Greatest Crowdfunding Campaign imo

[alienROCKz]

So this happened over the past weekend (http://tinyurl.com/lmorzoz)

 

tl:dr Vietnamese tourist with meager pay gets scammed for an iPhone 6 in Singapore

 

So what happened next was remarkable. A Singapoream, Gabriel Kang set up a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo crowdfund this guy an iPhone. With the help of countless Singaporeans of this post USD$4000 has been raised to help this guy. This is quite heartwarming see that there has been such a move outside of the normal campaigns we usually see crowdfunding campaigns are for like Oculus. 

 

 

[DigitalHermit]

Looks like there's still hope for this world after all...

[TopWargamer]

Pretty please don't use url shorteners. Link directly to the source. Just looks shady when you do that.

[PortentousLad]

Click bait.

[brownninja97]

Anger the internet and you are done, simple as that

[Montoyatok]

You guys should see what the internet is doing to the shop owner that scammed him

https://m.facebook.com/smrtsg?_rdr

[dragosudeki]

For people who are afraid of the url. http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/watch-video-vietnamese-tourist-kowtows-and-begs-for-refund-at-sim-lim-square-shop 

I was afraid too until someone responded to something relating to his comment about the article.

[Tonylu1595]

For people who are afraid of the url. http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/watch-video-vietnamese-tourist-kowtows-and-begs-for-refund-at-sim-lim-square-shop

I was afraid too until someone responded to something relating to his comment about the article.

Whats the worse that can happen? Your computer crashes and you have to reset it?

[Tonylu1595]

I guess all people who got spammed ever will now start crowd funding in order to get their money back. Great.

[Scheer]

So I guess I'll be the one... WTF is wrong with the guy, why in the hell would you spend 5 months wages on an iPhone, THAT YOU BORROWED?!

 

Or did I completely misread that?

[cab11150904]

So I guess I'll be the one... WTF is wrong with the guy, why in the hell would you spend 5 months wages on an iPhone, THAT YOU BORROWED?!

 

Or did I completely misread that?

It doesn't matter how completly irresponsible it was to do.  The internet, the great enabler, has made sure he has on consequences for his actions.  

[Mew]

It doesn't matter how completly irresponsible it was to do. The internet, the great enabler, has made sure he has on consequences for his actions.

It shows how far he would go to give his wife a nice birthday present. I guess you guys don't understand that or are overlooking it.

[7nationarmy]

So I guess I'll be the one... WTF is wrong with the guy, why in the hell would you spend 5 months wages on an iPhone, THAT YOU BORROWED?!

 

Or did I completely misread that?

Yes, the money could have been better spent. However, I do not see why the rationality of his purchasing decision is a problem. He wants to make his other half happy, simple as that. Many people go to even greater lengths to do just that.

 

On the other side, that is a blatant unethical business practice. I am a foreigner living in Singapore myself, and I am familiar with the scams that shop has done. Numerous complaints have been filed against that shop over the years. It is a pity that the authorities' actions, or the lack thereof, has done nothing to shut down such shops and punish the scammers accordingly. The crowdfunding attempt is indeed heartwarming. 

[Snickerzz]

If he has such meager pay should he be buying an iphone 6?... Not saying he shouldnt get his money back or something but damn.. Priorites people

[7nationarmy]

If he has such meager pay should he be buying an iphone 6?... Not saying he shouldnt get his money back or something but damn.. Priorites people

And shouldn't making his other half happy be his priority? I mean probably he is not as well informed as us, the 'more tech savvy'. He probably thought Iphone is the best deal (well he certainly did since he chose that as the gift). Yes he could have saved money and buy something else of similar performance, as we say, but we can't fault his intentions.

[Snickerzz]

And shouldn't making his other half happy be his priority? I mean probably he is not as well informed as us, the 'more tech savvy'. He probably thought Iphone is the best deal (well he certainly did since he chose that as the gift). Yes he could have saved money and buy something else of similar performance, as we say, but we can't fault his intentions.

im not complaining he got iphone over android im complaing he bought a ~600$ phone when he has "meager pay"

[7nationarmy]

im not complaining he got iphone over android im complaing he bought a ~600$ phone when he has "meager pay"

When people tell their girlfriends "I will do anything for you", some won't actually do it. Some actually will, just like the dude. Save up months of pay for that one moment of bliss when the girlfriend opened the present. I dont get why is this so hard to understand.

