Have you ever spent a huge amount of money on something stupid?

You like the watch, OP, and that's all that matters.

What did you get?

This R1...

I like it.

I bought one of those stupid $4500 Tempur-pedic mattresses with the electric base. It was the worst investment ever. The bed is hot and uncomfortable. It doesn't offer enough support.

$8500 on my ex wife's tits....knowing I was gay and would eventually end in divorce

It's cool R5, you basically bought her a new husband with those tits.

$3,700 for a Persian rug my cat uses as a scratching mat.

Sheepishly, a sterling silver coffee can.

$8000 for a used '97 Jaguar. HATED IT! I developed JAG knee twisting and turning to get in and out of the thing. ("I'm 6ft3in)., Finally sold it to an unsuspecting Black couple for said amount.

$8000 for a used '97 Jaguar. HATED IT! I developed JAG knee twisting and turning to get in and out of the thing. ("I'm 6ft3in)., Finally sold it to an unsuspecting Black couple for said amount.

R9, were certain details really germane to your story?

$35,000 on a very large Persian rug for my living room. It’s very pretty.

R12 They won't be able to give it away when you die.

I think the most I've spent on something unnecessary was $1100.00 on a Cartier tank watch, after getting a really nice tax refund. $1100.00 is a lot of money for someone like me. On the other hand, I treat myself, here and there, to silly things that no one else would ever consider purchasing. I just received a Chinese brass cricket cage that I purchased on Etsy. If I get a nice tax refund, though, my eyes are on a new billfold from Launer, the supplier of the Queen's handbags.

$475 on a front row seat to see NPH's final performance as Hedwig on Broadway. Hurt my fucking neck looking up. The cheap seats were so much better!

I spent $600 dollars on a coat I never wore. I was a poor student at the time and it burned a hole in my credit card.

It sat in my closet for years. I finally gave it away to Goodwill

Pretty consistent with my experience - big $ purchases are rarely worth it. Unfortunately you don’t learn that until you do it. And the whole system is constantly telling you that you should. The capitalism con.

Don't ask.

Let's just say I went overboard on upgrading my laptops and phones in the 00s. I'm at least partially responsible for several Chinese suicides.

R13. R12 here. I didn’t buy it thinking about what was going to happen when I quit walking on it. I bought it because it’s beautiful and goes well in my living room.

$500 for 2 hours with a porn star, does that count?

Also a wristwatch. In Geneva, duty-free, but still over $35K. I had to pay an extra $1200 to add links to the bracelet, which was too tight. It is gorgeous, but I was future-regretting it even as I handed over my charge card. I wear it all the time, though, and I love it. But it is the largest impulse buy I have ever made, or ever will.

Yes R21 . Stick with the free fantasy online - 5 minutes later you will be just as happy.

Why buy expensive wrist watches when you can buy amazing counterfeits for about $30?

One of the benefits for living in NYC

These purchases are all an attempt to convince others that we are richer than we really are. Why do we do this to ourselves??

The most I've spent on a single "luxury" item was on art, $1000 for a seascape by William Clarkson Stanfield, and $1000 on a watercolor by Andrey Avinoff. Unfortunately I had to sell the Avinoff years ago when I moved to go to art school. This is a bad photo of the Stanfield, it is not "yellow" like that.

$30,000 to remodel my ex's house. The day we were moving into it he got busted for pilfering drugs from work (he was a nurse) and sent to mandatory rehab. I left 6 months later. Does that count?

$30,000 on a male escort

R22 please tell me you didn’t spend more than $30k on a stupid fucking watch! You’re a sick piece of shit if you did. Don’t ever repeat that story or tell anyone you did that. It’s grossly disgusting. Shame on you, you trashy low rent whore. If you have excess funds try making a contribution to humanity.

The most wasteful thing I have spent money on was $1000 for a ticket to a celebrity party. It was not worth the money.

A friend of mine said something to me, but it's just a theory, so I'll throw it out here - Americans will rather spend money on things than experiences.

Truth?

WILL = WOULD rather spend money

Several times with travel. I see a "deal" and plan it all out, then it ends up costing me thousands. I have fun, but I get back home and wonder was it really worth THAT much money? I've slowed down a lot, though.

Just my teeth over the years. Tens of thousands of dollars with no end in sight.

Op, it's okay to splurge sometimes as you did when you bought an expensive watch for yourself for your birthday. Why shouldn't you have it?

By the way, my birthday is the day after Christmas, Dec. 26. Everybody forgets it. Will you buy me a nice watch for my big day? A Rolex, please and thank you!

I once spent $30K on a tiny sports car convertible back when 30K for a car was a lot of money. Sadly, the car had a terrible sound system so you couldn't listen to music with the top down. I took it back to the dealer three times and they couldn't fix it. They said that the buzzing in the speakers was "intrinsic to the nature of the car."

That was how I learned that no matter how much you pay for a car, there will always be something you don't like about it.

I sold it nine months later.

investment in teeth is worthwhile. my mom at 87 "shit, if I'd known I was gonna live so long I would've spent more money on my teeth"

$400 on a tie at Neiman Marcus in the mid 90’s. I was in college and had just gotten my first credit card (an Amex charge card no less which must be paid off at the end of the month). Wore it like twice. Eventually went to Goodwill.

Well I didn’t think it wa stupid but most other people would.

I took my partner to Paris for his 50th and one evening we ate at Epicure —a brilliant , 3 Michelin star restaurant inside Le Bristol Hotel. It was two days after Christmas and the palace was decorated accordingly....gorgeous, festive lights everywhere.

Anyway, the dinner was 3 and a 1/2 hours long and just sublime. A tasting menu with an array of amuse bouches and flights of wine, cocktails, champagne, etc. The total bill with generous tip was about $3,500.

I didn’t give a fuck. My guy is amazing and works his ass off helping other people and making shit money for it, It was the least I could do.

R25, I posted upthread about buying a Cartier tank watch with part of my tax refund. No one in my circle has any idea of the history, or value of a Cartier tank watch. I also mentioned wanting to buy a wallet from Launer (the supplier of the Queen's purses). Absolutely no one I know has ever even heard of Launer. I actually did purchase an umbrella from Fulton Umbrellas, the Queen's umbrella supplier, and it was shipped from the UK to Ohio. Again, no one that I know has the slightest clue about the damn umbrella. But I've been very pleased with my purchases. I had new draperies made for my living room and dining room. I was given a lot of samples to choose from, and I finally chose dupioni silk. All I could say is that no one else would know the difference between real silk, and a synthetic, but I would. The cost was pretty high, but I love my beautiful, shimmering draperies.

R14

[quote]You’re a sick piece of shit if you did. Don’t ever repeat that story or tell anyone you did that. It’s grossly disgusting. Shame on you, you trashy low rent whore. If you have excess funds try making a contribution to humanity.

Sweetie, we're posting only those items/experiences we're willing to admit. Nobody has to know about the cost of your art or purchased cleverness. Hermes has very clever designs in their home goods department. I wouldn't blame anyone for picking up something like that for me. I love orange.

I bought a movie poster for 15k. I don’t regret it at all, and I look at it every day with awe. Every. Day. I told one person what I paid for it and the look of horror on their face cured me from ever telling anyone else. Except you folks:)

R49– Are you Hyicanth Bucket?

I mean R40

[quote][bold]I told one person what I paid for it[/bold] and the look of horror on their face cured me from ever telling anyone else.

They all know, believe me.

R39 That sounds like an amazing dinner and an amazing memory.

I spent 4k on 6 nights at the Four Seasons Park Lane in London years ago. My ex and I were mistreated on a prior stay, complained, and were comped a 4 tier upgrade for a future stay. It was very nice. The hotel has a Rolls Royce to drive people around a short distance and people would look and try to see who was in the car (us nobodies!).

I then got violently sick on the way home when I caught Norwalk. It was a nice trip, but I don't need something like that again.

R16 Why didn't you wear the coat?

Your boyfriend is lucky, R39. That was a very nice thing to do for him.

R48 His posting is kind of normal. My co-worker told me that she bought a beautiful yellow raincoat with her Visa card and then never wore it once. Just an impulse, which happens.

R43, No, not Hyacinth. I've never watched that show, although I'm aware of it. I just realized, with sadness that, on Monday, I paid for something very stupid. My ex was going to be garnished by the IRS, so I wrote a check for $18K. I was numb when I did it. I certainly don't have that much in my checking account, so the check was written against my home equity line of credit. Next month, I'll have to figure out how to make the payments on the loan. I'll figure something out, but my stress level is pretty high right now.

R14, R40

I'm still paying.

R51, you don't have to sign your post in the message window.

You can sign it where is says "Posted By - optional"

I bought a $5500 Eames lounge chair and ottoman.

I do love that Eames. Nice buy!

Similar to r38, I bought an ill-fitting dress shirt at Nieman Marcus for $900 and a black leather trench coat for $2900. Was just starting college and got an AmEx. The leather trench coat came back in style for a minute, but mine has shoulder pads that did not come back in style.

A watch of that value will probably continue to increase in value over the years. Just FYI

R24

An amateur can tell the difference between Rolex and PpAtek and Cartier.

That's not a stupid buy, R54. It's a classic chair and very, very comfortable.

Back in the day, before youtube and in the early days of eBay when you could sell anything, I paid $200 for a homemade double cd of Stevie Nicks demos.

Of course they are all on youtube now in much better quality. It's so stupid in retrospect, but at the time I felt like it was money well spent for such Nicks treasures.

Thank God youtube exists now or I'd be spending tons of money on bootleg KISS, Grace Slick, and Mike Patton videos.

[quote]I paid $200 for a homemade double cd of Stevie Nicks demos.

Sorry, but this made me laugh out loud.

There used to be an indie music store in West Village, I believe it has closed since, that sold bootleg CDs (live recordings, B sides, demos, etc... ) among regular CDs. I don't know how they got away with it, but I bought some Kate Bush rarities there.

I've mentioned before here that I bought some furnishings from the Real World New Orleans house. It wasn't too much and the money went to charity. Still, it does seem wasteful now. I still have the stuff.

R71 No need to be sorry, it's fucking hysterical. And I lived in Houston at the time. They had tons of indie/classic rock record stores around (I loved Black Dog on S. Shephard) so there was no excuse.

It was just so tempting - all these songs I'd never heard of! And the bidding was also to blame, once I set my mind that I had to have I got in a bidding war.

There was an cd/record store in Huntsville Tx (a university town) called the Ear Doctor where I would find bootleg NIN live recordings from The Summit concerts - which is now that shitty church for 'prosperity Christians'

I also spent a small fortune on KISSVISION video tapes on Ebay. Which are now on the Kissology sets of course.

Speaking of Kate Bush, I spent like 50 bucks for her Hammersmith concert on eBay back in the day - also youtube of course.

the above was for R61

whoopsie

R39

That's not at all stupid! It's sweet and wonderful!

$40,000 for a new Mercedes, it was a Birthday present for myself. I paid cash.

Money is to be spent.

It's very attractive OP. It isn't an obscene amount. The important thing is you wear it everyday, and it gives you pleasure. You shouldn't regret it. I have bought a few things over the years I knew were really not necessary, or were overpriced, but I don't obsess over it. As I've matured, I've realised it is better to live without regrets.

Were you drinking when you bought it? If I have lunch and then go shopping, I might make a purchase that I normally would not make.

Does anybody still wear a watch ?

I spent $10,000 on a vacation - which included idiotic decisions like staying at the St. Regis & paying for my friend, almost entirely. We had been friends for 4-5 years & he had a lot less money than me, so I figured he'd be fun to go on vacation with. The money didn't really matter at the time....except that he randomly stopped talking to me a year later, after he started dating someone. Ghosted 100%. I didn't do anything. You're welcome for the $4000, Dan!

R71 You can’t pay for friendship

How was that paying for friendship? We were already friends for 4-5 years before. We got along really well & always had fun when we went out - so I figured he would be fun to go on vacation with.

Plenty of people I know ghost all their singly friends when they get a significant other...and especially when they have kids. It has nothing to do with money. It's a certain mindset.

single*

Ok you can’t pay for continued friendship then

I paid for cannabis to entice a bi guy for sex heaps of time over a number of years

As long as you financially could afford it, OP (you're not going broke for this I hope!), it's fine. You were turning 45. When I was in my early 30s I was in debt (for about the same amount of your watch), took me about 2 years to repay. The month after I paid off everything I went to a store and spent over $200 on DVDs. We all go a little crazy sometimes.

Be financially safe OP!

Spent a fortune gambling

That sucks, R5. Poor woman. Glad I never got involved with a man.

