6 ms·

Some Detroit spots remain cash-only: No cards, no Bitcoin

15 points by evo_9 8y ago

reaperducer 8y ago
This article focuses on Detroit, because it's a Detroit publication, but there are easily hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of businesses across America that are cash-only. Everything from restaurant equipment supply (to hide profits) to some of the best dive eateries in the nation (because of low margins). Off the top of my head, in the last six months, I've patronized cash-only businesses in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota (cash only or checks and they give you cash back), Arizona, rural Nevada, and probably other places I can't remember. Once you expand your horizons beyond Yelp and Google, there's a whole other world out there.
- danans 8y ago
  > Once you expand your horizons beyond Yelp and Google, there's a whole other world out there. You don't even have to expand that far. A large amount of domestic labor is paid in cash only, under the table. For legal residents, this is a way to avoid tax, but for many undocumented workers it is the only way to be paid.
  - coherentpony 8y ago
    > For legal residents, this is a way to avoid tax ... I'd argue it's tax _evasion_, not avoidance. Tax avoidance is the legal use of the tax law to pay as little tax as possible. Tax evasion is circumventing of the law to relieve yourself of a tax burden that you are required to pay.
    - reaperducer 8y ago
      You are entirely correct. And there's also a huge economy in informal payments to people too young to work, or who work so intermittently that it's not worth reporting. Babysitters, lemonade stands, cat sitters, guys selling their own rap CDs in supermarket parking lots, garage sales, flea markets, etc...
    - danans 8y ago
      I agree that evasion is the correct term. This is also something done by some cash only brick and mortar businesses, not just domestic services.
- ams6110 8y ago
  My barber shop only takes cash. Always been that way, and there are at least a couple of others here that are the same.
- Aloha 8y ago
  This is why I still carry cash on me - never know when I'll need it
SlowRobotAhead 8y ago
First off, I’ve been to a couple of these places in Detroit and adding “no bitcoin” to the title to make relevant for HN... is like saying ”and they also don’t have space shuttle parking!!” Second, I wonder how many places are really avoiding cards because of a 3% fee or because of extra administration and not really because they may be creative with their tax reporting?
- starbeast 8y ago
  There is another possible reason. Germany has retained a large cash economy mainly due to privacy concerns. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-06/germany-is-still-obsessed-with-cash https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-06/germany-i...
  - SlowRobotAhead 8y ago
    Yea, maybe... I work in Detroit. The reason cards aren’t taken in some places is not because of privacy, I highly doubt. I have never met a privacy minded person in real life except maybe outside of a tech program in A2 (Ann Arbor)
    - starbeast 8y ago
      >I have never met a privacy minded person in real life except maybe outside of a tech program in A2 How would you know? By definition, they generally don't let on.
- captainperl 8y ago
  > is like saying ”and they also don’t have space shuttle parking!!” Thanks, that's the funniest thing I read today! You can pay with blocks of govt cheese though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_cheese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_cheese
crazy_monkey 8y ago
It's Detroit; no future... :(
aviv 8y ago
Surely an HN user with 42k karma and 8 year old account should know better than to purposefully use a clickbait title instead of the original. Or maybe that's how they got to 42k karma...?
- javagram 8y ago
  I wonder if it was the original or alternate title? The subtitle on the article now is “None of them accept Bitcoin, either“ although why anyone would expect a business to accept bitcoin is beyond me.
iammiles 8y ago
I was at a bar last week in Santa Barbara that was cash only. I couldn't help but feel it was a ploy to extract more money out of their customers with their well-advertised ATM.
- pstuart 8y ago
  No doubt. Double bonus is that cash isn't tracked for taxation.
  - Waterluvian 8y ago
    It must be so easy and so attractive for a percentage of your alcohol to just go missing. And my understanding is that margins are so thin on bars and restaurants... Can't say I wouldn't do it if it kept me from having to shut down.
    - sjg007 8y ago
      In CA, a bar has to buy their booze from a state authorized liquor "wholesaler". They can do some fancy math to figure out if your cash flow matches up with your usage.
- nrclark 8y ago
  Ah, Elsie's. So many memories.
  - iammiles 8y ago
    That's the one! Really great spot despite my annoyance with its cash-only nature.
purplezooey 8y ago
10 years ago this was cute, now it's obnoxious. I'm glad Baker's Keyboard Lounge is still around though.
NathanKP 8y ago
As a New Yorker I really don't see why this is news at all. There are tons of businesses in NY that are cash only. I'd estimate anywhere as high as 20% of restaurants are cash only
dmh2000 8y ago
the opposite of Sweden apparently https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41095004 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41095004
pasbesoin 8y ago
My local farm style cafe is cash only. Has been for the two decades I've patronized it. They're about 200 feet from the police station, and some of the cops come in for breakfast (they open quite early; also a legacy of the farm style cafe). Security... does not seem to be a concern. Visa and crew don't need to be taking X percent of their gross revenue. More power to them -- and better prices for us. Or, to paraphrase SNL: "No card. Cash!"

