Will the USPS shut down too?

[80pc]

Originally Posted by TMQ

All electronic transactions is bassically them shutting down the banks though....... And I don't find it that far fetched they close the banks. People are already pulling their money, all it takes is a small percentage of people to pull their cash out and they will run out. Our banking system is set up horribly. The percentage of cash they have to have on hand is criminally low.

I don't understand the cash thing unless you think power will be out. Before electronic payments it was a must, but not needed today. Doens't mean it's not good to have some emergency cash on hand but there shouldn't be any issues paying for stuff.

[80pc]

Somewhat related to the thread I guess, my local office was short 4 people on the counters this morning; however, since nobody was in there, it didn't really affect anything.

[dodgerfanjohn]

Originally Posted by 80pc

I don't understand the cash thing unless you think power will be out. Before electronic payments it was a must, but not needed today. Doens't mean it's not good to have some emergency cash on hand but there shouldn't be any issues paying for stuff.

Right. It’s not 1929. If electronic transactions aren’t allowed, cash won’t do you any good, though gold and other things of value might.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by quackhead

Didn't Wall Street shut down for a week after 9/11?

Different scenario. National security, needing to make sure things are safe for a brief period. Versus an indefinite closure because of a virus. It’s not happening.

The only reason Mnuchin even had to mention it is because people won’t stop bringing it up.

[amex]

Has anybody heard about these things called baseball cards?

[quackhead]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Different scenario. National security, needing to make sure things are safe for a brief period. Versus an indefinite closure because of a virus. It’s not happening.

The only reason Mnuchin even had to mention it is because people won’t stop bringing it up.

The virus is a matter of national security and safety. Shut down does not have to be indefinite, but a short period so people can calm the F down and focus.

[80pc]

Originally Posted by dodgerfanjohn

Right. It’s not 1929. If electronic transactions aren’t allowed, cash won’t do you any good, though gold and other things of value might.

Agreed. I do keep precious metals around in the event of something more serious. I got really into it (plain rounds and bars) a couple years ago but haven't bought any for a while. Was surprised to see silver quite a bit lower than my purchase price but I'm looking good on the gold.

[80pc]

Originally Posted by quackhead

The virus is a matter of national security and safety. Shut down does not have to be indefinite, but a short period so people can calm the F down and focus.

What is a short period?

The implications of market shutdown for an extended period of time (more than few days IMO) would have profound impact and I'm not sure why we should assume that would be a good thing? I mean, I'm a long investor, and I invested today. Should the person that sold and wanted/needed the money not have been able if there was a person (me) that was willing to buy?

[pewe]

Originally Posted by amex

Has anybody heard about these things called baseball cards?

Tell me more... can they be used for TP??? Are they allowed during quarantine?


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[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by quackhead

The virus is a matter of national security and safety. Shut down does not have to be indefinite, but a short period so people can calm the F down and focus.

The Towers are blocks away from Wall Street. Totally the same

You can’t cut off people’s access to their money and expect them to calm down.

[amex]

Originally Posted by pewe

Tell me more... can they be used for TP??? Are they allowed during quarantine?


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Only the Acetates.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by Soxfanguy

Speaking of your name and the credit card, I’ve never understood the appeal of the Amex Black Card. Yes it is very nice looking, but the initiation fee is 7500 and the annual fee is 2500. I’ve looked into it before and the benefits aren’t worth the price. A better card for cheaper is the J.P. Morgan Reserve card.

Its original incarnation was minimum annual spend of $1mm/year. This was back 15 years ago and many things weren’t available online / credit (like most business services weren’t available to charge). Very very small number of people qualified (the card was actually started as an urban myth, and Amex thought it would be fun for it to be made true to enhance their brand).

A fun question back then was: what were the members buying to reach that $$??? What is your guess?


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[pewe]

Originally Posted by amex

Only the Acetates.

Soft!


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[amex]

Originally Posted by pewe

Its original incarnation was minimum annual spend of $1mm/year. This was back 15 years ago and many things weren’t available online / credit (like most business services weren’t available to charge). Very very small number of people qualified (the card was actually started as an urban myth, and Amex thought it would be fun for it to be made true).

A fun question back then was: what were the members buying to reach that $$??? What is your guess?


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Anything and everything they can business related? By the way, American Express has the buyers back. Certainly adds an extra layer of protection and takes ebay and paypal out of the equation, if need be. Pretty key element versus Visa amongst other perks.