R75 I am not sure what is so complicated about this to you. Had we not gone on the trip, I still would've been annoyed by his actions. Since we had gone on a trip - for which I gave him $4000 - I was even more annoyed that he did that. I was not paying for any kind of friendship or continuation of friendship. Is this still unclear?

I've had female friends do the same thing when they have had kids & it is annoying but not nearly as annoying as if I gave them $4000 for their new nursery & then they turned around and vanished. Do you still not see the issue? It's really not that complicated.

I would love to own art like R26 (though I wouldn't pick a marine painter), unfortunately I can't afford it.

R80 Subconciously you were doing just that.

$200 on a pair of silk Tom Ford socks.

That's interesting, R31, because the most I've ever spent were on experiences (I'm European), and I don't regret it one bit. Among the most expensive were a trip to Bergen, Norway (beautiful), and a trip to Helsinki (the most amazing trip of my life, but I was near-unexpectedly meeting a friend there). I don't regret any of those, and I did quite a few.

A Birkin bag

R39 that was a great story and thank you for recommending that restaurant. I can probably never afford it but it doesn't matter. Thank you for sharing your experience and what you did was beautiful.

R83 I like your style and kind of craziness. I've been guilty of many pairs of Italian argyle cashmere socks. I really dig the Pantherella socks, and several other extravagant ones over the years.

A $600 Victorinox watch that I never wear. Then I upped the sounded like a good idea at the time, what was I thinking ante, purchasing a $2,000 gold bracelet/cuff that I never wear.

R88 let me give you my PayPal. I'll need to check with them what is the highest amount you can drop into it.

lol r82 is a psychiatrist now. Gurl please & bye.

"Psychiatrist," heal thyself.

R84 Agreed. I’m European as well and yeah I spent too much money on trips, when I have time. To the user who got that Patek Philippe, that’s a watch for a lifetime.

Like any luxury item the watch probably costed $34 with packag to be made. It's unbelievable how stupid people are to pay so much on useless things. Just compare them to a cheap knock off most of the time you can't tell them apart.

I once visited this jeans factory in South America where the pants were being sold locally unbranded for about $18 (local price which was average) It turns out the same factory produced Gucci jeans. It was literally the same exact jeans but branded for whatever absurd price a Gucci jeans has.

It's all Illusion and fetish.

Eyeglass frames are very much the same too R93. Mechanical watches do have extraordinary craftsmanship behind them though in the OP's defense. The knock-offs are usually quartz.

That reminds me of another juicy gossip. During the entire run of Sex and the City Patricia Field the costume designer of the show would send people to Bom Retiro a Jewish neighborhood in Sao Paulo Brazil known for its cheap factory labor for major international brands to compose SJPs wardrobe.

How do I know this? I was the translator of a particular factory producing all Dona Karan outfits for a couple of months back in the day.

Yeah, I guess so.

You got a good deal on that painting, r26. It 's lovely.

I paid just over $500 for a pair of designer glasses back in the day. Total impulse, I didnt even need a new pair. At the time most people were spending $300 on regular frames, I think but I was living overseas and could get them much cheaper. Saw them, bought them on the spot and when they were delivered a week later, I thought they sent the wrong pair. They looked terrible on my face. I never wore them, finally donated them to the Lions Club a couple years ago. Now I buy online and have a half dozen pairs.

In this thread: the reason I shop at Goodwill.

Sorry things didn’t work out for you, but know that your expensive mistakes made another person REALLY happy.

R95, that’s super interesting!

[quote]Now I buy online and have a half dozen pairs.

I have been buying my glasses from either Warby Parker or Classic Specs for several years now. I didn't buy glasses for a long time, back when those paddle frames were the thing.

My most recent, Classic Specs' Waverly sunglasses. $49 w/single vision prescription. And I love wearing them.

I condole you all.

It is never a waste of money to take care of your teeth. Poor dental hygiene can lead to many other, bad health issues.

The guy who took his partner to Paris and spent $3500 on an amazing dinner was also not a bad deal either. You gave your partner a great time and I'm sure he appreciated every minute of it.

I've never really had a lot of money to blow at one time so I will add that as I get older I find myself wanting to pay more for experiences versus things that just sit around like the above poster mentioned.

I'm 42 and went on my first cruise last year and loved it. I find myself traveling more and just enjoying the taking in of meeting new people and experiencing different foods, music, etc... I go to a shitload of live concerts all the time but I love every minute of it.

I borrowed some thousands for my first year at an Ivy League school. Then I dropped out. Then I went back several years later on a full tuition scholarship. I live in Europe where most countries have top universities that are nominally priced. American higher education can be great but I don't think its worth the price and debt that some people are now dealing with.

R21 that's cheap! You got a deal!

I love antiques (still do).. and in my youth, spent $$$ on pieces. Those pieces today will never get what I paid for them. Now, I don't need anything, but look for good prices, and get excited when I find something for a song. I spent $6000 for a painting once.

Yes. Cocaine.

R25.. So true. It's a status thing. Most people really don't have the money for these purchases, although some do. I'm in the former category and the debt wasn't worth it... now paid off.. thank goodness.

R31.. I think you're right. Americans are into materialist things, more so than experiences. It's how we want to look to the world, and status. Now, I'd rather spend good money on experiences.. traveling.

[quote]A friend of mine said something to me, but it's just a theory, so I'll throw it out here - Americans will rather spend money on things than experiences.

For me, this was definitely true when I was younger, but now that I'm older and have all the "stuff" I need (and more), I'm trying to focus more on experiences.

I didn't realize there were so many wealthy people posting on DL. I'd be lucky enough to have that kind of money to spend in the first place. If I did it would most likely be spent on a vacation or a down-payment on a house.

I never understood the point of owning a watch when you have a smartphone?

R111 When I went to Wall Street after college, mid 80's, I had to sink serious money into: shoes, suits, shirts, ties and a watch. Watches have been status/class signifiers for a century or 2. How old are you to ask such a question?

[quote]I never understood the point of owning a watch when you have a smartphone?

I don't always want to make it so obvious I'm checking the time. It's easier to be subtle with a wristwatch.

[quote] That's interesting, [R31], because the most I've ever spent were on experiences (I'm European), and I don't regret it one bit.

Doubly interesting is that a European friend made that observation about Americans (she was living and working here at the time).

[quote] When I went to Wall Street after college, mid 80's, I had to sink serious money into: shoes, suits, shirts, ties and a watch. Watches have been status/class signifiers for a century or 2.

They might have been back then, but it's no longer the 80's anymore. I guess people nowadays judge you on whether or not you have the latest iPhone.

Show us the watch you bought, r112.

I guess so. And still on your shoes. And your car, if you aren't a city boy.

[quote] Like any luxury item the watch probably costed $34 with packag to be made. It's unbelievable how stupid people are to pay so much on useless things. Just compare them to a cheap knock off most of the time you can't tell them apart.

I know. I tend to be more impressed by those who save money and find good deals. I could never identify with someone who would spend $30K on a watch.

Rolex black dial Date vintage 60's. Mine already had a sunburnt dial which I refused to replace. Still have it.

I like nice wrist watches and men who wear them usually think about style.

English and French brogues. Still have some fo them, too! Gave my English and French suits to skinny boys years ago. Spending 30K on a watch, if you're middle class or poor, I dunno. Whatever. There is no need to be excessive. There is nothing wrong with threadbare class markers and people who know, recognize them. Its all so silly but it does have professional utility. Sometimes social.

I spent $40k on a luxury European vacation for two, it was the dream vacation for my terminally ill best friend

It can flip into Patrick Bateman territory and anyone who worked in finance in those years (maybe still now) has met some of these.

R122 so it wasn't "stupid" was it? Where did you go, what did you do? Could your friend enjoy the food and wine?

A long time ago I spent $400 on a beautiful yellow Peugeot bike. That was a lot of money for a bicycle at the time but it was so expensive I was terrified to take it anywhere if I had to leave it locked up. I knew it would get stolen so I ended up hardly ever using it. I finally gave away it to a friend who didn't share my fear.

This thread is encouraging me to plan a big, spendy vacation.

R125 I did that in college. And it got stolen. And I threw up when I saw it was't there.

Bought a 2001 BMW 7 series in mint condition from a relative who owned it since new and rarely drove it. It was unnecessary and I'm afraid to park it anywhere where someone would damage it. It just sits in the garage under cover.

Kicker is I have had the same (albeit well used) model for my daily driver for years so people ask me why I have two of the same car.

R128 - you must live in CA

At least you can always resell an expensive watch for a significant amount. (My father has paid more than 10k for each of his vintage Rolexes.) Clothes--raincoats and jackets and shit like that--forget about it.

R128, I have a neighbor who has two of the same BMWs. One he drives ONLY at the race track and one he drives as his normal car.

If you really want a status watch, go for an Omega, not a Rolex. Less pretentiousness.

And if you really want a status German/British luxury car, and it has to be new, lease it, never buy outright. The depreciation is cry inducing. That mint 7 series above is worth $5000, no need to treat it as a classic. Drive it- it will soon be a $1000 car. A ten year old German car is worth 10% of its retail cost in 10 years. Which is why I buy 10 year old Mercedes Benzs.

R131,

I don't know what it is, but there is something about 80s/90s Rolexes that is attractive or special or something? He explained it to me a few years ago, but I wasn't listening. He also has at least one Omega.

And the BMW owner should be driving that car. It's not an investment. Live a little.

I have to ditto that watches are passé. It’s basically like pocket watches in the 1980s. There is no need for them in the modern era. They’re beautiful and well crafted - but like other antiques, I don’t think they will be a good investment long term. Enter off with pure gold bracelet or ring. The metal will hold value.

Many are fans of those particular models R131. I once had a neighbour who really was keen on the seven series wagon. Just as R128 did, a model with fewer miles came available, and he ended up with two. He's probably preserving the less driven one for the same reason, not for any resale value.

Well, my dad is of the "a watch is the only jewelry a man should wear besides his wedding band" generation.

Also, among people who care about such things, it's an important marker of status.

Maybe watches aren't being used as much anymore, but a good one is a beautiful accessory. They always look good and are classic.

I hate watches, they stick to your wrists in hot summer sweat.

Anyway, you can’t tell a real Rolex from a copy from Bangkok.

Me, R135 again.

Perhaps it's the father influence, but even as a lesbo, I always love the look of a man in a good suit with a nice dress watch***.

***A dive watch, no matter how expensive, should not be worn with a suit. Please, fellas...

I'm an EMR and need to wear a watch, how else am I going to time your heart beats? I can't very well whip out my phone evertime I need something timed.

I have a co-worker who wears an expensive watch and it looks good on him.

For women, the Cartier Tank is simply beautiful, and timeless.

The lesbian is correct! You sound delightful BTW R135. R140 The Cartier Tank looks good on everyone. The small and medium size look especially nice on men with thin wrists.

A pocket watch is so much more stylish

R142 They do look great when displayed hanging beneath a cloche on side tables.

I bought the vintage Rolex for a nominal sum from a colleague-friend who, being a de La Rochefoucauld, lived on a mountain of inherited shabby splendor. My age, he had (much more) fabulous watches, cars, and of all things, sweaters. He was tall, handsome and horse hung, but straight.

Of course a person with limited class or taste is going to find a fine watch old-fashioned. He's probably the same kind of idiot who has to have the newest and latest i-Phone, too.

Whenever someone says it’s a time limited offer, or other buyers are interested, if it’s not a necessity, walk away. Or run away. Or just don’t cave to the sales pitch.

Haha, good point R146.

R145 Get with the time will ya

A fine watch is a perfect combination of jewelry and machinery blended by expert craftmanship.

A smartphone is a disposable, plastic, industrially made in China piece of shit.

I'll take the watch.

A watch is obsolete these days tbh

Top of the line smart phones are not plastic crap. They do have some impressive engineering, tech, and design. They are not jewels of course.

True, they are plastic, copper, and other metal & plastic stuff crap.

I think my impeccably collected, notated and illustrated iTunes library on my large iPhone played to frightfully expensive headphones is beautiful.

iPhone is way more useful than a mere watch, Rolex or not

So is your haircut, R153.

Well, electronic components have a shelf life of about 5 years. A little more if you're lucky.

A well-made watch can literally last centuries.

[QUOTE]Top of the line smart phones are not plastic crap. They do have some impressive engineering, tech, and design.

That top of the line smartphone will turned into outdated, disposable piece of shit in a year (if not sooner)

26,000 for a pre-owned 4 year old Audi sedan. Paid cash and drove it off the lot. They called it's color champagne. It had a Bose speaker system. It was worth it. I drove it for 11 years. Now I drive a Kia. haha. Don't make rash purchases on "things" anymore.

This is the phone I currently own. It was bought in 2012.

So cute, r159. It's like a PalmPilot transitioning to a smartphone.

