November 13, 2025 • 40 mins
Bradley had a question he proposed to the audience: Is it ok to order something from Amazon with the intention of using it and sending it back? Yes or no? We discussed online return etiquette and asked the audience what they do or have done regarding online orders.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's night time with Dan Ray.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm telling you Boston's news radio. All right, my friends,
it is so good to be radio.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
This next topic is well, it's my favorite type of
topic because it's not generated by the news for one thing,
It's generated by everyday experience that we all, every one
of us, have to have dealt with and in many
cases have had to make a decision is this right
(00:30):
or wrong? And so here we go. I'm going to
take a poll. This is very easy going. You can
just answer the poll yes, oh no, or you can
give a reason. Nor you can chat and hang out.
This is an excuse to chat. But I bet we
(00:50):
arrive at some answer here too. It's a Bradley J. Pole.
Here's the question, the poll question. It is morally wrong
to order something from say Amazon, with the intention of
using it and sending it back.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yes or no.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So if it's not morally wrong or no, it's absolutely okay.
Jeff Bezos will still have money for fuel for the
koru is five hundred million dollar four hundred and seventeen
foot sailing superadd when you hear that, it kind of
changes things, doesn't it. Maybe yes, maybe no. The generous
(01:39):
return policy makes people order far more freely than they otherwise.
Would I order all kinds of stuff that I would
never order if I was we're going to be on
the hook for keeping it, or if it was going
to be a hassle. Do you remember how it used
to be a hassle? Well, I'd like to return this?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Why?
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Because it doesn't work? All right, We're going to send
you on r M a code number, and it's going
to be a big pain. But it's mister b Jeff
Bezos decided. Hmm, I'm not going to make it a
pain for people. I'm going to make it easy. Okay,
that's a corporate decision. It's baked in, and I feel
(02:25):
like I don't know, but I feel like return costs
are baked in. They must know how many people returning stuff.
They must know that the amount is far higher than
the usual with the other kind of return policy and
y end plus if you pay an annual prime fee.
(02:48):
I don't know that kind of mitigates a moral problem
a little bit. Perhaps, now I'm not I'm not convinced
either way. I'm making this case for the sake of
the argument because I know how most of you feel,
So I'm kind of taking the opposite side. Is it
morally okay to order stuff on Amazon? And there are
gonna be levels of this too. Different depends on the
(03:11):
kinds of stuff which we'll go through. Is it morally
wrong to order it knowing you're gonna use it and
send it back? Like all right, I'm gonna plant a garden.
I'm gonna need a little spade. I'm gonna get it,
use it, plant the garden, rinse it off and send
it back.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Is that wrong? Is that morally wrong? Morally wrong? Now?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Now we we all you know, people of my age.
You know I came up in the seventies. We came
up with a certain moral code about that. But maybe
the paradigm has shifted such that it's not morally wrong
and the expected thing. And Jeff Bezos is like, haha,
(04:00):
of course, I know you guys are going to do that.
It's all baked in. Let me get on my yacht
now and take off when I say it that way,
is that assuays your moral guilt? So there's the prime
fee which I pay. Now, what about this? It's even
(04:22):
okay to return a personal item. I've thought this through
all the angles. What about a toothbrush, a personal hygiene
item like that a toothbrush. Is that morally wrong to
return a toothbrush? Some of you might think, oh, that
means that somebody else is going to get this toothbrush
(04:43):
and use it, and it's used. I don't know exactly
what happens to toothbrushes when you return them, but anything
in molded plastic packaging that you have to cut open,
I feel like it's going to cost am or to
repackage it, to have somebody go this is a toothbrush,
(05:05):
a human being taking time. This is a toothbrush. It's
got terms on it. You know, let's not repackage it,
or let's decide it's dirty or whatever. I feel like
it's cheaper for them. This is gonna throw it away.
I don't know the answer. Maybe you do six seven, five, four,
(05:27):
ten thirty. Isn't morally wrong to send stuff back? On
the other hand, yes it is. You might vote yes,
it is wrong. It's morally wrong. It's just wrong to
order something with the intent to use it and return it.
It's cheating, it's stealing. It's stealing the use of that item.
(05:51):
It's not fair play. It's just not fair. You entered
into or no, some sort of you may feel deal
the bargain where I'm going to give you this thing. No,
I'm going to give you this money and you're going
to give me this thing or this service, and to
send it back under the pretenses of which I'm speaking
would be morally wrong.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty. And by
the way, and I've done this topic with this version
of the topic before, tell me the wildest return you've
ever done like that as fire as you've pushed it.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I remember getting.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Getting a call from a gentleman who was very proud
and maybe it's perfectly legit that he would save the
warranty information on its vacuum cleaner and stuff like that
market in his calendar and like a month before the
warranty was up he'd send it back.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Is that wrong?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
They sell it saying, you know, send it back and
if they accept it, if they accept it, why isn't
it okay for you to to do that? It's part
of the grand system they have. And backup when it
(07:10):
comes to morality, can you explain what that morality is
based on? Somehow you're cheating Jeff beasils is that you
versus Jeff, because if so, Jeff's winning, Jeff's winning. You
paid for your toothbrush or your your Makitah drill or whatever,
(07:31):
and Jeff's cruising around in five hundred million dollar vote
because of the system he's created. It seems to me
that the system's baked in and I don't have I honestly,
I completely don't have a problem with finding any problem
(07:53):
with the product and sending it back. I will buy
stuff I would never bother to buy because if there's
anything I don't like about it at all, if it's
a turtleneck and the next two type, I'm sending it
back and I might even wear it a day to
find out that the turtle and neck neck is too tight. Happily,
(08:17):
I bought a turtle neck today, and if it's great
or a keychain, I get the Keyshaine. I just don't
like it. And that's generally in the past hasn't counted
for a reason to send stuff back.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I don't like it, so I send it back. What
do you think is that? Okay?
Speaker 1 (08:37):
I have to say that BESO set up a brand
new paradigm and within the workings of that it seems
to be working out that you get the return of stuff.
I kind of always feared that they'd say, Wow, this guy,
this guy down Boston, they're sure is turning a lot
(08:57):
of stuff. We're gonna shut him down. Clearly they don't care.
That's my And maybe you know something I don't know.
Do humans even look at it to see if the
package has been open?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Is it just robots?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
You know, they they may have reduced the human jobs, saying,
you know what, it's cheaper for us to just have
robots throw stuff away then for humans to look at
it and decide if it's been used or not. And
if that's the case, why should I sweat it?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
So I don't.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
It's a brave new world and there's a lot of
bad stuff. You know, I don't. I don't get to
talk to human you know, I'm talking to AI customer
service sometimes, you know, you at the pharmacy, you can't
get to get to a pharmacist on the phone.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
You have to get.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Shunted off to their prescription thing. You don't get to
talk to a human there. So there's a lot of
downsides in the world. But maybe the upside is that
is hey, the robots are doing it, and robusts don't care,
and Jeff still got his it's uh his yacht and
his ridiculous amount of money.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
And.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I don't And I think that's baked in. What do
you think we get a bunch of callers. I'm looking
forward to it. This is gonna be fun. I'd love
to hear something you have returned. Maybe you're a little
uh shady on it. Maybe you think, ooh, should I
have done that? I'm here to make you feel better
about it. And the most fun would be the wildest
(10:39):
thing you've returned. You think, ooh, maybe I shouldn't. Maybe
I shouldn't. Like maybe you got some mouthwash and use
it to gargo a couple of times and then send
it back minus two gargo.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Folks, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Tell me where you're at WBC, and we'll talk to
Eric and Attleborough and Joshua and Newton right after this.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
It's nice side with Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Okay, so eleven twenty, let's go right to Eric and
Attleborough and chat about the the ins and outs are
returning stuff and way you draw the line?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
How you doing?
