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Buying basses with credit [poll]

How do you pay for gear?

  • Pay in full.

  • Credit card & get the reward points!

  • 0% financing. Just be sure to pay it off on time.

  • Finance it. Interest is the price of GAS.

  • Barter with carrots.

Results are only viewable after voting.
#81
So, I won't buy anything on high-interest credit, but if I'm GASing, I'll use Sweetwater / MusiciansFriend 36/48 months. I never *don't* have enough cash on hand to pay off the card, but gear at 0%, financed responsibly, doesn't bother me.

In fact, with inflation where it is right now and the price of stuff getting astronomically higher, I feel like it's wiser to buy something at 0% now, before a 20% price hike, rather than wait until you have the cash and it goes up... as long as you're buying responsibly and not over-leveraging yourself.

Edit: FWIW, other than student loans, my wife and I are debt-free other than a small car payment (her old car was totaled last year), and about $100 a month on my end for some gear I financed...literally don't even have a house payment right now... but, like I said, we're sitting on enough cash to pay off that threefold, should we have to for some inexplicable reason... while the interest we have in our higher yield money market account isn't going to let us retire, it's making more money than my Sweetwater card is costing us.
 
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#84
I used to extend my lifestyle with a credit card and pay interest.
Then I saw how they did with an alcoholic friend of mine, doubling his limit after he maxed out his $5K in a month at the bar. Pretty soon the guy who would stress over a $35 bank fee had a $400/mo minimum payment. He defaulted of course. That was right around the time of the housing bubble and the huge bailouts. Right around the time I got declined for a medical loan.
Somehow the whole thing just didn't sit well with me.
I use my card all the time, but haven't paid a nickel in credit card interest since 2009. (Weep not for them - they still get a cut from the merchants.)
 
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#87
mrperkolator said:
But how much extra are you paying in intrest, fees, etc. for each transaction? (for privacy reasons dont answer!)

In general, businesses would not stay in business by giving their customers more than they make. So I'd take a bet you're giving them $2k in fees/interest. I don't know your specifics, I'm just talking from general knowledge of how a balance sheet works. I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
So, I don't know if this has been answered (I immediately started replying to your comment when I saw it in the thread), but the truth is... people who are diligent about how they utilize credit cards can, in fact, profit on them.

Similar to the way insurance companies work by hedging their bets that the majority of people won't get sick... credit card companies hedge their bets that the majority of folks will: a) carry a balance and pay high interest, b) miss payments and have to pay fees, c) generally not utilize their rewards programs well. Look up credit card churning sometime. There are people that make, literally, thousands of dollars or earn millions and millions of rewards miles by gaming the system that credit card companies have in place.

For every person that plays their cards right when it comes to credit cards, there are a handful of people that totally mess up and end up spending hundreds, if not thousands, in fees.
 
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#88
dfreeland83 said:
So, I don't know if this has been answered (I immediately started replying to your comment when I saw it in the thread), but the truth is... people who are diligent about how they utilize credit cards can, in fact, profit on them.

Similar to the way insurance companies work by hedging their bets that the majority of people won't get sick... credit card companies hedge their bets that the majority of folks will: a) carry a balance and pay high interest, b) miss payments and have to pay fees, c) generally not utilize their rewards programs well. Look up credit card churning sometime. There are people that make, literally, thousands of dollars or earn millions and millions of rewards miles by gaming the system that credit card companies have in place.
Click to expand...
Yes! What you’re talking about is “The Law of Large Numbers.” Those credit card companies lose money on me. But they certainly make it up from the folks who pay 24.9% compound interest (Given the money mistakes of my youth, I’m sure I’ve still paid more than I’ve made… :rollno:).
 
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#89
If people didn't buy things on credit there would be no things to buy because businesses would dry up for lack of customers. Places like Sweetwater etc...that offer 0% are eating that interest. You think Syncrony Bank who issues that Sweetwater card aren't making money from Sweetwater? They're not doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.
 
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#90
dfreeland83 said:
So, I don't know if this has been answered (I immediately started replying to your comment when I saw it in the thread), but the truth is... people who are diligent about how they utilize credit cards can, in fact, profit on them.

Similar to the way insurance companies work by hedging their bets that the majority of people won't get sick... credit card companies hedge their bets that the majority of folks will: a) carry a balance and pay high interest, b) miss payments and have to pay fees, c) generally not utilize their rewards programs well. Look up credit card churning sometime. There are people that make, literally, thousands of dollars or earn millions and millions of rewards miles by gaming the system that credit card companies have in place.

For every person that plays their cards right when it comes to credit cards, there are a handful of people that totally mess up and end up spending hundreds, if not thousands, in fees.
Click to expand...
CC companies have taken measures to stop this practice, or at least make it more difficult though:

upload_2022-4-6_0-25-50.png
 
#94
I carry no debt other for anything, no mortgage, no car payments, other than a monthly credit card bill mostly for groceries that gets paid every month. I rarely rarely buy gear (Did I mention rarely?) but when I recently bought an amp on sale, I paid with a credit card.
 
#95
I did finance music gear for a long time. More than I really needed in terms of gear.

I don't do it any longer, fortunately, but it was not easy getting rid of my debt and I wouldn't want to be dismissive or condescending about it to younger people or those with more obligations than I had.

If you have to do it , just try to be minimalist about your gear and be careful about the psychological effect of forums like this where people compare stuff and reinforce each others tastes and desires. And don't use extremely high interest credit like GC cards or Paypal credit.
 
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#97
When I decided to take up bass last year, it sure was a good feeling to be able to purchase something nice and not sweat it. I hope all of you can experience that.

After years of doing what it takes to raise a family, save, and put the kid through school it has not always been like that. Maybe it is just me, but it makes the notes sound a little sweeter too. :)
 
#99
If you are good at money management and you need an instrument, 0% APR is a reasonable option, in my opinion. I thought about it when I was going to buy a Spector. If you can't do it in 6 months then that is too much.
 

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