Nothing wrong with that.

Eeeewwwww, what IS that, R159?

Thank you, R159! The amazing thing is that it still works. It's quite slow compared to today's smartphones and will often lose connection when I'm outside. But, I can read publications that I don't subscribe to because somehow they can't figure out I'm reading them, or something.

I meant R160

okay, I give up...

Apple smart watch would be a compromise for someone still insisting on a watch

Not a huge amount, but I wasted $500 on a Total Gym ten years ago. Set it up, used it once, then six months later donated it to Goodwill. An actual gym membership is so much better.

R141, thank you very much!

Yes, I love the Cartier Tank. One day, my friends.

I'm sorry but Cartier Tank watch is sooo common, everyone has one.

$12k down on a new Range Rover, in addition to exorbitant monthly installments.

12k only? You'll be paying into the grave. What are they like 160k? If I had LOTS of money I would splurge but honestly I'd rather save the elephants from poachers.

[quote] I bought a movie poster for 15k. I don’t regret it at all, and I look at it every day with awe. Every. Day. I told one person what I paid for it and the look of horror on their face cured me from ever telling anyone else. Except you folks:)

What movie poster was it?

I would also like to know what movie poster?

Please tell me it was an original "The Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power-stunning poster and I've only ever seen it starting at that price.

[quote]What movie poster was it?

Dawson's 50-Load Weekend

Almost $500 on a set of knives a high schooler hoodwinked me for. I give her all the credit though. I was mesmerized how they sliced through the pieces leather and steel!

What brand, r176?

I spent $500 for a fourth row center seat ticket to see Bette Midler in "Hello Dolly". Figured she was retiring. She was marvelous!

Even gayer than both of those movies...it was Jezebel (1938). The way Bette Davis is looking over her shoulder...I had to have it. And I love it.

r29, fuck off. You're a cunt. It might be stupid to spend $35K on a watch (if r22 even did and isn't bullshitting) but your over-the-top response is completely unwarranted. It wasn't your money, you goddamn twat.

$65k on an oil painting. But nothing feels stupider than $4+ for a boutique coffee (w tip).

[quote]I just received a Chinese brass cricket cage that I purchased on Etsy.

I've been on DL for almost 20 years and this might be the gayest thing I've ever seen - and that includes all of the presenting holes.

[quote]my eyes are on a new billfold from Launer, the supplier of the Queen's handbags.

Oh for fuck sake, I actually stopped reading after the cricket cage and missed this gem.

Good lord, I think I love you. You're just darling.

Since when does a Tag Heuer watch cost $6000?!

I bought one, brand new, for around $875.00.

I recently bought a MacBook Pro. It cost over $3000. I watch asmr videos on it on YouTube. It’s all I use it for.

$2000 for front row seats to Rolling Stone concert last time they were at Giant Stadium. Mick wiggled his hips for me.

[quote] I had to pay an extra $1200 to add links to the bracelet, which was too tight. I

This is the most insane thing on this entire thread.

$1200 for two links to a watch band.

[quote] my eyes are on a new billfold from Launer, the supplier of the Queen's handbags.

GURRRRL....

[quote] I'm sorry but Cartier Tank watch is sooo common, everyone has one.

Mary!

You have impressed US!

This one, R179?

Apparently r184 is unfamiliar with a Tag Heuer Monaco watch (retail $5500-$6500).

Hey--free shipping!

[quote]I recently bought a MacBook Pro. It cost over $3000. I watch asmr videos on it on YouTube. It’s all I use it for.

I don't know what "asmr" is, but I'm pretty sure you could do all that on a $200 Chromebook.

Yeah that’s the Jezebel poster

If you like it and it makes you happy who the fuck cares what it cost?

If you want, R194, you can buy it on eBay for $12.99 with free shipping.

A fun read here … I'm with you on the Tank Watch, R14

You're a sick fuck R29.

Lovely story R39, money well spent.

R54, well worth the price! Buying a given "classic" one pays the price. Now you have the best, It says much about who you are, adding so much to your life.

OP, to me it wasn't stupid but it was expensive to me for the time, quite a while back I bought three Brooks Bros. English leather cases. I wanted good & classic saddle-leather luggage. The largest was only $550, the middle size was $420, the 23" overnight was $300. Today you can't touch such quality for those prices. All three pieces have given me total joy when traveling.

True R135, you'd think people here would know, so often is "status" referenced. 'Good things" are usually recognized by people who count, they give you total pleasure, and that's what spending money is all about.

Another not stupid buy, but just a big buy when one is needed …. my new Escalade cost me $92,000. My old luggage looks good in it, looks "today."

A nice way to look at things R149! So true of "things" ….. good quality, lovely design, visual craftsmanship. Such adds much to a life.

Launer, the supplier of the Queen's handbags, probably does do men's wallets but … Again, back to Brooks Bros. before all the changes, which now they are returning from, always carried my personal favorite … saddle-colored pigskin leather. Hard to find these days of black & fabric & plastic. With oils from the hands, and handling, the piece took on a lovely darkened sheen.

Often good things are expensive. I'm a Mac guy, need a new one, being on an old browser.upgraded as far as it will go. A new white desktop is under $1,800 ... went into the store just above Lincoln Center and lo, they've a new Mac desktop, in grey! Starting price $5,000! Can go up to $25,000. Not for me, white will do.

I had a buddy working the watch case at Tiffany. Some of the prices, $30,000 was a cheap one! Entry-level in that world. Who knew? To me all the designs looked alike. Later I got a Gerard catalogue on watches …. whew! I'll stick with the old Tank.

Tag Heuer watches are so fucking ugly, you can get nicer looking watches for the same amount of money.

I’m can’t decide on getting the Cartier Tank or the Baume et Mercier Hampton. I’m leaning towards the B&M just to be different.

[quote]Apparently [R184] is unfamiliar with a Tag Heuer Monaco watch (retail $5500-$6500).

Apparently I have better things to do with my money. Like travel.

I find these threads hilarious, especially when you see the shoebox hovels some of these big spenders live in!

I worked with a guy who was obsessed with expensive items. He always complained how he could never pay his monthly bills, he couldn't even afford cable! Meanwhile, he was buying $800 shoes, expensive watches and tons of other crap he knew he couldn't afford. He could barely make his $650 rent. I always wonder how fucked up his life is now or if he's still alive. He was on a downward spiral back then. He was the type of person who was defined by possessions and bright shiny objects.

A pair of Todd's loafers. I am a New Yorker, but I was the only one walking into Todd's, which was then on 57th, don't know if it is still. It was sterile and empty, and I was and am too boho to be shopping there - I have no business shopping there. (I'm a woman.) I swear the salesperson's demeanor was "You are an idiot" and her froideur actually intimidated me. I'm never intimidated but I think because I knew she was right. These loafers run narrow, my feet do not. Yet I squeezed my feet into my "correct" size, paid the money and left with the shoes, and they never looked like anything but stupid shiny loafers that were too tight. They weren't outrageously expensive as SUCH (I did this in the 1990s), but vis a vis my then-income they were, and what I got for the money was basically nothing.

OTOH, one day I was just "browsing" in Saks with a friend, and ended up purchasing a pair of $270.00 Ferragamo mary jane flats, nude color. They looked like nothing but went with EVERYTHING. One of those things were it's "That looks like nothing but where did you get them? They're the perfect not trying but always works shoe." They were worth it. I wore those suckers into the ground.

Subsequently I've spent more than that on shoes and other stuff, but I will never forget shelling out the money for Todds when I was more a $50.00 a pair of shoes person at the time.

r200, some people like to spend their money traveling, others want to own Tag Heuer Monaco watches. I believe the point was that Tag Heuer watches can cost in the thousands, which you insisted couldn't be.

Really, what's it to you, anyway?

I don't own a Tag Heuer Monaco watch, btw, and I enjoy traveling.

That was sort of the point, r193.

Spent 10 K on a brand new Piano. THIS from a person who owns one pair of shoes( 600 Bucks 2009) and ONE suit. (700 Bucks). Otherwise buy a pair of sneakers once a year, and have not bought any new jeans, slacks shirts, or shorts in about 4 years. Money is a funny thing. I would rather have alot SAVED and die with it and leave it to my kids, then spend it on myself beyond the most basic items.

R40, I like your style, and I would certainly notice your watch. If I had a few thousand dollars to blow right now, I would buy a vintage Tank Louis. As it is, I content myself with smaller things, such as scarves and wallets, that are well-made and have an interesting history. Like you, I don't have anyone in my circle of friends or family who cares about that -- their taste is showy/modern/disposable -- so this is something that I truly only do for myself, rather than to impress anyone else.

[quote]A pair of Todd's loafers. I am a New Yorker, but I was the only one walking into Todd's, which was then on 57th, don't know if it is still. It was sterile and empty, and I was and am too boho to be shopping there - I have no business shopping there. (I'm a woman.) I swear the salesperson's demeanor was "You are an idiot" and her froideur actually intimidated me.

Who wants to shop in any store where the SALESPERSON (I remember that line from ABFab about the shopgirl, hilarious!) sizes you up and deems you don't have enough money to shop in their over priced store? A fucking sales bottom sizing up people, that's rich!

Most of the absolute worst dressers and general hot messes I've ever known were wealthy people. Never judge a book by it's cover is the absolute truth.

Yes. Two hours with porn legend Ken Ryker in 2002. Surreal experience.

Another vote for the charming lesbian @ r135/r140. Watches are not about just telling time (we all know we have phones for that). Beautiful watches are an elegant accessory.

As for watches, high-end kinds like Patek Philippe ARE a good investment if you can afford one because there's always a collector for one.

I would rather buy a patek philippe than a cartier tank or tag hauer.

A watch or an hour of porn dick?

I've had the latter. I'll take the watch.

[quote] 'Good things" are usually recognized by people who count, they give you total pleasure, and that's what spending money is all about.

The credo of a retail ice queen!

Not quite a "huge" amount, but when ebay was still relatively new and when sellers would bump up the price (and novice buyers like me were suckers). I thought I'd try my hand at antique bottle collecting as an investment. Spent $300 on a bottle that had a chipped lip which I came to realize made it useless to bottle collectors.

R212, I'm going to hell for this, but your story made me laugh. What kind of bottle was this?

R208, thank you. I was r134. I'm not sure that R140 was a lesbian as well.

Nah, you're not going to hell for it, R213. I'd laugh at someone who was as naive as me. I still have the stupid thing in bubble wrap somewhere. It looks similar to this:

I took my nephew to "Newsies" and shelled out for great seats, then we both hated it.

R214...!! Someone paid 1600 for that bottle. Why do people do this?

(Thanks for the response. It was the "I paid 300 for a bottle on ebay" that made me laugh unexpectedly. I was eating cereal and nearly choked.)

That's a cool looking bottle R214... chip or not. Very unusual.

I can't get enough of this! Look guys, the guy in the article below has every color.

And thanks R212.

No, but a friend spent 600 bucks to buy me a watch (for my BD) that Oprah loved, he thought I would love it lol.

This Sun Maid Raisin box, listed at $700,000.00, has been selling on ebay for years.

Truly bonkers.

But it's not like I can display the fucking thing like it's some piece of art. It's a friggin chipped bottle. Yeah, I'll get some lighting and show everyone my ebay bottle. "Look at what I thought would be a windfall, everyone! My shipped bottle!"

You know the other problem? It was around the time Antiques Roadshow was hugely popular and I thought I was going to one of those friggin people!

chipped*

R220 Well, at least they're not raisin' the price.

R221, you're hilarious!

I would totally get a kick out of having a friend with ONE chipped bottle who's all excited about it.

Looking at that bottle on Ebay.. a couple are listed at 3 to 4K. Wow..

I knew a talented antique restorer who collected very old bottles for his workshop windows. He even built shelves in front of each sash to hold smaller fish bottles. He said it was a burglar alarm as well as a cheap alternative to stained glass.

R224, I wouldn't say "excited." If I ever displayed it, it's more likely I'd look at that thing and just shake my head....and just drink.

The chip brought down the price. You got a deal at that price. I don't know much about antique bottles, though.

It's sort of fascinating. I assume that all these bottles were handmade one-by-one?

[quote]I don't know much about antique bottles, though.

Neither did I nor do I, but I just jumped in head first after about 30 secs of research on friggin antique bottles and thought "Wow, look at me already winning! What an investment!"

I've done that, too on Ebay.. on other things. I got caught up in bidding wars. Especially when Ebay was new. Don't do it anymore.. You're not alone, R230.

I've been wanting to buy a Seiko divers watch (vintage, but updated on ebay), but I can't figure out how the seller has such a ready supply of 1980s watches.

