Dow Jones and the Temple of Doom: You might wanna keep that to yourself... Seriously, 26k is very little in 2012.

Yes, it is. And it's actually very close to my yearly income.

I'm a grad student, so of course I don't make very much. But it's nothing that I worry about telling people.

It's actually enough that I live reasonably comfortably, though not exactly extravagantly. And I've still managed to sock away the maximum roth IRA contribution for the last couple years. I don't live in the most expensive places in the country, but nor am I in the cheapest by any stretch. (I do live alone, so I don't have any spouse or kids to support. I don't split rent though, so that eats up a fairly large chunk of my take-home pay. Maybe 40%?)

Anyway, point being, I'm not sure I would describe $26K as life changing, but I would describe it as a hell of a lot of money compared to what I usually have available.

Dow Jones and the Temple of Doom: Wayne 985: Loucifer: If 26k is life altering money, then you are very poor, Kenny.

It's more money than I make in a year, douchenozzle.

You might wanna keep that to yourself... Seriously, 26k is very little in 2012.

I'm not ashamed. I'm not happy with it and I'm currently looking for better work, but I'm not ashamed.

I work hard and make what I can in a tough economic climate, in a relatively poor area. The unemployment rate in my part of the country is over 12% and the wages are below average, so I'm grateful for what I have.

The dummy who sold a safe full of money does not deserve any of it back.

The dummy who advertised to the world that he stumbled upon 26K will be fortunate if he isn't the victim of his own stupidity. STFU dude.

susler: I have a safe that's locked and I don't have the combination.

I'm certain it's empty but after reading the story, I'm doubting myself.

The safe company wants $1,200 to drill it open but they would come and take it away for free.

It's been sitting in my tenant's office for years being used as a table.


Buy yourself a 5 foot crowbar and pry that sucker open.

Using a prybar on a safe (new window)

/slashies want their cut of whatever is inside

Wayne 985: Dow Jones and the Temple of Doom: Wayne 985: Loucifer: If 26k is life altering money, then you are very poor, Kenny.

It's more money than I make in a year, douchenozzle.

You might wanna keep that to yourself... Seriously, 26k is very little in 2012.

I'm not ashamed. I'm not happy with it and I'm currently looking for better work, but I'm not ashamed.

I work hard and make what I can in a tough economic climate, in a relatively poor area. The unemployment rate in my part of the country is over 12% and the wages are below average, so I'm grateful for what I have.

You need an oilfield job.

BGates: rich_mitch: The median annual wage in the United States is just a hair over $26,000. Look down on people who make less than that if see fit, but accept that it does kind of make you an elitist dick.

Really? All the info I can find does not support that comment.


The figures I've heard the past few years for median household income for a family of four hovers around $40-50k, so $26k for an individual income seems like about the right ballpark. And it's definitely a tight squeeze money-wise, but there are a LOT of people making that or even less.

It is pretty dickish to be all "loser!!!!" about it.

And even if someone scrapes in over the six-figure line, that's still 25% of their pre-tax income. Three months salary just handed to you. I hardly think they'd scoff at that.

buzzcut73: Wolf_Cub: jingks:

What does happen in this case? It's wasn't really "found" money, it was undervalued and purchased. But since it's money, is it then considered income?

It is income. The question is: is it taxable income? This is probably a grey area. The IRS and state revenue agency will want it to be taxable income. I think a good argument could be that it is gift income. After all, the buyer wasn't out to 'earn' this money, just to buy a safe. As I said, it is a grey area, but ...

This is where the keeping quiet an enjoying your new safe also helps. You don't have to worry about any grey areas that way.

Some people just aren't smart enough to keep their fool mouths shut. He could have two agencies coming after him now. 1) IRS. 2) Cops. You're supposed to report found money to the cops so the rightful owner can file a claim. And the IRS is going to want income tax. And the IRS may come after him even if the cops take the money and he never gets it back.

technicolor-misfit: And even if someone scrapes in over the six-figure line, that's still 25% of their pre-tax income. Three months salary just handed to you. I hardly think they'd scoff at that.

It really depends if this money is considered taxable income (which I think it is, as gambling income is). The government will take 30% off the top of that. So if it's spent now without paying ole Uncle Sam, it's gonna be a real hardship come April 15th.

CSB:

Years ago I bought something on eBay for maybe $20 or $30. When the package arrived, the seller had mixed up the labels on two shipments, and I ended up getting a cash register instead. Powered it up, opened the drawer and inside was sixty-some bucks and some decade-old checks.

