What is it with bolo knives and ....FRANCE???

Dagon said:
> But, after getting to know them better, we were all able to trade national insults in good humor.

Absolutely, and those damn frogs know far too many Belgian jokes ! ;)
And even Hollywood makes fun of us in the wonderful gangster movie "In Bruges" ! :D

But seriously, the original remark didn't seem tongue-in-cheek (perhaps I am wrong, humor travels badly over the net)

cheers,

Dagon

ps to end with a good quote from "In Bruges": when the gangster boss needs a new gun, the dealer shows him a table full of Uzis etc, and he sighs: "I need a normal gun for a normal man."
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Yes, humor does not travel well. One man's humor is another's insult, or even fighting words.

I remember once joining up with some French students to take on a couple of particularly snobby upper-class Brits. Why did Britain lose the American colonies? Poor management? Intolerable taxes? Why?

Some of the Brit responses: "We didn't lose them; we just kept them close at hand as we had business to do with them." "The Americans did not really win; it was a draw." And, my favorite: "The Bloody French!"

Red White and Blue or Blue White and Red? Methinks we have more in common with our French brothers than we admit. It's more a matter of priorities, than of values.
 
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50 years ago I had a good friend and business partner who was married to a drop dead georgous lady from Paris, she said that the French hate everyone who is not from France and those in Paris hate everyone period, a wonderful sense of humor. Last I know he was Sales manager for Bretanica in the UK Donald E Key funny how friends get lost.

rudeness is universal it is NOT restircted to the French or the Americans
 
The only reason I restrict the buyer is because I am an individual "occasional" seller. I got so tired of requests to lie on customs forms that I just blocked them.
As I said, if someone WANTS something (and they CONTACT me for an exception) I can put them in an exception list but it will be clear that the customs will be filled in with the sale amount.

I've done this before and it's no big hassle.

But the DELUGE of requests to lie on customs forms is just not worth it to me.

And I learned a new angle this week. WIRED funds are not rescindable.

eBay tries to get everything done through PayPal because it's an extra cut for them. But some of PayPal's policies are BAD for sellers.

:)
 
50 years ago I had a good friend and business partner who was married to a drop dead georgous lady from Paris
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note to self: call Goldie on Monday if extortion is refused.

:D
 
I am an American who spent a year living in Nancy, France, when I was a child, and I have to say the French treated me very well. It certainly helped that I spoke the language, but I found the French people overall to be very kind. Even my teacher (I went to a French public school), who literally smacked the heck out of a lot of the other students, treated me well.

Regards,
3G
 
The French seriously have the worst pop music I ever heard. They almost make up for it with their culinary contributions but not quite.
 
Lavan said:
note to self: call Goldie on Monday if extortion is refused.

:D
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Dude,

I have the best looking, smartest bussinesswoman in the cutlery industry and she knows how I feel. The lady from Paris and her husband left my life 25 years before I met the love of my life. lol great idea wrong century
 
Lavan said:
The only reason I restrict the buyer is because I am an individual "occasional" seller. I got so tired of requests to lie on customs forms that I just blocked them.
As I said, if someone WANTS something (and they CONTACT me for an exception) I can put them in an exception list but it will be clear that the customs will be filled in with the sale amount.

I've done this before and it's no big hassle.

But the DELUGE of requests to lie on customs forms is just not worth it to me.

And I learned a new angle this week. WIRED funds are not rescindable.

eBay tries to get everything done through PayPal because it's an extra cut for them. But some of PayPal's policies are BAD for sellers.

:)
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That is why Goldie and I do not use paypal even though we are asked often.

any country that would charge 40% duty and 20% VAT on a new or used knife SHOULD be lied to! I have an obsession about lying that was beat into my butt with switches, belts and razor strops, I force myself to make exceptions for export forms for indiveduals. If you are not offended by such stupidety than I understand why you would not want to lie for people you do not know.
 
mongomondo said:
The French seriously have the worst pop music I ever heard. They almost make up for it with their culinary contributions but not quite.
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LOL:D Currently, I'd say you're right on the money, but in the past, the French have had some pretty darn good music and singers, so much so that American singers have re-done several French songs and had huge successes with them here. You'd be hard pressed to ever find the equals of singers like Charles Aznavour: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Aznavour and Edith Piaf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89dith_Piaf!

Regards,
3G
 
Aznavour's style was probably more accessible to most Americans than Piaf's, although I grew up with her music. My parents played it often enough.

Can't blame the French for having less than entrancing pop music. Most pop is pap. Find the best and enjoy it, and forget the rest.
 
>> I would counter that french girls know a thing or two about kissing.
> that doesnt counter, it only makes em seem cheap

OK, how about this then: the french first lady looks waaaaay better than the usa one!
 
My experience with international shipping is that things seem to get 'lost' or damaged as soon as they cross the border.

I'm just a hobby seller but I stopped accepting PayPal shortly after eBay took them over and started taking such a large cut. Not only do you have to pay the auction fees but taking PayPal further eats into your profits.

In the early days PP was content to make their profit on just the interest on the float while the money was in their hands. It was a great deal for both sellers and buyers. Now it's still very convenient for the buyer but the seller gives up a significant chunk of funds to accept it.

Now I only take MO or certified funds and I find it hasn't hurt my profits when selling something that's in demand. I think most bidders don't even read the auction to realize that I don't accept PP until they win.
 
In the early days PP was content to make their profit on just the interest on the float while the money was in their hands. It was a great deal for both sellers and buyers. Now it's still very convenient for the buyer but the seller gives up a significant chunk of funds to accept it.

Now I only take MO or certified funds and I find it hasn't hurt my profits when selling something that's in demand. I think most bidders don't even read the auction to realize that I don't accept PP until they win.
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Unfortunately, eBay almost always requires sellers to accept PAYPAL now. On top of that, they advertise that the seller prefers PAYPAL- whether that is the case or not. Of course, eBay owns PAYPAL, so it makes sense that they want to maximize their profits. It does make international commerce (buying and selling) easier.

It's important to remember that when we Americans buy things from overseas sellers, we are the foreign bidders. There's a lot of pieces that aren't commonly available here, that I wouldn't have if it wasn't for overseas sellers willing to ship to the US.
 
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