TBH, I'll be surprised if it exists in six months. What do y'all think?

I like the location (across from the high school) and they are allowing artists to sell their anime creations in the store. But I think they'll be hard-pressed to find paying customers.

Thought Challenge
If you took over this store right now, how would you make it successful? Who would be your target audience in the local area? Would you focus on the art and collectibles? Or would you add something else like inexpensive food and beverages to draw people in? Maybe you would branch into online sales to offer marketing and promotion for artists and then take a cut? Maybe you would offer something completely different altogether? Right now I just can't see how this can possibly survive.

 

[Mathuin]

But I think they'll be hard-pressed to find paying customers.

Seems like an example of "me" vs "market-focused". Wish them good luck none the less.

That said there is a "Warhammer" shop in my city that I wouldnt have expected to be popular, but it often as a lot of customers in. I might just see it at peak times though.

 

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[Boogie]

If you took over this store right now, how would you make it successful?

I would probably look at other successful examples of Manga stores in nearby cities to see what their mix of products is and try to determine how successful they are.

You can get reviews of Manga stores in Kansas City, MO or KS or St. Louis to see which ones are highly rated and try to get a demographic that fits. Competitive ratings might also help. I was just looking at reviews for one in Chesterfield outside of St. Louis, but that is a very affluent area. The same tastes may apply. They may not.

They mentioned in the video that they will have games of D&D going. Game nights get repeat visitors. People in the gaming and manga world often look for acceptance. It's a much better choice than going to a Barnes and Noble. If they also handle comic books, that can work out too. The last manga shop I went into didn't really have comic books. It was a few years ago, but they had kits to build, paints, brushes, files, everything you need to build kits. Model building of any sort is very popular worldwide.

They certainly look like they know the material well. That kind of knowledge could help them succeed.

 

[Rabby]

New business just opened up locally. Good for them for having the moxie to take the risk, and for trying something different. Our local area has around 50k people. Most people 30 and under are broke, so I'm not sure how this is going to survive. TBH, I'll be surprised if it exists in six months. What do y'all think?

I like the location (across from the high school) and they are allowing artists to sell their anime creations in the store. But I think they'll be hard-pressed to find paying customers.

Thought Challenge
If you took over this store right now, how would you make it successful? Who would be your target audience in the local area? Would you focus on the art and collectibles? Or would you add something else like inexpensive food and beverages to draw people in? Maybe you would branch into online sales to offer marketing and promotion for artists and then take a cut? Maybe you would offer something completely different altogether? Right now I just can't see how this can possibly survive.

If there's a college nearby, maybe it works. But an anime/manga store in a small town wouldn't be my first choice. Throw the inventory up on Ebay and use the space for a hardware store, fishing tackle store, shop tool supplier, abrasives, cleaning supply, plumbing supply... whatever the town actually needs. Unless the population is more than I'm imagining, I wonder if enough demand can really be sustained for anime.

 

[Timmy C]

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a clear example of cognitive dissonance in action.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481638689415462916

View: https://twitter.com/FullContactMTWF/status/1481638689415462916?t=nUUV4C60xqoArg0LbgoUig&s=19

 

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[Phikey]

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a clear example of cognitive dissonance in action.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481638689415462916

View: https://twitter.com/FullContactMTWF/status/1481638689415462916?t=nUUV4C60xqoArg0LbgoUig&s=19

I just saw Joe later followed up with this tweet:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481832468651122689

He admits he didn't know what he was talking about and sourced his reference for his prior belief.

Gave me some respect for Joe. It takes a lot to admit you're wrong when faced with new evidence contrary to your previous belief.

 

[thechosen1]

(This is not legal advice)

I was researching the legality of running raffles and giveaways for cash entries (it's usually illegal,BUT)

raffles and lotteries are illegal except for charities.

The charity is required to spend 90% of proceeds on things that are charitable. The other 10% is discretionary - meaning you could pay that as your salary. So a nonprofit could be said to have a potential 10% profit margin (before the cost of marketing and the prize).

so if you managed to get $11 million in donations for a giveaway of a $1 million super car, your net would be $10 million.

You spend $9 million on feeding the hungry, and the last $1 million goes to you...........

I believe lots of "foundations," "charities," etc. do this. The directors make bank.

 

[Rabby]

(This is not legal advice)

I was researching the legality of running raffles and giveaways for cash entries (it's usually illegal,BUT)

raffles and lotteries are illegal except for charities.

The charity is required to spend 90% of proceeds on things that are charitable. The other 10% is discretionary - meaning you could pay that as your salary. So a nonprofit could be said to have a potential 10% profit margin (before the cost of marketing and the prize).

so if you managed to get $11 million in donations for a giveaway of a $1 million super car, your net would be $10 million.

You spend $9 million on feeding the hungry, and the last $1 million goes to you...........
I believe lots of "foundations," "charities," etc. do this. The directors make bank.

And 900,000 people get a free lunch, and one lucky winner gets a car they can't afford to maintain

 

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[thechosen1]

And 900,000 people get a free lunch, and one lucky winner gets a car they can't afford to maintain

Honestly, sounds like a win-win-win.

Let's start with a small prize, and go a little bigger each time.

Who wants to start a charity?

 

[Zaratustra]

(This is not legal advice)

I was researching the legality of running raffles and giveaways for cash entries (it's usually illegal,BUT)

raffles and lotteries are illegal except for charities.

The charity is required to spend 90% of proceeds on things that are charitable. The other 10% is discretionary - meaning you could pay that as your salary. So a nonprofit could be said to have a potential 10% profit margin (before the cost of marketing and the prize).

so if you managed to get $11 million in donations for a giveaway of a $1 million super car, your net would be $10 million.

You spend $9 million on feeding the hungry, and the last $1 million goes to you...........

I believe lots of "foundations," "charities," etc. do this. The directors make bank.

There are companies already using this technique. One had lottery to win trip to the space with richard branson.

 

[thechosen1]

There are companies already using this technique. One had lottery to win trip to the space with richard branson.

1. Doesn't mean others can't
2. Technically, they must be doing it differently, otherwise it's an illegal lottery.

Not saying it should be illegal, just that it is, at least in the USA. So maybe they aren't holding a raffle/lottery, or maybe it's based some other country.

 

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[Itizn]

Don't use social media or work with influencers

But this app just launched
www.rellasocial.com

and seems promising for that entire industry, well at least thats my view as an outsider.

 

[Ing]

My company orders custom printed cardboard boxes that we used to ship out our orders. Our last box order was 15,000 boxes at a price of about $9000.

Of course, some of these boxes did not print out correctly. Some had partial printing, others were printed badly offset, and some other boxes were just not made to spec.

So I took photos and emailed the company and told them that we had about 300 boxes that were not properly made. When I placed a new order I asked for a credit for those 300 boxes which would’ve amounted to about $180.

The salesman of the company came to my warehouse because he wanted to inspect the poorly made boxes. However we had already used them all because we needed to ship our Christmas orders. He said sorry we cannot give you credit for boxes that you have used. You only get credits for boxes that are unusable.

Talk about a horrible customer service policy. He expected us to set aside each box that was not made to specifications in order for us to get a $.60 credit on each one. I told him that on this next order we are going to inspect each box and let him know right away and reject any boxes that are not made to specifications. I told him that there was probably more than 300 boxes but I just gave him a round a number estimate.

Needless to say I am looking for a new box supplier because the supplier is willing to lose a $20,000 a year account over $180.

Check out the photos. What more proof do you need? Don’t be this company!

This box had no printing at all on it.
View attachment 41653

The text paragraph was missing on this one.
View attachment 41655

I ve got a similar printer at my job! Lol )