I'll make this really brief.
Horrible idea!
Horrible idea!
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Ok, I can agree with that - too bad I can't go back and edit my post. :s I will say though, that the majority of my peers will finance just about anything and everything and have a huge imbalance in their debt/income ratio. That obviously could be indicative of any number of problems but when I see them burn cash the way they do, well...
Agree 100%I just keep thinking how ironic it is that this thread is absolutely GREAT publicity for Marine Depot and their new financing program...even if that wasn't the threads intent. In fact, I kind of wonder how many people weren't even aware of the financing option (like me) until they saw this thread.
My take on it is pretty much identical to everything that Gary (@Reef Pets) has said already. This financing option is no different than putting the items on a credit card, and for the most part, this thread has not fairly compared apples to apples, but instead generally gives the best possible image of credit cards (generally discussing credit cards as if they all offer points systems, assuming that all points systems are actually good deals, giving best possible APR for credit cards in the discussion...) while making faulty assumptions about Affirm (such as assuming they offer no fraud protection...which they do and discussing their credit rates based on the highest end of their range). I'm not going to encourage anyone to go take out a loan to get a reef tank, but I'm thankful we all have the freedom to do so. I also can't fault Marine Depot for finding ways to allow their customers to purchase their products...that's just good business sense.
I'd believe that.I think I heard a statistic today that most older generation (~50%) was carrying an excessive debt compared to millenials.
You are absolutly correct about Affirm being a preditory lending agency that practices usury which is illegal at some levels and immoral at all levels. They prey on people who cannot afford the purchase in the first place and end up at Pay Day Loan centers just to keep the power on in their rentals. I see many of these individuals each week through a community service my wife and I volunteer for. It is sad and makes me a little angry. One of the local rent to own companies owners lives in our town and has a staffed limosine just for dinner and drinking, new Corvette, Aston Martin and assorted other toys as well as multiple homes. His fortune is built off the knowledge that he can depend on people who cannot buy elsewhere to buy from him at huge interest rates. It is his right and the consumers right but it is wrong on so many levels.
Lets face some facts about the Aquarium industry. We in the industry know that the average customer will only keep their aquarium for a year or less. At that point it will end up in a yard sale, online sales post, or just get hauled to the dump. As such several years ago the industry printed information that was sent to industry insiders about this trend. The industry was looking for ways to attract new customers and retain the customers it has already. THIS IS A HOBBY. That should be a major wake up to the value of any used equipment. It is like buying a new motorcycle made for off road use only...the value drops like a stone as soon as it rolls off the showroom floor. Same is true with any aquarium equipment. You have a limited number of buyers scattered around the globe and there are lots of opportunity to buy cheap.
Save, plan, and buy what you can afford not what you 'want' and life is better. Buy quality and not quanity...wait a couple of years to see it the latest technology proves itself worthy of the hype. Take it from someone who spent years persuing the dream and the debts in the Aquarium industry. I now have a business and not a hobby and that is a big difference.
By the way success in the Hobby takes patience and study. It should be the same in your purchase decisions. Nothing good happens in a hurry in this Hobby...ever.
I wish you all the best as you make choices today that can affect tomorrow.
I see nothing wrong with this idea as long as the ppl who use it are financially responsible about it (like most ppl are) and crying foul on a good business practice is borderline shameful. This is no different than buying a car or a small personal loan to fix/get something done.
Let's see how long this thread stays around now they we have a visitor in the thread!
Most people are financially responsible? Actually many people on here admit to intentionally hiding the cost of their reefs from their spouses, and then you have that pesky study that revealed that 25% of people can't pay their bills on time.[1]
I'm a believer of spending what you can afford not what you think you can pay back.
What does hiding costs have to do with being financially responsible?
So your talking about a minority of the population that can't pay their bills, again if this percentage of the population cannot pay their current bills on time I highly doubt they will be taking out another loan to set up a reef tank.
I understand where you are trying to come from, but your stance seems to be a tad on the harsh side.