Hold onto your chipped, cracked, flawed glassware and china, friends! As pristine examples are snatched up by museums/collections, the demand for ANY examples will increase.

The future will be in how pristine the maker's mark or potter's stamp is. A shard with a flawless potter's signature will be highly coveted.

(Ditch all your Fiesta and HLC...it has NO value anymore. Regional redware is the only thing worth buying.)

This has been interesting, if for nothing else than the watch discussions. I'm a professional musician. Most of us never wear watches, because we have to take them off every time we play, and inevitably they get lost or stolen. They are invisible to me, and I've NEVER looked at someone's wrist and said to myself, what an exquisite watch. (Any thought that might go through my mind would be along the lines of "wow, that would really pinch"). I've bid on things for silent auctions at fundraisers to help get the bidding going and then have gotten saddled with them at the end of the evening. Quite a bit of original art, sometimes tickets or vouchers for things I'd never go to. I rationalize it by telling myself that the money went for a good cause.

Chipped Bottle Guy, upthread...lulz, good cautionary tale, but trust me, your bottle's gonna go up in value.

But you gotta wait, like, 20 years as stuff cycles thru and pristine examples go off market and flawed examples (like yours) disappear/destroyed/shitcanned...you'll get your investment back, but not much else.

Hold tight, you dumb, greedy bastard.

R228, that's an understatement. Look at the price of the chipped bottle vs a pristine one.

God, I'm experiencing horrific flashbacks:

Does shelling out ten grand over a 4 day weekend (not to mention another 5 grand in drugs) and NOT getting the dick count?

You poor fucking thing, R237. You win.

The Jezebel poster was worth every cent. Will it to me.

Last year I went to Selfridge's dept store in London and for some insane reason spent £1200 which I didn't have on a pair of shoes. I took them home where they stayed unopened in the box and then brought them back 4 or 5 days later, accompanied by a friend of mine who used to work there. Good thing he came along since the store wasn't that nice about taking the shoes back, even though they had not once been touched since being wrapped -- but they had to as per their policy, as my friend and ex-employee of S's could affirm on the spot!

Those snooty shops are only pissed about taking it back because they have to hope another sucker comes along to buy them, R240.

fucking whiny bitch at r240...don't buy the fucking cha-cha heels if you can't afford the cha-cha heels, dawn.

For the bottle lovers, I too share your affliction. Some I have acquired were deaccessioned, but even one of those had turned sick. (we all make mistakes). I still enjoy it everday though, as I use it to store the dish liquid. Funny thing is, when it's full one cannot tell it's "sick glass". The everyday objects which survive are some of the most compelling antiques in my mind.

Cool, R179. Jezebel! Cool purchase. I forget the price, it's best I don't look into it :)

Royal Doulton with hand painted periwinkles.

I would spend money on this bizarre freaky Picasso...

(if he raw dogged me).

R240, you have a very good friend. Now don't ever do that again!

I stopped reading this thread when I got to R9. Some of the people on this site are...wow.

“Finally sold it to an unsuspecting Black couple for said amount.”

Agreed R248. I'm sure that poster is great at parties.

To the moron that wants a wallet from the Queen's purse maker, why not get out of Ohio first?

whaa?//???????????????????

sorry i missed that earlier!

I sold my perfectly good home that I updated and bought a house just to be closer to a bi guy who I wanted to be my boyfriend. We spent a lot of time together (overnight too) but he liked to date women as well. This "relationship" turned out to be a real struggle for me. While I made a slight profit when I eventually sold this home, the first home would have increased in value substantially more than the second. We're still good friends to the point that I met up with him and his new wife in Italy last summer. The things we do for love...

If 3.5K is pricey than carefully consider if the Cartier tank has the movement to justify the idea it is jewel in addition to a status symbol. Certainly don't touch one with a quartz movement.

Also the dial is cheap ass.

R207, tell us about your "surreal experience."

All this Cartier Tank Watch discussion had me reading watch blogs until midnight last night. I never liked the look of the Tank, just dont like the rectangular face with the roman numerals squeezed around it. They have made several limited edition reissues, sometimes with a square face which I like better. There's a great one called Tank Folle which has a distorted face, love that, but the frame around it has diamonds which I find tacky.

Yes, I forget how much exactly but I spent around $900 on A diarrhea of World of Marvel by Amsco

It’s the holy grail of 70s toys for Comic book geeks

When I can I’m going to pay a few hundred for a plexiglass case to enclose it

Then I moved on to Hamilton watches and fell in love with the triangle-shaped Ventura. I am crazy about the Googie-style.

[quote]I hate watches, they stick to your wrists in hot summer sweat. Anyway, you can’t tell a real Rolex from a copy from Bangkok.

Oh my Dear, a real Rolex would never stick to your wrists

The only thing a $3500 meal gets you is a $3500 poop.

R257, a "diarrhea of World of Marvel by Amsco".

Oh dear!

I bought a 4K Chanel purse one time. I never used it, as I felt it was too expensive and nice.. and I'm hard on my handbags. I kept all the documentation and original packaging. I sold it on a secondary market, an online used luxury handbag seller. I got close to 3K for it. It was the dumbest, a very expensive purchase for me. It wasn't me at all.

After reading the thousands of dollars you all have spent on things like watches or parties, it makes the $300-some dollars I want to spend on a psychic reading seem not so bad. It's peanuts compared to some of what you folks have spent! So, thanks for taking a bit of my guilt away, haha!

R263, I can do your psychic reading right now, for free.

r264- Prove it.

...Besides, to do a psychic reading, you need a person's name as-well as b-day sometimes- to tune into their energy. So no, you can't do it here.

Didn't realise you were looking for something quite so technical. Thought you were going to ask: should I leave my boyfriend? I've met this golden boy... etc

Are there people who really believe in this? Wow....

r267- Awe, it's okay. I appreciate the kind offer anyway. (^_^)

And r268- don't knock it. There are phonies, and there are real ones.

^"Real" psychics.

With a meal or a watch or sex, you're at least getting something tangible for your money. A psychic? You get nothing but some gibberish that gets planted in your head.

With a meal or a watch or sex, you're at least getting something tangible for your money. A psychic? You get nothing but some gibberish that gets planted in your head.

As a poster said earlier, I, too, miss the early days of eBay where you could buy music CDs which were not available elsewhere.

I'm a former eBay-aholic, too. No crazy amounts, but a few hundred dollars maybe.

No more, though. It just ran its course.

You search for a few old memories, spend too much, and then the thrill wears off.

I asked for upgraded tickets to a GoGos concert for my birthday. As soon as they started playing people stood up and blocked our view. Total rip off, we would have been much better off in the cheap seats.

You were going to sit through a Go-Go's concert?

I'm a pocket fetish gay, with shoulders that are broader than average for my frame and so it's almost impossible to buy rubber gear that looks good and fits comfortably. It needs to fit perfectly, both aesthetically and for it to be worthwhile considering the price.

So I have all my rubber gear made to measure. Compared to some of the wild purchases here, they're relatively cheap - I paid €350 for a polo shirt while in Berlin this summer, as well as a new pair of shorts with an all round zip (I'm a whore, darlin') for around €150. It's worth the money, but every time I hand over my card to pay for fetishwear it ALWAYS feels like such an audacious, frivolous indulgence. I can afford it, but I grew up poor and dread to think what my mother would say about me spending my money on such things. She's still outraged that I pay more than $50 for a haircut.

R31 - your friend's observation seems kind of silly to me. Experience and things are not mutually exclusive. I think they are almost always interdependent. Let's take an easy example - wilderness camping. Quite an experience. But how do you do it without things? Let's take a more difficult example - a concert. On the surface seems to be all experience but in reality requires quite a few things. Instruments for one. .

As far as Americans and this trait are concerned, just wrong. The British ransacked the world to bring back "things". The Roman Catholic Church is a great example of a global institution that collects things.

It's a human trait not just an American trait.

Expensive is a relative term. For example I still wear a watch, I don't think a smart phone is a substitute. I have what I consider an inexpensive watch. All it does is tell time. It has a dial and a canvas strap. Compare my expense as a percentage of my network to Bill Gates spending the same percentage of his net worth. Gates would have to spend $237,000 on his watch.

[quote]With a meal or a watch or sex, you're at least getting something tangible for your money. A psychic? You get nothing but some gibberish that gets planted in your head.

r271- I've thought about that- how all the predictions could be self-fulfilling prophecy. But, that's only if they are talking about me, myself, telling me what I'll do. In that case, no, I have no use for that. But, when it comes to answering questions about what other people will do, that's when the true value of a psychic comes in- because in that case, they aren't filling my head with anything that affects the outcome.

For example, if I say when will I ever here from a certain someone (after never having heard from them- or not having heart from them in a long time), and the psychic gives me the time that I'll hear from that person- AND THEN IT HAPPENS, and I do indeed hear from that person at the predicted time, that cannot be explained away by saying it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, because I had no control over the person in question, and nor do the psychics.

So, the people who spend money on psychics just to ask about themselves and their careers, that might be a waste. But, the people who call to put their minds at ease about another person, for timelines, etc. I can see the value in that.

...Please excuse typos above.

"true value of a psychic"

r278, I think those words say it all. It all depends on what any individual thinks is the true value of a psychic. Or really what they're looking for in going to one. You can put a price on that, just like you can put a price on any of these other things. To some, it's an utter waste of money. To others, it makes sense in a way buying an expensive watch does not.

There were a few typos, yes.

^But only petty people would say that after having been told there were typos.

True, that.

Thank you, r282!

Frankly, I don't think it's ever polite to bring up a person's typos (though sometimes it's to help the other person). But, I figured somebody would anyway, so I tried to save them the trouble by beating them to it. It didn't work, LOL!

I was being an asshole.

r285- I figured if I said please excuse typos, that would save the critics like you some trouble, dude. But, I forgive ya.

SHOPPING .... Buying things you don't need ... With money you don't have ... To impress people you don't know.

But what if you've got the money and like nice things? I don't have kids, or care if I leave money to my nephews.

Speak for yourself, r287.

These are 'almost bought'; stupid things in a similar theme:

On eBay in 2000 (I was making good $$ then), I bid on the strange auction of a copy of a film 'Deep End' with Dan Cortese allegedly having hardcore gay sex. I was thankfully outbid after $400. The film's never been revealed.

I also big on the auction of the original Edelson nude photo set of Joseph Sayers; not just the few that made it online, but hundreds of hardcore erect dick and butthole pics. Edelson would lead you to a private link of thumbnail images of all the photos. Stupid me, I merely gazed at the photos and didn't even think to make screencaps back then! I was thankfully outbid at $300.

I've thought of splurging on one of those lavish five month round-the-world cruises right after I retire in a few years but am 1) super ambivalent about spending that much money and 2) worried I'd end up not liking being on a ship that long (haven't been on one for more than three days and that was with a group of people I already knew) and would want to go home. That stated, seeing all of those amazing places would be fantastic and not having to take some super long air flight and pack and unpack from hotel to hotel would be great.

R291, why don't you take a few transatlantic cruises--or ones that go to South America--that are just over a week to see if you like the cruising life. My idiot mother is on cruise ships at least eight months every year. I think the issue is whether you like cruise people, not so much the physicality of being on a ship.

That's the other thing, R292. I am an introvert and don't really like "people" writ large in the first place. My spouse would be with me, but I don't want to "make friends" with people on the cruise.

You're not "making friends", r293, on a cruise ship. You're joining one or two other bitchy queens to people-watch. It's like Datalounge - but your can smell the people. And you don't have to move your fingers about on a keyboard to talk.

Two moderately embarrassing ones, although I didn't get hit as bad as many here.

1. Scammed by a charming online scammer who took me for $200, for which I got nothing. To add insult to injury, he subsequently sent me email mocking me for my stupidity and gullibility.

2. $150 for a used copy of a DVD that contained scanned copies of over 40 years of Spider-man comic books. Brand-new, it would have cost me $20 and today, I could purchase it for $99.

But what did you pay him for? What was he supposed to give you for $200?

I'm also considering paying over $200 for a custom-made DVD of an event. We'll see. Maybe Christmas.

You just had to ask me to embarrass myself, didn't you, R296? Well, why not? I was stupid.

This was some years ago, back when chatting on gay.com was a thing. I got hit on by an attractive young man (based on his pictures, of course; he could well have been anything in real life). He kept it up for over an hour and then suggested we meet. He claimed to work as a concierge at a local hotel in Florida and that he could get travel deals that weren't available to me, so if I wired him $200, he could purchase a plane ticket so that we could meet.

I did; he didn't, and we didn't. Although it pretty much inoculated me from future online scams, so maybe it wasn't a total loss.

