Are people this stupid with money??

NoQuarter

I'm all for the bargains on the deal sites but this one takes the biscuit!

€9 to "name a star"; http://www.grabone.ie/dublin/space-services-inc-2

Highlights

• Finally, a deal with real star quality...
• Pay €9 for Gift Set Plus, €15 for Premium Package or €22 for Premium Package plus Virtual Planetarium Software from Name A Star Live.
• Your chosen name will be registered by Space Services Inc. and you'll receive a star certificate, star chart and more.
• Delivered digitally, ready for download in minutes.
• Perfect gift for Valentine's Day.

Reach for the stars... and while you're at it, why not reach for the ultimate expression of devotion by having one named after a loved one? Today's deal is out of this world - in the history of GrabOne, I don't think there's ever been one shining so bright...
Grab a gift set from Name A Star Live (value up €61).

• €9 for Name A Star Gift Set Plus: name registration, star certificate, star chart and dedication launched into space.
• €15 for Premium Package: all of the above, plus a digital photo of your star's constellation.
• €22 for Premium Package plus Virtual Planetarium Software: all of the Premium Package, plus a digital download of Virtual Planetarium™ software.

Name a star after someone special - you'll be giving the gift that will last literally billions of years. A truly incredible gesture, and a unique and everlasting declaration of your love.
Your name and message will be registered officially by Space Services Inc. Of all the twinkling stars in the galaxy, one will have been exclusively named by you - that's pretty amazing.
Within minutes of registering your dedication, your star certificate and digital star chart will be emailed to you, ready to print, frame and present as a uniquely incredible Valentine's gift. You'll be able to download them in the My Account section of the Name A Star Live website or follow the instructions included in the email receipt.
And your star name and heartfelt words will be launched into space as part of Space Services Inc.'s Earth-orbiting 'Celestial Archive'. Your dedication of affection will be circling the planet - surely there's not much further we can go to show how we feel.
Have you got stars in your eyes yet? Read a bit more about what's included in each gift set, and check out some starry FAQs, before grabbing a coupon that guarantees a bit of twinkle, and a gift that will forever be burning bright.
Limit: 4 for you, 4 as gifts.

For the love of god, how can people be suckered into something so stupid! Dont get me wrong, I love stars, they are great and shiny and sh1t but why on earth would I pay some company to keep a database of my name for €9. Because thats what it is - "Space Services Inc".


I might set up a company called "Grain of Sand plc" and charge €8 to name a grain of sand after that someone special!


Who wants to buy one??

frozenfrozen

im going to take your idea with a pinch of salt

NoQuarter

It gets better.....
From the FAQ's on the site:

Can I really name a star after a person? Can I buy a star? Will my star name be officially recognized?

Clearly, you cannot buy a star. The stars belong to all of us or none of us, whichever you prefer, and they are not for sale. Naming a star is a symbolic gift idea which obviously does not involve any legal title/ownership. Our register is not used by the scientific community although it is a perfectly valid register. Scientists refer to stars only by their astronomical coordinates, catalog number, or in a few cases by commonly-used names, such as "Polaris," the North Star. In referring to and listing stars by name — the name you choose — we have created a symbolic and personal rather than astronomically significant listing.

And 69 people so far have actually given money to these fraudsters! Thats €621 ! For shame!

c_man

NoQuarter wrote: »

I might set up a company called "Grain of Sand plc" and charge €8 to name a grain of sand after that someone special!

*sets up business selling them at €7 a pop*

looksee

I gave out about that a good while ago and the response was - don't be so miserable, its a nice thing to do, I named one after my (random relative).

I agree with you, its nuts and its a rip off.

ITS_A_BADGER

Girl :which star is mine hun ?
Boy: oh its the one behind the big one *points at random part of the sky*
Girl: oh its beautiful
Boy: er yeah.....

jd007

ITS_A_BADGER wrote: »

Girl :which star is mine hun ?
Boy: oh its the one behind the big one *points at random part of the sky*
Girl: oh its beautiful
Boy: er yeah.....

lyk if yhu cried

Where To

A fool and his money are easily parted. What we need is either

1) Stupider rich people
OR
2) Richer stupid people

to get this country back on its feet.

Fox_In_Socks

ITS_A_BADGER wrote: »

Girl :which star is mine hun ?
Boy: oh its the one behind the big one *points at random part of the sky*
Girl: oh its beautiful
Boy: er yeah.....