15 points by evo_9 8y ago

This article focuses on Detroit, because it's a Detroit publication, but there are easily hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of businesses across America that are cash-only. Everything from restaurant equipment supply (to hide profits) to some of the best dive eateries in the nation (because of low margins). Off the top of my head, in the last six months, I've patronized cash-only businesses in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota (cash only or checks and they give you cash back), Arizona, rural Nevada, and probably other places I can't remember. Once you expand your horizons beyond Yelp and Google, there's a whole other world out there.

danans 8y ago
> Once you expand your horizons beyond Yelp and Google, there's a whole other world out there. You don't even have to expand that far. A large amount of domestic labor is paid in cash only, under the table. For legal residents, this is a way to avoid tax, but for many undocumented workers it is the only way to be paid.
- coherentpony 8y ago
  > For legal residents, this is a way to avoid tax ... I'd argue it's tax _evasion_, not avoidance. Tax avoidance is the legal use of the tax law to pay as little tax as possible. Tax evasion is circumventing of the law to relieve yourself of a tax burden that you are required to pay.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    You are entirely correct. And there's also a huge economy in informal payments to people too young to work, or who work so intermittently that it's not worth reporting. Babysitters, lemonade stands, cat sitters, guys selling their own rap CDs in supermarket parking lots, garage sales, flea markets, etc...
  - danans 8y ago
    I agree that evasion is the correct term. This is also something done by some cash only brick and mortar businesses, not just domestic services.
ams6110 8y ago
My barber shop only takes cash. Always been that way, and there are at least a couple of others here that are the same.
Aloha 8y ago
This is why I still carry cash on me - never know when I'll need it

SlowRobotAhead 8y ago

First off, I’ve been to a couple of these places in Detroit and adding “no bitcoin” to the title to make relevant for HN... is like saying ”and they also don’t have space shuttle parking!!” Second, I wonder how many places are really avoiding cards because of a 3% fee or because of extra administration and not really because they may be creative with their tax reporting?

starbeast 8y ago
There is another possible reason. Germany has retained a large cash economy mainly due to privacy concerns. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-06/germany-is-still-obsessed-with-cash https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-06/germany-i...
- SlowRobotAhead 8y ago
  Yea, maybe... I work in Detroit. The reason cards aren’t taken in some places is not because of privacy, I highly doubt. I have never met a privacy minded person in real life except maybe outside of a tech program in A2 (Ann Arbor)
  - starbeast 8y ago
    >I have never met a privacy minded person in real life except maybe outside of a tech program in A2 How would you know? By definition, they generally don't let on.
captainperl 8y ago
> is like saying ”and they also don’t have space shuttle parking!!” Thanks, that's the funniest thing I read today! You can pay with blocks of govt cheese though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_cheese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_cheese

crazy_monkey 8y ago

It's Detroit; no future... :(

aviv 8y ago

Surely an HN user with 42k karma and 8 year old account should know better than to purposefully use a clickbait title instead of the original. Or maybe that's how they got to 42k karma...?

javagram 8y ago
I wonder if it was the original or alternate title? The subtitle on the article now is “None of them accept Bitcoin, either“ although why anyone would expect a business to accept bitcoin is beyond me.

iammiles 8y ago

I was at a bar last week in Santa Barbara that was cash only. I couldn't help but feel it was a ploy to extract more money out of their customers with their well-advertised ATM.

pstuart 8y ago
No doubt. Double bonus is that cash isn't tracked for taxation.
- Waterluvian 8y ago
  It must be so easy and so attractive for a percentage of your alcohol to just go missing. And my understanding is that margins are so thin on bars and restaurants... Can't say I wouldn't do it if it kept me from having to shut down.
  - sjg007 8y ago
    In CA, a bar has to buy their booze from a state authorized liquor "wholesaler". They can do some fancy math to figure out if your cash flow matches up with your usage.
nrclark 8y ago
Ah, Elsie's. So many memories.
- iammiles 8y ago
  That's the one! Really great spot despite my annoyance with its cash-only nature.

purplezooey 8y ago

10 years ago this was cute, now it's obnoxious. I'm glad Baker's Keyboard Lounge is still around though.

NathanKP 8y ago

As a New Yorker I really don't see why this is news at all. There are tons of businesses in NY that are cash only. I'd estimate anywhere as high as 20% of restaurants are cash only

dmh2000 8y ago

the opposite of Sweden apparently https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41095004 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41095004

pasbesoin 8y ago

My local farm style cafe is cash only. Has been for the two decades I've patronized it. They're about 200 feet from the police station, and some of the cops come in for breakfast (they open quite early; also a legacy of the farm style cafe). Security... does not seem to be a concern. Visa and crew don't need to be taking X percent of their gross revenue. More power to them -- and better prices for us. Or, to paraphrase SNL: "No card. Cash!"