R298, you're among friends. This whole thread is about buying stupid things (...and some smart ones, occasionally).

All in all, for $200, you should have at least gotten a bottle or a movie poster.

PS. What hotel did he claim to be a concierge at?

Kyle.

I've never heard of a Kyle Hotel.

Basically R298 you paid $200 for the conversation and the possibility that something might happen. It didn't.

R299 You know damn well that movie posters go for a little higher than $200 on DL.

R298 paid for a warning and an opportunity not to catch the aids. That's pretty generous. I bet there was still a happy ending somewhere.

R303, LOL.

I was just thinking that if I was into fleecing people online, sending them a cheapie Jezebel poster for them to remember me by would totally be my hallmark.

[quote]PS. What hotel did he claim to be a concierge at?

I don't remember, actually. I did get a bit of revenge, though. I put up a website with his profile, his pictures, and the whole story, then had some friends link to it so that it would show up higher in a Google search of his name or one of his online handles. I spent a few days on it, then published it and moved on. Out of the blue a year or so later, he sent me an email, angry at me about that website.

It turns out that he was trying to make a go of it as an artist, selling his work online, and my website detailing the scam was showing up in search results that some of his would-be patrons were seeing, which caused him to lose a few sales. I didn't respond, other than to post his email to the website, and I never heard from him again. So maybe I had the last laugh after all?

I had put my contact info on the scam website and I subsequently heard from a few of his other victims. One, in particular, had been groomed by him for months and had lost over ten times the amount I lost, so I considered myself lucky.

R306, you just might be the most brilliant revenger on DL.

So, I change my opinion: for $200, you had a good adventure and got your money's worth. Putting the screws on an asshole is always worth it.

(Did he ever get prosecuted for anything?)

(Now I see that some wiseacre inserted "Kyle" as an answer to my question about the hotel.)

Not as far as I know, R308. It wasn't worth my time to sue, certainly, even in small claims court. Most of those who are scammed like this are too embarrassed to admit it and they just accept the loss and move on. I did feel sorry for the former victim who had lost over $2500. He was much more emotionally engaged than I was and he told me that he could ill afford the financial loss as well as the emotional one. The two together caused him a lot of pain and it took him some time to recover.

Over $1000 for a Montblanc 149 fountain pen. My penmanship is bad enough with a ballpoint, it was atrocious with a fountain pen. I sold it for $450.

It's fascinating what sells for big bucks on eBay. I noticed old cereal boxes and other items which most people would never think of keeping.

I do own something which is worth a fair amount of money, a few Colorforms aliens, The Outer Space Men. They're still on the cards.

Years ago, I bought a few at a flea market. An elderly man was selling the contents of his former toy store in Brooklyn, he had some cool items, original troll dolls from the 1960s, Disneykins, vintage Barbies still in the boxes and a bunch of those aliens. I paid 75¢ each!

Had I known these alien figures weren't mass produced and were highly collectible, I would have bought the entire box of aliens. I kept the aliens on the cards, which brings the collectibility factor and price up. I already had some of the same alien figures from when I was a kid, there was no need to take the aliens I purchased off the cards.

Even the small Made in China 1990 alien reproductions are now somewhat expensive, $79 and up. A few years ago, some bright person decided to create reproductions down to the original card design, the repros are now collectible too.

Here's an original still carded set of 7 figures, for $35,000.00. A few years ago, I saw the entire original 7 figure carded set on eBay, the Seller wanted $15,000. WOW, from $15,000 to over double the price!

[quote] I spent around $900 on A diarrhea of World of Marvel by Amsco It’s the holy grail of 70s toys for Comic book geeks

It does sound quite unusual!

But you would think Reed Richards could whip up some imodium for all of them so it wouldn't be a regular occurrence.

No matter how special and rare it might be, nor how sought after, I myself would not want a diarrhea of the Marvel superheroes.

I mean, just the Hulk alone would be a serious problem, as would Giant-Man... but all of them together?

R253 and others admiring and wishing upon a tank, the standard vintage models can be had for so much less at auction. If you hunt well, and stay dilligent, you can bag one.

R315, which auctions, friend? How do I find them?

R250, Get out of Ohio, and go where? My house is bought and paid for, all my friends and family are here, and I get along with my neighbors. I work from home, so I could move pretty much anywhere in the US, but my pay wouldn't be adjusted for the difference in wages. The fact is, living in Ohio, I can afford to buy silly things that aren't necessary. There's no chance in hell I'd be able to afford living in NYC on what I earn. Some of us actually live in the real world.

Hi again R135/R316.... Sotheby's and Christie's. You can attend auctions where only watches are offered, some mixed with other jewelry. You are able to preview, try them on and really look them over, and obtain condition reports. If you are not in a large city, there may be smaller houses you could try: let a specialist know you are looking for a particular style, metal, model... many will let you know when one comes up. The better professionals will reach out to interested parties.

BTW, if anyone wants to experiment with fountain pens, but you don't want to go hogwild like the poster above, I want to recommend my two favorite cheapies.

1. Baoer 100 It's $2 or $3 on ebay. Includes shipping. I have half a dozen, each inked in a different color. Very nice nib, nice writer.

2. Caliarts Ego It's a clear, "demonstrator," so holds a huge amount of ink. Nice writer: I use the two I have all the time. This one is $9 on ebay, includes shipping.

Fat injections in the butt.

You can't take it with you. YOLO

Thanks, R319. I used fountain pens as a kid. Fountain pens and pencils. I always hated regular pens.

For years I've been writing with Muji Capped Gel-ink pens, 0.38. It's the only pen I'll use.

Botox. Splurge for 45th. Birthday.. Made my eyelids drop and actually ended up making me look worse. And the impact on wrinkles in the forehead and eyes wasn’t that impactful. I would only do dermabrasion again. Maybe laser.

R322, were you born male or female?

Male. More importantly, gay. R324

Thanks, r325. If you're male, I would have imagined you're gay.

Oh, and the Muji pens look like fun. That's why I responded in the first place.

My college education, wasn’t worth it. Working for a company where people who got high school diplomas for either sleeping with the staff, or not pulling a gun on them, are making just as much, if not more, than me.

Your watch is nice OP, but for that price I would have been looking at a Cartier, a Rolex - or the least expensive Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, etc that money could buy. Very attractive watch however!

Watches like the one in r2, I can never tell the good from the bad, or the expensive from the cheap. They're all ugly to me.

My grandmother gave me the Cartier Santos Octagon watch she’s worn every day for the past 30+ years. Despite the fact that she had it serviced regularly, it doesn’t really keep time. It always falls forward a little bit. I have a feeling it’s going to be nothing but a money pit, but it’s so sentimental, so I suppose I’ll suck it up.

My mother has a Cartier tank watch and she said that it never seemed to keep time either. (I’m assuming the watches must have improved since then?)

OK, enough with the watches.

Yeah - we get the point. Watches are a stupid expensive purchase - but there are a lot of people who are really into them.

More stupid purchases please - other than watches.

Yes. Let's hear from the dish queens.

[quote]Does anybody still wear a watch ?

Yes Dear, they are back in style, its a fashion thing, not a utility anymore. Plus you don't have to pull it out of your pocket every time you want to tell time.

Just because the advertised price (on ebay or somewhere other) is 15K doesn't mean they'll sell, and doesn't mean they'll eventually sell at that price.

This summer and last summer I had to sell concert tickets for concerts I couldn't go to (poor planning).

Some of the other resellers were advertising fantastic prices, like double, triple, or even ten times the original price! For concerts that were not sold out. Only one was sold out actually. Each ticket I sold at a loss, but each ticket I sold.

R331 I am glad it has sentimental value because IMO it's an unattractive watch. If it doesn't keep time, sell it.

With the value of things, though very expensive, it's only when someone is willing to pay that price for it.. a solid buyer. Some things sit forever in shops, with high price tags, for a long time.

[quote]Your watch is nice OP, but for that price I would have been looking at a Cartier, a Rolex - or the least expensive Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, etc that money could buy. Very attractive watch however!

Sorry R329 but have you seen the prices of vintage pieces today? Even bog standard hand wind Omega Geneves are selling for hundreds. It's crazy.

[quote]Let's hear from the dish queens.

I wish I had back the money I spent on sets of dinnerware I bought and no longer own. I couldn't even sell most of it. I ended up giving it away when I downsized in 2015. I learned as a result, though, that the buying itself is much of the fun for me. Still...

Yeah, a house. The tax deduction and capital appreciation have been so frivolous.

R319, fountain pens. I have a Pilot Metropolitan ($10-$15 depending on barrel color) and love it. Absolutely smooth writing, never skips. It 's a real pleasure to write with it but it made m realise i need to upgrade to better paper/notebooks.

Once I bought a Chinese pen, Dikawen, just because it was a couple bucks. It skipped so much that it was not worth using.

I had fountain pens in second grade. They always got scritchy-scratchy.

R319,

I love all of your posts. I have a mild pen obsession and now I’m pretty sure soulmates (don’t tell my boyfriend)!! Too bad you’re a lesbian and I’m gay guy.

:)

I love pens too! Stationary is my love!

R344, it would be fitting if you became pen pals with your pen soulmate at R319.

Here’s my 1914 Federal Reserve Bank Note with Grover Cleveland on the obverse, and a reverse that celebrates transportation. It depicts a locomotive, Model T auto, and biplane on the left; and an ocean liner and tugboat with the Statue of Liberty on the right. I like this series of banknotes for their ornate design. They almost look like stock certificates.

This was the single most expensive banknote that I’ve purchased, for $2800. In total, I’ve spent about $75,000 on my entire collection of banknotes and gold & silver coins. I’ve stopped buying currency at this point because the remaining notes that I haven’t already purchased, each cost far more money than I can really afford.

I once bought a Persian-style rug for $6000, which was far too much. Especially since I’m not crazy about the design. I’m going to try to sell it on Craig’s List, soon. I just bought a replacement which was a couple hundred dollars, but I like the design.

I just purchased (preordered) a Gucci plaid shirt with the Paramount Pictures logo on the back for $1400.00 from Barneys.

I love this shirt and I will have it forever.

Its for Christmas and I do not care what you think!

YOLO!

Here’s a couple National Currency Bank Notes. They are particularly valuable to collectors because of the “666” bank charter number. This bank is in my home town, so it is worth more still, to me.

The 1904 note cost me $1200. The 1929 note cost me $1050.

The 1929 note is in such pristine condition, crisp and clear with no holes or wrinkles, that I took it to the nearby Federal Reserve Bank to verify that it wasn’t counterfeit.

wow, i'm surprised to hear cartier doesn't keep time. I was reading that Jack Nicklaus wore the same rolex watch for 30 years and it was always on time.

[quote] R31: Americans will rather spend money on things than experiences.

Thats a generalization and I don’t know that it’s a good one. Americans have a lot of money to spend, so maybe it just seems that way? Besides, is a motor boat a “thing”, even if it’s used for “experiences”?

I got a Cartier tank for college graduation, 40 years ago. It's been serviced many times, but works perfectly. And I still love it.

$4000 on a Hugo Boss suit when I was 55 because I had a crush on the salesman. I've worn it once.

A motor boat is a thing.

An experience is immaterial.

[quote]Americans have a lot of money to spend, so maybe it just seems that way?

I'm surprised you'd say that with the middle class shrinking and poverty numbers rising.

Interesting strategy... Where did this lead?

$6000 on internet porn. The precurser to chaturbate in 2004 when I was on house arrest for a year. I was in love with several young Romanian men. One long-haired guy said he'd been working outside all day. I asked him what he smelled like. "Horses." I was this close to sending him a ticket to America.

r357 Nowhere. He was nice but not interested. We became friends for a while but it's so not the way I operate. A total anomaly. I'd never done anything like that before and certainly haven't done anything like that since.

Is that you, Martha?? R358 That must have been a good thing.

Lol, no. I had a tax thing.

[quote] R356: A motor boat is a thing. An experience is immaterial.

But how do you have an immaterial motor boat experience, without a motorboat?

Or a skiing experience, without skis?

Etc.

[quote]Stationary is my love!

Why? Is he in a coma?

[quote]But what if you've got the money and like nice things? I don't have kids, or care if I leave money to my nephews.

I'm retired, have a net worth of over $2 million, and NO heirs -- no offspring, siblings, nieces or nephews. Yet I still find myself unable to splurge on things. I just bought a new car, and even though I could've afforded anything, I got a lowly Subaru (and no, I'm not a lesbian.) I shop mostly at Aldi. I use coupons and get freebies and shop for sales. I never buy expensive clothing or shoes. I would like to take some first-class, upscale vacations, but I need to get into better shape first.

Likewise R364, I’m 41, have no heirs and have a net worth of slightly over $1m. I used to spent lavishly when I was young but have learnt to spend more wisely in the last few years.

