CL Ad - Spiderman

[JeepMonkey]

Not sure if it is worth it.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ele/1816502798.html

[Flake]

Maybe he forgot to move the decimal over to the left about four spots?

[LLUncoolJ]

so where is the platinum bar that comes with it for that price?

[solidteezme]

The pictures of one of them cheap toy pins that kids have. Whats that about?

[Flake]

I think the going theory is that Amini's stays in business by catering to young professional athletes with large entourages who like throwing money around.

Honestly of the maybe 5-7 times I've been in Amini's I've never seen more than 3-4 other people in the store at any one time.  I REALLY would like to know their business model.   

[LLUncoolJ]

We looked at shuffleboard at Amini's. They didn't even bat an eye when they told me the price that took my breath away. Oh, they also had a Street Fighter 2 arcade with a blurry-as-they-get screen, beat to hell controls, peeling cabinet, and a plywood bezel for like $700.

Home of the copper dome...and the $28,000 pool table.

[pinballwizard79]

That place is ridiculous, home of the copper kick in the sack.

Commission only? Whoa thats dirty! Paying someone in that manner is fine dont get me wrong (nearly all of my income is bonus pay) but I dont see how one can make a living selling ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- rugs & $7,000.00 Sterns (with tax & delivery of course).

I remember when they were really pushing the used pins years back, I saw a LW3 with so much dirt & broken parts (1 dead flipper, 1 dead slingshot & the ball launcher would fail 50% of the time) for like $3,500.00

[JeepMonkey]

Amini's is crazy.  I have no idea how they stay in business.  My only guess is that it is a front for the mob where they either don't care if they sell stuff, or only sell stolen goods.

[LLUncoolJ]

I agree with Flake, it's really geared toward people with a shitload of disposable income. Who has a ton of cash with no sense of "I like this pool table but can't justify spending $28,000 on something I'll use once a month"? Professional thletes and lottery winners. Since I'm past my prime, I hope to someday fall into the latter catagory and go buy me a $28,000 pool table. Ivory inlays aren't good enough, I need inlays made from an extinct animal.

[Flake]

I am so perplexed by the fact that they stay in business that I actually tried to find something about their business model online.  Sometimes you can find articles written about this kinda stuff but I found nothing.  I really would love to know.

Actually small businesses employ by far more people than large public corporations.  STL actually does have alot of small manufacturing businesses that thrive here.  We also have Boeing.  And not sure where you were house shopping when you lived here but $400k will get you a huge house in most places other than Ladue or Clayton.  Dont you live in an apartment? 

[Flake]

Baloney...$400k in the greater STL area has, still does, and will into the foreseeable future get you a very nice house in most areas.

When I say huge I mean ~2,500 sq. ft. ranch or ~ 2700 sq. ft 1.5 or 2 story.  Both w/full basement and nicely appointed.  Maybe the use of the term HUGE was misleading but if you finish off a basement in home this size you will have close to 4,000 sq. ft. of living space which is plenty for most people I know of.  Certainly should be for a married couple used to apartment living.

[LLUncoolJ]

Get's you about 2400-2600 sq/ft on the main floor in Highland. Also gets you a $10K property tax bill.

I may be wrong, but I think Amini's is a private company, so it wouldn't be easy to find their business model. I think it goes something like:

Hire hot chick with half a brain, wait for pro athlete to come in. Tell him she makes nothing but commission. Show him $28,000 pool table. Show him $7,000 Big Buck Hunter. Show him $500 bar stools. Show him home theater. Mention to him that his teammate bought his whole rec room from her. Have him scratch out $100,000 check. Give said hot chick $10,000. Subtract $30,000 COGS. Stick $60,000 in pocket.

[Flake]

$400k would get you that on 5 acres of land here.  We've simply got different concepts of the word huge.

 

Shoot I need to move to Texas then.  Plus no state income tax.  Would be sad not to have a basement though.

[Flake]

Hire hot chick with half a brain

Last time I was in there I was hounded by a dude....no hot chicks to be found.  Why is it that you always are encountering hot chicks in your business dealings?  Hot real estate agents, hot Amini's salespeople....sheesh....

[LLUncoolJ]

I have still never got a reasonable explanation of why houses in Texas & Oklahoma have no basements. If I ever moved back to OK, I would truck in the soil and hire an out of state contractor if I had to in order to build a house with a basement.

[LLUncoolJ]

Hire hot chick with half a brain

Last time I was in there I was hounded by a dude....no hot chicks to be found.  Why is it that you always are encountering hot chicks in your business dealings?  Hot real estate agents, hot Amini's salespeople....sheesh....

Maybe they thought you played for the other team. 

[Flake]

Maybe they thought you played for the other team. 

Maybe they were too intimidated by my good looks while you give off the "safe" guy vibe.

[LLUncoolJ]

Maybe they thought you played for the other team. 

Maybe they were too intimidated by my good looks while you give off the "safe" guy vibe.

