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Poll Finds More Than Half Americans Take Out Loans To Buy iGadgets
Ahead of Wednesday's mega-launch of the all-singing, all-dancing, all-happy-ending-providing (rumor) iPhone 5, the stunning reality is that a recent poll (via CouponCodes4U) found that 81% of consumers admitted they could not keep up with the latest and greatest from Apple - and worse still that 51% used credit to buy one of the must-have iDevices.
As The Street notes, the findings of the survey show "the crazy lengths people will go to be the first person to have the latest iPhone of iPad" and the pollster was "shocked and very surprised about how many Americans freely admit that they are willing to spend their way into debt by buying Apple gadgets that they simply cannot afford."
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"51% used credit to buy one of the must-have iDevices"
Natural selection at work.
debt slaves!
Marx called it best: The fetishization of commodities. He was right - about that.
Long repo men and repo markets.
Lizard Lick Towing
Booyah!
That number may include credit cards. I do that, but then pay my bills.
iGadgets are <$1000
how about iMansions for $500,000+ on a loan?
that's called mortgage.
who do you know buys homes for cash besides some old Asian immigrants.
LOL this is worse the even I imagined.
Does this not scream "CULT"??????
nah, must just be me.
loans for iphones is a sucker's deal
kidneys are where it's at
in south america we ALL buy our homes in cash.
Yep, ever watch the strange look people give you when you hand them 5 Franklins for something? They think you are trying to pass funny bunny money. Not withstanding the fact that it was counterfieted by the Fed, it sort of isn't. I told the last person I handed a Franklin to to think of it as a $10 bill from 1970. That is all they are worth these days.
Funny how everyone panics when you hand them a $100, but nobody looks twice when you give tham a stack of $20's.
Like you, when I hand over a $100, I tell them: "It's the new $10."
[...and actually worth less than a $10 was in 1970...]
There is still "hope" for a trillion dollar FRN with Barry O's picture on it. $16 trillion debt no problem, pocket money.
While on the subject of Apple...
Apparently they're enabling forced abortions in China:
http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/apple-inc-aapl-enabling-forced-abortions-in-china-17893/
Do you carry a debt balance for anything? If the answer is yes, then in reality you carry a debt balance for everything. It doesn't matter if you use cash to buy iGadgets and groceries and debt to buy housing and cars or vice versa, you still end up with debt. The only difference in how you allocate it is the impact on your cost of debt.
I too pay off my credit card balance each month, but I'm still very much in debt (mortgage), and as long as I continue to make purchases vs. pay down debt with disposable income, I making those purchases on credit regardless of the means of payment. Most people don't see it this way, but they should.
What if inflation is more than the rate on your mortgage?
Provided your assets hold value or appreciate with inflation (definitely not the case with an iPhone and sadly not the case with housing over the past five years), you get a positive net real return and should be happy...and your banker should get fired. However, this was not the point of my post.
My point was all items purchased are effectively purchased on credit if you carry any sort of debt balance. I've made this argument many times on ZH with respect to government welfare programs (i.e., there is little difference in the government giving someone money to buy groceries so they can use their cash to buy an iPhone vs. the government just giving them money to buy an iPhone). Same principle applies to the use of cash and debt to fund purchases...it doesn't matter (other than cost) what specific items you allocate the debt to, at the end of the day you had to borrow because your spending exceeded your sources of income.
I own no apple toys.
I use a credit card to buy everything. And pay it off end of month.
I wonder if the survey addresses this. That's not "credit". That's an interest free 20 day loan.
yeah, but you are still feeding the vampire banks, who earn fees from the retailers... go cash, starve the beast.
with my AMEX, I pay $50 annual fee, but oh man I rack up the airmiles rewards (and pay off CC every month of course)
in 3 years I have had free flights for me and Mrs. Carney to Cancun twice and now Kuaui in December....and will have enough for flights to Carribean again for next year...I use the system right.
and you'll get a free junk groping by the TSA when you go on your trips.. what a bargain!
