Thread: CULTURE DIFFERENCES I NEED HELP ON THIS

PC aside, I think that all the "how did I?" posts are immature. It does not make sense to ask that question *after* the purchase has been made unless one is feeling insecure about his recent actions and wants our endorsement that he did good in order to ease his stress.

The best answer is IMO either "I would not pay that money" or "I would buy for that price, too". You can not hurt anyone's feeling by saying that - they asked you about your opinion, did not they?

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I think that anyone who has posted or lurked on forums for a time learns that the wrong impression can easily be given through the keyboard. We all try to be gentleman and to be of help to each other when we can. At the same time since body language and facial expression don't come though the written page most people learn to choose their words carefully.

I happen to despise Dorco DE blades but I have seen some guys post about how great they are while Merkurs are lousy. I happen to like Merkur DE blades. A lot of this hobby is YMMV and who am I to tell the other guy that he paid too much or steer clear of this or that ? If it is really obvious such as a poster asking if he should buy a razor with obvious defects or one that is on the razors to avoid list in the Wiki then yes I wouldn't hesitate to pull his coat.

When we get into other areas such as which hone to use to set a bevel or which stroke is best what is right ? I have my preferences and others have theirs. I may voice an opinion in a general way but I won't presume that I am right and the other guy is wrong. I know many of the members will help the other guy when they feel they can but no one wants to step on toes either.

I think your answer is spot-on. Communication is limited on the internet.

Also, if one comes across as too declarative, they might end up looking like some others on other boards...

Jordan

I think all this started based on my recent thread concerning a coticule/BBW combo stone that I won on ebay and then asked if it was a good buy. Or at least, it was the thread that seems to have broken the camel's back on the topic.

Sparq nailed it on the head, though. It was a complete impulse buy, I know nothing of coticules or BBWs and I bought this thing anyway because ebay makes me crazy . I wanted to ease my mind about what I'd done. It turns out I paid a little too much, but I do feel better having had some people take a quick look at it and let me know where I stand. Knowing nothing about these stones, I appreciate some folks who do taking a quick peek to see what it's all about. Not only for price, but for anything else they may notice. I was a little concerned if one side might have been slate or not, and also was curious just how much I overpaid if at all. I had found some price references online, but they also stated that the stones like it were in short supply, so for all I knew, without calling them to see, they were hard to get your hands on which would up the value slightly.

I totally and completely appreciate Sham's response to my post where he was honest about how much was too much for the stone. I took no offense at all to it, and when I posted asking for people's opinions, I knew what to expect. I think he thought his response was out of line, but IMO it wasn't. He may have gotten the impression that his response would be out of line from the people's responses before his, because they weren't as blunt, but I did get the gist of it from their responses as well.

I personally think it is perfectly fine to tell people "yes you got a good deal" or "no you did not get a good deal" when they ask (as I did). I guess the grey area and culture differences may come in if someone doesn't ask, but you offer it up anyway.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

I think if someone comes in here and says i bought this or that is this a good deal ?
they are asking for help to find out what they have done right or wrong?

If they come in and ask before they purchase, then I will honestly appraise the razor's virtues and faults.

But if they come in after the purchase and ask the same question then there's no point being critical - it's over and done with and too late for him to make use of that information. What these guys are usually doing is trying to assuage their buyer's remorse. In that case I will generally just ignore the threads, or say as little as possible, unless they've bought a zeepk or something like that.

But I've seen razors with an apparently overhoned heel that turned out to have been made that way, and razors with cracks that turned out to be a stray hair lying on the blade when the pictures were taken. And I've seen apparently perfect razors with major chips that were hidden by clever staging, or chips that turned out to be dust on the bevel. You just never really know until you see it in person, and the one that gets that privilege is the purchaser, not me. And I've seen too many cases where a razor that I wouldn't have bid on at any price turns out to be halfway decent with a bit of cleaning. If the buyer turns out happy then good for him and my criticism of his choice will turn out out to have been wrong. And if the razor makes the buyer unhappy then that will be a learning experience for him, and though this would have validated my criticism it would also have made it unnecessary. And he can take the issue up with the seller and maybe get a refund and learn some more important life lessons.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

My qustion is why in SRP if someone makes mistake and none of us want to tell person you made mistake .This deal is bad etc etc.
Is this American Culture not to hurt person who made mistake.I want to understand this if anyone can explain to me i would appreciate.
My understanding is this
if person make mistake you have to be honest with it and say to that person.He / She will learn from it and future will be more careful ask questions etc .to do something.
Now in my culture it is not bad at all.
as everyone makes mistakes and learn from it doesn't matter how old are you or had experience.
IN srp PLease check any post which mention to person who has done mistake and another member point out my friend you have done bad deal?
shoot me People go head please

Personally, I welcome constructive criticism.
I certainly dont mind recieving criticism when I have limited knowledge.

To me, this is a good way to learn.