Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dugmor
To be honest and not to sound like a dick.....I will be spending more than $1500 when I am there. I like to have fun and I do not mind spending for a good time. So for me to bar fine a few girls in a night and buy a few souvenirs is not uncommon for me.
For what Qon is doing and the amount he is charging is what most webmasters doing business would spend in a day/night at Internext.
The smaller gathering of webmasters can bring in a lot more business than some of those major shows. So this can be a small investment that can turn out to be big business for a webmaster who attends.
|
First off, I am not cheap (I'm not sure how you arrived at that conclusion - as if being critical of someone who you think may be price gouging makes one cheap).
Secondly, I didn't get rich (and continue to get rich) by spending money foolishly on rip-off schemes.
If you are honest with yourself, and I believe you have traveled Thailand extensively as I have (I've made over a dozen trips in a 20+ year span), then you should realize that the prices Qon is charging for what he is offering are ridiculous (afterall, since he is "group booking" the locations, the price he pays to the facilities should be substantially lower than what he is passing on to people who pay for his service - if that's true, then he should have no problem disclosing the locations, etc).
I have no problem with Qon profiting from the difference between what he paid for group booking accomdations and the standard rates, but if he is charging far over market value, then yeah...he's ripping people off. In my book, stand-up guys don't do that (especially not to my fellow webmasters).
Any legitimate "licensed" travel agent I have ever dealt with has had no problem laying out my entire itinerary prior to me laying out a dollar (or baht in the case of Thailand).
I have refrained from all of the name calling and what not. That's unnecessary. Qon came spamming his "deal", and as one who has been there and done that, I simply called him out on it since to me it honestly seemed pretty outrageous.
My whole last trip to Thailand - all expenses - including airfare and hookers (which Qon doesn't cover) cost me less than $1,500, and I lived life large, not on the cheap as you and Qon keep implying.
BTW, I don't illegally photograph hookers in Thailand either. Instead I am so cheap that I spend upwards of $70,000 a year legally shooting here in California. It's not cheap, but the ROI (return on investment) is plenty to make it worth my while.
Anyway, I have no beef with you, and would in fact like to meet up with you some day Dugmor. I'm sure we would have some good stories to swap. Hell, cheap me, I'll even pick up the drink tab.
Same with Qon. I don't know you, so I don't dislike you, I am simply offering an alternative viewpoint for people to consider. This is an open forum as I recall, right?
If you want to lay out your intinerary for people, and show them what a great value you have to offer, you might even get more customers.
If on the other hand, if you don't want to show it because people will see that it's not such a great deal, and perhaps they are paying more for their accommodations than they would had they gone through another licensed travel agent, or you are stacking them double occupancy (not saying you do, but it's a common scam - making people pay double for single occupancy), then I understand your desire to say nothing while demanding money, and using fear tactics and hookers (that are not included in the expenses) as your primary pitch.
Thailand is a wonderful country to visit. There is much to see and do there. I encourage everyone to visit at least once (although after they visit once they will want to return again).
Fortunately there is more that one alternative for booking your stay...
ADG Webmaster