I think you'll find that much of the process of profiling is done by pattern analysis - presumably you have bank account/s, ATM cards, pay utility bills, visit stores & supermarkets where goods are barcoded, fill up on fuel at gas stations drive on roads which may or may not have license plate recognition, CCTV & facial recognition in town centres etc etc. So whilst cash might well be 'king' for you in day-to-day transactions that particular idyll is largely an illusion. There are myriad ways of accessing sensitive personal information currently available to the dedicated crim or other/s interested in your activities, and that's only really come about in the last 10 years. Unfortunately governments - security services - police - tax authorities, municipal councils - even ngo's all love it that way - and as you know that's happened entirely without consultation. I also find it funny that some people maintain this 'I'll always pay by cash because noone'll notice my buys/sells that way'. The only reason that you'd want to make that opaque might be if you were laundering money or paranoid or simply wanting to ensure some privacy to your dealings (as I say modern 'privacy' ain't what it used to be!), so stash a million bucks in your mattress & only spend cash. If the day comes and one does get the knock, for me being able to prove where assets & cash (business & personal) came from would be of primary importance. I know that in UK, US & EU if you can't prove something is actually yours then the default position isn't 'innocent until proven guilty' - they'll seize/freeze without a second thought. I have had people on here say 'I don't want to issue a receipt if I sell this to you (or buy fom you)' - but then they make or accept a bank transfer... that says everything about their understanding of the notion of procedural anonymity in the context of buying/selling/owning PM's.
Yippe-Ki-Ya, maybe the reason this has not been discussed is because no-one wants to unnecessarily alarm the herd. One poster mentioned that a "savvy" buyer would discuss and clarify who bears the loss. But are we not meant to help one another to become "savvy buyers/sellers"? Anyway, I don't feel comfortable with bullion in the mail without having insurance, and the cost of that will probably offset savings in many cases. My only trade has been face to face. As for receiving bullion via courier sent via Perth Mint (for eg.), I have never done this, but apparently you need to sign for it. Now here's a question for you, if the courier is standing in front of you with a little sealed box (supposed to be holding your bullion), do you open it first before you sign? HELL YES!! Otherwise you ain't getting my signature. This was a lesson I learned years ago when working as a warehouseman, and signing off daily on large alcohol deliveries, dozens of boxes. We just used to blindly sign and assume it was all there. One day, the boss was expecting a special shipment of something fancy & expensive, and we just signed off in the usual way, and he went totally ballistic when he found we had everything except for his expensive stuff, and we signed off like dimwits. Maybe SS can now have two levels of service: (1) superior service, where the seller assumes all risks of loss; (2) standard = 50/50 split; (3) ghetto = buyer assumes all risks. Yippe-ki-Ya, you have opened a can of worms. Nevertheless, it is best to be transparent, although it might be initially uncomfortable. And as for examples of Platinum Post going missing, over the space of 2 years, 8 Passports went missing when sent via Platinum Post. http://www.pio.gov.au/docs/investigation-reports/austpost_dfat_passports_lost_in_mail.pdf So if Platinum Post can be tracked, etc, why could they not find those passports? I guess there must be plenty of reasons; eg. Platinum Post only really started to get "good" after 2009, etc.
I do love the idea of 'ghetto service' lol! 'Premium' service implies that the seller would insure all risks, which I don't think is realistic given the variables (and costs) involved. POP A CAP IN 'IM ASSSSSS RASTA! 'IM NO DELIVAH! x
I have opened plenty of parcels over the years before signing on the dotted line. I remember being in Ainslie's last year, back at 388 Queen Street, when a courier came in, and they verified everything in the delivery before signing off. This is also my experience. Its not your experience, OK, and probably loads of other people too. You just simply do not blindly sign your life away on some sealed box which could be empty.
You are signing to say you received a package, not signing to say you received goods - big difference between that and Ainslie where they are signing off goods as having been delivered, or signing off to say "yep got x cartons of such and such grog" - Auspost do not have a consignment note and have no idea what is in the package just that you have been sent one and they delivered it.
Not quite keeping on-topic (about delivery etc), but VRS you prompted me to remember a recent article from Casey Research putting some of this together - it's a good read about thinking critically actually. http://www.caseyresearch.com/cdd/thinking-critically (by David Galland) Brief extract (if you read it online there are referred sources such as the Wired article - I didn't have the time to grab those links for this extract):
Living here in outback 'Canberra', I only have access to one tiny Coin shop that sells nothing much and no bullion things at good prices. So I have been forced to just buy via the postal system. I have been operating on the premise, I only buy the amount of money that I am ok with to sadly part with. But fortunately I have not lost anything yet. I do trust the postal system quite a lot. I have posted plenty of prepaid regular parcel from selling on ebay and none have gone missing, so when people send to me at better than that, ie. registered or platinum, I feel pretty safe that AP will get it right.
It amazes me when people claim that the cost of postage is too high and that f2f saves money. Ok if you both live within walking distance of each other, otherwise transport costs, parking etc quickly snuff out any perceived savings compared to Reg/Plat post. It would cost me $60 to drive to Melb and buy f2f. I can get Plat next day deliv from any dealer/stacker in Melb (add a day for the rest of Aust) way cheaper. Same goods, same service, but less cloak and dagger excitement.
A lot of people have made a lot of $$$ from selling on EBAY (and probably not paying tax) - how long before the ATO works out how to track it......and wants its share. Could be huge $$$ for the government....do you really think they wouldn't be looking and working out how to get some extra tax dollars?
Really Think so It's been all over the news for the last few years that the ATO are tracking everybody who sells more than $20k a year
I think you need to achieve Power Seller status before you hit the ATO radar! And eBay is obliged to forward the info to the ATO.
Illegal entity or unlawful entity yippeekiya? If you hadve joined the amazing conspiracy forum, you'd know
eBay is just an agent to the ATO, if they do differently, there gone the license and their server shut and investigated. :lol: for operating illegally.
So they give you a fancy badge and then finger you lololol?!? Only asking because I just got mine. Actually it'd be useful if GP'd let us know what contact ATO have had in terms of the joint being a 'trading platform' as one would assume they might define it. (I always said to him that he should be taking a vig on each sale - 2.5% 'd be a noice liddle oiner!)
ATO Data Matching to eBay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AaXd_9mOxg Ebay put out an official announcement many years ago about providing details of those regularly trading 2k or more a month. And now do it regularly through their eBay Announcement Board. ***Request for information from ATO and Centrelink*** 24 June 2011 | 10:38AM EST http://www2.ebay.com/aw/au/201106241036392.html It's an ATO request that any organisation would have to comply with, if asked.
ATO have never contacted me with regards to people trading through this website. Only a matter of time though before some sort of contact occurs as a result of people blatantly drawing attention to themselves.
Ive had an insured parcel from the Perth Mint taken to the local post office instead of the regional depot. I received the card saying the package was at the regional depot and when I made the 45 minute drive there they told me my package was not with them. I nearly went blue in the face, they quickly made a phone call to my local post office and it had been sitting in the little unsecured post office for two days. I was worried and furious. Ive had 3 platinum articles returned to the post office when I was home for all three occasions, the courier postie man just kept neglecting to visit my house. Though I have always received my packages, their non compliance with procedures have left me a bit disheartened with the postal system. Though I trust it enough to continue using it.