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Eric, Hey, Bradley, it's good to talk to you. I'm
doing doing well. Thank you for taking my call. Of course,
I think well, first seconds, I was a kid when
I did this, and really it was I mean, I
take responsibility for it, but it you know, but it
(11:36):
it was really ridiculous. Nobody got physically hurt. But what
we did was we took like a we bought like
the first PlayStation at Walmart, and we put like this
was me and friends of mine like in the high
school or whatever, and we put like a broken like
like DVD player back in the box and then just
(11:57):
taped it up and then we went to return it
and know that, but put on an act like of
being so incredibly inconvenience to further, you know, just like
make the case for like, you know, not only you know,
I mean obviously it's returning a perfectly good, you know, expero.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
I'm so incensed you would sell me this awful thing.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Yeah and yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
So it's like by and by doing that, he got like,
uh like three months like complimentary service.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Complimentary service from this is like from uh that's by
I remember so like it. So I think this was
roughly ten twelve years ago, so you know, there's still
walking in places like that and uh, excuse me, not
best By. I'm sorry, it was Walmart. It was it
was Walmart. I was thinking of two separate things actually,
like because he did it with a computer too, that's
(12:55):
a whole different story.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
But this is the funny thing though.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
It's like he pumped it up so bad that at Walmart,
so that they did give.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Him like a ten dollars gift certificate for like his
game convenience, and he put on a whole show like
saying this is my son. He doesn't even have a son,
you know what I mean, And like they felt so bad.
But now like there is safe guys in place to
an extent at Walmart, for instance, where number one, And
(13:25):
like I know a little bit about this because I
work in this in the business of basically information, you know,
choke points like the real here and now at certain
places really dictate like what is what and it's important
in like loss prevention, asset protection. These things all are
downstream from the Starbine's Ox the Act in two thousand
(13:49):
and two that leads are the actual like physical procedures
that are done in at companies to make sure that
there's no misappropriation of assets and so on and so forth.
But anyway, you know, this is the thing though, is
that in this day and age, if someone tried to
do that trick, I mean, it would be not only
would like and thankfully because there's like serial you know,
(14:14):
specific serial numbers and like things that can't be you know,
seals that can't be broken, Like the sales transaction is
much more secure so that there's not a possibility of
a fraudulent item actually ever being sold in a box
presenting as the item as it is. But now where
we're at and I don't know, I know that you
(14:36):
touch on AI and stuff, you know, the consumer level
AI like claudio and chat TPT and rock and whatever
they're do it at Google and stuff like that, Like
those are just like little toys compared to like ever, frankly,
(14:57):
compared with the predictive you've seeing technology that's been available
uh since frankly since the passing of the US uh
the Patriot Act, right, which which you know, not in
a you know, conspiratorial like you know, seditious way, but
(15:18):
just you know what it did in fact, because I
actually working on a documentary about about this, is that
under the ostice of terrorism and and and terrorism that
word itself that's augmented like over the course of the
(15:40):
past twenty five years. But anyway, under the austice of
terrorism in essence, certain major you know, themes and just
like overall overarching meaning of the First Amendment and the
Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment and the sixth Amendment,
the Tenth Amendment have been completely like temp rarely used
(16:01):
there by the Patriot Act written by Michael Turtoff. I
might add two years prior, but I'm not going to
go down on that road. But but really what I
want to say is that you know, with you know,
everything like surveillance capital in this country is it is
(16:22):
that's the value that's in data. When people say that
data is the next oil, like that's I mean for
financial people, like I really have to understand what like
what is valuable about data? Well, valuable data about a person.
Let's say it is a person. Valuable data about that
(16:43):
person is like verifiable you know, like by many sources,
you know, like meaning by studying.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
Let's say it's a person that has an influential role
at a I'm just going to say a company like
like Fidelity Investments in you know, for the Boston area.
So like, if there's a person there that makes like
a like has heavy decision making authority, like the data
(17:15):
about that person is very valuable in predicting the future.
And I wonder if how hip you know? I'm sure,
I mean you know a lot about many things. And
but something that's just very fascinating today is this thing
called poly market, which is like a prediction to gambling
(17:39):
market in essence. In essence, yeah, I mean, like, I
mean that you can get like people gamble on like
there's an eighty two chance that the US will go
full neo con and like attack Venezuela's the regime champ,
Like I mean that can be waiters upon.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Now the fact that.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
That's even a thing, there's so many it's it's such
a sad commentary on our society itself.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Especially if they decided to rig that. What if somebody
what if somebody in power, say in in in had
to have money on it, and and and well they
to make money if they invested in it and stood
to make money by attacking that's like insider information to
make money.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Well that that well thingo because actually that's the whole
purpose of poly market is to actually in a sick
way because it's unregulated. It's no, it's not regulated by
the SEC. It's not, it's not.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
It's yet to be regulated.
Speaker 6 (18:43):
It really is a a quiet ah like uh, disruptive
weapon of.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
I'm trying to think, I want to use the right words.
It it's a it's a wealth extraction mechanism. That's what.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
That's the bottom line. That's what everything. That's the bottom
line is what everything's. So what you're saying is very interesting.
Like the president, a president could if they knew of
this betting market say yeah, I'm gonna put a million
bucks on we go into uh Venezuela and take it
over and then take it over.
Speaker 5 (19:25):
And and I know for a fact, I don't.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Know anyone in the administration or like in the military,
not not that level.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
But poly market.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Also, it's ever since like because Elon Musk like purchase
you know, Twitter, And now here's the thing that ties
into all this.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
It's like, what's what is it?
Speaker 4 (19:53):
I knew what Elon must wanted about Twitter, you know,
as far as the acquisition, I mean, there was some
predictive that we made when we got them, all right,
and I mean because we knew why he wanted to
buy it, Like, I mean he put on he put
(20:13):
for the sake of the culture wars and the sake
of you know, no toast politics like you know what
I mean, like red blue, tribal struggle politics, you know,
and frankly it's that would be a conversation for another day.