It's Kauai (actually Kaua'i)...damn haole! Just kidding. Enjoy your trip, it's beautiful there.
exactly, who buys a $500 electronic device with cash? if you can afford it, it would be foolish to pay cash.
right, I don't pay cash for ANYTHING, movies, food, gas, ect
WTF are you talking about? If you can afford it, pay cash. If you can't afford to buy it with cash, you can't afford to buy it.
WTF are you talking about? If you can afford it, and pay off the Credit Card in full every month then it's free $. Why would I not put a big purchase like that on my credit card where i get cash back and points? which nearly every CC does.
I'd holster that plastic...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/09/04/argentina-begins-tracking-all-credit-cards/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/realtime/
Do they pay their card off every month but use credit to get points/cashback?
Cuz the cost of credit card transactions is baked into all retail prices at this point, and unless a merchant offers a cash discount I use credit cards and just pay them off to claw those pennies back. On my Costco card that's 9-10 cents per gallon these days for those rare times I actually buy gas (like, for my motorcycle).
hahahaha so true!
Queue the subprime iBS.
iBS = iGadget Backed Security
/sarc
It will soon end on teh Feds balance sheet
Don’t worry; keep on spending, Bernanke can also print new credit card statements showing zero balance.
So dont be surprised now why the masses in NA aren't taking $1,800 (which they dont have anyway) out of the bank account to buy a 1oz gold coin or 50+ ounces of silver...
to the masses - that^ is even more crazy - that is INSANE!...then taking out a loan - for the fuckin latest iGadget.
The brainwashing and conditioning is HEAVY on the massess via the illuminati controlled mass media...the illusion is on mindless grazers - not for the independent thinkers.
Again, to re-confirm your position -ask yourself this:
Is the joke and illusion and the TRILLIONS of dollars spent on us 1-2% independent thinkers that hold PMs?
or is it on the 98-99% easy prey, not capable of independent thinking, mindless zombies - that take out loans to buy the latest gadget?
I am not convinced that the holders of PMs will be any better when the shit hits the fan (for example, Executive Order 6102, in particular "10 years imprisonment").
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Executive_Order_6102.jpg
And according to inflation calculator, $10K fine in 1933 is equivalent to $176K fine in 2012.
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
Which would be easier to confiscate:
PM's that people may, or most likely do not have.
Or:
Just declare a bank holiday, and confiscate IRAs, 401(k), 403(B), or just Corzine everything else.
To make things more interesting for people holding physical cash, simply revert it back to ink on cotton by rescinding the Legal Tender status and issuing a new monetary unit of exchange with a very short to no grace period to exchange the old currency for new.
Lets go one step further.
If private property, such as gold is confiscated by goon squads going door to door, you are going to have much, much larger problems than just losing money.
No I think the goon squads are going to have much larger problems. In the past maybe not but now this time its different.
I don't think I'm the only one that has dawn a line in the sand.
You probably do not know it, but your name is already on their hit list (with estimates of how much gold you are having). If you ignore the executive order and do not bring your gold, you will get a knock on your door from a SWAT team at 5 am.
Google it for more information:
Starting on January 1st in 2012, U.S. federal law will require coin and bullion dealers to report to the Internal Revenue Service all gold and silver coin purchases and sales greater than $600.
ObamaCare to enforce IRS reporting of gold and silver coin sales over $600.
BUZZZZZ!!!
Sorry Cult; thank you for playing, but we do have some nice consolation prizes waiting backstage for you...
http://www.smartonmoney.com/president-obama-signs-repeal-of-1099-tax-reporting-provision-of-health-care-plan/
Yes, Obama agreed to repeal the $600 requirement, after he was explained that the government still can get you, gold buyers, on the hit list using current laws.
Any purchase---not just gold---involving more than $10,000 must be reported to the IRS by the vendor within 15 days of the transaction date.
And if you buy less than $10,000 of gold, there is another way for the government to track you -- Form 1099.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) classifies gold, coins, silver, gems and stamps investment property, which is a capital asset. The sum gained or lost in a sale or trade is a capital gain or loss on the tax forms.
A taxpayer must keep records of all investments, along with the dates and purchase price. These records are the basis for the determination of loss or gain.
At the time the gold is traded or sold, it's subject to a capital gains tax (28 percent if the taxpayer has held it for more than a year).
