Miguel Cruz wrote:
    > Go Fig wrote:
    > > [email protected] (Miguel Cruz) wrote:
    > >>>> One of the great things about New York is the informal sidewalk economy.
    > >>>
    > >>> For who, not the hard working store owner that pays for a license and
    > >>> collects taxes for, among others, the Social Services you feel the city
    > >>> is compelled to provide.
    > >>
    > >> They're competing for entirely different market segments.
    > >
    > > Really, so the guys on 14th Street that are selling batteries and the
    > > stores they are in front of are selling Rolls Royce cars ?
    > Dunno, I mainly see people selling crappy t-shirts and obviously fake
    > jewelry.
    > >> And I see plenty of store owners not ringing things up on their
    > >> registers.
    > >
    > > So what... not a legal requirement to use a register.
    > If someone has a register and only uses it for half the transactions, you
    > can pretty reliably conclude it's because they're underreporting their
    > taxes.

Assuming they are the owners - otherwise they may also be
pocketing half of the store's profits!

    > miguel
    > --
    > Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world:
    > http://travel.u.nu
    > New mini photo-feature: Life in DC:
    > http://travel.u.nu/dc/

On Mon, 07 Oct 2002 15:37:54 -0700, "Evelyn Vogt Gamble (Divamanque)"
wrote:

    >Go Fig wrote:
    >> >
    >> > One of the great things about New York is the informal sidewalk economy.
    >> >
    >> > miguel
    >> For who, not the hard working store owner that pays for a license and
    >> collects taxes for, among others, the Social Services you feel the city
    >> is compelled to provide.
    >Are the sidewalk vendors not required to have permits? If
    >not, why do I see policemen regularly ignoring them, instead
    >of making them pack up and move on?

The police have other things on their plates. They generally
dislike fooling around with bothering people who are not
engaged in true criminal activity. And will do so only if
specifically so ordered from above. Police must waste time
in paperwork and court appearances for minor arrests as
well as for major arrests and in general prefer to target
lawbreakers who are harming people rather than selling
stuff on the street. Now and then there is an initative from
above to hassle street vendors but it is a low priority considering
the state of New York City security issues following 9/11.

Mayor Guiliani had the cops go after street vendors selling
food and removed many who had dedicated clienteles. This
was hugely unpopular with the public. He also banned those
selling art from the streets and they won a court case overturning
the ban. One can buy a good lunch from a food cart for a few
bucks, while prices in Midtown restaurants are skyhigh for just
a sandwich. New Yorkers like to browse the street vendors of
all types, and if those who don't live here don't appreciate them,
well, there are other places to visit for those so obsessed with
street tidiness.

In article ,
Rita wrote:

    > On Mon, 07 Oct 2002 15:37:54 -0700, "Evelyn Vogt Gamble (Divamanque)"
    > wrote:
    > >
    > >
    > >Go Fig wrote:
    > >>
    > >> >
    > >> > One of the great things about New York is the informal sidewalk economy.
    > >> >
    > >> > miguel
    > >>
    > >> For who, not the hard working store owner that pays for a license and
    > >> collects taxes for, among others, the Social Services you feel the city
    > >> is compelled to provide.
    > >
    > >Are the sidewalk vendors not required to have permits? If
    > >not, why do I see policemen regularly ignoring them, instead
    > >of making them pack up and move on?
    > >>
    > The police have other things on their plates. They generally
    > dislike fooling around with bothering people who are not
    > engaged in true criminal activity. And will do so only if
    > specifically so ordered from above. Police must waste time
    > in paperwork and court appearances for minor arrests as
    > well as for major arrests and in general prefer to target
    > lawbreakers who are harming people rather than selling
    > stuff on the street. Now and then there is an initative from
    > above to hassle street vendors but it is a low priority considering
    > the state of New York City security issues following 9/11.
    > Mayor Guiliani had the cops go after street vendors selling
    > food and removed many who had dedicated clienteles. This
    > was hugely unpopular with the public. He also banned those
    > selling art from the streets and they won a court case overturning
    > the ban. One can buy a good lunch from a food cart for a few
    > bucks, while prices in Midtown restaurants are skyhigh for just
    > a sandwich. New Yorkers like to browse the street vendors of
    > all types, and if those who don't live here don't appreciate them,
    > well, there are other places to visit for those so obsessed with
    > street tidiness.