Kept the money, tossed the checks, e-mailed the seller to ask what he wanted to do. Never heard from him, so I got rid of the cash register too. I don't remember if I was annoyed that I never got what I actually bought.

/CSB

Special extra bonus CSB: I just watched an episode of Auction Hunters where they bought a unit that contained a safe, and had a guy with a torch cut it open. They burnt whatever paper was inside it to a crisp, but salvaged a pistol.

Diogenes Teufelsdrockh: Lone Stranger: Safes are not really that hard to open. I know from experience and time spent ...

[astroatom.files.wordpress.com image 269x312]

Shh, don't tell.

Came looking for the Richard Feynman reference leaving satisfied.

Fake.
Nothing about this adds up.

How did the media find out about this? Because the guy called them up with a story.

You know, if he'd just not been a prick about it he could have turned the publicity into some profit. He should have scrounged up some more safes to sell and made a point of the fact he has no idea what is in them. He could have used it to get some good publicity to sell more mystery safes. Instead, well, he seems like a prick and his user satisfaction will take a big hit.

Dow Jones and the Temple of Doom: Ha, my thoughts exactly. I'm not rich by any means, but I don't consider the retail price of a new Toyota Camry to be "life altering money."

Heck, I earned an extra $20k last year in overtime hours and I don't feel like my live has been altered.

/you don't have to pay medicare on found money, right?

Loucifer: If 26k is life altering money, then you are very poor, Kenny.

Shmm hm frmmm mm crmmm!

Heck, I earned an extra $20k last year in overtime hours and I don't feel like my live has been altered.

You don't think that having all that time you spent working back would make any difference in your life?

I'd call 26K life altering - It is more than 6 months salary at a shot. I could pay off my roof repairs, replace my windows, and actually have an emergency fund for the first time in a decade. Or maybe take some time off work and finish that MSE.

If you cant think of a way to alter your life with $26K you aren't thinking very creatively.

Wait until the IRS gets a link to this news story!

Dow Jones and the Temple of Doom: Ha, my thoughts exactly. I'm not rich by any means, but I don't consider the retail price of a new Toyota Camry to be "life altering money."

Depends what you spend it on.
Fly to Bangkok and live there for a year. You can do that with 26k.
Then tell me your life hasn't altered.

/if not your sex

El Morro: Even though the seller is being kind of a dick about the money (half? Are you nuts?), I would have thrown the guy either 500 or 1k.

Tell him to have a fun night with friends and use it to cover the tab, or to put it toward a new cell phone model or something. 25k is still an awesome little chunk of money to play with or invest.

Leaving a review rubbing it in his face was awesome, though :)

I agree. I would have given the guy 1k.

Seller is an idiot. I don't mean because of the money. He's just classless

JoeJitsu: The seller's terms were "What you see is what you get, no returns, and no money back." Why is he complaining? That's exactly what he's getting - "no money back".

See, the terms say, what you SEE is what you get. Clearly, the money could not be seen, and therefore should not be interpreted as part of the sale.

1. The price of the safe is $120. Shipping is $80. So, the actual price is around $200.

2. Who buys locked safes for $200? What do you do if they're empty?

Buyer: DUMBASS
Seller: DUMBASS (for bragging about the find)

jpo2269: How did the seller know there was $26k in the safe? If you find $26k in a safe you bought on ebay and the seller doesn't immediately contact you to alert you of "a mistake," shut your damned mouth and enjoy your new safe.

A 10% cut to the seller would not be painful, nor would it tempt karma. Give the bastard 10% and if he isn't happy with that, than fark him....

I'd say, reimburse him the price you paid for the safe, that's it, then the guy makes double his profit (depending on what he paid for it in the first place).

Loucifer: If 26k is life altering money, then you are very poor, Kenny.

26k is slightly more than a year's take-home pay for me.

Getting that much all at once would be pretty life-altering.

Lachwen: Loucifer: If 26k is life altering money, then you are very poor, Kenny.

26k is slightly more than a year's take-home pay for me.

Getting that much all at once would be pretty life-altering.

No, wait. I never actually did the math with all those little boxes on my W-2. My take-home pay for last year was juuuuust over 17k. So 26k would be almost a year-and-a-half's pay for me. And if I remember correctly, found money isn't taxed.

Life-altering? Hell yes it would be.

/and I've never considered myself "very poor"

basemetal: If there's one thing I've learned from Storage Wars, is that you have to open that damn safe.