The stupidest thing I spent was bmw m5. Never but luxury cars again

“Never buy luxury cars again”

Sorry for the typo

r358 now this is a backstory i'd like more info on. how was that year?

I bought a new car instead of a used (depreciated) car. Just tired of dealing with repairs and wanted clean seats, etc.

Humblebragging millionaires are tiresome.

$1,200.00 on an Electrolux. It sucked.

R369, people are answering the OP. Go away if that bothers you.

People are bragging about their money and I'm making fun of them. Fuck off and die if that bothers you.

R372, then do go on complaining that people are addressing the question posed in the OP.

OP never asked people for their bank accounts, ninny. Stop trying to win an argument that doesn't exist.

R364, that's kind of sad.

Hey!

Electolux makes a lot of different appliances.

What was it that sucks?

(Don't tell me a vacuum cleaner. Because if your post was just an elaborate set up for a "sucks" joke, I'm going to scream....)

r367 Not much more to tell. Home confinement sucks. Ask Paul Manafort. The IRS and I had a disagreement. The government decided to bring charges. It took the US Attorney and my lawyers a year to finally make a deal. I went to federal prison for 8 months. So I suppose the internet sex wasn't, strictly speaking, stupid but I really didn't know I'd spent that much until I got out and saw the bill. I did call in a few hookers during that time, which I enjoyed, but I thought the internet stuff was cheaper. I was wrong. I wasn't exactly thinking clearly. Fyi, I'm the one who posts about prison stuff to the Jarec Wentworth thread.

The thing about R364,

Frugality is like a religion. It's hard to ditch if you've been practicing it all your life. Instead of taking a first-class vacation (or giving yourself a "I'll wait til I'm in shape"), maybe you can take a cheapie vacation in a nice foreign place and go as you are now?

(You know, carpe diem and all that jazz..)

R377, was it Club Fed? (Like Martha Stewart-ish, not that bad?)

Club Fed hasn't existed since the mid-90s. It was exactly like the place Stewart went. Nicer than state prisons but prison, nonetheless. The food is unspeakable. I liked most of the inmates. I have nothing to complain about. It was my mistake. Plus, I had friends who had been in for 20 years and were only in their early 40s. Half their lives had been spent in prison.

[quote]I did call in a few hookers during that time,

Great idea! Commit another crime while you're on house arrest.

R380, did you meet anyone famous there?

(Maybe any of the old junk bonds guys?)

r377 Sounds like you and the IRS had more than a "disagreement." Usually the only thing you can go to prison for is major tax evasion or fraud.

r383 You'd be surprised.

Agreed, R378. I grew up poor and have literally been saving money since I was a kid. I would love to retire early and probably have enough saved to do so, but am too worried that it isn't enough so planning on going another four. It's going to be very hard to switch from a saving mentality to a spending thought process because you aren't going to live long enough any more to go through your savings.

I have been trying a little harder and with some success to wean myself off of worrying that I'll ever have enough money to retire. I did buy a very nice vehicle (but not brand new...it was 2 years old and had only 10,000 miles). To your point, I was able to rationalize it better because it wasn't brand new.

I really couldn't afford it, I am not in any kind of high power job, but being in a creative field I fell in love with this M pen from Montblanc. It pisses off the traditional collectors of Montblanc because it was the only time they allowed a someone from outside of their company to change the design. Marc Newson is the product designer who dared to be different with a classic.

$400 later, I don't regret it. I love the way it looks and I do use it when I am in an inspired mood.

White lie, had to tell my partner I bought it used $50 on ebay.

In 2003 I spent $16 on a can opener at Gristede's. Not an electric one it's manual. I still use it and it works well so maybe it wasn't so stupid.

I just spent $2000 on an enormous artwork which will cost another $470 to stretch and frame and then another $100 or so to transport to me. AND I still have yet to buy a tall ladder so I can get it up high on the wall. No I am not rich. It's just that art (or, Art) makes my life better, somehow. But I have some buyer's regret all the same.

R388, forget a ladder- get an art installer.

How does one do that, R389? I feel more $$$ floating out the window...

Contact a local museum. Or if you know exactly what you want, a handyman. Why blow money on a tall ladder? Or borrow or rent one, good ladders are expensive.

Yes they are, I'm looking at about $500 for a 12 footer

R353... Some Americans do have money, real money. Most Americans are middle class, or lower... and many use credit cards to make purchases that are beyond their means. Then, they are saddled with a lot of debt that many can't pay.. or are strapped monthly.

I'm retired, so I don't have commutes anymore. Instead of buying a car, I lease a new one every three years. The monthly payments are much lower, and my mileage is low.. lower than the allowed mileage on the lease.

Spend the $500 on a 12 incher R392. Money well spent.

Well, what I THOUGHT was stupid back in 2013 when I was in HS...by friend convinced me to buy crypto...XRP. I spent my entire fucking savings on it. Five thousand dollars.

FAST FORWARD to Jan 2018.

Sold the fuckers and made over a million dollars.

I am now putting some right back into XRP. Knowing that I will make another killing in five years.

Don't buy a ladder just to hang your painting. Check with a rental place and I'll bet you can just rent one for a few hours. You might even be able to get one of the folding ones that you can more easily transport.

I just spent >$2K USD on this B&M watch and do not feel guilty about it.

I love your watch R398. LOVE.

[quote]Have you ever spent a huge amount of money on something stupid?

$1.50 a month to Mediapolis.

R398 The bands are fungible, right?

Omg R398 your watch is out of this world. Wow

I think Home Depot rents latters. Consider a folding one, and measure your car carefully to make sure whatever you rent will fit.

R388 I think $2,000 is reasonable for an original, "enormous artwork" (I'm assuming it's a painting). I would 2nd the advice to get it professionally put on your wall. A lot of times, people hang artwork & pictures too high. Plus, since it's valuable, a professional would hopefully make sure it doesn't fall from the wall and get damaged.

What are the dimensions and how much does it weigh?

My father bought some huge thing from Israel and had it shipped--probably about 3 feet high, but ten feet long. But instead of canvass, it was like some sort of fibrous weave. (They told me it was made out of recycle soda bottles.) Anyway, we hung it ourselves: it was extremely light.

You can hang it on your own! Just have the middle of the painting be 5'5" up from the floor and you'll be fine. It doesn't take a fine arts degree!

Muriel will get you for that R400.

And that R392 is why you will never have money.

R388, I have the requisite ladders in various heights, but if you've paid a lot of money for a work of art, ask the people you're paying to stretch and frame it if they also will install it once it's framed. Many framers also do installation. And if the company you're paying doesn't Google for other companies in your area that will. Personally, at this point in my life, I really don't like to get up on a ladder if I don't need to. Also, as already mentioned, you can rent ladders, if you feel confident enough to get up on one.

R344, I just saw your note. Thanks!

R342, I got into the same spiral--one of the reasons I only buy fine or very fine nibs that don't feather on normal paper. When I watch the pen gurus on youtube or the web, they all recommend using (I think it's called) Clairefontaine that has a toothiness (like a texture) that I know would drive me nuts.

R318, I'm going to keep that in mind. Thank you very much for the info.

I’m a Rolex owner (that’s been my biggest splurge as of late, and I don’t regret it at all - I rarely regret jewelry purchases), and I love most Cartier’s as well but I kind of resent that - except for the most dressy of ones - for that price they can’t even fucking splurge on gold dial. I mean, really.

Not everyone likes a gold dial R412. A white face with black Roman numerals just evokes a classic simplicity. I find dive watches on people who don't dive or even swim sort of strange really. I love the fact that our fountain pen & Cartier Tank loving lesbian pointed out that they do not go with suits. I'm sick of seeing all the oversized dive watches and Chronographs with suits. An ex gave me a chunky Longines that I hardly wear. I should sell it, as I prefer my small vintage swiss watches.

Gold dials are rappy.

Well I just had the mother of all arguments with my guy about the painting. He is shocked I would ever spend that much on such a frivolous item. I told him yes, that's why the phrase 'starving artist' is part of our lexicon: not enough people value and purchase original art for their homes. Somehow he thought I'd spent $6000. Whatever! It's my money anyways!

And I have found a local art installer so thank you to the person who suggested consulting them instead of getting up on a high ladder. The painting is over 9 feet in height and 6 feet in width. I really have not thought this one through though. The only place I can display something that large is in my hallway and my other half pointed out there won't be much room for anyone to stand back to see it properly. He said it was a foolish purchase.

Well I guess I really do fit this thread.

[quote]Well I just had the mother of all arguments with my guy about the painting. He is shocked I would ever spend that much on such a frivolous item. I told him yes, that's why the phrase 'starving artist' is part of our lexicon: not enough people value and purchase original art for their homes. Somehow he thought I'd spent $6000. Whatever! It's my money anyways!

How much did you spend?

[quote]The painting is over 9 feet in height and 6 feet in width. I really have not thought this one through though. The only place I can display something that large is in my hallway and my other half pointed out there won't be much room for anyone to stand back to see it properly. He said it was a foolish purchase.

He may have been correct.

If you're really rich R415, and have the space, build an additional room for your painting. It shall give you an excuse to support even more artists. You can call it "the gallery" too. Just an over the top idea if you truly live the painting. Good luck, and consider moving or eliminating any case-goods; you may be able to accommodate it that way, just a bit lower perhaps than you had initially imagined.

$2000 for the painting and $470 for stretching and framing. I do feel foolish but every once in a while I am foolish. Hard to avoid.

My guy was upset but we cleared up the price thing, looked at a picture of the work, and now he's getting a little excited about it. I might even throw a party to show it off. So, survivable foolishness.

I'm not rich R417 but my house is unusual with raked ceilings and windows way up. It cries out for art. So I am accomodating it. I do like to support local artists but nothing on this scale before.

It sounds as if it could be quite grand over the staircase R419. Having a fete for this artist is a rather nice idea to enable him to gain more exposure, so good on you!

R418, I'm the one that rec'd an art installer. You might not have the perfect spot now, but you also may not be in the same place forever either.

I started buying art at 22 and ended up doing quite well. I only ever bought what I loved, but a few years ago I sold a couple of pieces I was tired of and paid off my house.

Art is a reasonable purchase. More meaningful to me than a watch or clothes. More like a sofa or furniture. And very useful in staging a house for sale. But it is definitely decadent beyond a certain price.

Art is an excellent investment, provided you are wealthy enough to make that investment, and have a sense of what you're buying.

What would that price be, R422?

For as much work as creating a 9 foot by 6 foot painting had to entail, it's crazy that you were able to get it for only $2,000 + $470. Of course, it's also crazy that you have a wall that is big enough to display that in any room. It will definitely affect where you live moving forward.

R257 here; I misspelled diorama on porpoise

I actually love it and will be splurging on a plexiglas case for it soon

I have made many foolish purchases, most of which involve wanting to be loved, hoping to help someone who needed it, hoping he’d love me in return

You know in your head it won’t work but your heart says try

If you learn and move on and don’t do it again then it can all be worth it

R419 art buyer, if it is an oil painting 9 feet by 6 feet you can cosole yourself with the fact that the artist probably spent more than $2000 on just the paint.

I have some experience doing oil paintings. It takes many, many frustrating hours to reach a certain skill level (aside from the time spent on the particular painting). $2,000 is not a lot of money to spend on an original painting. Hanging a large painting in a hallway does sound like a waste, though.

Can we get back to watches clothes and vacations and cars?

I've purchased a lot of art from my friends, mostly gay portraits and erotica. "Stupid?" No, just not essential.

Please elaborate on "gay portrait."

Thank you

The painter and model are gay. The model is shirtless or nude. I have a few small paintings of guys I dated. It's nice to see their handsome faces on my walls. George Towne is an artist whose work I love. I have two small paintings by him.

Okay, so I don't know anything about this kind of art, but was Towne the inspiration for the character in As Good As It Gets?

I want to buy one of these ridiculously expensive flowers made out of paper, but so far I’ve contained myself.

No, R433.

R434, Crap, now I want to own one (or several), too!

A friend's aunt who was a collector left her an original Van Gogh wood cut print.

She sold it in the 70s for 10k and paid off her college tuition.

I wonder if she had kept it and taken out a loan for college what it would be worth today.

At the time I asked her why she didn't hold onto it but Sotheby's had told her it would deteriorate.