But I think it is has been remarkable in the
(20:34):
last two years, the acceleration of like it's the disintegration
of people like tribally.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
And like wholeheartedly aligning.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
With like either the quote left or the right based
on you know, based on the old adage of there's
a bundle of issues here, there's ten twelve issues and
in order to be you know, oncted on either the
left or the right in the parliamentarian you know, excuse me,
(21:06):
in the French parliamentarian style of republic democracy I guess,
or you know, in a democratic republic. But basically, what
I wanted to say about this, let me think it's
I mean, everything that you said is is tremendously correct
(21:31):
about I mean, politicians having plays in these polymarkets.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Yeah, but.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
They but it's not even that, it's it's it's the
it's the actual like entities that that carry out the
activities to make the thing happen. They have the inside
information that's going to happen.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
So like, you know, I must about Twitter because I
mean he put it out there for you know, culture.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Sharket and whatever. He said, I want to shut down
the woke mind virus.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
I mean, it was the it was the you know,
it wasn't like Twitter.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Like I I work in the realm of VC of
vc DC in the text sphere and also energy. I mean,
I'm pretty much retired from that, but I did keep
my like from ninety seven to about two thousand and nineteen,
like I really like keeping my ear to the ground
(22:27):
on the movement of this stuff has really been like
my job. And also like I do have like a
small online publication where I discuss these things. But anyway,
tell us, oh, I mean, I don't know if I
want to plug my own thing here.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Yeah, but I'm asking So it's okay.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
Okay, there are It was well Calculus of Decay dot com. However,
that was a word press blog I paid for and
it was like terminated for uh you know, in terms
(23:09):
of excuse me, like terms of peace violation. What did
you do?
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Wrong.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
What did you say wrong? Wow? You got terminated? Wow?
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Well this this was like, I mean, I had the
blog for like, uh six years or whatever, but this
was a couple of years ago.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
But I've actually.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
Reprinted it all on.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
To get terminated.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
Well, I mean a lot of people granted, like I said,
two years ago, this was but I mean, I mean,
you don't have.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
To tell me.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Yeah, I can tell you. No, I can definitely tell you.
I used colorful language because like but, but, but I
was politically incorrect for the sake of being politically incorrect,
which pretty much was the Maga credo, if you will.
A simple Maga America was to like mock like you know, LGBT,
but not in the like discuss derogatory way, but rather
(24:01):
in just like a like a mocking of the.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Way, like a satirical way.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Yeah, because ethnic and things are funny, because not because
they're hateful and.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Racist, but because they're true.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
It makes them funny, Like there's just things that are
there if.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
You haven't specific the idea. Yeah, I have to bring
I have to go now.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, okay, I didn't mean to ramble on,
but uh I just yeah, I did remble on a little.
See that's the thing that's changed in a lot of
things have changed in Boston. I don't know, it's it's
it's a different type of city. But like I guess
if I could just say this one last thing, just
sticking with uh, you know your example, I mean, keep
it you. I hope it would if we had a
(24:45):
high trust society, which would mean not fifty year mortgages, but.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Actually like like ah, interest.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Free loan to a newly married couple and for every
kid that they have, a quarter of the principle is
of that loan is is forgiven. Not we shouldn't, I
mean we do. We shouldn't have fifteen were car loans?
What car runs for fifteen years.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
We live in such a.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Poisonous, demonic, usurious society, and a lot of people on
the left and right I think have shattered out of that,
especially seeing the events that have that have been live,
you know, having a genocide live screen to like billions
of devices every day, like a lot of the shivoletts,
a lot of like the things that we were told
(25:31):
that the way that the world was we all know
no longer are, and we want to be able to
get back to a place where no one would even
have in their right mind to ever go and to
pull out some sort of goofy scam right like they're
turning a brick inside of the empty time.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
All right, I gotta go. I get the gist of it.
Thank you very very much. Eric, appreciate I do appreciate it.
And we'll get to Edwin and Weymouth next. On WBZI,
you Boston's news radio. Bradley Jay for Dan, I'm asking you,
do you think it's okay to use something and return
it to the place you bought it from. It could
(26:08):
be any any sort of big I'm talking big sellers,
but the easiest example, just to choose one would be Amazon.
And so here in order to and I'll get right
to get right to you in a moment Edward and Weymouth,
I thought I would tell you what happens when things
are returned to Amazon. And by the way, what's my
(26:30):
source chat GPT. Believe it or not. That depends on
how much you trust chatp GPT, but it seems pretty specific.
What happens when items are returned to Amazon. First it
goes to the Amazon Return Center, and then if it's
like new it may be resold if it's open about works.
(26:52):
Amazon resounds it has used and that I've never bought anything.
I've never bought anything used, but I see the option.
If it's damaged, liquidated in bulk, some items go back
to the manufacturer, and if it's truly unsellable it's recycled
(27:12):
or destroyed. Then there's the jackpot, the returnless refund. Everyone
said that happen, right. For some reason they go, nah,
never mind, probably because shipping it back is it costs
them more than it is worth. And so there you go.
(27:34):
Now we go to any anyone actually at six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
But right now we have Edward and women.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Hi, Edward, Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Man?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
How you doing? I'm doing well.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
That was a pretty interesting question. I mean, how do
you feel about the Amazon thing?
Speaker 2 (27:54):
All right?
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Well, it depends on the item. Give me an example
of an item. And when I say so, is it
an air condition, is it a toothbrush? Is it underwear?
Is it a blanket? You know, give me an idea
the personal level.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Let's make it something similar then. So, I mean, I'm
an audio engineer. I work in the audio industry, so
I mean you work in radio. Let's say, for example,
you buy let's just throw it out there like a
name brand high end microphone, right okay, and you take
it out and for example, like for you, let's say
(28:32):
I'm the audio engineer at a radio station. We set
it up, we try it out, and we go, you
know what, I don't think this complements your voice as well?
And we put it back in and it's just as new.
Do you think that that should be sold for if
not full but brand new used price? Where would you
level that?
Speaker 4 (28:50):
Let them do this.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
I don't care.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
I let them decide because, as you know, on Amazon,
you can click it says.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
New and not opened.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
It says open but not used, and it says eat
a little bit or something. And I would take a
look at it and see if it seems new?
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Did I reckon is it?
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Would anyone ever know that it was used? Would anyone
ever suffer? Would it not work one hundred percent for
anyone else that got it? I guess I'd say it
was new because it's I mean, what would you say?
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Right? Well, so let's say we took good care of it,
Like let's let's get a little bit.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
More specific a month.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Would you say, let's say we took it out the
box and we plugged it in, and we did an
A B test to the mic that you use right now,
and we did not like it, right, and we go
ahead and return it. So I deal with stuff like
this on the daily where it's used gear brand new,
like what level of it?
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I don't count that if you plugged it in you
didn't like it, I don't count that as used. I
mean just in five minutes ago.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Nah, that's no good. That's how would you know at all?
That's I don't think that's used.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
What would you call that mint condition? Though it's brand new,
but it's open box, so it has been plugged in,
being handled, no scratches, correct, right, Yeah, So you would
say this on the daily.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
You would say package opened, not used.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
Correct?