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Do you see it? It's that one.

How much do you spend on pints?

sfwcork

What a fantastic offer

Can i offer more? I dont likebunder valuing stuff?

Turtwig

NoQuarter wrote: »

I might set up a company called "Grain of Sand plc" and charge €8 to name a grain of sand after that someone special!


Who wants to buy one??

Your company is thinking far too small scale. There's billions (possibly trillions but I'm lazy to work it out) more stars in the sky than there is grains of sand on the entire Earth.

ITS_A_BADGER

Fox_In_Socks wrote: »

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Do you see it? It's that one.

No no no your looking at the wrong part of the sky altogether, its down a bit!

UCDVet

I think it's a better than dropping 20 euro on another generic card and some flowers.

The paperwork/star chart/certificate are what you're paying for...no different than paying for a card at the shop and giving that to someone. Yes - you could design your own template, take it to a print shop and get a high quality print done, but you're throwing away hours for something that probably won't look at nice.

So you pay for the star and after dinner take your significant other for a romantic walk or whatever, pull out your smart-phone's star map and point out the star.

I'm looking at this from a V-Day perspective; but lots of girls have gotten flowers lots of times. In five of six years, my valentine is not going to remember that stupid stuffed animal or the flowers that have long since died...it's just not very memorable.

But I think she'd remember the star.

ITS_A_BADGER

jd007 wrote: »

lyk if yhu cried

you do get that i was taking the piss right by saying that he was pointing to random part of the sky saying that star was the one?

smash

bluewolf wrote: »

How much do you spend on pints?

You'd get 2 real pints for the price of 1 fake star. Now that's a deal!

NoQuarter

UCDVet wrote: »

I think it's a better than dropping 20 euro on another generic card and some flowers.

The paperwork/star chart/certificate are what you're paying for...no different than paying for a card at the shop and giving that to someone. Yes - you could design your own template, take it to a print shop and get a high quality print done, but you're throwing away hours for something that probably won't look at nice.

So you pay for the star and after dinner take your significant other for a romantic walk or whatever, pull out your smart-phone's star map and point out the star.

I'm looking at this from a V-Day perspective; but lots of girls have gotten flowers lots of times. In five of six years, my valentine is not going to remember that stupid stuffed animal or the flowers that have long since died...it's just not very memorable.

But I think she'd remember the star.

She'd also remember if ya took her on a walk, dropped your jocks and had a rose sticking out of your japs eye but its not a good idea!

The star chart is generic and the certificate is no doubt just a template with her nme stamped on it. And its e-mailed to you!! You think handing her an a4 sheet is romantic!?

Its a rip off and you would be a fool to buy it!

P_1

Fair play to the lads who came up with the idea.

If there's something that people are willing to pay money for and it's worthwhile for you to do it then why the hell not?

Fox_In_Socks

bluewolf wrote: »

How much do you spend on pints?

Enough so as to have a nice warm feeling.

Now if I had my 9 euro star map, I could use it to wipe myself after the toilet, but not the same feeling.

Duvetdays

Ah it's a bit of fun








One day I will build a house on my plot on the moon

endacl

UCDVet wrote: »

I think it's a better than dropping 20 euro on another generic card and some flowers.

Not really. When you buy the generic card and some flowers, you havn't been swindled. Overcharged certainly at this time of year, but not swindled. The IAU has sole responsibility for naming stars and planets. The cert is essentially meaningless. If you want one, I can print something up for you. Will be equally meaningless, but cheaper at €10. And you get to pick literally any star you want, as it'll be the first one I do.

jd007

ITS_A_BADGER wrote: »

you do get that i was taking the piss right by saying that he was pointing to random part of the sky saying that star was the one?

Yup I got that

You do get I was just making a joke off a facebook meme yeah? :pac:

FanadMan

NoQuarter wrote: »

It gets better.....
From the FAQ's on the site:


And 69 people so far have actually given money to these fraudsters! Thats €621 ! For shame!

When I read the intro I thought I had heard years ago that no stars were going to be named after people - just cordinates etc.

Just some scam artists preying on stupid love-sick kids.......same as they tried in the 70s/80s by selling plots on the moon

ITS_A_BADGER

jd007 wrote: »

Yup I got that

You do get I was just making a joke off a facebook meme yeah? :pac:

ah dont have a facebook so didnt cop

ceegee

Jernal wrote: »

Your company is thinking far too small scale. There's billions (possibly trillions but I'm lazy to work it out) more stars in the sky than there is grains of sand on the entire Earth.

