Off-Topic Questions Thread - closed. Open new threads for specific questions please.

[GlennCullen]

Anyone on here a letting agent? I've heard of the 'Annual Salary to be 30x your monthly rent' rule but am looking for clarification, is this gross or net salary? And does it consider any other deductions? Cheers.

[Sergio Mendacious]

Anyone on here a letting agent? I've heard of the 'Annual Salary to be 30x your monthly rent' rule but am looking for clarification, is this gross or net salary? And does it consider any other deductions? Cheers.

 

As far as I've experienced, it's gross salary, and it tends to be very, very flexible. It can go down exponentially if they just like your face.

[hallicks]

A language question: chatting with my wife last night, for whatever reason the word "rhetoric" came into the conversation. I pronounced it as you would pronounce the first part of the word "rhetorical" rather rhan ret-o-rik. This led to a conversation about etymology and how a derivative of a word can come to be pronounced in a completely different way. (The beauty of English, I suppose). Then we got on to how a word spelt the same way, like wind as in the prevailing wind, and wind, as in, my brother winds me up, is actually two words. Is that to do with English assimilating lots of different languages over time, so it's a coincidence that you have a basic four letter word spelt the same in two different languages, and it has two different pronunciations?

[King Pitcos]

Ronnie would be the man to answer that. Polysemes and homonyms are his bread and butter. There is a lot to break down. Here's an etymology page on your specific examples: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=wind

[hallicks]

Cool, thanks.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Does anyone use eBay?

 

I've sold a bass guitar/amp combo on there for a little over 70 quid. The successful buyer messaged me after the listing closed with the question 'can you post to Glasgow?'. The listing clearly stated for collection from London.

 

I replied, and now he hasn't bothered to message back.

 

It's only been a couple of hours but if he doesn't message back, or doesn't want them, what do I do?

 

I'm new to this lark.

[Surf Digby]

What did you reply to him with?

[d-d-d-dAz]

I said 'no, unfortunately not. I listed it as collection only as the shipping costs would have been too great to make it a viable purchase. Please let me know how you'd like to proceed, and if you'd still like the items'.

[Surf Digby]

Suggest to him that if he arranges a courier and accepts responsibility for it's passage, then you can get it to him.

 

Otherwise, he needs to come down and pick it up as agreed.

 

Has he paid yet?

[d-d-d-dAz]

No, the shady git.

 

It's annoying, because he bid two pounds more than the other bidder who was from West London. And, I need the bloody cash.

[Surf Digby]

What's his feedback like? If he's a regular buyer/seller, he probably won't want reporting to eBay, so push the "as agreed" angle.

 

He made his bid, you accepted, and so he needs to hurry up and pay and arrange for it to picked up, as agreed.

 

Tell him not to use Royal Mail, as they're horrifically expensive.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Zero feedback. Zilch. Nada.

 

I've got a right card on my hands, I think.

[Surf Digby]

Report him to eBay and fuck him off. I've not done it before, but there's a way of doing it so that you get your fees refunded for when you relist it.

[d-d-d-dAz]

This second offer thing looks a goer, whereby when it doesn't pan out with your buyer you can send a message to the second lowest bidder and ask them if they still want it at the price they offered.

 

I might give customer services a bell in the morning, because the 10% has already been charged to my account.

[patiirc]

Sent a parcel about ten days ago, and the tracking on the Royal Mail website says "We have tried to deliver your item from our [redacted] Delivery Office before 12:34 on 05/09/13 and we have left a while you were out card.

 

There are instructions on the card on how to collect your item or arrange a Redelivery."

 

Do they actually update after that point when the recipient goes and picks it up, or will it just stay on that status forever even if the guy went and collected it on the 6th?

 

Yeah, there should be an update when collected from the sorting office or redelivery attempted. If its been sent and needs a signature then that should be gotten at the sorting office and should be scanned on line. If the person doesnt pick up the parcel and has no return address etc, it will be sent to some postal blackhole in Eire, where you will have to ring up Royal Mail Customer Services to retrieve. Though they are pretty good and understanding the issues if some one hasnt picked up their parcel .