Speaker 3 (30:19):
In this consumer based economy that we live in right now,
would you say the value of that item, let's value
it at like twelve hundred dollars because it's brand new,
and we bought it for twelve hundred dollars right with
the taxes included in whatever. Because we opened it up,
we plugged it in, we tried it, we did not
(30:39):
like it. It is mint condition, brand new, no scratches,
no blemishes, has been used one time. Do you believe
that the value of something like that should go down
around two hundred, two hundred and fifty dollars just because
we took it out the package and plugged it in
and tried it in. It's in mint condition.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
It's interesting there.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Packaging does have a value if they could package it
up and sell it, if it's easy for them to
repackage it, then no, I don't. And and if they
say they they make the promise, Look, dude, buy it
if you don't like to send it back. I bought
it under those pretenses, so then I get to return it.
If they say, we really don't want you to return this,
(31:19):
if you open it and we're gonna make it.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
They make it super easy. They make it so easy.
As you know.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Now you don't even need a box for some a
lot of stuff you can just.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
You can almost return the item without the original box.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Correct, all right, and take it to you take it
to UPS.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
In many cases you take it to UPS just the thing,
not even in a box, not even with a return label.
You print out a QR code, you give them the code,
you give them the thing and you never see it again.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
So now let me ask you this. If we take
it outside of Amazon and we now, let's say you
bought it from Amazon, and let's say you go to
a local for example, this is what I do. Let's
say you go to a local audio and gear repair sales,
you know, et cetera place, and you go to try
to resell it with the value that's given and just
(32:10):
with what we got going on. And I mean, this
is my first time calling it, so I'm really trying
to pick your brain and see where the where you're at.
I think ahead, well, what do you think what direction
are we heading in? Do you think the value of
products just decreasing immediately is like the direction that we're
heading in?
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Or we were kind of already there. So you you're
talking about buying something and at Amazon, then taking it
into a local guy and he sells it as he
or she sells it as new, and you're wondering about
the morality of that.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
But let me ask you this, just because it's bought
at Amazon, do you think that because it's a secondhand
seller getting a name brand item, it should be decreased
in value because you're getting something from Amazon.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Should that the guy down on Moody Street or whoever, right, whomever?
Should they be able to sell it as new because
you just took it out of the box, plugged it
in once. And should that person be able to sell
it as new? And let's let's do this, let's do
the golden rule. If I bought it and found out
(33:17):
that somebody plugged it and once and put it in
a box, would I'd be bummed out. I wouldn't really
be bummed out, but I'd probably complain and try to
get something out of it.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
I think that you're.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
Let's say it goes up on the test bench and
it gets tests to spec factory spec, and it passes
with all flying colors? Is that morally wrong?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (33:43):
The box?
Speaker 1 (33:44):
The box is untorn, unbroken or anything.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
And this isnt okay?
Speaker 1 (33:49):
I mean, okay, this is such a great question. I
wish we had more time. If I had to, if
I had to be the judge, and I'm the judge
in the court and this is cases in court, I'm
gonna say, I'm gonna let the guys sell it as
new because it was open, it was really opened and tested,
not used. Correct.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
All?
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Right, I like, thank you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
I appreciate you for your time. Man, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Okay, thanks, You're very welcome.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And a great rest of the night. Brother.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Yeah, and I hope you had a positive experience and
you'll call again.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
It's great to be with you folks again. You know,
it's interesting I talked to some brand new colors that
I haven't heard as young actually younger callers, which is
which is quite interesting. And uh, just about six sixty
seven minutes left. This this is kind of a modern
day morality thing, whether it is and under what circumstances
(34:58):
it is okay to return stuff to I use Amazon
as a as an example, I guess because I use
Amazon probably more than I would, I feel guilty about it.
Here's why I feel guilty, And one of the reasons
is not that I feel guilty on not using a
(35:22):
smaller mom and pop store. Let me tell you a
little story. At some point, I thought, you know, I'm
going to start to use a mom and pop shop,
and I need an air conditioner. I need what do
you call the air conditioners that are used for sliding
windows casement air conditioner. So I did my research. Founder
I don't know. It might have been a Ken Moore,
(35:43):
can't be sure. And I am going to use a
local appliance store. I'm going to be a good doobie.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
And and do this. I'll do the hard work.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
I'll find one which is a pain, and i'll see
if they have it, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
So I called talk to the guy.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
And for one thing, the price was kind of, you know,
flexible and weird. It was kind of not shady, but uncertain.
Finally arrived at a price, and a week passed, and
a week passed, and some more time passed, and I
called up some other guy answered. I said, yeah, I'm
(36:32):
looking to see what's going on with this model x
y Z one two three four air conditioner. I said, oh,
who told you we had those? I said, Bob Smith.
He is, well, he shouldn't because, uh, you know, we don't.
(36:53):
They don't make those anymore. And so I was out
like three weeks of time. And of course it's getting
closer to this. It was a it was a waste
of time. Whereas and I actually don't think I got
it from Amazon. I think I got it from Walds
Walgreens maybe whereas free delivery and the Mama popped in
(37:15):
that free delivery. Maybe there's no such thing as a
free lunch or free delivery in the in the price
is baked in. But you know, humping the giant air
conditioner up three flights, the delivery matters. So it was
I did the Mama Pop store. It was a bad experience. However,
I will tell you when it comes to clothing, don't.
(37:38):
It's not good to buy clothing online unless it's super
easy to send back. But there's no way you can
tell how something looks. And I don't recommend buying clothing online.
I actually recommend buying vintage clothes. You can get a
way big bank, bigger bang for the buck I have.
(37:59):
I have many times failed. The fit just doesn't. You
never know how it's gonna fit, the materials too. Sometimes
the materials too thinsier, things are poking out. You don't
want to poke out. Sometimes it's too thick, Sometimes it
sleeves to you never know. You end up returning it's
a waste of time. So it's way better to go
(38:19):
in person and try something on. That includes hats as well,
but as far as and I don't like to admit
this because of the packaging. The packaging things a real,
real problem for me. But you know, if I'm honest,
I guess the guilt about the packaging is outweighed by
the convenience, and that makes me a bad person.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
The thing is when it comes to that, and now
we get in into the environment environnment, I guess my
final statement will.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
We'll have to do with the environment.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
No one seems to really care about it anyway, So
why should I go through the hassles?
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Because no, because it's not a thing.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
And if people really cared about the environment, every rooftop
and the commercial building would be a solar panel. Why
can't that happen? Until somebody explains it to me, I'll
just think we don't really have an interest in saving
the world. We don't have any interest in climate, we
don't have any interest in fossil fuel saving.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
You know, we talk a game.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
A few people are doing something, but if it's going
to work, everybody has to be on board, and they're not,
so there's no hope. In addition, even if everyone in
the United States were on board, China doesn't care. Big
huge swats of the world don't care. So there, you
(39:49):
know what, if nobody else cares, I'm gonna use that.
