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  • Is there any computer store in Lebanon accepting debit cards?

My laptop screen plastic is broken a bit on the right, my phone volume buttons are broken. I'm looking to sell both for a computer store and buy a new laptop and phone and pay the difference.

My bank account is in USD, I can't find anyone accepting money from my debit card nor checks, and they're charging 2500 LL for 1 USD.

Is there any shop that either charge 1500 for the USD, or accepts debit cards/checks?
In a similar situation here. I need to buy some computer parts. Every store I find wants "cash fresh dollar" or 2500LL per dollar.

Any computer shops that will accept something other than "cash fresh dollar"?
The irony is every one of these stores is nagging about the lack of sales and refuses to sell except on his terms. What's even more laughable is that debit card money and checks could still be used to pay employees, for example at my company they dispose of old money by paying our wages.

So the store owners want fresh money and they're going to pay their employees either LBP or old money, Unbelievable greed.
Fischer wroteThe irony is every one of these stores is nagging about the lack of sales and refuses to sell except on his terms.
People are stupid. Some won't even accept LBP anymore even at the inflated prices.
nosense wrotecheck microcity
Asked, they take either cash USD or 2400LBP, not sure who exactly is their costumer. I wish them all the best of luck through.

I'm going to wait till they go bankrupt and buy because I can't see anyone buying anything from them with this mindset.
They deserve to go bankrupt.

In the mid to late 90s, the government decreed that trading in dollars was not allowed. This dropped the dollar price down to 1500LL.
They need to do the same today. Just prohibit shops from selling in USD cash and reserve dollars to checques and cards. And prohibit exchange shops from selling dollars for above 1550.
Sadly, the Lebanese people are the problem and not the politicians. Not many Lebanese people will accept the terms of a much better economy and they deserve this unhealthy economic state.
VincentKeyboard wroteThey deserve to go bankrupt.

In the mid to late 90s, the government decreed that trading in dollars was not allowed. This dropped the dollar price down to 1500LL.
They need to do the same today. Just prohibit shops from selling in USD cash and reserve dollars to checques and cards. And prohibit exchange shops from selling dollars for above 1550.
Sadly, the Lebanese people are the problem and not the politicians. Not many Lebanese people will accept the terms of a much better economy and they deserve this unhealthy economic state.
If the product in question is imported and paid by the supplier in USD (2500LL=1$) how do you expect him to sell it in LBP (1500LL) with a significant loss.
bobo619 wrote
VincentKeyboard wroteThey deserve to go bankrupt.

In the mid to late 90s, the government decreed that trading in dollars was not allowed. This dropped the dollar price down to 1500LL.
They need to do the same today. Just prohibit shops from selling in USD cash and reserve dollars to checques and cards. And prohibit exchange shops from selling dollars for above 1550.
Sadly, the Lebanese people are the problem and not the politicians. Not many Lebanese people will accept the terms of a much better economy and they deserve this unhealthy economic state.
If the product in question is imported and paid by the supplier in USD (2500LL=1$) how do you expect him to sell it in LBP (1500LL) with a significant loss.

We all know that none paid USD (2500LL=1$) especially in the electronics world, they imported the stock long ago.
bobo619 wrote
VincentKeyboard wroteThey deserve to go bankrupt.

In the mid to late 90s, the government decreed that trading in dollars was not allowed. This dropped the dollar price down to 1500LL.
They need to do the same today. Just prohibit shops from selling in USD cash and reserve dollars to checques and cards. And prohibit exchange shops from selling dollars for above 1550.
Sadly, the Lebanese people are the problem and not the politicians. Not many Lebanese people will accept the terms of a much better economy and they deserve this unhealthy economic state.
If the product in question is imported and paid by the supplier in USD (2500LL=1$) how do you expect him to sell it in LBP (1500LL) with a significant loss.
Well, it's not like an 1000 dollar laptop is being imported at 990.

And we'll reach a stage where no one is going to afford to buy electronics. Then we'll start importing crappy brands instead to get prices dow and Lebanon will fall technically backwards.

Realistically, how many people can afford to buy electronics at 2500 without sacrificing monthly budgets? Hardly any. The shops still making good profits are doing so from contracted clients. My employer gets all the office printers, computers, paper, etc.. etc... from one shop.
He doesn't have a computer at home because his workplace computers are from company budget.
Microcity sells a lot of Intel Xeon servers for "long term" clients. I know the two ladies who work in the Hamra store.