[401] I guess so if you don't like the bright orange strap

R436 I’d love to have a whole bunch; they are so delicate and lovely, but I just cringe at the price. On her website she has a how-to book and a starter kit so I think I may just buy those. I minored in art in college, so I’m somewhat artistic and crafty. How hard can it be?

bitch don't carry peonies

R434, R439, To be honest, seeing those flowers made me bookmark that site, and I will almost certainly purchase something, at some point. I'm not without artistic ability: I can sketch, and paint a bit, but working with my hands isn't something I'd want to count on, since age has made my hands less steady, and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. What the website first reminded me of, though, was Harvard's glass flower collection, which is just amazing. (Hope I'm not derailing this thread).

I'm usually pretty good with stock market investments, but there's one purchase from about five years ago that I was immensely stupid with. The loss on paper is about $30K.

Yes, I still own the dog, but have no illusions that it will ever go back up. I'm just trying to figure out when and how to use it to offset some other capital gains.

r433 The artist played by Greg Kennear was completely fictional. The paintings were made by the spectacularly talented Billy Sullivan.

R442, damn, I forgot about the high tech bubble. I lost about $80k on a penny stock.

r432 George Towne is a serious painter and I'm pretty sure is a great investment. He's still rather young, he's already had a good career, and he's serious about his work. I've been a fan for years. I congratulate you on your good taste. Fyi, I'm not George and we aren't even friends. I've just been in the art word in New York forever.

R443, but in a sense, he wasn't completely fictional. Those paintings--thanks for the link!--are his sensibilities, his insight, and they made the Greg Kinnear character what he was. Look at this quote from his website--

[quote] His body of work consists of ephemeral events captured from his point of view, serving as a window into his personal life.

George Towne, a worse Tom of Finland or for older gays who must have that nude torso sculpture with an uplight. Trashy.

We'd be happy to see your gallery of Sargents and Rembrants, snobby queen R447.

er, Rembrandts, but your home is more likely cluttered with Thomas Kinkade landscapes and Erté posters with silver frames.

R436 I had not heard of the glass flowers at Harvard. They are stunning. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m sure I’ll try my hand at making them, they won’t turn out as wonderful as I want, and then I’ll end up just buying some.

Totally derailed.

All the money I have goes into my stereo system as I'm an audiophile.

I've spent so much money on it I can't even admit it anonymously.

People would think I'm insane if they knew how much I spent on a phonograph needle. At a demo price no less.

R452, tell us.

Come on, you know we like weird stuff. A single post about a chipped bottle kept us going for a good two days.

No one knows you here.

r447 You're thinking of Mark Beard.

When I was 17 I bought a Picasso pencil sketch for $350, He died two months later. It's always been on a wall wherever I've lived. I'm sure it's worth something but I've never had it appraised and I don't really care. My niece will get it after I'm gone because she has always loved it too.

That is so cool.

Be careful. It would be so miserable if one day it wasn't on the wall.

[quote]I've spent so much money on it I can't even admit it anonymously.

I'll take a guess, R454. Although, I've seen more expensive ones, but only in stereo stores, but I'll say:

$80,000

Honestly I've been afraid to count it up but you're probably close.

OK I'll admit to the phono cartridge a demo at less than half the price-$7000. In other words retail spanking new it is 15k.

Now does it sound like a $7,000 cartridge? A very big yes. Stunning really. $15k might be for those seriously choking on money.

The best cartridges-all the classical loving Asians have money to burn and buy 40k turntables- are crawling towards 20k. Do you hear this improvement or is it just for unashamed bragging rights. I had a cartridge for retail $600 then 3k which was followed by one 10k. There was a huge step with each upgrade. This 15k is light years ahead of anything I've had before and I need nothing more. I love it and if I was forced to go back to a lesser cartridge it would be hard to live with.

R458, you be making me google!

(I mean, really, what is a cartridge in music?)

R410, isn't Clairefontaine notebook paper quite smooth? But $16+ for a spiral notebook, not gonna happen. I just remembered that I have a (cough) box of notebooks I've bought over the years, Campus brand was a particular favorite. They are smaller and not spiral bound but the paper is nice quality. I also have a *lifetime* supply of .38 gel pens. Stationery, it can get obsessive.

I've accumulated many watches to commemorate my international trips. Thanks to a strong dollar, you can get good deals on luxury watches abroad. I saved 50% on a Cartier for my sister in South Africa because it was a dealer's back stock that never sold. I just bought a Tesla to replace my Prius. I don't know if it'll be worth it yet, but it's getting me a lot more attention than I expected.

R461, which model Tesla?

Do you like it?

The only thing stupider than spending $6,000 on a watch is advertising it on the Internet, even anonymously

In the words of Wheezie

$350 in 1980 would be about $1000 in today's money.

[quote](I mean, really, what is a cartridge in music?)

It's the thing that holds the "needle" in place on a turntable.

oh my. That's why I don't buy records. I won't be able to listen to it for fear of scratching up the records. I listen to CDs at least they are cheaper to replace.

Here are Ortofon's different lines of cartridges.

Rega cartridges

Dynavector cartridges. All three brands feature some not-that-expensive carts (as they are called).

Do you also have a special room where you listen to records and must be built a certain way?

Some people actually do have listening rooms.

After the 1st 300 replies about boring watches, the 'derailment' of this thread has finally gotten interesting.

Re: artwork - and gay artwork, in particular: I used to be a much bigger fan of Philip Gladstone. His earlier work was more sophisticated yet erotic. Now, he's downright cartoonish. I dropped a few hundred $$ about 8 years ago on a beautiful naked male torso painting, which started out in the living room - and now hangs in the master bath.

I got into the whole record collecting thing in the late 90s, never having the money to spend that the $7000 cartridge guy had. In 2003, someone offered me what seemed at the time like stupid money for my record collection (lots of jazz, plus English Beatles, Stones, and Kinks albums in near mint condition), so I sold it. I had had so much fun collecting, I thought I'd do it over again. But I had had some remarkably good luck during a time when there weren't that many people buying records, and buying everything again would have been cost prohibitive.

But since I now spend so much time at my computer, I'm actually happier listening to music over my computer. I have good speakers (for computer speakers), and I never worry about surface noise anymore, or digital jizz from CDs (high-end can make CD unlistenable). I just listen to music. Not flaws in recordings.

[quote] Some people actually do have listening rooms.

If any of you live in a city with a high end stereo store ask if they have a listening room, but not A or B grade, ask for their best one. The kind of set up R458 is talking about. (Stereo Exchange on Broadway and Houston has one in the back of the store.) Bring some CDs or vinyl that you know well. When you hear those records reproduced you will understand what HEARING music really is like. You will understand that those records that you thought you knew so well you actually never HEARD before.

^^ It looks like Stereo Exchange moved to Union Square and is by appointment only. I hope they preserved the listening rooms.

I was talking about people who have listening rooms in their homes. One of my favorites (I read about it; I was never there) was a guy in one of the western states who built himself a separate building on his property just for listening to music. I wish I could remember his name. It might have been Michael, and he might have been Italian.

[quote] I was talking about people who have listening rooms in their homes.

Yes, I know, but unless you know one of those people you won't be able to have the experience. A store is still an option.

Jimmy Fallon has one. Tom Cruise gave him the specs on how to built it.

I'm the one who paid $7,000 for the cartridge.

I no longer go to high end dealers because what I hear as in components that cost 20k each and speakers that cost 70k(and all that insanely expensive cabling) sound so unbelievably superior to my 80k system(using the other poster's figure) it is too depressing.

My sister is a trustee for estates. One guy whose parents left him millions, but for her to dispense, asked her for 150k for an audio system. She was simply staggered. She said to me 'Can you believe this?!' (having no idea what I spent on my system.) 'You just put a cd in your player and listen what's the big deal?!'

For people passionate about music that sounds sensational(I also listen to a lot of historical performances on my car system that don't sound so great but the performances are so phenomenal) it can be a very big deal.

There are a pair of 60k speakers that I could never afford but I will lust after for a long time. And that 20k cartridge...

Listen to Paul Simon's Graceland, Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque or the Casino Royale soundtrack on a high end turntable with a high end cartridge. Oh my fucking god.

I had the opposite experience, r480, at least when listening to CD on a high end system (nothing like yours: Adcom/Bowers & Wilkins Matrix/lots of different CD players). What I had enjoyed for the first ten years of listening to CD on a mid-fi system (Kyocera/Magneplanar), suddenly sounded AWFUL on a more revealing system.

I ended up buying a Rega turntable, and it was pleasant for awhile, until I started having issues with surface noise of visually perfect used classical LPs.

Audiophilia is an invitation to dissatisfaction IMO. I am so glad to be out of it

I'm addicted to buying Japanese pressings as they're so much quitter than domestic and European pressings but I've had to stop. It really is ridiculous.

And I rarely buy classical. Only cds for classical. Vinyl is too noisy.

But that being said I do have Reiner's Lt Kije from Living Stereo and Ansermet's complete Pulcinella from London on LPs and they are pin you to the back wall fabulous.

'quieter'

[R462] Model 3. I'm more a tech guy than a car guy, so the car suits me pretty well. I had a good 6 hour drive to bring it home, and the car successfully drove itself back 90% of the way. It doesn't do city streets yet.

Regarding 'Gay' paintings, glorifying naturalist nudes, and featuring young torsos and beautiful scenery, I believe some of the best are by Thomas Eakins. If I could afford one, I would be willing to pay an inordinate sum. Many others of such a genre, not so much.

r460 r410 r342 The Blackwing Slate is a joy of a notebook. Matte black hardcover, sewn binding, 100 gsm (ruled or plain), USD 23 a pop. But I'm a pencil guy, and the Slate is intended as companion to the Blackwing pencil. I don't know if fountain pens and pencils each demand a different paper finish.

It's kind of sad that the home audio market has died out so much since the 1990s. Back then it was all about pairing a high-end audio system to your big screen TV.

Now, people are satisfied with iPad/iPhone sound.

The whole home theater concept seems antiquated.

so what mp3s do you guys use? I'm in the market for 1. My ipod touch broke. TIA.

R480, but are you yourself a musician? Or in the music business in some way--maybe an engineer?

How did you get yourself into this?

(Also, this has been quite an education for me. I had no idea they still sold record players--except for DJs and the gag-gift kind I see at Barnes & Noble.)

No, of course not.

I have to be honest. I moved to New York City to go to school and as I had trained as a classical pianist, going to concerts and the opera was important to me. I've had seats in all sections of all three houses at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Town Hall. Everyone knows what is now David Geffen Hall has always had shit acoustics. I've never found the perfect spot at the Met (Levine always played so loud the singers could barely be heard). The balcony at Carnegie Hall really does sound the best. But, finally, I found decent earbuds, YouTube and nice glass of scotch was my absolute favorite. I've never heard a better performance of Vier letzte Lieder than by Jessye Norman or the 1967 filmed performance of Verdi's Requiem with a very young Pavarotti and Leontyne Price. Last year I went to hear the Requiem at Carnegie Hall and it just wasn't good. I'm done with it all. I'm so much happier with my simple, elegant, perfect setup.

R486, I was trying to look at a close-up photo of the paper. The thing about fountain pen ink is that anything too cotton-y (but especially copy paper) absorbs the ink into the fiber, and then it "feathers"--the ink spreads out. Usually, the fountain pen people suggest Rhodia notebooks to begin with, though I did not want to start having to buy special notebooks for my special pens--too out of hand for me. So I tend to buy very fine nibs--the less ink on the paper, the less it will feather.

R491 I agree. Given how perfect the recorded sound is and the excellent technology of earbuds, I have a hard time motivating to go see any music live. Small, intimate jazz clubs are probably the one exception. Being able to tune out everything but the sound is a transcendent experience.

r492 So you're looking for something "smoother" than copy paper, so that the ink just sits on top of the page?

Just as a point of reference, have you ever tried Moleskines? I used Moleskines before Slates. Slate paper is heavier and smoother.

This thread has become the opposite of its intention.

Oh, I don't know, R495...spending the kind of money being discussed on phonograph needles, turntables, speakers, etc., seems to be amazingly huge amounts of money on the stupidest thing possible. I enjoy listening to music, but what I hear and how I hear it is just fine compared to this insanity.

R495,

Yes, but consider the title: "a huge amount of money on something stupid." Almost by definition, very expensive things are also innately valuable and well-made and tend to hold their worth (some of it). The art and the watches and the turnables, etc. can be sold for an appreciable amount--so they're not truly stupid.

Expensive AND stupid can only be drugs or (like the guy above) hookers/porn.

R497, or beanie babies?

Hey r497! I was on house arrest FOR A YEAR!!! And at the end of the day, I could afford it.

[quote]Expensive AND stupid can only be drugs or (like the guy above) hookers/porn.

Well, that would make for a more interesting thread.

[quote] Oh, I don't know, [R495]...spending the kind of money being discussed on phonograph needles, turntables, speakers, etc., seems to be amazingly huge amounts of money on the stupidest thing possible.