You know the people that send me and yeah, they
use extra packages because if nobody else cares, then I'm
gonna get mine.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Is that terrible? I've been brutally honest with you.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Maybe that makes me a goat, but maybe it may
also maybe it makes you feel better about yourself.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Look forward to talking to tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Emily Sweeney from The Boston Globe will join us and
talk about thirteen or creepy places you can visit in
New England. She's always a good guest. Can't wait to
talk to you tomorrow at eight pm on Nightside
It's night time with Dan Ray.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm telling you Boston's news radio. All right, my friends,
it is so good to be radio.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
This next topic is well, it's my favorite type of
topic because it's not generated by the news for one thing,
It's generated by everyday experience that we all, every one
of us, have to have dealt with and in many
cases have had to make a decision is this right
(00:30):
or wrong? And so here we go. I'm going to
take a poll. This is very easy going. You can
just answer the poll yes, oh no, or you can
give a reason. Nor you can chat and hang out.
This is an excuse to chat. But I bet we
(00:50):
arrive at some answer here too. It's a Bradley J. Pole.
Here's the question, the poll question. It is morally wrong
to order something from say Amazon, with the intention of
using it and sending it back.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yes or no.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So if it's not morally wrong or no, it's absolutely okay.
Jeff Bezos will still have money for fuel for the
koru is five hundred million dollar four hundred and seventeen
foot sailing superadd when you hear that, it kind of
changes things, doesn't it. Maybe yes, maybe no. The generous
(01:39):
return policy makes people order far more freely than they otherwise.
Would I order all kinds of stuff that I would
never order if I was we're going to be on
the hook for keeping it, or if it was going
to be a hassle. Do you remember how it used
to be a hassle? Well, I'd like to return this?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Why?
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Because it doesn't work? All right, We're going to send
you on r M a code number, and it's going
to be a big pain. But it's mister b Jeff
Bezos decided. Hmm, I'm not going to make it a
pain for people. I'm going to make it easy. Okay,
that's a corporate decision. It's baked in, and I feel
(02:25):
like I don't know, but I feel like return costs
are baked in. They must know how many people returning stuff.
They must know that the amount is far higher than
the usual with the other kind of return policy and
y end plus if you pay an annual prime fee.
(02:48):
I don't know that kind of mitigates a moral problem
a little bit. Perhaps, now I'm not I'm not convinced
either way. I'm making this case for the sake of
the argument because I know how most of you feel,
So I'm kind of taking the opposite side. Is it
morally okay to order stuff on Amazon? And there are
gonna be levels of this too. Different depends on the
(03:11):
kinds of stuff which we'll go through. Is it morally
wrong to order it knowing you're gonna use it and
send it back? Like all right, I'm gonna plant a garden.
I'm gonna need a little spade. I'm gonna get it,
use it, plant the garden, rinse it off and send
it back.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Is that wrong? Is that morally wrong? Morally wrong? Now?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Now we we all you know, people of my age.
You know I came up in the seventies. We came
up with a certain moral code about that. But maybe
the paradigm has shifted such that it's not morally wrong
and the expected thing. And Jeff Bezos is like, haha,
(04:00):
of course, I know you guys are going to do that.
It's all baked in. Let me get on my yacht
now and take off when I say it that way,
is that assuays your moral guilt? So there's the prime
fee which I pay. Now, what about this? It's even
(04:22):
okay to return a personal item. I've thought this through
all the angles. What about a toothbrush, a personal hygiene
item like that a toothbrush. Is that morally wrong to
return a toothbrush? Some of you might think, oh, that
means that somebody else is going to get this toothbrush
(04:43):
and use it, and it's used. I don't know exactly
what happens to toothbrushes when you return them, but anything
in molded plastic packaging that you have to cut open,
I feel like it's going to cost am or to
repackage it, to have somebody go this is a toothbrush,
(05:05):
a human being taking time. This is a toothbrush. It's
got terms on it. You know, let's not repackage it,
or let's decide it's dirty or whatever. I feel like
it's cheaper for them. This is gonna throw it away.
I don't know the answer. Maybe you do six seven, five, four,
(05:27):
ten thirty. Isn't morally wrong to send stuff back? On
the other hand, yes it is. You might vote yes,
it is wrong. It's morally wrong. It's just wrong to
order something with the intent to use it and return it.
It's cheating, it's stealing. It's stealing the use of that item.
(05:51):
It's not fair play. It's just not fair. You entered
into or no, some sort of you may feel deal
the bargain where I'm going to give you this thing. No,
I'm going to give you this money and you're going
to give me this thing or this service, and to
send it back under the pretenses of which I'm speaking
would be morally wrong.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty. And by
the way, and I've done this topic with this version
of the topic before, tell me the wildest return you've
ever done like that as fire as you've pushed it.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I remember getting.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Getting a call from a gentleman who was very proud
and maybe it's perfectly legit that he would save the
warranty information on its vacuum cleaner and stuff like that
market in his calendar and like a month before the
warranty was up he'd send it back.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Is that wrong?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
They sell it saying, you know, send it back and
if they accept it, if they accept it, why isn't
it okay for you to to do that? It's part
of the grand system they have. And backup when it
(07:10):
comes to morality, can you explain what that morality is
based on? Somehow you're cheating Jeff beasils is that you
versus Jeff, because if so, Jeff's winning, Jeff's winning. You
paid for your toothbrush or your your Makitah drill or whatever,
(07:31):
and Jeff's cruising around in five hundred million dollar vote
because of the system he's created. It seems to me
that the system's baked in and I don't have I honestly,
I completely don't have a problem with finding any problem
(07:53):
with the product and sending it back. I will buy
stuff I would never bother to buy because if there's
anything I don't like about it at all, if it's
a turtleneck and the next two type, I'm sending it
back and I might even wear it a day to
find out that the turtle and neck neck is too tight. Happily,
(08:17):
I bought a turtle neck today, and if it's great
or a keychain, I get the Keyshaine. I just don't
like it. And that's generally in the past hasn't counted
for a reason to send stuff back.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I don't like it, so I send it back. What
do you think is that? Okay?
Speaker 1 (08:37):
I have to say that BESO set up a brand
new paradigm and within the workings of that it seems
to be working out that you get the return of stuff.
I kind of always feared that they'd say, Wow, this guy,
this guy down Boston, they're sure is turning a lot
(08:57):
of stuff. We're gonna shut him down. Clearly they don't care.
That's my And maybe you know something I don't know.
Do humans even look at it to see if the
package has been open?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Is it just robots?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
You know, they they may have reduced the human jobs, saying,
you know what, it's cheaper for us to just have
robots throw stuff away then for humans to look at
it and decide if it's been used or not. And
if that's the case, why should I sweat it?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
So I don't.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
It's a brave new world and there's a lot of
bad stuff. You know, I don't. I don't get to
talk to human you know, I'm talking to AI customer
service sometimes, you know, you at the pharmacy, you can't
get to get to a pharmacist on the phone.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
You have to get.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Shunted off to their prescription thing. You don't get to
talk to a human there. So there's a lot of
downsides in the world. But maybe the upside is that
is hey, the robots are doing it, and robusts don't care,
and Jeff still got his it's uh his yacht and
his ridiculous amount of money.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
And.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I don't And I think that's baked in. What do
you think we get a bunch of callers. I'm looking
forward to it. This is gonna be fun. I'd love
to hear something you have returned. Maybe you're a little
uh shady on it. Maybe you think, ooh, should I
have done that? I'm here to make you feel better
about it. And the most fun would be the wildest
(10:39):
thing you've returned. You think, ooh, maybe I shouldn't. Maybe
I shouldn't. Like maybe you got some mouthwash and use
it to gargo a couple of times and then send
it back minus two gargo.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Folks, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Tell me where you're at WBC, and we'll talk to
Eric and Attleborough and Joshua and Newton right after this.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
It's nice side with Boston's news radio.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Okay, so eleven twenty, let's go right to Eric and
Attleborough and chat about the the ins and outs are
returning stuff and way you draw the line?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
How you doing?