[kobemagee29]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

Move there if you are so concerned. The question was in regards to the UNITED STATES Post Office.

wow, I don't think that was his point.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by amex

Anything and everything they can business related? By the way, American Express has the buyers back. Certainly adds an extra layer of protection and takes ebay and paypal out of the equation, if need be. Pretty key element versus Visa amongst other perks.

Back then it was hard to put office services / supplies on credit. Plus Amex was using it as a marketing ploy. The initial issuance was to 5 people who would be brand builders / want to be seen with spending ostentatiously in public... business owners are boring from that standpoint.


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[amex]

Originally Posted by pewe

Back then it was hard to put office services / supplies on credit. Plus Amex was using it as a marketing ploy. The initial issuance was to 5 people who would be brand builders / want to be seen with spending ostentatiously in public... business owners are boring from that standpoint.


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Hmm. Possibly. My experience differs some bit. Going on 20 years and found it geared directly towards business accounts. Considering it has to be paid off each month coupled with today's issues with maxed out credit, I hardly see anyone really using it for meals and everyday personal expenses. More of a tab vs credit card.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by amex

Hmm. Possibly. My experience differs some bit. Going on 20 years and found it geared directly towards business accounts. Considering it has to be paid off each month coupled with today's issues with maxed out credit, I hardly see anyone really using it for meals and everyday personal expenses. More of a tab vs credit card.

Even if you try to come up with a meal / bar tab / trip mechanism it is VERY VERY hard to hit the $1mm. In fact, I think even 50% of the way is pretty gross using that.

What else might they have spent on for personal consumption? That was available 15-20 years ago to use credit? (For instance mortgage, cars, etc weren’t an option)


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[amex]

You are back on personal consumption. And that had to be more like 30-40 years ago. Yes, you really are that old!

[pewe]

Originally Posted by amex

You are back on personal consumption. And that had to be more like 30-40 years ago. Yes, you really are that old!

this card was a child of the 80-90s excesses... the card benefits are a hint... if I remember the correct answer (has been ~15 years since I saw the original data) early card members generated 60-70% of their spend in just two categories


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[amex]

Originally Posted by pewe

this card was a child of the 80-90s excesses...


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Which brings what you are discussing to 30 - 40 years ago, which I can not speak for. 20 years ago - present, putting a mil on it business wise can be done very easily. Monthly.

[amex]

If you want to go back 100 years and discuss Coca-Cola's original formula, we can do that, too. I just never had one.

[pewe]

Originally Posted by amex

Which brings what you are discussing to 30 - 40 years ago, which I can not speak for. 20 years ago - present, putting a mil on it business wise can be done very easily. Monthly.

The card wasn’t issued until ‘99... categories were: clothing, jewelry

With that said on business items: I remember making a suggestion that we offer credit card options on $5-10k servers ordered over the internet back in ‘97/‘98 and man I was laughed at. I knew I would be right, though

Certainly can be easy to put $$$ on it for small biz purchases. Still fun to test when I see individuals who do it without biz purchase (lots of larger business like finance, consulting, law don’t allow their employees to put biz expense on things like this)... they still tend to hit their $250k spend with similar categories today.


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[amex]

Originally Posted by pewe

The card wasn’t issued until ‘99... categories were: clothing, jewelry

With that said on business items: I remember making a suggestion that we offer credit card options on $5-10k servers ordered over the internet back then and man I was laughed at. I knew I would be right, though

Certainly can be easy to put $$$ on it for small biz purchases. Still fun to test when I see individuals who do it without biz purchase (lots of larger business like finance, consulting, law don’t allow their employees to put biz expense on things like this)... they still tend to hit their $250k spend with similar categories today.


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Cardmember since '03. So before my time. Can't speak for the olden days, but you do know about the "linking" aspect, right? Where as a cardmember can have all his employees' green cards linked to his corporate card which is then linked to his personal card thus earning the overall monetary quota needed to maintain it? Fedex also came into play and offers a 5% discount if used. Very key when you're in an industry that requires its product to be maintained in climate controlled environments which ultimately means every shipment goes overnight. Possibly 2nd day during the winter months.

[dwillard]

I work for USPS and there's no way they shut down. Amazon is hiring 100,000 so don't think they're shutting down either. Maybe blowout should consider selling cases of angel soft right about now though 😀