What is Digg?190 Comments
- foolsgold, on 02/07/2008, -7/+71You all realize this is probably because there are always tons of tourists in NYC, especially European ones, and this is just an example of businesses trying to make a buck off of them due to the strong Euro, right? It's called arbitrage.
- lacolonel, on 02/07/2008, -8/+38wow. this is indicative of a lot....
- clinko, on 02/07/2008, -4/+32Nonstory: It's 2 shops of millions in NYC... The guy even mentions that he doesn't bother exchanging the money because it pays for 1 person's trip to Europe. (AS Pocketchange)
Hey, USAToday, I live in NYC and will sell my couch for Pesos because i'm going to Mexico soon.
BAM! Now you have 2 stories! - allaboutdatiki, on 02/07/2008, -3/+27 ... a lot of Europeans dropping their money here. Bring 'em on!
- tehxen3, on 02/07/2008, -6/+29Riiiight....
Value of currency is detemined by what services or goods you can buy with it, not by what conspiracy websites determine. I can go buy iPod, oil, car with USD and EURs. With gold I can't without converting it to USD/EUR first therefore it doesn't have too much value to me. - hokie47, on 02/07/2008, -5/+24You have to accept US money, but you could also accept anything else for payment as long it is legal. I could take donkeys and cash as payment legally but not sex or drugs.
- cbuddha42, on 02/07/2008, -4/+21NY becoming an international city? Seriously I think this shows the number of foreigners in NY and business trying to cater to them, not business owners trying to abandon the dollar.
- 3Den, on 02/07/2008, -0/+16People are required to accept US currency (Legal Tender) for the legal payment of debts.
That only means that if I *owe* you money, and offer you payment, in the exact amount of cash, you can't refuse it and then sue me saying "you have to pay me in Euros"
Common situations where you could probably apply this rule would be eating in a restaurant (you rack up a debt while you eat) and traditional gas pumps (you pump the gas, then pay).
That's only for debts, though. The corner store could decide to only accept Euros, or hohos, or smiles as payment. - ghm101, on 02/07/2008, -5/+20um... only about 20 % of US citizens have a passport.
- geekchic, on 02/07/2008, -6/+20I find it strange that people actually bring their Euros into the USA though.
When I am travelling - the bulk of my purchases are by credit card and I get a bit of light cash from the local money changer, and pay for that with my credit card.
I can understand EUR payments in the UK, as we are next to the rest of the Euro mainland, but the USA? - Brodels, on 02/07/2008, -0/+12Right, because Europeans have only recently starting visiting the US...
- Achilles2, on 02/07/2008, -1/+12People from around the world, including Europeans have been dropping boat loads of money in the US but in US dollars for a long time. Now we can drop boat loads in Euros and not just in US dollars.
- inactive, on 02/07/2008, -1/+11I went to New York in September and I got the impression that a lot of the place was engineered to be for tourists, specifically those from abroad. I didn't think I got an accurate impression of what the USA was like from the city.
- computershack, on 02/07/2008, -0/+9Because say they buy something today that's $300 and they pay in Euros which is 205 Euros at todays rate. With the USD in freefall, if the retailer banks those Euros at the right time, they make more money for the same sale. For example,on 1/1/2008, a Euro got you $1.46 and two weeks later, the Euro got you just short of $1.49 so you've got the equivalent of 2% interest on that sale in just two weeks. How does that compare to the average annual interest rate on a bank account in the US? I know that some retailers work on very small profit margins and a 2% increase in those just for sitting on the cash a few days/weeks, would be well welcome.
- therealkdog, on 02/07/2008, -0/+9Wild guess here But i would assume that because the dollar is low at the moment there are more tourists coming to America. So businesses are offering some "incentive" by accepting Euro's. Im sure there are quite a few places in the world that take American dollars as payment as well.
- ghm101, on 02/07/2008, -2/+10I to do the Credit Card thing, but a lot of people still travel with Cash, the significant thing here with NY shops accepting Euros is that in part this is about the relative strength of the currency, with the dollar weak, people are reluctant to buy dollars as they percieve they may loose money on if the weaker currency further devalues. It is more about confidence in a currency than the actual amounts involved.
- BohicaTwentyTwo, on 02/07/2008, -2/+10Looks like NYC is experiencing a tourist boom. Good news for us.
- djg123, on 02/07/2008, -1/+8Us NYers are glad that its not like the rest of the US thanks...thats why we live here...
- bxblox, on 02/07/2008, -0/+7People who visit nyc dont usually get a feel for what the city is really like because they will mostly stay in areas near tourist attractions, and areas that are overrun with hipsters. Tourists rarely have a reason to go to brooklyn, the bronx, or even harlem, or believe the hype that its still the eighties and once you cross the bridge you will instantly be mugged. Theres a big range of experiences you could get from the city but its unlikely that someone would find it without being here for some time.
- ghm101, on 02/07/2008, -0/+7have you ever done math?
it is obvious you have never traveled. - MWeather, on 02/07/2008, -3/+10And you don't think the same is true of European tourists?
- josegutz, on 02/07/2008, -0/+6CLAMS accepted here...
- tehxen3, on 02/07/2008, -0/+6Actually some US online stores sell to european customers by simply putting EUR sign next to price which is same as in dollars, not by using actual exchange rates.
- clupean, on 02/07/2008, -0/+6We have here, in Spain, Travel Agencies advertising for flights to New York just to buy stuff cheaper and their slogan is "Because the Euro gives you more!". They've been doing this for more than 2 years, apparently it works.