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Eric, Hey, Bradley, it's good to talk to you. I'm
doing doing well. Thank you for taking my call. Of course,
I think well, first seconds, I was a kid when
I did this, and really it was I mean, I
take responsibility for it, but it you know, but it
(11:36):
it was really ridiculous. Nobody got physically hurt. But what
we did was we took like a we bought like
the first PlayStation at Walmart, and we put like this
was me and friends of mine like in the high
school or whatever, and we put like a broken like
like DVD player back in the box and then just
(11:57):
taped it up and then we went to return it
and know that, but put on an act like of
being so incredibly inconvenience to further, you know, just like
make the case for like, you know, not only you know,
I mean obviously it's returning a perfectly good, you know, expero.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
I'm so incensed you would sell me this awful thing.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Yeah and yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
So it's like by and by doing that, he got like,
uh like three months like complimentary service.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Complimentary service from this is like from uh that's by
I remember so like it. So I think this was
roughly ten twelve years ago, so you know, there's still
walking in places like that and uh, excuse me, not
best By. I'm sorry, it was Walmart. It was it
was Walmart. I was thinking of two separate things actually,
like because he did it with a computer too, that's
(12:55):
a whole different story.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
But this is the funny thing though.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
It's like he pumped it up so bad that at Walmart,
so that they did give.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Him like a ten dollars gift certificate for like his
game convenience, and he put on a whole show like
saying this is my son. He doesn't even have a son,
you know what I mean, And like they felt so bad.
But now like there is safe guys in place to
an extent at Walmart, for instance, where number one, And
(13:25):
like I know a little bit about this because I
work in this in the business of basically information, you know,
choke points like the real here and now at certain
places really dictate like what is what and it's important
in like loss prevention, asset protection. These things all are
downstream from the Starbine's Ox the Act in two thousand
(13:49):
and two that leads are the actual like physical procedures
that are done in at companies to make sure that
there's no misappropriation of assets and so on and so forth.
But anyway, you know, this is the thing though, is
that in this day and age, if someone tried to
do that trick, I mean, it would be not only
would like and thankfully because there's like serial you know,
(14:14):
specific serial numbers and like things that can't be you know,
seals that can't be broken, Like the sales transaction is
much more secure so that there's not a possibility of
a fraudulent item actually ever being sold in a box
presenting as the item as it is. But now where
we're at and I don't know, I know that you
(14:36):
touch on AI and stuff, you know, the consumer level
AI like claudio and chat TPT and rock and whatever
they're do it at Google and stuff like that, Like
those are just like little toys compared to like ever, frankly,
(14:57):
compared with the predictive you've seeing technology that's been available
uh since frankly since the passing of the US uh
the Patriot Act, right, which which you know, not in
a you know, conspiratorial like you know, seditious way, but
(15:18):
just you know what it did in fact, because I
actually working on a documentary about about this, is that
under the ostice of terrorism and and and terrorism that
word itself that's augmented like over the course of the
(15:40):
past twenty five years. But anyway, under the austice of
terrorism in essence, certain major you know, themes and just
like overall overarching meaning of the First Amendment and the
Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment and the sixth Amendment,
the Tenth Amendment have been completely like temp rarely used
(16:01):
there by the Patriot Act written by Michael Turtoff. I
might add two years prior, but I'm not going to
go down on that road. But but really what I
want to say is that you know, with you know,
everything like surveillance capital in this country is it is
(16:22):
that's the value that's in data. When people say that
data is the next oil, like that's I mean for
financial people, like I really have to understand what like
what is valuable about data? Well, valuable data about a person.
Let's say it is a person. Valuable data about that
(16:43):
person is like verifiable you know, like by many sources,
you know, like meaning by studying.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
Let's say it's a person that has an influential role
at a I'm just going to say a company like
like Fidelity Investments in you know, for the Boston area.
So like, if there's a person there that makes like
a like has heavy decision making authority, like the data
(17:15):
about that person is very valuable in predicting the future.
And I wonder if how hip you know? I'm sure,
I mean you know a lot about many things. And
but something that's just very fascinating today is this thing
called poly market, which is like a prediction to gambling
(17:39):
market in essence. In essence, yeah, I mean, like, I
mean that you can get like people gamble on like
there's an eighty two chance that the US will go
full neo con and like attack Venezuela's the regime champ,
Like I mean that can be waiters upon.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
Now the fact that.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
That's even a thing, there's so many it's it's such
a sad commentary on our society itself.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Especially if they decided to rig that. What if somebody
what if somebody in power, say in in in had
to have money on it, and and and well they
to make money if they invested in it and stood
to make money by attacking that's like insider information to
make money.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Well that that well thingo because actually that's the whole
purpose of poly market is to actually in a sick
way because it's unregulated. It's no, it's not regulated by
the SEC. It's not, it's not.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
It's yet to be regulated.
Speaker 6 (18:43):
It really is a a quiet ah like uh, disruptive
weapon of.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
I'm trying to think, I want to use the right words.
It it's a it's a wealth extraction mechanism. That's what.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
That's the bottom line. That's what everything. That's the bottom
line is what everything's. So what you're saying is very interesting.
Like the president, a president could if they knew of
this betting market say yeah, I'm gonna put a million
bucks on we go into uh Venezuela and take it
over and then take it over.
Speaker 5 (19:25):
And and I know for a fact, I don't.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Know anyone in the administration or like in the military,
not not that level.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
But poly market.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Also, it's ever since like because Elon Musk like purchase
you know, Twitter, And now here's the thing that ties
into all this.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
It's like, what's what is it?
Speaker 4 (19:53):
I knew what Elon must wanted about Twitter, you know,
as far as the acquisition, I mean, there was some
predictive that we made when we got them, all right,
and I mean because we knew why he wanted to
buy it, Like, I mean he put on he put
(20:13):
for the sake of the culture wars and the sake
of you know, no toast politics like you know what
I mean, like red blue, tribal struggle politics, you know,
and frankly it's that would be a conversation for another day.