It's only stupid if the buyer thinks it was money wasted. But the audiophile here is not in that group, nor is the Tesla person.

I have a listening room at my home... but the only thing a listen there is my ugly neighbor fucking his trashy girlfriend

R498, you know, I was going to add, "If you bought a lot of something cheap"--like, I had a friend in college who would spends hundreds of dollars at a time on PEZ candies that would be delivered in huge boxes. (Remember the candy that came out of the toy? Shitty candy, too.)

R499, I know, and I totally condole you. How awful to be stuck in your house from a year. But from an economic point of view, it was stupid in that it had no intrinsic worth.

R501, let's be honest here, the thread was grinding to a halt without the needle guy. We're all just here for conversation--not to blue pencil incongruities.

Anyone here ever collect Fire King?

What started with Jadite mugs at garage sales for a quarter turned into a collection of over 10,000 pieces, including one (of many) holy grails: the jadite tilted ball pitcher. I spent $900 for it. Not a ridiculous amount, by any means. Now, many years later, it is literally the only piece left that I kept - tucked under a side table in the corner of the the living room.

R504, where the heck do you store them all?

I own a Raoul Dufy, a lithograph. An aunt was getting rid of a ton of stuff and gave it to me. It's been rolled up in my hallway closet for years. I'm an artist and photographer. I actually don't have much up on my walls, just some friends paintings and art. I don't even have my own work up!

[quote]Anyone here ever collect Fire King?

I have a few pieces I've collected over the years. I have the jadite mixing bowl, some creamers and some mugs. As well as some basic white Fire King mugs my mom collected in the 1960s, are those worth anything? They have Raggedy Ann, a panda and other arton them.

Here's a tilted pitch with a Sunbeam logo. It's nowhere near $900! It's $55!

$600 on a Ralph Lauren blanket. Yep a fucking BLANKET. Back when I thought money grew on trees

R507, here's a Raggedy Ann mug with five bids and a day plus to go.

R504... Martha Stewart got the green Fire King jadite momentum rolling, back in the 90s. I have some pieces, not too much, and all common. The only special piece I have is a salt box, with the original wooden lid.. that I also paid $900.00 for, back during it's height of popularity. It's in my kitchen. I know I'd never get that much for it. I still love it, but it was a crazy purchase. Jadite has fallen out of favor now.

R507, that Sunbeam tilted ball pitcher is a reproduction, first, off - and also considerably smaller. For those checking out eBay - you won't find mine there (only rarely) ... they are that hard to find.

R510, I had reached my peak just before Martha Stewart (and eBay, for that matter) came along and ruined it for everybody. Now you can't give the shit away.

Lesson learned from this thread: collecting antiques is over.

Not for those of us here who enjoy the hunt and the spoils R512. Not all collectors do so for resale value or investment.

re: fountain pens and notebooks. I was using Mead spiral bounds, getting then on sale for 33¢ after Back to School peaked. A bit bleedy for fountain pens though. They're just for note taking while I work, nothing special. Folds flat so doesn't take up much desk space. The fountain pen is overkill but it's practically the only actual handwriting I do these days and it's a pleasure to write with. It stays on the desk, I don't carry it with me.

[QUOTE]Martha Stewart got the green Fire King jadite momentum rolling, back in the 90s.

I had three separate friends who thought it was a good thing back in the very early '80s.

And isn't it "jadeite" rather than "jadite"?

I'll always love antiques. Collecting them isn't over for me.. just have limited space now, and $$$. I'll keep looking and hunting.

Right... jadeite.

R516, we ought to bear in mind there is more treasure out there for us now, as the trend for collecting antiques has cooled. Prices certainly are better too. Happy hunting!

Yes R518! Good deals out there... happy hunting, too.

r463--another douchebag anti-watch bitch who thinks she has a right to tell others what it's stupid to spend money on. Fuck off, cunt!

Jadeite, Jadite...both acceptable. I have two mixing bowls with pouring lips. They are my favorite bowls. Also have a Jadeite platter. Would have liked more 10 years ago but ebay prices were outrageous at that time and now I have stopped collecting.

Agree that now is a good time to seek out those beautiful but unfashionable antiques!

Diasaster with my enormous art work purchase: have remeasured the best space for it to hang in and the work will have to be substantially trimmed to fit. Now I have to inform the artist of this mutilation to their work.

Go ahead, laugh. I deserve it.

Is there something about jadeite that one would appreciate in handling the real thing but not in just seeing photos? I honestly don't see the charm.

r522 You're not seriously thinking of cutting it down, are you? Even if it were the worst painting ever, I would still think it's terribly disrespectful to the artist. Just sell it.

You're going to cut art down to fit the wall, r522? You had no idea it wouldn't fit? Wow. Sorry but you're just dumb.

I hope it's really shitty "art."

Don't cut it to fit the wall, glue it to your ceiling.

R522, how much cutting are we talking about?

Can't you hang it without a frame?

Do NOT cut that artwork! Are you crazy?

R522 can't be for real.

Funny though.

You're probably right, r529. No one is that stupid.

Won't someone please think of the painting?

If there is one.

Safe spaces for paintings.

I prefer my art like I prefer my men: uncut.

Ok just to be clear, the canvas has not yet gone to the framer and is still in the hands of the artist. My dilemma is in having to admit that I didn't measure as accurately as I thought I had. We are talking about a difference of about 3-4 inches on both width and height. The painting itself is over 9 feet in length and 6 feet in width. I am going to leave the decision up to the artist with the suggestion I could purchase something smaller.

Stupid purchase? Or stupid purchaser? Maybe that is for another thread.

No reason to limit yourself, R535....it can be both.

R535, you are starting to sound like a liar or retard. 3-4 inches on a large piece is not substantial. Sorry I wasted any time on offering advice.

For the watch people, classic Antiques Roadshow watch collection

R508 Ouch. Frau here. I used to primarily buy department store makeup. Huge price markup. Now I buy primarily drugstore stuff.

3-4 inches is not substantial to YOU R537 but it might be to the artist. One must be sensitive to these things, even if one doesn't wield a tape measure with the flair of a tradesman.

Every time I go to Europe I buy a hat. A nice hat, usually a Borsalino fedora in either felt or straw. Italians dress so beautifully and I always feel so slovenly and North American that it's my way of keeping up. Very expensive and I've managed to buy the identical hat on two occasions. I always think I can't bring a non-folding hat with me when I go but I always manage to get it back home. I done this on more than a dozen occasions and I rarely wear them here.

(I also wear hats. R541, you're my soul brother.)

That's not something stupid, r541. In many cases on this thread it isn't something stupid--something extravagant but something that gives pleasure. Really, one day we'll all be dead. Enjoy the watch or the hat or the vacation or the car or whatever.

[QUOTE]3-4 inches on a large piece is not substantial

The fuck it isn't!

I hate douchey hats.

I love hats,and have quite a collection.No,Im not bald,I just like the way I look in them.

Maybe you have a douchey head, r545.

First it was the douchey hats.

Then it was the millennial hipsters with their stupid beards.

Now, we're stuck with both. At least tighter pants are back.

A Borsalino hat, now! Now I'm very intrigued. That just wouldn't do where I live. You would become a dandy, a popinjay, and would face a dim future.

R549, love you.

I am that poster's lesbian soul sister.

One of my favorite movies, ever.

I once spent a fortune on blow. Felt real stupid, too, the next day.

But you're still here, r552.

OP, have you ever spent a huge amount of money on something for someone other than yourself?

If I were the artist of the painting that needs to be cut, I wouldn't sell it. If money was already exchanged, I would return the money.

Enjoyable thread. I especially enjoy hearing about watches. Anyone else have stories? Keep 'em coming.

Hey Eldergays! How much would you pay me to deflower me?

Would you take an oversized painting, R557?

Ok I gave the artist the bad news about resizing and they absolutely refused. So if I mount the work high enough it will still cover a light switch.

Can't you buy a different painting from him?

OMG, all of this fuss for a light switch?

I need to say that again--

ALL THIS FUSS FOR A FUCKING LIGHT SWITCH?!?!?!?!?

OP, change the light switch you have now and install a flat one with a remote control. Takes 20 minutes TOPS.

Use the remote control to flip it whenever you need to.

I'm with the lezzie above. This guy with the stupid painting dilemma is getting on my nerves.

Jesus R561, get in your Subaru, drive over there with your tool belt and do the job for the poor guy.

^LOL! Yes!

We lezzies don't wear toolbelts anymore!

(And I drive a Toyota SUV, thank you very much!)

R557 depends on how stupid you are.

[quote]The painter and model are gay. The model is shirtless or nude. I have a few small paintings of guys I dated. It's nice to see their handsome faces on my walls. George Towne is an artist whose work I love. I have two small paintings by him.

Bathhouse art.

[quote]Hey Eldergays! How much would you pay me to deflower me?

You do realize you can only be "deflowered" once -- right?

Yeah, but 'daddy' doesn't need to know that.

Not a large amount on a single purchase but over the years I've spent a lot on my various collections.

Close enough, R565.

R570, and what do you collect?

Credit card bills.

A previously unknown cousin with no will died and left nearly two million dollars.

Bought a lovely Patek Philippe watch. Best hundred thousand I ever spent.

Watches are a surprisingly good investment.

Well, I just received my Brighamia Insignis on Friday. It's a very rare plant, and I spent too much on it, but I don't care. I'm going to give it the best care possible (it's an endangered species) and hope to raise my own seedlings from it some day. At least it wasn't a hundred grand (I would faint).

I love it, r576! How much? I'm looking for exotic flowers for my garden, which doesn't get a lot of sun.

R577. It was only about 30$, which I think is a pittance for a very rare plant like that. There are other plants that I covet, but I haven't bought because I don't think I'd be able to raise them properly. eBay has lots of very rare, strange plants that only specialists would know, but I don't have a greenhouse, only an enclosed sunporch. I manage to keep a variety of orchids blooming and alive, so I at least have some skills with plants. My Brighamia is now my rarest plant, and I'm going to take great care to try to keep it happy. Some day, though, I want an Encephalartos horridus. They have one at my local conservatory, and it's awesome. I won't purchase a Welwitschia, since I can't imagine that anyone could keep one alive. (It's a very rare, cone-bearing plant that only grows two leaves that never stop growing, and lives in the desert of SW Africa).

What can I do with what you mention on a balcony with indirect light?

If your light is not direct, then ferns are usually your answer. I can't think of many blooming plant s that will perform well in indirect light, although, if your home is warm, anthuriums and spathiphyllum should deliver. The biggest impact can come from tree ferns. Australian tree ferns, in particular, although you really do need to keep up with watering them. I water mine a couple of times a day. But they grow very fast, and make an impact, and will eventually get pretty large, if you take care of them. If you need a more casual plant, Philodendron Selloum will get quite large, and is very easy to grow.

Thank you, r580.

Today I took delivery of my large painting. It is too wide. Like 8 inches too wide. Normally I would not complain about 8 inches. However the framer stretched it way too much ignoring my wall measurements. This particular width means the only possible placement is to hang landscape mode near the floor. Or be hung in the spare bedroom where no one will ever see it. So. Stupid purchase? Yes yes yes.

Adding that my wonderfully supportive guy has put a blanket over his head and gone to sleep while I fuss about where the hell this fucking artwork is going to fit. Buyer...beware...

How did you end up buying art that's too big for your wall?

Is it just covering the electrical switch, or is actually too wide for the wall itself?

It's too wide for the wall. Now it is covering part of a door opening. I wish it was just the light switch at this point.

R584 the art work was a certain dimension before it was framed and it was going to be reduced but somehow it was made bigger instead. I guess that's what stretching does. I went over my texts to the artist and the accurate measurements of the wall were clearly communicated.

And now I have to pay for an installer!

You're truly an idiot. Why you bought anything--be it a painting, a tv, a cabinet--before you measured to see if it would fit is beyond me. The fact that you have a wonderfully supportive guy proves you have more than you deserve.

[quote]Normally I would not complain about 8 inches.

I certainly wouldn't either!

R586, at this point, the best solution would be to get a bigger house.

Or a lobotomy.

Enough with this moron and her painting.

Bitcoin and alts.

But, I made more.

Everyone ELSE thought it was stupid.

^Why would you put a comma after "But"?

So you would ask.

It's grammatically wrong but go ahead, be stupid.

Sorry, let me fix that for you: but, go ahead, be stupid.

R594, I may be stupid, but at least I am not a miserable old dick. Gross.

Who says you're also not a miserable old dick as well, r595?

The amount of stupid depends on when she sold the crypto.

Black Friday sales.

R14 *I know your draperies are silk. I could tell as I stood at the doorway. Totally worth it, nothing else even comes close.