[Snickerzz]

When people tell their girlfriends "I will do anything for you", some won't actually do it. Some actually will, just like the dude. Save up months of pay for that one moment of bliss when the girlfriend opened the present. I dont get why is this so hard to understand.

i didnt read the original article, i didnt know it was a gift for his gf

[Scheer]

When people tell their girlfriends "I will do anything for you", some won't actually do it. Some actually will, just like the dude. Save up months of pay for that one moment of bliss when the girlfriend opened the present. I dont get why is this so hard to understand.

 

Saving up I understand... but he didn't save up to buy it, he borrowed the money, then realized it was a bad idea and was trying to get it back... Not only that, I don't think he has his priorities very strait to to waste that much of his money on a disposable device. If he was buying a ring or something I'd get it... but a phone? lol. I have no problem saving up $600 for a gift, just eat out a little less for a month or so... but if I'm going to spend 5 months wages on something it isn't going to be a device that will be thrown away in two years.

 

I don't know how old you are, but lets assume you are 18 working a typical job making $25k/year or so. You are telling me that if you were in his shoes you would spend $11,000 on a phone for your girlfriend? 

[Mew]

Saving up I understand... but he didn't save up to buy it, he borrowed the money, then realized it was a bad idea and was trying to get it back... Not only that, I don't think he has his priorities very strait to to waste that much of his money on a disposable device. If he was buying a ring or something I'd get it... but a phone? lol. I have no problem saving up $600 for a gift, just eat out a little less for a month or so... but if I'm going to spend 5 months wages on something it isn't going to be a device that will be thrown away in two years.

 

I don't know how old you are, but lets assume you are 18 working a typical job making $25k/year or so. You are telling me that if you were in his shoes you would spend $11,000 on a phone for your girlfriend? 

 

If I wanted her to be my future wife, 100% would do without a second thought.

[7nationarmy]

Saving up I understand... but he didn't save up to buy it, he borrowed the money, then realized it was a bad idea and was trying to get it back... Not only that, I don't think he has his priorities very strait to to waste that much of his money on a disposable device. If he was buying a ring or something I'd get it... but a phone? lol. I have no problem saving up $600 for a gift, just eat out a little less for a month or so... but if I'm going to spend 5 months wages on something it isn't going to be a device that will be thrown away in two years.

 

I don't know how old you are, but lets assume you are 18 working a typical job making $25k/year or so. You are telling me that if you were in his shoes you would spend $11,000 on a phone for your girlfriend? 

Some people would give their lives for the loved ones, let alone money. Not saying that I would without hesitation, but a number of people will. And in my opinion, is the thought and effort that matter, not the item. If a 600 bucks phone that lasts ~ 2 years could make someone happy then why not?

[Scheer]

If I wanted her to be my future wife, 100% would do without a second thought.

 

A wife that would prefer a $11,000 phone over a down payment on a house isn't a good idea IMO.

 

Sorry I'm getting so far off topic, this whole ordeal just baffles me. To each their own I guess, I'm not very good at understanding other people haha.

[Sharkyx1]

 If he was buying a ring or something I'd get it... but a phone? lol. I have no problem saving up $600 for a gift, just eat out a little less for a month or so... but if I'm going to spend 5 months wages on something it isn't going to be a device that will be thrown away in two years.

 

A phone is a lot more useful than a ring.

[PortentousLad]

Whats the worse that can happen? Your computer crashes and you have to reset it?

clicking on links can actually be pretty dangerous if you have accounts (i.e. facebook, paypal, etc.) opened in other tabs they can get hijacked. And as always malware when your on windows.

Well... what do I know.

 

Hurray Linux!

[dalekphalm]

I mean, it's great that locals from Singapore helped crowd fund a replacement device for this guy.

 

But the problem I see is this: They raised like $4000. So who keeps the money? The guy who got scammed? That doesn't seem fair. He should still learn from the potential dangers of shopping in a non-authorized store. The guy who started the crowd funding shouldn't get it either.

 

I honestly thing that the organizer of the crowd fund should do this:

1. Buy a replacement iPhone for the man, ship it to him.

2. Take the remaining amount of money, and calculate the left-over percentage per backer, based on their initial donation.

3. Refund everyone that percentage of unused money.

 

So lets say it costs $800 USD to buy an iPhone in Singapore (I have no idea, just a guess). That leaves $3200 USD just sitting there. That means that only 20% of the fund was used. So refund every backer 20%. If you backed $1, you should get an $0.80 refund. If you backed $100, you should get $80 back. The percentage in this case is just an example, but this is what I would do. This is the most ethical response.