But I think it is has been remarkable in the
(20:34):
last two years, the acceleration of like it's the disintegration
of people like tribally.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
And like wholeheartedly aligning.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
With like either the quote left or the right based
on you know, based on the old adage of there's
a bundle of issues here, there's ten twelve issues and
in order to be you know, oncted on either the
left or the right in the parliamentarian you know, excuse me,
(21:06):
in the French parliamentarian style of republic democracy I guess,
or you know, in a democratic republic. But basically, what
I wanted to say about this, let me think it's
I mean, everything that you said is is tremendously correct
(21:31):
about I mean, politicians having plays in these polymarkets.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Yeah, but.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
They but it's not even that, it's it's it's the
it's the actual like entities that that carry out the
activities to make the thing happen. They have the inside
information that's going to happen.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
So like, you know, I must about Twitter because I
mean he put it out there for you know, culture.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Sharket and whatever. He said, I want to shut down
the woke mind virus.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
I mean, it was the it was the you know,
it wasn't like Twitter.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Like I I work in the realm of VC of
vc DC in the text sphere and also energy. I mean,
I'm pretty much retired from that, but I did keep
my like from ninety seven to about two thousand and nineteen,
like I really like keeping my ear to the ground
(22:27):
on the movement of this stuff has really been like
my job. And also like I do have like a
small online publication where I discuss these things. But anyway,
tell us, oh, I mean, I don't know if I
want to plug my own thing here.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Yeah, but I'm asking So it's okay.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
Okay, there are It was well Calculus of Decay dot com. However,
that was a word press blog I paid for and
it was like terminated for uh you know, in terms
(23:09):
of excuse me, like terms of peace violation. What did
you do?
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Wrong.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
What did you say wrong? Wow? You got terminated? Wow?
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Well this this was like, I mean, I had the
blog for like, uh six years or whatever, but this
was a couple of years ago.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
But I've actually.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
Reprinted it all on.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
To get terminated.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
Well, I mean a lot of people granted, like I said,
two years ago, this was but I mean, I mean,
you don't have.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
To tell me.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Yeah, I can tell you. No, I can definitely tell you.
I used colorful language because like but, but, but I
was politically incorrect for the sake of being politically incorrect,
which pretty much was the Maga credo, if you will.
A simple Maga America was to like mock like you know, LGBT,
but not in the like discuss derogatory way, but rather
(24:01):
in just like a like a mocking of the.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Way, like a satirical way.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Yeah, because ethnic and things are funny, because not because
they're hateful and.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Racist, but because they're true.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
It makes them funny, Like there's just things that are
there if.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
You haven't specific the idea. Yeah, I have to bring
I have to go now.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, okay, I didn't mean to ramble on,
but uh I just yeah, I did remble on a little.
See that's the thing that's changed in a lot of
things have changed in Boston. I don't know, it's it's
it's a different type of city. But like I guess
if I could just say this one last thing, just
sticking with uh, you know your example, I mean, keep
it you. I hope it would if we had a
(24:45):
high trust society, which would mean not fifty year mortgages, but.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Actually like like ah, interest.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Free loan to a newly married couple and for every
kid that they have, a quarter of the principle is
of that loan is is forgiven. Not we shouldn't, I
mean we do. We shouldn't have fifteen were car loans?
What car runs for fifteen years.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
We live in such a.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Poisonous, demonic, usurious society, and a lot of people on
the left and right I think have shattered out of that,
especially seeing the events that have that have been live,
you know, having a genocide live screen to like billions
of devices every day, like a lot of the shivoletts,
a lot of like the things that we were told
(25:31):
that the way that the world was we all know
no longer are, and we want to be able to
get back to a place where no one would even
have in their right mind to ever go and to
pull out some sort of goofy scam right like they're
turning a brick inside of the empty time.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
All right, I gotta go. I get the gist of it.
Thank you very very much. Eric, appreciate I do appreciate it.
And we'll get to Edwin and Weymouth next. On WBZI,
you Boston's news radio. Bradley Jay for Dan, I'm asking you,
do you think it's okay to use something and return
it to the place you bought it from. It could
(26:08):
be any any sort of big I'm talking big sellers,
but the easiest example, just to choose one would be Amazon.
And so here in order to and I'll get right
to get right to you in a moment Edward and Weymouth,
I thought I would tell you what happens when things
are returned to Amazon. And by the way, what's my
(26:30):
source chat GPT. Believe it or not. That depends on
how much you trust chatp GPT, but it seems pretty specific.
What happens when items are returned to Amazon. First it
goes to the Amazon Return Center, and then if it's
like new it may be resold if it's open about works.
(26:52):
Amazon resounds it has used and that I've never bought anything.
I've never bought anything used, but I see the option.
If it's damaged, liquidated in bulk, some items go back
to the manufacturer, and if it's truly unsellable it's recycled
(27:12):
or destroyed. Then there's the jackpot, the returnless refund. Everyone
said that happen, right. For some reason they go, nah,
never mind, probably because shipping it back is it costs
them more than it is worth. And so there you go.
(27:34):
Now we go to any anyone actually at six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
But right now we have Edward and women.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
Hi, Edward, Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Man?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
How you doing? I'm doing well.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
That was a pretty interesting question. I mean, how do
you feel about the Amazon thing?
Speaker 2 (27:54):
All right?
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Well, it depends on the item. Give me an example
of an item. And when I say so, is it
an air condition, is it a toothbrush? Is it underwear?
Is it a blanket? You know, give me an idea
the personal level.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Let's make it something similar then. So, I mean, I'm
an audio engineer. I work in the audio industry, so
I mean you work in radio. Let's say, for example,
you buy let's just throw it out there like a
name brand high end microphone, right okay, and you take
it out and for example, like for you, let's say
(28:32):
I'm the audio engineer at a radio station. We set
it up, we try it out, and we go, you
know what, I don't think this complements your voice as well?
And we put it back in and it's just as new.
Do you think that that should be sold for if
not full but brand new used price? Where would you
level that?
Speaker 4 (28:50):
Let them do this.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
I don't care.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
I let them decide because, as you know, on Amazon,
you can click it says.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
New and not opened.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
It says open but not used, and it says eat
a little bit or something. And I would take a
look at it and see if it seems new?
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Did I reckon is it?
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Would anyone ever know that it was used? Would anyone
ever suffer? Would it not work one hundred percent for
anyone else that got it? I guess I'd say it
was new because it's I mean, what would you say?
Speaker 3 (29:21):
Right? Well, so let's say we took good care of it,
Like let's let's get a little bit.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
More specific a month.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Would you say, let's say we took it out the
box and we plugged it in, and we did an
A B test to the mic that you use right now,
and we did not like it, right, and we go
ahead and return it. So I deal with stuff like
this on the daily where it's used gear brand new,
like what level of it?
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I don't count that if you plugged it in you
didn't like it, I don't count that as used. I
mean just in five minutes ago.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Nah, that's no good. That's how would you know at all?
That's I don't think that's used.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
What would you call that mint condition? Though it's brand new,
but it's open box, so it has been plugged in,
being handled, no scratches, correct, right, Yeah, So you would
say this on the daily.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
You would say package opened, not used.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
Correct?