BTW, if you have been buying gold/silver coins and you are not reporting these purchases to the IRS, you might get a knock on your door as soon as tomorrow morning. We already live in a police state and many of you "gold bugs" do not even know it (you were sold a safety myth by the gold sellers).
Oooh. I better remember to write off all of that silver I lost while I was canoeing on Crater Lake. And the guns, too.
And hope a judge will believe you and not the government, or he/she will not issue a search warrant.
Re: "confiscate IRAs, 401(k), 403(B)"
Why would the government confiscate something that the government can print (IRAs, 401(k), 403 (K) are denominated in USD)?
If the government confiscates anything, your gold will be the first on the list to confiscate "for the greater good of the nation".
Well, to be honest, I use plastic to buy damn-near everything - pay it off in full at the end of the billing cycle, though.
But if the crux of the story - the people are literally going into hoc for the latest iCrap - is true, then it's just another indiciation that We. Are. So. Totally. Freaking. Screwed.
Me too dcj. After doing it for 4 years we all went to Europe and back on the frequent flyer miles for free. Those credit cards are hard to resist. Trick is is to use responsibly which, unfortunately, many do not.
Miffed:-)
PenFed
Green AAPL's Bitchez!
iSlave
Enough anecdotal evidence soon becomes a statistic worthy of seasonal adjustment, manipulation and redaction.
Booyah!
My wife has a stack of cash she is saving for an iPad. I wish she would buy me a Volcano Vaporizer instead. :(
I've heard Corzine has the market cornered on vaporizers
Friends tell me the digital one is awesome.
Grab yourself some quality beans and buy one yourself.
Then take the extra and buy some silver and gold.
pods
I-BROKE
Technically you already do that whenever you take a carrier subsidized handset with a contract.
I will gladly pay you Tuesday for an iGadget today.
Maybe I can sell all my gold and just buy iStuff to sell...I can get a return on that in the form of loan interest, and I can't eat gold anyway.
And it only costs like 5 dollars to dig the Istuff out of the ground
Is it so certain that Apple is releasing the iPhone 5 on Wednedsday? I do not think so.
Is it so certain that the Fed is launching QE3 on Thursday? I do not think so.
Is it so certain that the German Constitutional Court will approve the ESM on Wednesday? I do not think so.
To answer your simple questions.
yes,yes,yes.
I have a nokia phone I bought in 2005. Works fine
I use Nokia 3310 from 2002. Only had to replace the battery onces since then. Still holds charge for 5 days.
offbrand in 2008.
I....I.... I...
Must.... Buy.... New... Apple Stuff.... I...
and I don't know Why...
Ohhhh...I figured it out...
It's for the Children.... at Foxconn
That's why....
The Soylent Green tastes better with the chemical feed.
iCant stop buying iShit from AAPL. iTry but it doesn't work. iWanna stop, but iLike the feeling iGet when iBuy iShit that iDont need.
How is his different then borrowing to buy your car, your fuckng plane tickets for your vacation you can't afford, your holiday gifts, your kids sports teams shit, date night and everything thing else anyone would put on a credit card to maintain a "certain lifestyle" regardless of whether they can afford it or not?????
iDon'tknow
wanna know how it's different buying ICrap and a car?
a car can lead me to work------->productive
an ICrap can lead me only to stupid things-------->inproductive
these are 2 completely different things.
Maybe they've all hedged their loans with AAPL stock...
Oh c'mon. How many people peel off $500 in bills to buy anything. The story is ridiculous, and beneath ZH to link to it, let alone make it sound important. The Street.com? This is our source for news now? (via CouponCodes4U, no less!) The idiots who run The Street probably said, "We need an Apple story. Don't care if it's true or makes sense." Ya gotta do better than this, ZH.
While you are right that most people use credit cards these days, its the loan part ZH was commenting on.
Also what makes coupons4less or whatever less reputable than the BLS, reuters, gallop, or anyone else for polling persons.
The survey question could have also asked if they "took out a loan or used a credit card or sold a body part" and the response would still have been 51%. Until the "loan" and "credit card" responses are separated, it's an imcompetent survey from an incompetent website, and just because it falls neatly into the preconceived notions of many ZHers doesn't make it accurate or useful.
