tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478408299955066555.post498337714043338336..comments2024-02-21T05:08:31.128-05:00Comments on Deep Throat: Monopoly MoneyDeep Throathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02712515268051858186noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478408299955066555.post-31733283663727977482018-01-13T20:40:13.109-05:002018-01-13T20:40:13.109-05:00So that you know, and this is frankly a nitpick, t...So that you know, and this is frankly a nitpick, the NYC / San Francisco / Silicon Valley housing markets will remain super-expensive. Their prices have nothing to do with foreign money -- they have to do with supply restrictions caused by zoning. Basically it's been illegal to build more housing in these areas since the 1950s, and the population has gone up somewhat since then (understatement...). The housing prices will only drop when the zoning laws are relaxed (there is heavy political pressure for this at this point) or when the unemployment rate in these cities goes higher than the unemployment rate in places like Detroit (not likely in the near future).Nathanaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478408299955066555.post-23358253618347227402016-03-31T18:52:34.966-04:002016-03-31T18:52:34.966-04:00http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-31/reason-an...http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-31/reason-anbang-pulled-starwood-offer-it-couldnt-demonstrate-it-has-funds<br /><br />uh oh.......juan675309https://www.blogger.com/profile/11672119689273886583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478408299955066555.post-86578208353789321262016-03-17T00:12:11.158-04:002016-03-17T00:12:11.158-04:00I can tell you from personal experience the "...I can tell you from personal experience the "brushing" problem is way worse than people think! I will share with you a story how it works....... My wife and I have a company that sells on the Taobao platform. Our biggest vendor was a Canadian supplier. After building the brand up they decided to switch from us to a "local" Chinese agent (we are in HK) that promised to build a local network that didn't rely on Tabao sales (yes, most of us over here and a lot of overseas vendors know it's all horse hockey). This was enticing to the vendor that thought they were going to get a national distribution system in China. <br /><br />Fast forward three months. In late February my wife searches Taobao For the brand in question. We had always been one of the only sellers and were still carrying inventory. Winter is the slow time of year for this brand. We come to find that the new "agent" has a Taobao site and remarkably their sales were 20 times higher than ours! This is beyond statistically impossible. There was no way that consumers would suddenly purchase from this new seller. They literally faked hundreds of transactions. My wife literally went through each transaction and could figure out that no of the consumers had ever purchased from us, and more remarkably, never really made any Taobao transactions. How is that even possible? The brand I am talking about is a micro brand and yet in three months this Taobao shop which was open for one week had created an enormous market out of thin air!<br /><br />One last thing, another very undertold story is that Taobao is the main platofrm for smugglers. Chinese that live in the US open companies and purchase goods from US vendors at great prices. They turn around and ship those goods to relatives or friends in China who then sell it at discounted prices on Taobao. IMO, this problem is more widespread than fake goods being sold. And yes, we've been a victim of that as well!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15660010280618720770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478408299955066555.post-63179454405597887392016-03-16T13:39:08.690-04:002016-03-16T13:39:08.690-04:00HHHAAA!!!.....I'm sure Jack is doing his best....HHHAAA!!!.....I'm sure Jack is doing his best.....though I don't understand why you'd need sophisticated technology to catch containers of "Gucci, Prada, Dior and Chanel Bags" and "Canadian Whiskey" shipped from China....but I'm sure it's priority one.....LOL (Jack....This was a joke....you are a public figure....no need to call the lawyers....just publish the real numbers in your SEC filings...generally, the truth will set you free....or in your case, maybe not.)<br /><br />http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-manufacturer-supply-best-whiskey-in_1752048148.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.uedJQB&s=p<br /><br />http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Used-designer-genuine-leather-handbag-popular_173131707.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.uHhU4N<br />Deep Throathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712515268051858186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478408299955066555.post-42797549224065694902016-03-16T12:14:16.135-04:002016-03-16T12:14:16.135-04:00…and monopoly transactions to go with the monopoly...…and monopoly transactions to go with the monopoly money….<br /><br /><br />China CCTV Raps Fake Sales on Alibaba -- Update<br />Today 9:07 AM ET (Dow Jones)Print<br />By Kathy Chu and Laurie Burkitt<br /><br />After criticizing foreign companies from Apple Inc. to McDonald's Corp. in past years, China's powerful state broadcaster has taken aim at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., ramping up pressure on the e-commerce giant to tackle fake sales on its shopping platforms.<br /><br />In a two hour, prime-time broadcast Tuesday, China Central Television said faking orders, or "brushing," as it is called in China, remains widespread on Alibaba's largest shopping platform, Taobao. The practice--which involves sellers paying people to place fake orders--pads vendors' sales figures and boosts their standing on online marketplaces.<br /><br />An Alibaba spokesman said the problem plagues e-commerce sites globally and that Alibaba "is continually upgrading our technology to better detect and identify these practices."<br /><br />The CCTV report comes at a time when Alibaba also faces criticism from some Western brands that it isn't doing enough to crack down on counterfeit goods on its platforms. Last week, the company's co-founder, Jack Ma, told hundreds of Alibaba employees that the company would spare no expense in ridding itself of counterfeits.<br /><br />Critics say the fake sales call into question the volume of transactions conducted on Alibaba's platforms, a metric that has been cited by analysts in declaring that the Chinese company is the world's largest e-commerce platform. Alibaba counters that it uses sophisticated tools to identify and exclude fake transactions from its financials.juan675309https://www.blogger.com/profile/11672119689273886583noreply@blogger.com