Then change the law... what is the point of the law if its not going to
have some legal weight... as it is now, or as you describe it, it is
ripe for corruption.

jay
Mon, Oct 7, 2002
mailto:[email protected]

--

Legend insists that as he finished his abject...
Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move."

On Mon, 07 Oct 2002 23:58:40 GMT, Go Fig wrote:

    > In article ,
    > Rita wrote:
    >> On Mon, 07 Oct 2002 15:37:54 -0700, "Evelyn Vogt Gamble (Divamanque)"
    >> wrote:
    >> >
    >> >
    >> >Go Fig wrote:
    >> >>
    >> >> >
    >> >> > One of the great things about New York is the informal sidewalk economy.
    >> >> >
    >> >> > miguel
    >> >>
    >> >> For who, not the hard working store owner that pays for a license and
    >> >> collects taxes for, among others, the Social Services you feel the city
    >> >> is compelled to provide.
    >> >
    >> >Are the sidewalk vendors not required to have permits? If
    >> >not, why do I see policemen regularly ignoring them, instead
    >> >of making them pack up and move on?
    >> >>
    >> The police have other things on their plates. They generally
    >> dislike fooling around with bothering people who are not
    >> engaged in true criminal activity. And will do so only if
    >> specifically so ordered from above. Police must waste time
    >> in paperwork and court appearances for minor arrests as
    >> well as for major arrests and in general prefer to target
    >> lawbreakers who are harming people rather than selling
    >> stuff on the street. Now and then there is an initative from
    >> above to hassle street vendors but it is a low priority considering
    >> the state of New York City security issues following 9/11.
    >> Mayor Guiliani had the cops go after street vendors selling
    >> food and removed many who had dedicated clienteles. This
    >> was hugely unpopular with the public. He also banned those
    >> selling art from the streets and they won a court case overturning
    >> the ban. One can buy a good lunch from a food cart for a few
    >> bucks, while prices in Midtown restaurants are skyhigh for just
    >> a sandwich. New Yorkers like to browse the street vendors of
    >> all types, and if those who don't live here don't appreciate them,
    >> well, there are other places to visit for those so obsessed with
    >> street tidiness.
    >Then change the law... what is the point of the law if its not going to
    >have some legal weight... as it is now, or as you describe it, it is
    >ripe for corruption.
Corruption is not an issue. These folks are small fry and they
come and go. If cops were to be on the take, they would choose
riper targets. There are many laws on the books that are sporadically
enforced depending on the tenor of the times. New York cops
generally are laid back and not eager to bust people who are
not doing outright theft or violence. One of the reasons I like
living here. Overall, crime continues to decrease in New York. So
I think the cops are putting their focus in the right places. New
Yorkers want violent crimes pursued and do not particularly like
to see people doing no harm hassled. Your mileage may vary.
I guess obviously it does.

Rita wrote:
    > On Mon, 07 Oct 2002 15:37:54 -0700, "Evelyn Vogt Gamble (Divamanque)"
    > wrote:
    > >
    > >
    > >Go Fig wrote:
    > >>
    > >> >
    > >> > One of the great things about New York is the informal sidewalk economy.
    > >> >
    > >> > miguel
    > >>
    > >> For who, not the hard working store owner that pays for a license and
    > >> collects taxes for, among others, the Social Services you feel the city
    > >> is compelled to provide.
    > >
    > >Are the sidewalk vendors not required to have permits? If
    > >not, why do I see policemen regularly ignoring them, instead
    > >of making them pack up and move on?
    > >>
    > The police have other things on their plates. They generally
    > dislike fooling around with bothering people who are not
    > engaged in true criminal activity. And will do so only if
    > specifically so ordered from above. Police must waste time
    > in paperwork and court appearances for minor arrests as
    > well as for major arrests and in general prefer to target
    > lawbreakers who are harming people rather than selling
    > stuff on the street. Now and then there is an initative from
    > above to hassle street vendors but it is a low priority considering
    > the state of New York City security issues following 9/11.
    > Mayor Guiliani had the cops go after street vendors selling
    > food and removed many who had dedicated clienteles. This
    > was hugely unpopular with the public. He also banned those
    > selling art from the streets and they won a court case overturning
    > the ban. One can buy a good lunch from a food cart for a few
    > bucks, while prices in Midtown restaurants are skyhigh for just
    > a sandwich. New Yorkers like to browse the street vendors of
    > all types, and if those who don't live here don't appreciate them,
    > well, there are other places to visit for those so obsessed with
    > street tidiness.