- airburst, on 02/07/2008, -0/+5Exactly. It just seems like good business to accept any kind of money you can.
- mypreciousss, on 02/07/2008, -0/+5Why do you capitalize "credit card" and "cash"?
/grammarnazi - inactive, on 02/07/2008, -1/+6@foolsgold (ironic name lol!)
The euro has been around for 6 years, and its only now that the dollar is taking it in the ass that they are starting to accept Euros in NYC. This is MORE than coincidence. They didn't accept Euros for all those years when the dollar was doing ok did they?. Go figure it out. The dollar is dirt. I can see it sinking to ridiculous Banana Republic levels. - mjfitzge, on 02/07/2008, -0/+5ok then, my apologies. i guess i am just used to the euro being around $1.30 or so (i've only travelled recently) that the concept of someone willingly screwing themselves out of money like that is ridiculous to me. i guess i can understand how it would have happened awhile back when their values were nearly the same.
- mjfitzge, on 02/07/2008, -4/+9FAIL.
- KyleGoetz, on 02/07/2008, -0/+5It's good for everyone (well, in the US). It increases the amount of Euros on the world market (by having foreigners possessing Euros outside the EU), decreasing demand for Euros and lowering its value against the dollar. Basically, what this effectively does is function, economically, as if the item the EU citizen purchased was actually exported from the US to their country.
But the effect is extremely minute. - EarlOfLade, on 02/07/2008, -2/+7You ***** gold?
If not, how do you get it? Mine it yourself? - yaosio, on 02/07/2008, -6/+11Business are required to take US currency as payment, but they can accept other forms of payment.
- MarsSentinel, on 02/07/2008, -1/+6Would it be legal for my boss to pay me in Euro? IF I could spend them at Safeway then why would I care about Dollars? If the dollar keeps going down why dont we just start using Euro with each other? There is nothign magic about dollars. I mean, I buy and sell on eBay, I cold just start asking for Euro.
- dbarefoot, on 02/07/2008, -1/+6This is an incredibly lazy, poorly-researched article.
Sum total of businesses accepting Euros: 2
People interviewed for story: 2 (both shopkeepers)
Number of signs actually cited in the story: 0
Classic "let's manufacture a trend out of a bare minimum of facts". An old journalism strategy, and a shameless one. The story, on second look, is clearly manufactured by a PR professional. Note the final quote:
"So when I go back to Paris, I don't have to go through the nightmare of going to an exchange place."
Yeah, because:
a) Nobody's using bank machines when they go to Europe these days.
b) Currency exchanges are all nightmarish. Especially now, with the extreme lack of business. - philipl411, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4My wife, son, and I went to England and Amsterdam last summer. It was expensive but still affordable. I think we paid about $500 in US dollar for our hotel room per night. about $75 per meal for all three of us and $200 for tours and stuff. Our tickets cost about $1200 and we were there for 10 days. so it cost us about $10,000 for a once in a life time trip
- Rojahon, on 02/07/2008, -2/+6You're missing the point (and I think MrTonic is as well). When Gold or some other commodity is used for currency the money supply is strictly limited do to the scarcity of the given commodity. You're absolutely right that money has extra value other than what it can be used for as a commodity. This extra value comes from the fact that it is recognized as a common medium of exchange. The problem is when this extra value is attached to something which is not strictly and objectively limited, but can be created arbitrarily. This is something only possible through the coercion of government and gives a government an enormous power to manipulate the monetary supply to their benefit, which is never to the advantage of the common citizen. This is something Murray Rothbard talks about in "What Has Government Done to Our Money." The power that fiat currency gives a government provides no economic benefit and, in fact, is detrimental to the economy, due to its inherent inflationary tendencies.
- controlguy, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4That's the best point I've read on this entire forum.
- GOVATENT, on 02/07/2008, -1/+5so, they take dollars in a few places in other countries.
- Raider007, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4Don't know what the big deal is...
when I do foreign travel, almost every country i've been to takes the dollar at some store sooner or later...
Europe, South America, China, they've all accepted it if I ran out of the local currency - ghm101, on 02/07/2008, -1/+5you assume that USAToday is interested in what clinko gets up to.
- Yesplease, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4I think you've managed to say exactly what the article said, and yet somehow make it sound like something contradictory.
- jaymzdean, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4The Amero will be the solution. But don't wake up. Your government's got it all under control.
- tophu, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4Question: I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?
Answer: The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.
(From: http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal- ... - lnf69, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4Yes, I was wondering about that myself. I'll take into consideration and reread my comments. You're prolly right.
- controlguy, on 02/07/2008, -0/+4His statement is in response to the summary attached to the submission, not the article itself.
- MacEnvy, on 02/07/2008, -1/+4Considering the extreme rudeness with which you spoke to others in this comment thread, I'm not surprised the world seems impolite to you. Perhaps it's more a matter of the way you interact with others than anything else.
- AgentAce, on 02/07/2008, -0/+3I think spelling "lose" with an extra "o" is a more egregious offense to the English language than capitalizing "cash" and "credit card."
- BioTeq, on 02/07/2008, -1/+4That's because he didn't even bother to read the actual article...
- jjustice, on 02/07/2008, -0/+3Mark of the beast! Kirk Cameron, save me! ;-)
-
Show 51 - 100 of 188 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is