Purchasing for the long-game
Discussion
alorotom said:
I'm sceptical at the lifetime offers ... Everything moves on and invariably companies around today won't exist in 10/20/30/40 yrs.
I'd be esp wary of tech in this area
Quite!I'd be esp wary of tech in this area
Unless it's something regular that you would use (Amazon do subscription based purchases for a variety of things ... Dog tick / flea / wormer for example)
I'd rather buy as and when I need.
Also to put upfront £500 / £1000 etc or more would take a considerable amount of effort for most people.
I saw an interesting documentary about a chap who paid a quarter million dollars for lifetime top tier travel on one of the US airlines.
He did travel a lot and felt that it was worth it.
But years later the airline didn't like the idea anymore and withdrew the ticket citing some terms and conditions violation.
He did take them to court but I can't remember the ending.
He did travel a lot and felt that it was worth it.
But years later the airline didn't like the idea anymore and withdrew the ticket citing some terms and conditions violation.
He did take them to court but I can't remember the ending.
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/04/17/aairpass...
The story I mentioned concerning American Airlines Golden Ticket.
The story I mentioned concerning American Airlines Golden Ticket.
croyde said:
I saw an interesting documentary about a chap who paid a quarter million dollars for lifetime top tier travel on one of the US airlines.
He did travel a lot and felt that it was worth it.
But years later the airline didn't like the idea anymore and withdrew the ticket citing some terms and conditions violation.
He did take them to court but I can't remember the ending.
A guy I know had lifetime membership of the AA bought for him in the 60s or 70s. As far as I know it's still intact but it sounds like they use up several thousand of his calories every year trying to talk him out of it. He did travel a lot and felt that it was worth it.
But years later the airline didn't like the idea anymore and withdrew the ticket citing some terms and conditions violation.
He did take them to court but I can't remember the ending.
Someone else had some sort of deal with a Eurotunnel shares pre sale that entitled him to crossings for life for a quid so he pops to France every other day to get some nicer whatever. They regard him with cold loathing.
All of the businesses I know of that have done it have eventually regretted it, gone bust or simply rescinded it. It's not a model that can last.
In recent times lots of VPNs that offered it have popped or stopped offering it. It's also been Plex's main source of income and judging by the amount of extra s
t they're throwing at the wall, or rather their customers, it's not working for them either. Edited by bloomen on Friday 6th December 21:51
croyde said:
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/04/17/aairpass...
The story I mentioned concerning American Airlines Golden Ticket.
That's a fascinating read and even at $3m you could probably make that back in a few short years on long haul routes! Massive gamble though unless you're minted!The story I mentioned concerning American Airlines Golden Ticket.
There's usealy something going on with how much a supply is or how long a life time.
Lets say you get a years supply of chocolate, but that going to be limited to the one (NHS recommended size) serving per day, not as much as you can eat.
And another thing is what was once a good deal can stop being a good deal, like say free postage of letters, today it's near worthless but back in the 1800's you'd kill to have that.
Lets say you get a years supply of chocolate, but that going to be limited to the one (NHS recommended size) serving per day, not as much as you can eat.
And another thing is what was once a good deal can stop being a good deal, like say free postage of letters, today it's near worthless but back in the 1800's you'd kill to have that.
alorotom said:
I'm sceptical at the lifetime offers ... Everything moves on and invariably companies around today won't exist in 10/20/30/40 yrs.
I'd be esp wary of tech in this area
Yep. Back in '06 i paid the £399 fee to cover the "lifetime" subscription & maintenance pack for the RAC Trackstar tracking system i had installed in my Mk1 Focus RS. I'd be esp wary of tech in this area
Found out earlier this year, as part of me recommisioning the car, that the company in question has evidently gone through at least 1 or 2 rebrands / mergers since i had my unit fitted and therefore as a result the "new" company don't support any of the previous legacy subscriptions and they were essentially null & void because those units were effectively deactivated. So essentially the tracking system i thought i had in my car has actually been turned off for the best part of the last decade and would have been no use if the car had been stolen. Nice of them to let me know that during one of their rebrands / mergers.
The irony of course is that the current "new" company are still going forward with a similar setup offered back in '06. Basically charge you £400, ask you to take the car to one of their "specialist approved installers" to have a brand new / current spec unit installed, and then pay a further £149 per year (or £399 for 3 years) for an automatic renewal based subscription to keep the tracker activated. Well until of course they possibly decide to rebrand / merge again at which point you can pretty much rinse & repeat the situation above i guess.