Oh, I wasn't complaining! So far as I'm concerned, they're
one of the tourist "sights". (And last October I found the
little impromptu sidewalk "shrines" to the victims of 9/11
very touching.)

    > I can understand why the store would
    > want to limit sales of a limited-edition
    > bag ... it's not very fair for one small
    > group of people to buy all the bags.

What's fair got to do with it? Retail stores exist for convenience, not
fairness. They buy inconveniently large quantities at low prices, and
sell conveniently small quantities at higher prices.

When supply exceeds demand, retailers need to reduce prices - even below
cost - in order to move the inventory before it gets old and shopworn.

When demand exceeds supply, retailers need to raise prices in order to
reduce demand and ensure a supply for those that *really* want the
items.

When retailers don't do *both* of these, it gets *very* inconvenient for
consumers, because the store goes out of business.

--
http://paulding.net Many useful utilities

She was a love machine -
and she didn't work for nobody but me.
But I soon ran out of quarters....

Thank god I was clueless when a couple of Chinese(?) tourists asked me
to buy a LV bag for them on the Champs Elysees back in March 2001 when
I was vacationing in Paris for Spring Break.

I was only there for some fun, not excessive fashion shopping at LV.
Even tho I did spend about the equivalent of 70 Euro at a fashion shop
at the Champs Elysees.

Apparently, my guess is that this "scam" probably began a few years
back.

Nick

On Mon, 7 Oct 2002 13:04:41 +0200, "Mxsmanic"
wrote:

    >It is either a scam or the result of a scam.
    >Louis Vuitton has supposedly had problems in the past with unscrupulous
    >individuals and groups using their goods for money-laundering schemes, and
    >using unsuspecting Asian tourists as intermediaries. As a result, the
    >stores have set some limits on how much they will sell and on means of
    >payment, and other things (as I understand it). So the Japanese tourists
    >who approched you were either part of the scam and were thus limited by the
    >store's policies (which they may or may not have realized), or they were
    >innocent and just happened to get stuck by the policies because their own
    >buying intentions or payment methods ran afoul of them.
    >Either way, I suggest that you decline their request. Even if they are
    >perfectly innocent, I can understand why the store would want to limit sales
    >of a limited-edition bag ... it's not very fair for one small group of
    >people to buy all the bags.
    >I personally do not understand the appeal of Louis Vuitton products, but
    >they are hugely popular with visiting tourists from the Orient, especially
    >Chinese and Japanese tourists. They don't seem to be much of a big deal for
    >Europeans or Americans, though.

Nicholas Cheung wrote:
    > Thank god I was clueless when a couple of Chinese(?) tourists asked me
    > to buy a LV bag for them on the Champs Elysees back in March 2001 when
    > I was vacationing in Paris for Spring Break.

Why? Would it have been a big deal anyway? Do you feel you have the
duty to support these Vuitton jerks' braindead sales policy?

"Devil" a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]...

    > Do you feel you have the duty to support
    > these Vuitton jerks' braindead sales policy?

Since the only difference between Vuitton and any other brand is the name,
who are the real jerks, the people selling the stuff, or the people paying
outrageous prices to buy it?

Mxsmanic wrote:
    > "Devil" a écrit dans le message de news:
    > [email protected]...
    >>Do you feel you have the duty to support
    >>these Vuitton jerks' braindead sales policy?
    > Since the only difference between Vuitton and any other brand is the name,
    > who are the real jerks, the people selling the stuff, or the people paying
    > outrageous prices to buy it?

Eh, the customer is always right.

This said, when someone tries to play artificial pricing games on me, I
usually like to beat them at their own game.

I loved it, the time I managed to order a deeply discounted SITI LH
ticket on their web site, without giving them an address in Germany, but
only a phone number in the US. So that evntually I got a phone call
(from LH in the US) explaining to me that I would have to get this
ticket while in Germany (which I did).

Next time I checked, they had fixed their web site. :-)