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More than you want to know about gift cards

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Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#161

Post by denton-scratch »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #116
mikepurvis wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cool! I wonder if it’s maybe an analog to westerners giving extra big tips at the holiday season to their hairdresser, barista, cleaning lady, etc

Is that a Western thing? I know they do it in South Africa (along with a "13th month" of pay), and I'm assuming the US too. Outside of those two, I don't really know of any other Western cultures where tipping is much of a thing at all - let alone big tips at the end of the year.

> I don't really know of any other Western cultures where tipping is much of a thing at all

When my dad sent me to the barbers for a haircut, he gave me a coin to tip the barber. I think the idea was that the barber might remember me (9 year-old kid)! I don't have much hair now, so I don't have to tip barbers. But I tip taxi-drivers, evern though I know I'll probably never see them again, and if I do, they csrtainly won't remember me.

I tip waiters, because I believe they depend on tips to get decent pay. I hate it that this is necessary. I also HATE that tips for waiters go into the tip-jar, and are shared by kitchen staff and management.

People should get proper pay. How hard is that to understand?

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#162

Post by denton-scratch »

Symbiote wrote: post #144
AussieWog93 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a Western thing? I know they do it in South Africa (along with a "13th month" of pay), and I'm assuming the US too. Outside of those two, I don't really know of any other Western cultures where tipping is much of a thing at all - let alone big tips at the end of the year.

In Britain some people (used to?) give small tips to the paper boy, postman, milkman and dustmen at Christmas. Maybe nowadays this is the Amazon and Deliveroo zero-hours-contract drivers. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2524513/En...

> dustmen

The "sanitary operatives" in the UK used to ring your doorbell in the run-up to Christmas, more-or-less demanding a tip. If you didn't tip, then you risked having your Christmas rubbish languishing for a couple of weeks, or even strewed over your garden path. Happily, that practice is now ILLEGAL.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#163

Post by denton-scratch »

kelnos wrote: post #102
winternett wrote: post #10

I still don't understand why it faux-pas to just put cash in a nice card... I just do it anyway. It's a more universal gift card without fees and expiration dates... Anyone who tries to put me down for doing so will simply not be receiving a gift from me next year... Screw stressful stores. plastic cards, and standing in line, my method is much more "green"... :P

I don't think it always is a faux-pas, and it depends on the recipient and your relationship with them. Some people believe that cash is an impersonal gift and that you should spend more effort to find a personal gift that the recipient would enjoy. I would find it weird if a friend came to my birthday party and gave me cash, but a gift of a nice whiskey or gin, or a silly joke gift, would feel normal. (Also no gift…

> I would find it weird if a friend came to my birthday party and gave me cash

When I was twelve, my (much richer) friend came to my birthday party; but he didn't know it was my birthday. It was very impressive that on learing the facts, he immediately whipped out his wallet and gave me a tenner (I had never owned a tenner, and I didn't own a wallet).

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#164

Post by airstrike »

jldugger wrote: post #83
airstrike wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better for me or my recipient...?

So only two of the three interested parties then ;)

I guess there are probably countless parties, but if you're referring to the retailer as the third interested party, then they are already be benefitting from the sale.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#165

Post by throwaway413 »

DarylZero wrote: post #131
throwaway413 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true - this is elaborated on in the rest of this thread. Basically, the holder would have to be locked out of the private key from creation of the wallet, and there would have to be trust placed in a centralized regulatory body to issue and redeem these wallets.

The holder of the QR code can't be locked out of having the QR code.

I am not sure I buy into your statement here. I believe there is a way.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#166

Post by throwaway413 »

DarylZero wrote: post #130
throwaway413 wrote: post #41

Idea: “unlocked” public bitcoin wallets with autogenerated key pairs that can be given to someone without them needing a pre-existing wallet. 1) transactions are instant and free, ie giving over physical ownership of a pub/private key pair (this could be done via scan of a QR code) 2) no prior onboarding necessary (avoids the repeated question “do you have this wallet/app?”) Before, if I didn’t have cash, to tip a va…

Vulnerable to double spends.