+golf clap
It's extremely difficult to get an Apple retail store to accept cash. I tried to buy my last laptop with cash. The employee took me to a special section of the store, where they keep the cash register. I nearly walked out when the employee scolded me for carrying around so much cash (only $1,500). Told him it's none of his damned business how much money I carry around--in earshot of the manager, who looked at us, quizzically.
That's funny edifice. Sneak around the back of the store to use cash... chuckle.
I felt like this when in Santa Fe, NM and wanted to smoke a cigar. Had to grab a cab and head to the only cigar bar, a small house, and felt like a Mafia Boss smokin stogies and fine whiskey. Felt like the prohibition.
If you smoke in downtown Santa Fe by the letter of the law, you have to stand 15 feet away from business doorways which pretty much puts you in the middle of the street and a target for being run over.. chuckle. Great way to stop smoking.. just run the bitchez over!
We have a similar law, in Colorado: 15 ft. from any facility employing a certain number of people. In the beginning, government buildings and some private businesses painted a huge blue line, denoting the distance requirement, and set out ashtrays at the line, smokers huddled around them. Quite pathetic... Not the smokers, but the law.
no the smokers are pathetic.
Colorado used to be a great state to live in until all the fucking useless Californians move there.
I do......or I use a credit card that pay off at the end of the month. Paid cash for the last two cards I bought, bought a slightly used "smartphone" for pennies on the dollar.....
“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former”
Albert Einstein, Physicist
was the pollster "shocked and surprised" that people bought things they can't afford or that they admitted as much? Because only one of those things is surprising to me.
Let Them Eat iPads!
A lot of Americans support slavery.
Shocked! Shocked I tell you! Debt can actually be acquired through private transactions and not just govt? </sarc>
This is proof that the problem isn't govt (it's We The People [as programmed by TPTB (paging Edward Bernays...)]).
iDebtbubble
What a waste of fake money. They upgrade these things all the time. So you take out debt to get an iFail 4, and iFail 5 comes out 4-6 months later. Plus, the potnential of newer models to crap out is high because these things are made by a 17 year old in China working a $2.50/14 hr shift.
These things aren't even open source - you can't even access the full capability of it unless you a)void the warranty and b) know what the fuck you are doing, otherwise the thing will "brick" and you end up with a$600 paperweight just because you wanted to block ads on the apps.
I've had the same desktop for 11 years. I've updated the RAM capacity, HD, Video Card, added USB jacks, and of course, the Monitor. If more consumers did this, not only would they save time and money, but learn more about computers in general (which helps with friends, at work, etc).
A dumb consumer spends more money because they have to outsource the knowledge.
AAPL and technology, for the most part, is a big ponzi scheme for 99% of consumers because they don't know how to use the thing to its full potential, and with the lust of these corporate entities to eliminate "Fair Use" laws, THAT maybe a dying idea as well.
Fuck AAPL, fuck China, fuck the credit card companies, and fuck debt.
Hey Shizz your 11 year old computer sounds neat, with addons & updates it must impress anyone who ventures into your basement. But that's no reason to hate Apple. iFail? I beg to differ, Apple gadgets are very useful and inexpensive relatively speaking. A lot of people can afford to buy whatever Apple gadget they want. I agree with you that it's foolish to borrow money to buy one, because they're so cheap to begin with. Good build quality also.
Don't forget that you never really "buy" an iphone because it always remains the property of Apple , so it is $500 to just rent the thing, wow sign me up.
But... it's not shiny! (wahhhhh)
I don't have any AAPL products or debt either.
Athlon3200 Barton/1024mbRAM/Ati HD4650AGP/XP/21inch Trinitron and a nice envy24 soundcard. IBM keyboard too. It has been running 24/7 since oh 2004 I guess. I only turn it off to reload my OS, Swap and Programs images. Mostly open source tools. I hate to buy new hardware and replace my tools for zero added value. I cannot be enticed by graphic candy or the phrase modern whatsoever. Not no more I can't. Screen real estate 2048x1536 way before the throwback that is HD. Flatscreens? MEH.
edit
I just keep on adding external 2TB drives to my usb hub so no problem in the space dept either.
