Ever see a 2k yen bill?

[Taro Toporific]

Small businesses squirreling away 2,000 notes amid fears of economic meltdown Mainichi / Sep 21 By Marvin Feltcher
Launched amid great fanfare three years ago, Japan's 2,000 yen notes have all but vanished from the streets... All Japan's notes are going to change in July next year, but some small businessmen truly believe the government is going to use the opportunity to wipe out all its debts by only offering to exchange notes for 70 percent of their face value."...
"Only 2,000 yen notes are going to remain unchanged. These people are collecting all the money they've squirreled away under their beds or picked up by evading taxes and exchanging it for 2,000 yen notes," the consultant tells Shukan Shincho.

[Col.Kilgore]

That is Fuckin' scary.... is it really gonna happen next July? Should all FGs be sending their yen home now or what? Can't trust these slippery LDP bastards....

[Snapped]

I've only ever had four of them. All the shops I go to never have them in the till for change. Even the post office doesn't seem to use them. All the one's I've had were new and crisp so they were hardly used.

[Taro Toporific]

I've only ever had four of them. All the shops I go to never have them in the till for change. Even the post office doesn't seem to use them.

Just like $2 bills, 2k yen bills are used at race tracks, although the 100 yen longshot bet is still the favorite of the Japanese.

[kamome]

I keep a couple of them in the house as novelty items, like $2 bills. Just don't want to spend them, because I know I won't see them again. Maybe they'll even be collectors' items someday.

[WarlocK]

Is it really that difficult to get them?

All this time I thought they were fairly common. I get them all the time from the Lawson ATM I frequent near my apartment. If i take out 5k, I get two 2k bills and a 1k.

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone want to buy 2k bills from me? only 2,500 yen each!

[kamome]

A trivia question for Taro: Why are $2 bills, silver dollars, and 2000 yen bills only available at post offices? I've always wondered about that.

[Taro Toporific]

A trivia question .. Why are $2 bills, silver dollars, and 2000 yen bills only available at post offices? I've always wondered about that.

Low demand, poor usablity.

$2 bills, silver dollars, don't work in many vending machines. Also $2 bills are thought of as unlucky and modern Sacagawea dollars are thought of as too "heavy", and easily mistaken for quarters ($0.25) (or too ugly in the case of the "Suzys").

Butt-ugly Susan B. Anthony dollar

Same-size-as-a-quarter Sacagawea dollar

[Caustic Saint]

$2 bills, silver dollars, don't work in many vending machines. Also $2 bills are thought of as unlucky and modern Sacagawea dollars are thought of as too "heavy", and easily mistaken for quarters ($0.25) (or too ugly in the case of the "Suzys").

How thick do people have to be to mistake a Sacagawea for a quarter? One's silver, the other is gold. I remember the Suzys having that problem.

Personally, I love the new dollar coins. Nothing nicer than fishing for change and finding out you've got an extra $5.

[GomiGirl]

Actually they are used almost exclusively in combini ATM machines. They save space. I have had a heap over the last few months as I always seem to need money after my local bank ATM are closed.. I must be spending a fortune in fees.

[Snapped]

Actually they are used almost exclusively in combini ATM machines.

Hontou da. I went and withdrew 9000 yen from a combini machine for the first time, 4x 2000 plus 1x 1000. That's where they're coming from.

Also $2 bills are thought of as unlucky and modern Sacagawea dollars are thought of as too "heavy"

Why are $2 bills thought of as unlucky? If the US Government wants to replace the $1 bill with a coin why don't they just stop printing $1 bills? Then people will have to use the coins. Maybe the $2 bill would become a bit more popular too.

[GomiGirl]

Wouldn't a coin make it difficult with tipping practices on the US?

As I am from a non-tipping culture I am always nervous about how much to tip - am I tipping too much or too little?

[kamome]

Wouldn't a coin make it difficult with tipping practices on the US?

As I am from a non-tipping culture I am always nervous about how much to tip - am I tipping too much or too little?

At a restaurant, you're safe it you tip at 17%-18%, minimum 15%. Round up if the calculation produces spare change, especially in a taxi.

If someone carries your bags in a hotel, the standard is $1 per bag. frankly the whole tipping thing has changed from a gratuity to a mandatory item. It's expected even if they give mediocre or poor service.

[Caustic Saint]

At a restaurant, you're safe it you tip at 17%-18%, minimum 15%. Round up if the calculation produces spare change, especially in a taxi.

If someone carries your bags in a hotel, the standard is $1 per bag. frankly the whole tipping thing has changed from a gratuity to a mandatory item. It's expected even if they give mediocre or poor service.

Bad service = 0%

I do not reward poor performance.

[GargoyleTS]

I agree with CS. The only mandatory tipping I've ver run into here in the US is Large Party Gratuities for Restaurants where the 15% is added to your bill...and boy do they get pissy when you ask them to split the bill and argue the tip.

My tipping policy (for restaurants): Starts at 10%. +1% for each refill within 2 minutes of my glass emptying to a maximum of 15%. Bonus for never-empty glass service and never-full table service (plates are cleared as soon as a napkin is placed on plate and plate is set aside).

Hotel service: $1 per bag (if they even have hops to carry for you) and 5% for room service (the food is already over-priced. $8.50 for burger and fries?). Maid service gets $2 per day, with bonus for paying attention to the "Do NOT Disturb" sign.