Again, before Lebanon falls into the dark ages, the dollar price should go down, urgently....
Malls with computer shops tend to accept credit cards. (CityCentre's carrefour - electronic section for example)
Fischer wrote We all know that none paid USD (2500LL=1$) especially in the electronics world, they imported the stock long ago.
This is wrong and, sorry, very selfish assumption, only to make things pleasant for buyer. Or just financially illiterate.
I see this assumption on every corner and you can't imagine how stupid it is and make me angry, that people say that.

Let's say i'm computer store and importer at same time. I have $100000 capital i earned hard over the years, and invested it in buying memory sticks long time ago.
So you are just saying i must sell this memory sticks for 1500LL ($100000*1500LL = 150000000LL)
Then i will have to exchange anyway to keep buying components outside for 2500LL (or most likely it will cost more at that moment), i will have on hands $60000 only. And salaries, rent not paid yet.
So, really?
VincentKeyboard wrote Well, it's not like an 1000 dollar laptop is being imported at 990.

And we'll reach a stage where no one is going to afford to buy electronics. Then we'll start importing crappy brands instead to get prices dow and Lebanon will fall technically backwards.

Realistically, how many people can afford to buy electronics at 2500 without sacrificing monthly budgets? Hardly any. The shops still making good profits are doing so from contracted clients. My employer gets all the office printers, computers, paper, etc.. etc... from one shop.
He doesn't have a computer at home because his workplace computers are from company budget.
Microcity sells a lot of Intel Xeon servers for "long term" clients. I know the two ladies who work in the Hamra store.

Again, before Lebanon falls into the dark ages, the dollar price should go down, urgently....
Lebanon also spends a lot on very luxury brands, that are not necessity, like there is oil well in each citizen backyard.
Lot of expensive white label brands in networking, computing, mobiles...
I am struggling to push opensource solutions, to keep money in country and make employment for local talents, and for all this almost 15+ years i am here, i hear mostly "nah, we have budget for this BRAND and outsourced support, we dont need your shitty DIY linux".
So maybe things are need to get bad in this matter specifically, so people will start to move their ass and buy smarter and start to do something and use local bright minds, instead of paying premium for corporations outside.
Electronics is nothing, many who really work with IT (not just imitating work by putting papers from one shelf to another) can earn outside and bring fresh dollars.
Terrible is not electronics. Terrible is that is those who suffered before crisis and barely paid their kids education and food, will be in gravely bad situation now.
nuclearcat wrote Lebanon also spends a lot on very luxury brands, that are not necessity, like there is oil well in each citizen backyard.
Lot of expensive white label brands in networking, computing, mobiles...
I am struggling to push opensource solutions, to keep money in country and make employment for local talents, and for all this almost 15+ years i am here, i hear mostly "nah, we have budget for this BRAND and outsourced support, we dont need your shitty DIY linux".
So maybe things are need to get bad in this matter specifically, so people will start to move their ass and buy smarter and start to do something and use local bright minds, instead of paying premium for corporations outside.
Electronics is nothing, many who really work with IT (not just imitating work by putting papers from one shelf to another) can earn outside and bring fresh dollars.
Terrible is not electronics. Terrible is that is those who suffered before crisis and barely paid their kids and food, will be in gravely bad situation now.
Even Microsoft is shipping Linux kernels now. This is very frustrating. The open source model is a treasure. Many people are making 6 figure salaries working at IBM, Igalia, etc..., etc... contributing customer "feature requests" to open source software and selling it back to customers.
nuclearcat wrote
Fischer wrote We all know that none paid USD (2500LL=1$) especially in the electronics world, they imported the stock long ago.
This is wrong and, sorry, very selfish assumption, only to make things pleasant for buyer. Or just financially illiterate.
I see this assumption on every corner and you can't imagine how stupid it is and make me angry, that people say that.

Let's say i'm computer store and importer at same time. I have $100000 capital i earned hard over the years, and invested it in buying memory sticks long time ago.
So you are just saying i must sell this memory sticks for 1500LL ($100000*1500LL = 150000000LL)
Then i will have to exchange anyway to keep buying components outside for 2500LL (or most likely it will cost more at that moment), i will have on hands $60000 only. And salaries, rent not paid yet.
So, really?