/of course it doesn't always have anything in it.

even if 1% contains stuff like this then the average value to you is $260. Even half a percent makes a sale for $122 stupid.

Lachwen: Lachwen: Loucifer: If 26k is life altering money, then you are very poor, Kenny.

26k is slightly more than a year's take-home pay for me.

Getting that much all at once would be pretty life-altering.

No, wait. I never actually did the math with all those little boxes on my W-2. My take-home pay for last year was juuuuust over 17k. So 26k would be almost a year-and-a-half's pay for me. And if I remember correctly, found money isn't taxed.

Life-altering? Hell yes it would be.

/and I've never considered myself "very poor"

the more you have, the more it takes to satisfy you. why else would there be people worth hundreds of millions who never stop trying to shovel even more money into their own pockets?

/both guys in TFA are idiots, but the buyer sounds like the extra-special type of stupid that winds up destitute four years after hitting the Powerball jackpot

To all of you. Keep your goddamned mouth shut. Otherwise you deserve to have the money confiscated under some obscure law you were unaware of until after you opened you stupid goddamned mouth about it. The seller got what he asked for, he deserves nothing more than his ebay fee. Do he make ONE mention of the people he got the safe from? No, so fark him.

thomps: are we talking about the idiot that sold the safe full of money or the idiot that found the money and told the seller about it?

THANK YOUUUUUUUU.

Maybe he should try digging for that sacred "glory hole"

/obscure?
//it wouldn't be if you watch The Soup!

drjekel_mrhyde: Do the seller have real proof that the buyer really did find $26K

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&has h =item1c2358a248&item=120852095560&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc &si=DNFW6dJcr1DC8%252FaTHt3u%252BeaURMc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_4 669wt_1133

Seller's feedback the buyer says they found 6000 dollars. NOT 26000 dollars. Interesting.

This story is either a masterful troll or a tale of two classless morans who couldn't keep their mouths shut. Either way it's lulzy.

Geraldo Rivera should have been this lucky.

NotARocketScientist: You don't think that having all that time you spent working back would make any difference in your life?


In the cases where I stayed later at work, I basically had the option of leaving work at my regular time, and then sitting in traffic. Or doing extra work while I waited for traffic to die down (Essentially, leave now, and take 1.5 hours to get home, or work an extra hour, then take 30 minutes to get home).

In the cases where I worked extra time from home. I was waiting for scripts to run, or data to load from a database, or for someone else to finish their upgrade tasks. Meanwhile, I was also watching a movie, surfing Fark, doing laundry, and probably had something baking in the oven as well.

/believe me, if I had anything else going on at that time, I wouldn't have been working.

I'd call 26K life altering - It is more than 6 months salary at a shot. I could pay off my roof repairs, replace my windows, and actually have an emergency fund for the first time in a decade. Or maybe take some time off work and finish that MSE.

If you cant think of a way to alter your life with $26K you aren't thinking very creatively.

It's all a matter of perspective.

I grew up in a poor household, so didn't acquire any real wasteful habits, no fancy watches, no binging car, no overpriced designer clothing (people pay $100+ for "distressed" jeans? WTF!), etc, as a result of that, my income is completely out of alignment with my expenditures. Throwing an extra 26k at me isn't going to change anything in the short term. All that would happen is that some numbers would get bigger in my bank account, but the number would still be lower than what I need to execute my next big plan.

You're thinking of roof repairs and window replacements, I'm looking at selling or renting out my condo, and buying a house. An extra 26k just accelerates my plan by a few months. To make a significant change in my life, I need at least six figures to fall into my lap.

/I'm working this extra OT because I'm saving up for said house.

/26k is a few months worth of income to me.

/I'm sure that someone earning a million per year would look at the $100,000+ I say would change my life, and say it wouldn't affect them.

The buyer is an IDIOT for telling the seller about this find.

If you have good fortune, shut your farking mouth about it.

If i bought a locked safe on the internet I would also tell the seller I found money in it.

Alternatively, you can keep your $26k if you can make real estate prices go down a bit more.

A drop in real estate prices would also drop the potential property taxes on a new house, and that IS life altering.

/2-3 more years of OT and it's time to go house shopping :D

angelwolf65: El Morro: Even though the seller is being kind of a dick about the money (half? Are you nuts?), I would have thrown the guy either 500 or 1k.

Tell him to have a fun night with friends and use it to cover the tab, or to put it toward a new cell phone model or something. 25k is still an awesome little chunk of money to play with or invest.