The "APPL" needs to start a new division, with a new app when they launch "i-shit5" Wednesday. They should call it "i-finance"...
LabraDoodles are notorious for taking their latest toy and dropping it in front of them to wait for another dog to try to take it. It then attacks the other dog.
My son gets his for free. He goes onto Craigslist, gets a solid feel for the market, and makes buys of used iPod, iPad, iPhones, other smartphones, after emailing to lowball prices. He taught himself how to do basic repairs as well, he bought himself a nice tool set for the purpose.
He then turns around and lists the same unit back on Craigslist at top market price (Ebay price). Everything he buys he can sell within a few days and he's accumulated $900 cash plus he owns a Samsung Galaxy III (that he got almost brand new, at bargain price). He's not even in high school yet.
What could he possibly learn in high school that his own experimentation and dedication have not already taught him?
Sounds like he simply needs to scale up and/or expand his current scheme.
If ZH had a micro-loan program, I'd plunk an ounce or two of real money on your kid.
As a father, my respect to you!
Also, if you consider that many consumers are college students, if one were to factor in the number of college students who used student loan money to purchase ishit, I bet the number would be a bit higher.
Look at this picture
http://tinyurl.com/czatnbz
I'm sure they all bought that shit with money earned from their "jobs" right?
Jesus. I occasionally buy a gadget or toy, but I sure as Hell don't go into debt to do so, and I always make sure I feel good about the amount of silver I've socked recently first.
Coming from The Street (aka Cramer) I have to believe this is less a commentary on our values than a tip to his readers to buy AAPL.
Hmm, go and blow a couple of thousand to buy I-stuff while making 12/hr at the mall.
Most Americans have been conditiond by the banksters and Wall Street to be at the max debt level. We are at it.
Wall Street and the banksters believe in getting while their young so you can enslave them.
The key point is how many people buy the devices on credit with no intention of paying the bill when it comes.
Even if you charged off $10k of stuff on credit and never paid a dime back, a bank will happily send you a $1000 limit card with 30% interest. A lot of people are doing it to get back at the bank that forclosed on their house andkicked them out.
Half of America is using credit cards to pay other credit cards. The end result is responsible Americans paying for the rest with taxpayer bailouts.
I could go on one hell of a shopping spree if I maxed out all my credit cards, knowing I wasn't going to pay a dime back.
I'm surprised that the other 49% are dumb enough not buy it with a credit card. Since everyone and their dog have credit cards, it would be shocking if people didn't have credit cards that match warranty of the product bought. So instead of paying another $80-160 for extended warranty, bam you got it for free.
Dude,
Not to own the first hottest AAPL is to be unamerican.
Did you not get it?
Another example of what people do when they are living under the volcano. Surf, chat and text, for tomorrow we die.
A friend-of-a-friend was overjoyed that iPhone is now available on Cricket. Said friend-of-a-friend is on SNAP and a host of other government handouts, yet will gladly shell out $500 for the iPhone.
This signifies one thing: The end of empire.
All I know is that Apple sent me an offer this weekend, I'd I by a Mac or iPad, I would get a app store gift card. It's a first for me.
That's how they justify that they deserve to be upper class. They borrow. Never could understand the $100 cell phone bill a month for 3 yrs plus $200 down for a phone worth $600 and a forced overly expensive plan. Why not just buy this phone;
http://www.expansys.ca/e-techco-v5-dual-band-mini-phone-gsm-850-1900-221...
What deals have ever been closed via texting?
This has nothing, no tracking no texting, wifi,, no bluetooth. You want something, call me and talk to me.
I say the new elite is hard to get a hold of. I say the new elite caries a small leather briefcase, doesn't take notes or carry a laptop and carries only an essential phone.
Press the palm, make the pitch, close the deal, let the underlings with the black nylon messenger bags, iphones, and off the rack suits do the details.
I've theorized for some time that student loans(where students have no idea of the value of a dollar) have been used to drive Apple sales at all levels.
And with Obama's new student loan rules, they will never pay back the real costs of what was spent.