Taxi Service: Depends on what tricks I catch, but never more than $3 above the fare. And yeah, I have indeed asked for my 25 cents change froma cabby who pissed me off. Just remember, every lane change adds 12-15 feet to the meter, and this guy was all over a clear friggin road. Guess he thought I was drunk cause I staggered to the cab. Unfortunately for him, I had sore legs from playing basketball all day (i am REALLY not in shape)

[kamome]

My tipping policy (for restaurants): Starts at 10% +1% for each refill within 2 minutes of my glass emptying to a maximum of 15%.

Nope. You're seriously ripping off the waiter/waitress, who usually is underpaid anyway and has to rely on tips to live. And he/she has to split those tips with busboys. 1% for each refill? wtf?

I guess it's true that tipping is optional if the service is truly poor. But if you're going to tip at a restaurant (which is most of the time), the minimum in the United States is 15%.

American Tipping Etiquette:
http://www.tipping.org/tips/TipsPageTipsUS.html

[AssKissinger]

I worked in restaurants for years in highschool and college and usually if service is shitty it's out of the hands of the individual who's serving your food. Owners cut every corner they can and expect the workers to keep the place flowing at slave wages. Anyway, I always like to kick down a big tip unless the server is intentionally rude to me or something. I think it's the cool move.

[GargoyleTS]

Uh...sorry. When I said "I" tip, I meant *I* tip, regardless of who else tips. And drinks are the responsibility of my waiter/waitress, so I hold them responsible for me sitting with an empty glass for 10 minutes while they are sitting at another table talking to someone after having passed my empty glass twice before they sat. I drink a lot, and fairly quickly. And yeah, 1%...math isn't that hard. I've adjusted how much I tip based on the places I go and their prices. The cost of the food has little to do with the quality of service, but I always go to the same level of restaurant and I personally tip about 10-15% of the $35-$70 bill in addition to what else is tipped, and I am never the only person to leave a tip.

I am not mean to tip-wage earners, but the Tip-Wage is an outdated concept IMO anyways. Its the best tax dodge I know of for both employers and employees cause its an honor system. For those who may not know, Tip-wage in America is I $2.13/hour. The employee is required by law to report their tips at the end of the day to their employer so he can note it for tax purposes. If they employees tips for the pay period plus their earned wages for that period do not equal minimum wage ($5.15/hour) then the Employer must pay them the difference. Regardless of what they made, the taxes for it come out of the paycheck. Which can mean that if you make really good tips and report them properly, you can wind up with a paycheck for Zero dollars or even a negative paycheck! Now, most employers wouldn't allow such to happen. In fact, once they learn how it all works, to save themselves money they will even make their employees report less than their full tips (Employers must match social security taxes withheld from an employees paycheck.)

Its a messed up system, and I would rather see tip-wagers paid regular wages and have tips taxed at a lesser amount than wages (but Uncle Sam is a greedy bastrad).

[kamome]

Its a messed up system, and I would rather see tip-wagers paid regular wages and have tips taxed at a lesser amount than wages (but Uncle Sam is a greedy bastrad).

Yes, yes, it's a messed up system, but you're avoid the issue that the minimum tipping rate at a restaurant is 15%. To tip in the 10%-15% range is cheap and unfairly penalizes the help. Why should they be punished so that you can make a political statement?

[GargoyleTS]

Again, I need to be clearer...I only go out to restaurants in groups. I tip 10%-15% of the TOTAL BILL MYSELF. I expect, and am rarely disappointed, that my fellow diners will be tipping as well. So, for example, I and 2 friends go to dinner and the bill is $45. I tip $4-$7. And my friends throw at least another 5-10$ down. We also tend to sit and BS for a good 30-45 after we are done eating and expect service during this time as well. So, now that I have explained it, am I still ripping off those hard-working wait-staffers? Am I still cheap?

[cstaylor]

GargoyleTS must look like:

[ramchop]

Isn't the world (with Japan being a notable exception) becoming largely a cashless society? What happens in mandatory tipping countries when you pay by credit/ATM card? Can they still pull a tax dodge when the tip is documented on the reciept?

[GargoyleTS]

CS: I wish I was that thin!

Right now more like

But a size or 2 smaller.

Ramshop: As far as credit tips, the way they usually work is at the end of the persons shift, they get cashed out by a manager. And thus do get reported. But it is possible to get around that too, just more difficult, and you run the risk of having to accept chargebacks without arguing since you destroyed that transactions eveidence.

[Caustic Saint]

Isn't the world (with Japan being a notable exception) becoming largely a cashless society? What happens in mandatory tipping countries when you pay by credit/ATM card? Can they still pull a tax dodge when the tip is documented on the reciept?

Nope. If it's on the receipt it has to be declared, as it's not part of the business's "take" from that transaction.

[kamome]

Again, I need to be clearer...I only go out to restaurants in groups. I tip 10%-15% of the TOTAL BILL MYSELF. I expect, and am rarely disappointed, that my fellow diners will be tipping as well. So, for example, I and 2 friends go to dinner and the bill is $45. I tip $4-$7. And my friends throw at least another 5-10$ down. We also tend to sit and BS for a good 30-45 after we are done eating and expect service during this time as well. So, now that I have explained it, am I still ripping off those hard-working wait-staffers? Am I still cheap?

Well, why dincha' say so??! Makes sense to me now.

By the way, Caustic: Nice signature.

[kotatsuneko]

got some 100 yen notes! somewhere ^^

[Big Booger]

My tipping goes something like this:

"Carry an umbrella when it rains"

"He who stands on toliet, gets high on pot"

"Never say die"

LMAO..

[Caustic Saint]

By the way, Caustic: Nice signature.

All part of the service. (no gratuity needed)