I guess these days anything tech is a no no as it changes so quickly.
I mean, I ticked the box in 2015 to add Sat Nav to my Mustang for £900. By the time it was delivered a year later, Waze and Google Maps on your phone were far superior and I never used the fitted Sat Nav.
4 years later and even the most lowly Seat rental car comes with the ability to mirror your phone's functions via Android Play and Apple Car Play.
I mean, I ticked the box in 2015 to add Sat Nav to my Mustang for £900. By the time it was delivered a year later, Waze and Google Maps on your phone were far superior and I never used the fitted Sat Nav.
4 years later and even the most lowly Seat rental car comes with the ability to mirror your phone's functions via Android Play and Apple Car Play.
Edited by croyde on Saturday 7th December 07:48
I travel a lot with work
Have a iPad and iPhone that come with me, both lightning connectors
I have learnt to but decent power cables, so went for 10ft anker cables
Their normal one is say £15 quid (1 year warranty I think) and the lifetime warranty one is £17 or there about
Will I have upgraded my iPad and iPhone before the cables wears out? The newer stuff is no longer lighting I believe. If I rung them up in 20 years (if they still exist) will they laugh or honour it
For the small difference in cost the short term peace of mind is worth it
Interesting concept though.
A friend of ours wife has a ten percent discount card for Tesco (i think) which dates back to the 70s when someone bought out someone which eventually ended up as Tesco
They can have a real battle using it, but they now know the managers / supervisors at their local shop, but have had to write letters etc. I suspect many of these staff cards have been lost/ thrown out because people are given mis information but their local Tesco
Have a iPad and iPhone that come with me, both lightning connectors
I have learnt to but decent power cables, so went for 10ft anker cables
Their normal one is say £15 quid (1 year warranty I think) and the lifetime warranty one is £17 or there about
Will I have upgraded my iPad and iPhone before the cables wears out? The newer stuff is no longer lighting I believe. If I rung them up in 20 years (if they still exist) will they laugh or honour it
For the small difference in cost the short term peace of mind is worth it
Interesting concept though.
A friend of ours wife has a ten percent discount card for Tesco (i think) which dates back to the 70s when someone bought out someone which eventually ended up as Tesco
They can have a real battle using it, but they now know the managers / supervisors at their local shop, but have had to write letters etc. I suspect many of these staff cards have been lost/ thrown out because people are given mis information but their local Tesco
I paid more for the lifetime warranty watch battery replacement service from Timpson. I bought the watch in 1999, purchased the battery warranty in 2007 and still have the watch today. It wasn't even an expensive watch either. I've had my money's worth already. Did the same for my other watch too and had my money's worth out of that one.
Wealthy individuals who purchased seats at the Royal Albert Hall when it was being built have passed them on through several generations. These lifetime members can go to as many concerts as they want or sell the seat each time a gig is on £££!
Wealthy individuals who purchased seats at the Royal Albert Hall when it was being built have passed them on through several generations. These lifetime members can go to as many concerts as they want or sell the seat each time a gig is on £££!
CC07 PEU said:
Wealthy individuals who purchased seats at the Royal Albert Hall when it was being built have passed them on through several generations. These lifetime members can go to as many concerts as they want or sell the seat each time a gig is on £££!
Don't they come with mind bending service charges? Maybe it's different for OG buyers but once you added up the cost vs what you'd want to see it looked more like dick measuring. Selling your unwanted seats would probably cover it and more though. bloomen said:
Don't they come with mind bending service charges? Maybe it's different for OG buyers but once you added up the cost vs what you'd want to see it looked more like dick measuring. Selling your unwanted seats would probably cover it and more though.
Not for seat owners who bought them in 1867.Five Words
Pay Up Front For Life
BT Cellnet Circa 2001
Oh how they wriggle.
Sim card goes faulty - "oh no sir can't swap sim no siree. cannot do that "
"Yes you can and you will"
And they do begrudgingly.
At the time it was the best way to have an emergency phone in the car.
Anyone remember the original one2one deals with free calls.?
Pay Up Front For Life
BT Cellnet Circa 2001
Oh how they wriggle.
Sim card goes faulty - "oh no sir can't swap sim no siree. cannot do that "
"Yes you can and you will"
And they do begrudgingly.
At the time it was the best way to have an emergency phone in the car.
Anyone remember the original one2one deals with free calls.?
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