The Strange Odyssey of 'Stevie iJob's',... aka. 'Johnny iAppleseed' unimaginable quest to 'RingFence' the iFed...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_IrdS-zu48
iO Bitchez!
(I owe) Opiates for the Masses! (was that Karl Marx?)
Why pay your mortgage when you can buy an iPad...or FB...or GRPN?
Yea, sample size of 1909 is a true enough representation of the entire US population. Plus they do not even mention the demographic sampled. Slow news day huh Tyler? This would be article is better suited over at infowars.com or drudgereport.com
Why the surprise? That's been the indoctrination for <fill in the number of> years. Looks to me like it's working - for them.
Feigning mock suprise/shock...please.
To many it is a status symbol. And time has proven that people will go in hock to possess status symbols. One couold just as easily scoff at those who go into debt to purchase a luxury automobile or designer clothes. Yet the high priests of economics are still offering prescriptions which largely only account for rational economic actors.
iSheep
If you have to get a loan for a phone that costs a few hundred dollars, you have more important things to worry about. How about food, and a roof over your head. Oh, I forgot the government has that covered with SNAP and government housing.
I have no credit cards, and no crapple products. Simple desk top computer with one terabyte hard-drive, lots of USB ports, a couple 32 g flashdrives and a one terabyte portable hard-drive. Also just a simple Samsung phone, no texting or surfing. It's a phone. ;-)
This number is easily manipulated. The question is whether they paid off there credit card bill at the end of the cycle. I would buy with a credit card because I get cash back.
Bullish for gold.
Wake me up when everybody is talking about which types of coins and bars they have.
Then I'll sell and retire and live on the beach.
People won't like me if I don't own Apple crap. Well, I don't own any Apple crap, fuck people.
I lobotomize...
there's an app for that.
What is the silver to ipad ratio these days? 12 or 13? Wakeme up when it hits 3 or 4...
But wait I get cash back or airline miles for using my credit card so it all works out in the end. / sarc
First you buy a house on credit. Then a car, a kitchen. Next step: computers. And then? Ahh, i know, a 50k loan to buy pm's and laugh your balls of in Chile.
EDIT: iKnow
That's sad... LOL! Why would anyone buy iShit on credit? On FOKKEN CREDIT!!! It's not that good stuff.
Sorry guys, the USA is a great nation, but news like these feed my North European superiority complex.
To feel truly superior I only need to go to peopleofwalmart.com and imagine how those fat Americans, after having stuffed their belly with cheeseburgers, fill their shopping cart with Chinese made iShit, roll to the cashier and put the stuff on their credit cards... Sad bitchez. Who's gonna pay it? Santa Claus?
Please bring more news like this, preferably before the hyperinflation kicks in here in the EU(SSR).
iDiots.
iSlave to their iDebt
Is Apple Stock About To Crash?
http://allstarcharts.com/is-apple-stock-about-to-crash/
SMGDH
Never mind food stamps / EBT cards. Rioting will start when people can't operate their trinkets.
It's sad to watch a group of young people sitting together, not saying a word, just twittering their brains out -- LITERALLY, thanks to EMF protein denaturation.
Trust the IT sector to turn Orwellian linguistic reductionism into a profit center.
TANJ.
So, just because they buy an iDevice on their credit card means they are going into debt? This statement is inherently flawed. It is totally possible they could have allocated money for the iDevice ahead of time.
Fuck , if it wasn,t for this I-shit i bought i wouldn,t. be reading ZH in bed right now. Still hate apple and everything it stands for! but my 10 year laptop is kind of heavy and burns the bed.
Fuck , if it wasn,t for this I-shit i bought i wouldn,t. be reading ZH in bed right now. Still hate apple and everything it stands for! but my 10 year laptop is kind of heavy and burns the bed.
Well, I think that it's a human nature - we want to treat ourselves with good and pleasant things and don't like to say no to ourselves. But I don't understand a wish to buy "the latest one" and get into the debt. I am sure that most this consumers have Iphones, just previous versions, so why to change your phone? Just because you want to be n fashion? Is it worth of getting into the debt? Some consumers will take out payday advances to purchase new gadgets, don't really think that it's right. I think that it's worth to borrow money onlly in case you need it urgently and for a serious reason.