Speaker 3 (30:19):
In this consumer based economy that we live in right now,
would you say the value of that item, let's value
it at like twelve hundred dollars because it's brand new,
and we bought it for twelve hundred dollars right with
the taxes included in whatever. Because we opened it up,
we plugged it in, we tried it, we did not
(30:39):
like it. It is mint condition, brand new, no scratches,
no blemishes, has been used one time. Do you believe
that the value of something like that should go down
around two hundred, two hundred and fifty dollars just because
we took it out the package and plugged it in
and tried it in. It's in mint condition.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
It's interesting there.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Packaging does have a value if they could package it
up and sell it, if it's easy for them to
repackage it, then no, I don't. And and if they
say they they make the promise, Look, dude, buy it
if you don't like to send it back. I bought
it under those pretenses, so then I get to return it.
If they say, we really don't want you to return this,
(31:19):
if you open it and we're gonna make it.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
They make it super easy. They make it so easy.
As you know.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Now you don't even need a box for some a
lot of stuff you can just.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
You can almost return the item without the original box.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Correct, all right, and take it to you take it
to UPS.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
In many cases you take it to UPS just the thing,
not even in a box, not even with a return label.
You print out a QR code, you give them the code,
you give them the thing and you never see it again.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
So now let me ask you this. If we take
it outside of Amazon and we now, let's say you
bought it from Amazon, and let's say you go to
a local for example, this is what I do. Let's
say you go to a local audio and gear repair sales,
you know, et cetera place, and you go to try
to resell it with the value that's given and just
(32:10):
with what we got going on. And I mean, this
is my first time calling it, so I'm really trying
to pick your brain and see where the where you're at.
I think ahead, well, what do you think what direction
are we heading in? Do you think the value of
products just decreasing immediately is like the direction that we're
heading in?
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Or we were kind of already there. So you you're
talking about buying something and at Amazon, then taking it
into a local guy and he sells it as he
or she sells it as new, and you're wondering about
the morality of that.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
But let me ask you this, just because it's bought
at Amazon, do you think that because it's a secondhand
seller getting a name brand item, it should be decreased
in value because you're getting something from Amazon.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Should that the guy down on Moody Street or whoever, right, whomever?
Should they be able to sell it as new because
you just took it out of the box, plugged it
in once. And should that person be able to sell
it as new? And let's let's do this, let's do
the golden rule. If I bought it and found out
(33:17):
that somebody plugged it and once and put it in
a box, would I'd be bummed out. I wouldn't really
be bummed out, but I'd probably complain and try to
get something out of it.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
I think that you're.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
Let's say it goes up on the test bench and
it gets tests to spec factory spec, and it passes
with all flying colors? Is that morally wrong?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (33:43):
The box?
Speaker 1 (33:44):
The box is untorn, unbroken or anything.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
And this isnt okay?
Speaker 1 (33:49):
I mean, okay, this is such a great question. I
wish we had more time. If I had to, if
I had to be the judge, and I'm the judge
in the court and this is cases in court, I'm
gonna say, I'm gonna let the guys sell it as
new because it was open, it was really opened and tested,
not used. Correct.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
All?
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Right, I like, thank you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
I appreciate you for your time. Man, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Okay, thanks, You're very welcome.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And a great rest of the night. Brother.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Yeah, and I hope you had a positive experience and
you'll call again.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
It's great to be with you folks again. You know,
it's interesting I talked to some brand new colors that
I haven't heard as young actually younger callers, which is
which is quite interesting. And uh, just about six sixty
seven minutes left. This this is kind of a modern
day morality thing, whether it is and under what circumstances
(34:58):
it is okay to return stuff to I use Amazon
as a as an example, I guess because I use
Amazon probably more than I would, I feel guilty about it.
Here's why I feel guilty, And one of the reasons
is not that I feel guilty on not using a
(35:22):
smaller mom and pop store. Let me tell you a
little story. At some point, I thought, you know, I'm
going to start to use a mom and pop shop,
and I need an air conditioner. I need what do
you call the air conditioners that are used for sliding
windows casement air conditioner. So I did my research. Founder
I don't know. It might have been a Ken Moore,
(35:43):
can't be sure. And I am going to use a
local appliance store. I'm going to be a good doobie.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
And and do this. I'll do the hard work.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
I'll find one which is a pain, and i'll see
if they have it, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
So I called talk to the guy.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
And for one thing, the price was kind of, you know,
flexible and weird. It was kind of not shady, but uncertain.
Finally arrived at a price, and a week passed, and
a week passed, and some more time passed, and I
called up some other guy answered. I said, yeah, I'm
(36:32):
looking to see what's going on with this model x
y Z one two three four air conditioner. I said, oh,
who told you we had those? I said, Bob Smith.
He is, well, he shouldn't because, uh, you know, we don't.
(36:53):
They don't make those anymore. And so I was out
like three weeks of time. And of course it's getting
closer to this. It was a it was a waste
of time. Whereas and I actually don't think I got
it from Amazon. I think I got it from Walds
Walgreens maybe whereas free delivery and the Mama popped in
(37:15):
that free delivery. Maybe there's no such thing as a
free lunch or free delivery in the in the price
is baked in. But you know, humping the giant air
conditioner up three flights, the delivery matters. So it was
I did the Mama Pop store. It was a bad experience. However,
I will tell you when it comes to clothing, don't.
(37:38):
It's not good to buy clothing online unless it's super
easy to send back. But there's no way you can
tell how something looks. And I don't recommend buying clothing online.
I actually recommend buying vintage clothes. You can get a
way big bank, bigger bang for the buck I have.
(37:59):
I have many times failed. The fit just doesn't. You
never know how it's gonna fit, the materials too. Sometimes
the materials too thinsier, things are poking out. You don't
want to poke out. Sometimes it's too thick, Sometimes it
sleeves to you never know. You end up returning it's
a waste of time. So it's way better to go
(38:19):
in person and try something on. That includes hats as well,
but as far as and I don't like to admit
this because of the packaging. The packaging things a real,
real problem for me. But you know, if I'm honest,
I guess the guilt about the packaging is outweighed by
the convenience, and that makes me a bad person.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
The thing is when it comes to that, and now
we get in into the environment environnment, I guess my
final statement will.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
We'll have to do with the environment.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
No one seems to really care about it anyway, So
why should I go through the hassles?
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Because no, because it's not a thing.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
And if people really cared about the environment, every rooftop
and the commercial building would be a solar panel. Why
can't that happen? Until somebody explains it to me, I'll
just think we don't really have an interest in saving
the world. We don't have any interest in climate, we
don't have any interest in fossil fuel saving.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
You know, we talk a game.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
A few people are doing something, but if it's going
to work, everybody has to be on board, and they're not,
so there's no hope. In addition, even if everyone in
the United States were on board, China doesn't care. Big
huge swats of the world don't care. So there, you
(39:49):
know what, if nobody else cares, I'm gonna use that.
You know the people that send me and yeah, they
use extra packages because if nobody else cares, then I'm
gonna get mine.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Is that terrible? I've been brutally honest with you.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Maybe that makes me a goat, but maybe it may
also maybe it makes you feel better about yourself.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
Look forward to talking to tomorrow night.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Emily Sweeney from The Boston Globe will join us and
talk about thirteen or creepy places you can visit in
New England. She's always a good guest. Can't wait to
talk to you tomorrow at eight pm on Nightside
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