How are you going to pay salaries if you raise your prices so high that no one is going to buy anything from you? It's is your right to not accept LBP, in fact as a programmer, I'm doing very well and I refuse to get paid in LBP, just because I like saving money and well LBP is not a great currency to do that, every day it loses value, + I'm looking to leave any day so LBP won't be useful for me when I leave.

Alright as a seller it's your right not to accept LBP, or to raise the exchange rate, but if I'm offering to pay you USD in a debit card, what's your excuse for refusing it? You might not be able to use it for yourself but it could be used to pay wages or the rent.

But no, you want to pay your rent and your employees in LBP so that's it's cheaper for you, and you want me to give you cash USD, that's greed, pure greed and you're going to go bankrupt real soon because no one is going to give you what you ask for.
Fischer wrote How are you going to pay salaries if you raise your prices so high that no one is going to buy anything from you? It's is your right to not accept LBP, in fact as a programmer, I'm doing very well and I refuse to get paid in LBP, just because I like saving money and well LBP is not a great currency to do that, every day it loses value, + I'm looking to leave any day so LBP won't be useful for me when I leave.

Alright as a seller it's your right not to accept LBP, or to raise the exchange rate, but if I'm offering to pay you USD in a debit card, what's your excuse for refusing it? You might not be able to use it for yourself but it could be used to pay wages or the rent.

But no, you want to pay your rent and your employees in LBP so that's it's cheaper for you, and you want me to give you cash USD, that's greed, pure greed and you're going to go bankrupt real soon because no one is going to give you what you ask for.
You don't get it. Technically price should be in LBP, but my point is that price can't be in LBP same as before, if it is imported before.
Key is to keep capital in USD, even if you get LBP.
Seller most likely have to accept LBP, and set prices depending at today exchange rate + "safety gap" (how much it might jump up before he will be able to exchange them to USD).
In some cases, if sales are not going, cheaper to suspend the business and wait better times, instead of burning of your "capital"(value of commodity you have in stock) remains. Especially because electronics is such stuff that doesnt expire fast as foodstuff and etc, most of it might stay 1 year on shelf, and lose much less than selling it at 1500L/1$.
VincentKeyboard wrote Even Microsoft is shipping Linux kernels now. This is very frustrating. The open source model is a treasure. Many people are making 6 figure salaries working at IBM, Igalia, etc..., etc... contributing customer "feature requests" to open source software and selling it back to customers.
Yes, opensource is not for poors, opensource need a bit of thinking to use it properly.
One govt owned company bought appliance that cost in range $100k - $1m, while it was possible to job by FREE open-source software. And amount of required "tinkering" to adapt it was ridiculously low.
Just nobody want to move their f...g lazy ass, grow brain and do their own damn job. They want company pay support and some outsourced guys from Asia to do their job, and they do "moudir" job, just forward requirements from boss and translate to that guys in "technical language", and same time they want to call themself "engineer".
Its not only that particular company, its everywhere.
This is one of the reasons why whole country is sinking like Titanic.
And one of ways to save the situation is to stop throwing money abroad for what can be done by local talents.
@nuclearcat, that helps a section of the country who have the required talents. The rest don't.
Nationally though, the only solution to this situation is to force trading by cash in shops to be at LL only. rafik harriri forced this in the 90s and it fixed the economy back then. it can help again.
Even at elevated prices, we are all sick of shops going on and on about the all mighty dollar.
It's been historically proven in Lebanese history, we;ve been through this before. the dollar went up to 3500 back then.

I have no problem paying 50,000 for a 20 dollar item if the seller is forced to accept only cash LL or dollars using visa/mastercard/whatever.
When this happens, the dollar craze will stop and the dollar price will go down.

You said you were here for 15 years. Ask any of your friends who are late 40s or older about the 90s. we went through the same situation as today and it was fixed this way.
Our problem is the corrupt leadership and arrogant population.
I dont think there is any magic such as dedollarization will fix situation.
There is huge problem in trade balance. Doesn't matter if you pay in LL or USD internally, still you need $$ to import all fancy and expensive stuff. And there is not much people who are bothered how to earn and bring this real $$ inside country.
In 90s Lebanon was still in wild west financial world, with lot of uncontrolled, sweet financial flows providing free(or almost free) money. Today, with all financial regulations, all this "gray zone" stuff almost dried up.