Or erotica, depending on the depth of your passion for coffee.

AJ of Random Firing of Neurons passed this link along to me, and I thought I should share:

The Coffee Fool

The prices are in line with what I pay at my local super-size grocery store (the one with half an aisle of nothing but bean dispensers), and shipping costs aren't too outrageous, either:

Our two US delivery choices are Standard (US Priority Mail) for a flat $3.85 (2-3 day delivery), or Overnight (DHL Next Day) for a flat $13.75 for any order up to 4lb. We know, sounds crazy, but we get a great shipping rate up to this weight because it's the typical size of our daily coffee orders to restaurants, offices, and those fellow Coffee Fools crazy enough to drink around a gallon of coffee a day.

If you're into decaf, that's also an option on some (but not all) of the varieties.

Posted by: Harvey at 12:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Tiffany of Blown Fuse is having a bank-related issue:

Isn't there a sort of "deadline" on how long a person has to cash a check? I've been wondering, because a $5 check I wrote almost five months ago just got cashed this week.

Technically it's considered "stale dated" after 6 months. However, each individual bank has its own policy on cashing stale-dated checks - usually "we won't cash it if the teller notices that it's over 6 months old".

However, tellers have no legal obligation to check the date on every check that comes in, and are not liable for cashing stale-dated checks.

Why is this so?

I quote a discussion of the Uniform Commercial Code:

Many of the "tweaks" found in the most recent version of the UCC are intended to accommodate the evolution of bank processes, specifically the fact that most checks paid by automated means do not get a sight inspection. They will be paid without regard to the date.

So, if a check is taking way too long to clear, your best bet is to contact the payee & say "cash my check, bitch!". Or - after six months - you can hope some dim bulb bank teller just *happens* to pick that day to notice the date on your check AND feels anal enough to refuse to cash it.

As for stop payment orders... my bank charged $20, and it was only good for 6 months - although the sorting machine WOULD catch the check during that time. After that, though it was back to praying for an observant teller.

Which is rather like using a leaky condom for birth control.

I wish there were happier options, but - realistically speaking - that's it, and they all suck.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:11 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Tarnation! I wouldn't gripe about it if I had been collecting interest on that five bucks.

Posted by: Tiffany at November 21, 2005 04:12 PM (FdZYE)

2 In NY State banks are forced to honor checks for up to 362 days from it's issuance date. Creates havoc with balancing checkbooks! Thanks for the info.

Posted by: michele at November 22, 2005 12:06 PM (BN/Fu)

3 I got an insurance check from USAA that had a 90 days limit printed on it... what's with that?

Posted by: Madfish Willie at November 22, 2005 02:57 PM (KNARx)

4 MW - That's an effort to avoid the problem Tiffany had with her check. Since there's a legal notice on the front, the teller might actually spot that. With certain accounts (like County payroll), our bank had someone in bookkeeping check the dates on all the checks that came in and return the ones that were past the limit. However, with your typical customer's Winnie-the-Pooh checks, the date is just a number. But DO ask a senior teller if you have a concern about this, since specific policies can vary from bank to bank. Just don't ask the college chick with the hand-written nameplate by her window, because she's probably clueless, and if she's lazy, too, she might either guess or make something up.

Posted by: Harvey at November 22, 2005 03:35 PM (ubhj8)

5 I believe you've already posted about this too, but... what about a post-dated check?

Posted by: Madfish Willie at November 22, 2005 04:29 PM (KNARx)

6 Oh... my checks are just plain ol' checks... but I draw vicious snarling dogs on them....

Posted by: Madfish Willie at November 22, 2005 04:30 PM (KNARx)

7 Post-dated checks - Bank is not liable if they cash a post-dated check. NEVER write one of these unless you have COMPLETE faith that the holder of the check will not cash it prematurely. On the other hand, there's this quote from the link in the post: "However, if the customer notifies the bank of the postdating, the bank has to figure out how not to pay the item prior to the date on the notice it received" Sure, you can shift responsibility to the bank (probably involve a fee similar to a stop payment fee), but again, you're trusting a teller to notice the date. Very likely it'll get cashed by the teller and only returned after it gets to the bookkeeping department - a process full of delays & hassles. Avoid writing post-dated checks unless you ABSOLUTELY trust the payee not to cash it.

Posted by: Harvey at November 22, 2005 09:01 PM (ubhj8)

8 I had a stale check cashed in November 2005 that I had written in November 2004. I had written the to my ex boyfriend, who I am assuming found it after six months and slid it through the same month thinking the bank would think I was a dingdong who didn't know what year it is. I suppose there is nothing I can do about it now... except use better judgment in the future about who I date!

Posted by: aimee at December 26, 2005 01:59 PM (ZBild)

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Blogdaughter Teresa of Technicalities is having issues with her bank:

I had taken some coins in to the bank to get them changed... They don't have a coin counter!!! UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE! She told me I'd have to put them into coin wrappers and bring them back!

Coin handling policies & equipment vary wildly from one financial institution to the next and there's no rhyme or reason to it.

So instead of wasting your time rolling coins, it's probably better to waste the time making phone calls to any nearby bank or credit union, and ask 2 questions:

1) do you have a coin counter?
2) is there a charge to use it if you're not a customer?

I'd bet it wouldn't take long to get "yes, no".

Posted by: Harvey at 08:17 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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