Leaving a review rubbing it in his face was awesome, though :)

I agree. I would have given the guy 1k.

this is one of many threads where people claim they would give the seller a sum of money... why?? why is the seller entitled to anything? the ONLY way I would come off of anything is if the seller put me in touch with whom he bought it from and I was shown some sort of proof (or at least very convincing evidence) that the cash was originally theirs and left in the safe by mistske. if the seller doesnt even attempt that angle, the only thing I would do is point and laugh at him. In all reality, the safe was probably picked up at an estate sale sold by people who were selling many other things and the person who it belonged to is dead. Nobody FORGETS there is cash left in a big box made for keeping valuables in.
In other words, the more I thought about what to do if I found money in a safe I bought from a whiny Ebay seller who didnt know it was in there to begin with because he is lazy and just trying to flip an item he bought, the mote I lean towards how I would enjoy the money myself.

The last thing I would do immediately is tell him I found the money. Its okay to have a conscience but dont be a dumbass about it.

rich_mitch: The median annual wage in the United States is just a hair over $26,000. Look down on people who make less than that if see fit, but accept that it does kind of make you an elitist dick.

While you are technically correct, I understand all the people saying its nothing. Both of you are right, while it can change your immediate situation and is greatly appreciated that amount is in no way life changing for a lot of people, if you are poor you will just blow the money, if you are well off then you will just take a nicer vacation or improve your home a bit, if you are rich then $26K is pocket change.

And if you doubt the poor will blow it then I have this story, a buddy of my dads won $9K in the georgia lottery, this person has never made more than $10/hour in their life so what do they do? Do they spend it for an average car to find better work? Schooling? or do they throw a huge party for all their friends then use whats left to put a down payment on a mustang which they lose later for non-payment?

If you choose anything but the last option then you are wrong.

The buyer is right that he has no obligation to the seller. The seller is right that it would be the decent thing to do. That's really all there is to this story.

The choices we make define who we are, and acts of kindness and generosity that are not required of us are the only ones we can be certain are sincere; it's those kinds of decisions that separate us from lower animals. I'm not sure I'd agree that this is a 'life-changing' amount of money, in that $13K or even $26K doesn't go as far as it used to. But it's still a lot, and would make a real difference for most people. The buyer almost certainly had no reason to expect the safe to contain a bunch of money, though it's worth asking why he had it cut open after buying it, since that would ruin it. It's a fair wager that he *hoped* it would contain something, and bought it in the hope, with no other intent, a lot like a storage unit auction bidder. If so, he got a great reward for his wager, far more than he should have hoped for. A typical safe like this is most often used for daily cash receipts in small businesses, and at most might contain a few thousand dollars; $26K is quite a windfall compared to even the most optimistic expectations, quite a windfall. His original wager, if it was one, would have been based on much lower expectations, and probably even a willingness to lose his investment and find nothing. So it would be a very decent thing for him to share the winnings with the fellow who made it possible. It comes across as just a bit mean not to.

poe_zlaw: The last thing I would do immediately is tell him I found the money. Its okay to have a conscience but dont be a dumbass about it.

That's the one detail that rubs me, too. Boasting about it what he's not going to share is more than a little dickish.

Obam won another award? Atleast this one is deserved, unlike the Nobal Prize.

No, i cant spell
what award can i win for that?

Sylvia_Bandersnatch: It comes across as just a bit mean not to.

I am wondering if they buyer or someone else has a history with this guy and is why they arent sharing shiat with him, or maybe he has a ton of negative shiat on his ebay and treats people who buy from him like shiat?

I would probably kick the guy a grand but to demand half after he couldnt be bothered to open the safe? F*ck him.

/No backsies!

Wolf_Cub: jingks:

What does happen in this case? It's wasn't really "found" money, it was undervalued and purchased. But since it's money, is it then considered income?

It is income. The question is: is it taxable income? This is probably a grey area. The IRS and state revenue agency will want it to be taxable income. I think a good argument could be that it is gift income. After all, the buyer wasn't out to 'earn' this money, just to buy a safe. As I said, it is a grey area, but ...

It is very likely taxable in the view IRS. "All income, from whatever source derived." Since the seller wants some of it back, there's probably no way you'd be able to call it a gift.

rich_mitch: The median annual wage in the United States is just a hair over $26,000. Look down on people who make less than that if see fit, but accept that it does kind of make you an elitist dick.

I can't believe no one commented on your Fark handle in relation to that post.