How can you claim that this is vulnerable to double spends when we haven’t even finished defining the system?

Double spending is a symptom of a broken system. Let us at least figure out the system first so we can determine if it is broken.

Of course double spending is a concern that will need to be navigated in a system like this. Check out some of other discussions in this thread about where that leads - a centralized authoritative body responsible for issuing and “transferring” these wallets.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#167

Post by throwaway413 »

rezendi wrote: post #132
throwaway413 wrote: post #41

Idea: “unlocked” public bitcoin wallets with autogenerated key pairs that can be given to someone without them needing a pre-existing wallet. 1) transactions are instant and free, ie giving over physical ownership of a pub/private key pair (this could be done via scan of a QR code) 2) no prior onboarding necessary (avoids the repeated question “do you have this wallet/app?”) Before, if I didn’t have cash, to tip a va…

Similarly: https://btextc.com/send.html

This is spot on, and I like that you don’t need hardware for it unlike opendime.

Phone numbers are a bit scary though, prone to SIM takeover hacks and other insecurities. And you still have to ask for/have their phone number. I’d prefer to manage the hand-off part of it myself through my medium of choice.

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#168

Post by madcaptenor »

denton-scratch wrote: post #156
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to make people cookies and sometimes candy. I'd try to have at least 4-5 varieties, individually wrapped at home, with rules: No nuts, no candy outside of chocolate chips, and most of the doughs would freeze well. I'd often include one new-to-me cookie, chocolate chips, snickerdoodles, brownies, and a colorful-but-plain sugar cookie. They aren't fancy or anything, but they scale up well and folks will look for…

I've made a bunch of fancy chocolate truffles more than once. The basic truffle can be rolled in all kinds of nuts and shit, so you get an assortment; the greatest expense is the packaging (pretty boxes, nice little paper shells to put them in). Even if the recipient doesn't care for truffles (vegan, weight-loss dieter) they like the packaging, and they have something to share. And truffles are easy to make.

We live in Georgia.

For a few years now we've bought a bunch of peaches sometime in the summer and made a bunch of peach jam, put it in pretty little jars, and brought them to holiday gatherings with my family around Philadelphia. It's always a hit.

The thing is, they actually have good peaches up there too! I know this because I ate so many of them when I lived near a good farmer's market there!

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#169

Post by lkbm »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #70
cmckn wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it is, at least not in my family. Cash is no more of a faux pas than a gift card, at least. I happen to think either is a pretty lame gift. Instead of a gift card to LUSH, for example, just buy me a bath bomb or whatever. Maybe I won’t like the scent you choose, maybe I’ll love it—that’s the nature of receiving a gift. Besides, gift cards are rarely enough to cover an actual purchase with taxes and etc…

Someone being "hard to buy for" isn't a reflection of how well you know them (or if you don't know them). It is simply a reflection of not quite being able to buy them some of the things they'd really enjoy. It is hard to buy art supplies for the artist if you don't make art yourself, and it is similarly difficult to buy an avid reader books since you don't know what books they've read. On top of it all, they might n…

My family has always created wishlists to address this, but now that we're all adults, we've got the issue that we can buy what we want for ourselves. I've had to make a policy of delaying non-urgent purchases and putting them on my wishlist instead, because otherwise the answer to "What do you want for Christmas?" is "I don't know—I already bought all the [reasonably priced] things I want!"

If Christmas weren't a thing, I'd've bought some new cycling gloves a month or two ago, but as it is, I'll keep riding with my very-torn-up pair until Christmas so my family can continue to partake in the gift giving ritual we enjoy without having to resort to finding random stuff the recipient probably doesn't actually want.

The curse of having enough money and not wanting a lot of things. :-)

Re: More than you want to know about gift cards

#170

Post by susiecambria »

Over the years, I have given my parents stocking stuffers and a donation to their favorite charity. They buy what they want and so the small items to open are things they will use/make them smile. And the big gift, the donation, does a whole lot of good and we all are happy.
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