[2010-03-29] Sign-Up: Une Enfant Du Siècle Autographs!

[dan]

I have to admit this offer has brought me out of the woodwork, after being a fan of Alizée and a member here for years. My wife and I would be grateful to you, Scruffy, if you could have a CD signed for: Dan & Heather

Merci et bon voyage!

[FanDeAliFee]

1, NATIONAL CRITERION FOR A SIGNED CD

Alizée America is visited by comparable numbers of people who live in the United States and who live outside of the United States. As an American, I think it is wonderful we can welcome so many friends from so many countries at this Web site. My own late parents were born overseas and were naturalized as Americans shortly before I was born in the US.

I hope there will not be undue hurt feelings if few of the signed CDs will reach people outside of the United States. All these arrangements are being made at the very last moment. It will be a real challenge for Scruffy just to get so many CDs signed correctly and then mailed to the right people.

I think the biggest reason for the national criterion for participation may be the matter of payment. Schemes can vary a great deal between nations, even those we think of as very similar in many ways. When I was the membership secretary of a small (3,000 member) international engineering society in the 1980s, I learned more about this. One thing that surprised me was that the type of written "check" documenting a payment amount we have long used in the United States was not used in Japan, where we had very many members. Instead, our Japanese members would give us information about their bank from whom we would request a payment amount we would specify, almost as if we were withdrawing cash from our own bank account.

Alizée America includes people from dozens of nations on multiple continents. It would be an undue burden on Scruffy to negotiate a proper means for payment and then do a currency conversion as well. Here in the US, almost everyone has a checking account to pay bills (or can buy a US-dollar-denominated postal money order) they can use to pay Scruffy. His bank will accept these items and credit his bank account without any problems.

I hope Ronald in Holland and others overseas will now understand that no one in America wants to insult our friends in other countries. I am not anyone's spokesman, but I would be surprised if what I write here is wrong.

2, SCRUFFY'S YOUNG BUDAPEST-RESIDENT ASSISTANT, ARON

Because half of Alizée America lives outside of the United States, I was very pleased I could <a href="http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?p=155450#post155450">recruit</a> Aron, our new friend from Budapest, to help Scruffy during his visit with Alizée and also represent our overseas membership.

Some people think that instead of Aron, I should have tried to recruit someone living in Paris, because Scruffy's French is limited. Well, at least one American would disagree with my critics, as proven by the video immediately below.

<center><object width="660" height="525"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/THyTnt00b5I&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/THyTnt00b5I&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="660" height="525"></embed></object></center>

Can you imagine this woman working in a bank here and faced with the problem of handling a payment instrument from a foreign country? Perhaps not, but let me tell you a short story which really did happen.

Recall that the 1996 Olympics took place here in Georgia, USA, where I live. People could order attendance tickets by telephone back then. If you lived in the United States, you called one number, but if you lived elsewhere, you called another number.

The United States includes 50 provinces called federal states, among which is one named New Mexico. Sadly, an American living in New Mexico was unable to buy tickets from the US-ticket telephone agent, because she said she could not sell any tickets to someone outside the US. When the caller tried to explain again that he DID live in the US, in a state called New Mexico, the agent told him that "Sir, it doesn't matter if you live in new Mexico, or old Mexico, if you live in Mexico, you simply MUST call the foreign orders number to buy a ticket!" and hung up on him.

If I can paraphrase the late Jimmy Durante, "Good night <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww">Miss South Carolina</a>, wherever you are!"

[Fusoya]

Probably too late, and I probably doesn't deserve it because I have been inactive a loooooong time, but I would love to get signed up though.
My name is Bjørnar.

Sorry for being inactive for so long, I'll try to log on more often!

[Ronald]

I hope Ronald in Holland and others overseas will now understand that no one in America wants to insult our friends in other countries. I am not anyone's spokesman, but I would be surprised if what I write here is wrong.

Nowadays there are several ways to transfer money to the other side of the world in any currency. Paypal is the easiest for me but I'm sure the money would reach the states. Even if I have to pay some extra costs.

I just can't believe it. Just got home from work, finding out that the album is for download.

Now listening to it, and not enjoying it because of this. I'd better turn of my computer and only listen to her new album.....

[Vil]

Mary Garcia if it's not too late!