You may be half right...the safe guy half. My hillbilly kids were running around screaming and spilling popcorn all over the place while wife & I were playing goalie...bouncing them back into play. I guess she didn't have to worry about me making a move on her.

[RayB]

but but but where are you supposed to put the sex dungeon?

[LLUncoolJ]

but but but where are you supposed to put the sex dungeon?

Or the Jame Gumb well?

1. I know the geography of Texas, been all over it and spent lots of time in Athens, Corsicana, College Station/Bryan.
2. Only a small percentage is coastal...it's a big-ass state.
3. What does iced up hell-hole have to do with a basement? If you can double your space for a nominal fee, why not? AND, tornados fall out of the sky in OK and TX at about the same frequency that I take dumps...basements may come in handy.
4. Although I live in Illinois where it isn't an issue, Missouri is solid rock. This may shock you, but basements are dug with machines,not by hand, and these machines have jackhammer attachments...or you can use dynamite. This may also shock you, but while it may not freeze there often, your homes still have to have footings dug for the foundation. So why not just dig the whole thing up while you're there?

[Flake]

Actually its gets hotter than hell in Texas so I would think a nice naturally cool basement would be advantageous....especially a walkout.  I would also think that simply "making the house larger" would be more costly than simply digging out a hole for a basement.

I would also agree with LL that you would think OK and TX being in tornado alley basements would almost be required by code?  Or at least optional.

[HaRuMaN]

We live in AZ (hot!  gonna be 117 today), and tried to find a house with a basement rather than a 2 story house, figured it would help with cooling costs.  There just isn't that many houses here with basements...  We did find a couple, but got outbid everytime.

Ended up buying a 2 story with a large loft for my gameroom.   

[LLUncoolJ]

I guess it is what it is. There really is no good explanation. Maybe I should start a house contracting business and move out west. I'd clean up...for about a year until every swinging dick out there started building homes with basements too.

[HaRuMaN]

The housing market here is in the toilet right now...  which was good for us.  We got 3600 sq ft with a pool for under $300K.   

[pinballwizard79]

The reason basements are rare in Texas is because of the dirt.

Mudjacking out there is very common, cracked walls, sidewalks & etc happen all the time. It has something to do with the level of clay in their dirt. It will rain, then dry up like a sonnabitch & the dirt starts splitting & etc. If you have a basement in TX (well depends on which part of TX) you will have nothing but problems & armadillos.

Pee Wees bike missing = The Alamo doesnt have a basement

[Pinball Wizard]

Would it be thread hijacking to ask where you guys suggest to go in St. Louis that is a little of the beaten path? I'm headed a stone's throw away from there next week.


Back the topic: My entire county (granted I'm in Maryland) is built on clay as soon as you get past all the trucked in topsoil and fill dirt (7-8 inches down) and the only problem basements usually see in our area is that with underground streams dirt washes out and you'll see your cinderblock wall in your basement start to cave out or the dirt will start to overpressure the wall and it starts bowing in. Pain in the butt to fix but other than that we don't usually have any problems with soil or anything like cracking sidewalks (well the sidewalks and concrete that is cracking is 20+ years old).

[Flake]

Would it be thread hijacking to ask where you guys suggest to go in St. Louis that is a little of the beaten path? I'm headed a stone's throw away from there next week.

www.cppinball.com

[JeepMonkey]

Here is another CL ad from the same guy.  This time a Scooby Doo.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/ele/1825816280.html

Either he has the same view as we do, worked there, or has been burned by Amini's.

[Flake]

Eh... not really that funny.  You Missouri guys have kinda worn out the Amini's bitching, FWIW.

FWIW - PBJ you have just as many posts regarding Aminis ad anyone else here.

I actually thought the post was funny.....although he could have made it funnier.

[LLUncoolJ]

I find its level of humor suitable.

Actually, that's really ---smurfing--- funny...and I doubt that dude was in on our discussion...unless it's secretly Jeep Monkey that posted it.

Would it be thread hijacking to ask where you guys suggest to go in St. Louis that is a little of the beaten path? I'm headed a stone's throw away from there next week.

I think a few of us will be at CP's next saturday. I am planning on hitting Fat Eddie's for a few hours before, so I may be borderline belligerent.

[pinballwizard79]

More confirmation: I will faux shaux be @ CP's this Saturday.

Going to drink the Gulden Draaks, eat my stinky cheese & play the piss out of every machine there

[Pinball Wizard]

I'm heading over on friday, just works out on my schedule better.

[Flake]

Going to drink the Gulden Draaks

Where are you finding Gulden Draaks?

[LLUncoolJ]

Would it be thread hijacking to ask where you guys suggest to go in St. Louis that is a little of the beaten path? I'm headed a stone's throw away from there next week.

Looking back, this thread has been hijacked and re-hijacked a few times now...not that I'm complaining.

[Pinball Wizard]

Yeah, at that point I realized that we weren't even close to the original so I wasn't too worried about it.