Yeah but couples can visit the beach to see their sand, and while theyre there, visit the giftshop to buy keyrings, mugs and tshirts with a photo of you and your grain of sand. Not to mention your very own replica grain of sand to take home with you

im invisible

i really must get around to buying a plot on the moon, i'll buy a nice square mile, somewhere with nice views of the earth, leave it to the grandkids.
(get in early, prices are only going to go up...)

i'm actually serious

7 7 12

im invisible wrote: »

i really must get around to buying a plot on the moon, i'll buy a nice square mile, somewhere with nice views of the earth, leave it to the grandkids.
(get in early, prices are only going to go up...)

i'm actually serious

Don't let enda and the boys hear about this ffs we'll be getting "moon tax" letters through the door next year

juan.kerr

Considering some people will spend ten times that on drink this weekend, then yes, people are stupid with money.

Grayson

Compared to some crap that's bought, it's not that bad. I mean the guy could buy his GF that €200 handbag. Which is obviously not a rip off.

If you want, you can buy a bottle of whiskey that comes with a plot of land
http://scotchinfo.com/blog/?p=129

Of course it's 1ft by 1ft.

People spend their money on lots of pointless things, in fairness.

Best username ever

Hailee Spicy Backward wrote: »

People spend their money on lots of pointless things, in fairness.

I remember back in the boom, one of my mates spent a couple of grand on a jacuzzi. After it was installed he said he used it twice and never used it again. He said the wheel in the electricity meter used to fly round so fast that each time he used it cost about €20.

NoQuarter

Yeah but jacuzzi's or pints or mini bottles of whiskey are all material things. I completely understand that some people dont drink etc

But this deal you are just paying a random company to e-mail you. If you want a star chart, you can get them free on the internet. And a certificate? give us a break! Its probably a microsoft word template!

Fact is, you are paying to buy a star and youre not actually buying one at all! You are just giving your money away here.


EDIT: 4 more suckers fell for this in the last 12 hours!

Pompey Magnus

Random Corrie memory but Curly Watts did that for Raquel back in the day. She was delighted so he probably got the ride out of it! Then again she was as thick as a double ditch.

I think it's a really nice gesture, which is no different than buying someone flowers or a card. It's not what they are that counts, it's the gesture behind it that does.

Mahou

All my friends have got one, I´m gonna get one now before the prices go crazy. Even if it´s a tiny one in a crap part of space, at least it´s a start.

UCDVet

endacl wrote: »

Not really. When you buy the generic card and some flowers, you havn't been swindled. Overcharged certainly at this time of year, but not swindled. The IAU has sole responsibility for naming stars and planets. The cert is essentially meaningless. If you want one, I can print something up for you. Will be equally meaningless, but cheaper at €10. And you get to pick literally any star you want, as it'll be the first one I do.

The scientific community refers to stars by catalog numbers and astronomical coordinates. Your star name and message will be recorded in our database and in an orbital SSI ARCHIVE, but no star-naming service changes the scientific designations of stars.

They aren't claiming any actual naming rights or an affiliation with the IAU or anyone else. They aren't swindling anyone.

It's a novelty, yes. But it's better quality crap than the vast majority of people could make on their own.

I'll take you up on your offer, if you'll agree to be 100% honest about the time taken. The deal they run that prompted this thread is 9 euro for electronic copies only.

It includes a star chart:
http://www.nameastarlive.com/pop_ups/content/chart.htm

And a Launch certificate:
http://www.nameastarlive.com/pop_ups/content/launch.htm

Also, all of their information is correct. I'm happy enough with you faking the launch data obviously, but the star information should be factual.

The name for the star should be 'Zelda'

If you put together both of those (.pdf would be fine) and post it up on Boards.ie (and it's a half way decent attempt that is comparable to what they sell) - PM your mailing address and I'll send you 10 euro.

And record what software you used and how much time it took you.

blade1

Jernal wrote: »

Your company is thinking far too small scale. There's billions (possibly trillions but I'm lazy to work it out) more stars in the sky than there is grains of sand on the entire Earth.