[Tiwaz]

Originally Posted by docdtv

1, NATIONAL CRITERION FOR A SIGNED CD

Alizée America is visited by comparable numbers of people who live in the United States and who live outside of the United States. As an American, I think it is wonderful we can welcome so many friends from so many countries at this Web site. My own late parents were born overseas and were naturalized as Americans shortly before I was born in the US.

I hope there will not be undue hurt feelings if few of the signed CDs will reach people outside of the United States. All these arrangements are being made at the very last moment. It will be a real challenge for Scruffy just to get so many CDs signed correctly and then mailed to the right people.

I think the biggest reason for the national criterion for participation may be the matter of payment. Schemes can vary a great deal between nations, even those we think of as very similar in many ways. When I was the membership secretary of a small (3,000 member) international engineering society in the 1980s, I learned more about this. One thing that surprised me was that the type of written "check" documenting a payment amount we have long used in the United States was not used in Japan, where we had very many members. Instead, our Japanese members would give us information about their bank from whom we would request a payment amount we would specify, almost as if we were withdrawing cash from our own bank account.

Alizée America includes people from dozens of nations on multiple continents. It would be an undue burden on Scruffy to negotiate a proper means for payment and then do a currency conversion as well. Here in the US, almost everyone has a checking account to pay bills (or can buy a US-dollar-denominated postal money order) they can use to pay Scruffy. His bank will accept these items and credit his bank account without any problems.

I hope Ronald in Holland and others overseas will now understand that no one in America wants to insult our friends in other countries. I am not anyone's spokesman, but I would be surprised if what I write here is wrong.

I wouldnt mind paying a generous amount for the extra trouble if that would help...
It's 2010, you can send money via internet in an instant.

[gumby_dammit]

Thank you so much for doing this!

Add my name to the list as Scott

[highdefdude]

Originally Posted by Ronald

Nowadays there are several ways to transfer money to the other side of the world in any currency. Paypal is the easiest for me but I'm sure the money would reach the states. Even if I have to pay some extra costs.

I just can't believe it. Just got home from work, finding out that the album is for download.

Now listening to it, and not enjoying it because of this. I'd better turn of my computer and only listen to her new album.....

Ik geef je helemaal gelijk !!!! (That means: +1 !!!)

And if non-US members are excluded, don't send notifications to non-US members !

And ever thought of the possibillity that they meant 'Alizee-america fan's' by the remark "american fan's", assuming that
members of this forum all are american ??



Right..?

[FanDeAliFee]

Originally Posted by Ronald

Nowadays there are several ways to transfer money to the other side of the world in any currency. Paypal is the easiest for me but I'm sure the money would reach the states. Even if I have to pay some extra costs.

"Any currency" may be too strong a phrase for someone who doesn't want a headache.

Last year I was discussing Internet media piracy with a friend in an affluent Central American country. She said people there were all but "forced" into piracy because no one wanted to fill their orders. I looked into the currencies which Paypal supported - there were only about a couple dozen. Other than the Mexican peso, I believe there were (almost?) none in Latin America. (The REALLY weird thing was that the Mexico Paypal site used English, not Spanish! The Spain site uses Spanish.)

After Mexico, perhaps Peru has the most Alizée fans in Latin America. There are even a few Peruvians who visit here. What would Scruffy say to them if he had chosen to handle Euro-zone requests? America is not the whole world - and neither is Europe. Scruffy had to draw the line somewhere. He didn't even have to agree to handle 50 requests - he originally said he would only do ten. And he could have refused to do any.

Again, I can only guess at why others chose to do as they do. Maybe they will explain. Maybe Ronald could have solicited requests for Euro-zone orders and taken a train ride to Paris, which costs much less than an airplane ride across the Atlantic. He still can. It is not for me to say.

[user472884]

Originally Posted by highdefdude

Ik geef je helemaal gelijk !!!! (That means: +1 !!!)

And if non-US members are excluded, don't send notifications to non-US members !

And ever thought of the possibillity that they meant 'Alizee-america fan's' by the remark "american fan's", assuming that
members of this forum all are american ??



Right..?

No, I do think they mean American fans. They have specifically mentioned their Japanese and Mexican fans. If they meant the forum entire, then I think they would have used a broader adjective.