I don't believe you!
Prove it!!:P

Scruffles

NoQuarter wrote: »

Yeah but jacuzzi's or pints or mini bottles of whiskey are all material things. I completely understand that some people dont drink etc

But this deal you are just paying a random company to e-mail you. If you want a star chart, you can get them free on the internet. And a certificate? give us a break! Its probably a microsoft word template!

Fact is, you are paying to buy a star and youre not actually buying one at all! You are just giving your money away here.


EDIT: 4 more suckers fell for this in the last 12 hours!

it isnt 'stupidity' that make people fall for scams.
being a 419 scambaiter; most people have known of or seen fall for scams are those who woud be of high inteligence.
here are several news articles of highly inteligent scam victims who unfortunately sucessfuly attempted suicide due to the mental effects of the scam-they lost a heck of a lot more than what people are paying for this star crap-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/3444307.stm
-a senior technician at anglia polytechnic university

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7380093.stm
-a student at notinghamshire university

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=188605
-a new york based respected business owner

Pat McGhee

c_man wrote: »

*sets up business selling them at €7 a pop*

SIX MINUTE ABS!! :-D

NoQuarter

Scruffles wrote: »

it isnt 'stupidity' that make people fall for scams.
being a 419 scambaiter; most people have known of or seen fall for scams are those who woud be of high inteligence.
here are several news articles of highly inteligent scam victims who unfortunately sucessfuly attempted suicide due to the mental effects of the scam-they lost a heck of a lot more than what people are paying for this star crap-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/3444307.stm
-a senior technician at anglia polytechnic university

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7380093.stm
-a student at notinghamshire university

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=188605
-a new york based respected business owner

I never brought intelligence into the debate. Einstein could be stupid with money, its a different point altogether. I never said stupid in general.

I'm not even really saying this is a scam because its transparent. I even slightly admire the person who is behind it because he is making money from how gullible people can be.

I'll tell ya one thing, the kind of person who falls for this is not the kind of person who is going to be able to follow coordinates to actually point out the star. That is, of course, if the star is even visible. Even that is assuming on that faithful, romantic stroll where you produce your romantic a4 sheet with dots on it, that the sky isnt covered in cloud as it is 80% of the time!

endacl

UCDVet wrote: »

They aren't claiming any actual naming rights or an affiliation with the IAU or anyone else. They aren't swindling anyone.

It's a novelty, yes. But it's better quality crap than the vast majority of people could make on their own.

I'll take you up on your offer, if you'll agree to be 100% honest about the time taken. The deal they run that prompted this thread is 9 euro for electronic copies only.

It includes a star chart:
http://www.nameastarlive.com/pop_ups/content/chart.htm

And a Launch certificate:
http://www.nameastarlive.com/pop_ups/content/launch.htm

Also, all of their information is correct. I'm happy enough with you faking the launch data obviously, but the star information should be factual.

The name for the star should be 'Zelda'

If you put together both of those (.pdf would be fine) and post it up on Boards.ie (and it's a half way decent attempt that is comparable to what they sell) - PM your mailing address and I'll send you 10 euro.

And record what software you used and how much time it took you.

Sound! Will get on that tomorrow. never mind the tenner. Pop it in the next Dublin Simon bucket you pass. I'll include directions so anybody can print their own. Would you like a 'famous' star? One that already has a name?

I'll use Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org/) for the chart. Its free, and looks to be the one the chancers in question used. There are options available that can provide higher quality results, but the task seems to be to match what those guys did.

UCDVet

endacl wrote: »

Sound! Will get on that tomorrow. never mind the tenner. Pop it in the next Dublin Simon bucket you pass. I'll include directions so anybody can print their own. Would you like a 'famous' star? One that already has a name?

I'll use Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org/) for the chart. Its free, and looks to be the one the chancers in question used. There are options available that can provide higher quality results, but the task seems to be to match what those guys did.

As long as it's not a really popular one - like the North Star

Pottler

I wish to purchase one of your finest Stars. I shall name it Twinkle and admire it nightly. When we colonise the Galaxy, we'll see who's laughing then. Landed on "Twinkle"? That'll be €350 please.... ohhhh, this is gonna be great..

blade1

Do we have to pay property tax on our stars?

endacl

blade1 wrote: »

Do we have to pay property tax on our stars?

No. No previous owners to provide revenue with the necessary info.
Unless you pick one that has been used as a backdrop to any of the major SciFi franchises.