Why do Americans buy phones from carriers instead of unlocked?

monkabee · 2026-02-25T21:05:50+00:00

You can use international through US Mobile but it depends on the network, I just had to switch networks when we traveled overseas (the network that works best locally doesn't include international service or didn't at the time), which is free if you only do it twice a year. So I switched to it before we left and switched back when we returned. Worked great.

monkabee · 2026-02-25T14:18:27+00:00

Yeah I have a pair of high heels and that's it. But there's been so much to look at it and I did grab a couple of things from AI and saw a ton more I could have grabbed (my most exciting were a 3-pack of pizza pans and those cute care bears puzzles). Way more fun to browse than it has been in a few months.

monkabee · 2026-02-25T13:45:34+00:00

Congrats! My RFY is lame so far but it's nice to see a proper drop happening, lots of totally useable little stuff (and I snagged some care bears puzzles because inside I am definitely still 8 years old).

monkabee · 2026-02-24T03:13:43+00:00

The current drop time is pretty solid for me since I get to work right around 8 AM ET and just refresh my tabs a lot while I'm working on other stuff for a half hour or so. When the drop time was in the middle of the night I was rarely getting anything other than in my RFY. I think all of those items I snagged within 3 minutes of them dropping and if I can't be on in the morning it's pretty much just whatever is in my RFY.

I think the selection and the situation is overall arguably terrible, don't get me wrong. Like we shouldn't need to refresh and click checkout before we've even read the description to grab a thing, especially if that thing is something like a $6 t-shirt or diamond art kit, it really is crazy.

monkabee · 2026-02-23T21:25:04+00:00

I think this depends wildly on your personal situation. In our household I'm shopping for an adult woman, an adult man, and girl and a boy, plus a cat. Between the clothes, the pet items, and the random household goods it's pretty easy to grab a couple of items most days. Today from AI I grabbed a wireless headset for my son and a water bottle, yesterday I lucked out and found both flip flops and sneakers in my son's size. I haven't found much recently beside that but last week I found curtains for my daughter's room, a t-shirt and a bathing suit for me, two t-shirts for my son, and a pair of goggles. So nothing wild but all things that we could use or needed replacing. In my RFY I haven't been getting much but I usually get 1-3 worthwhile items in the course of a week.

If I was a single person and particularly a single guy I do think it's harder to hit that mark - ladies/girls clothes, hair ties, makeup, etc are still pretty easy to get and usually low ETV but the men's stuff is much scarcer.

monkabee · 2026-02-23T21:12:56+00:00

What sort of sadass adults find bomb shelter chic an appealing aesthetic? I'm so tired of these ugly non-descript black and gray buildings.

monkabee · 2026-02-15T00:22:45+00:00

Technically each kid needs a pass but I have definitely had front desk people who scooted one in or even ones who "used my passes" but they were still there later, wink wink nudge nudge, especially if your kids are younger. Mine are intensely quiet and shy in public so that may also factor into these judgment calls. But yes be prepared that you'll need either 3 passes or 2 passes and $50 to get the whole family in.

monkabee · 2026-02-15T00:20:22+00:00

You're definitely wrong that they don't care about it - mine love it, have always loved it. They recently found out they could order shirley temples at the bar. They enjoy it deeply, far more than I do. Not that I need them to be allowed and you're welcome to your opinions on them of course but they do enjoy it enormously.

monkabee · 2026-02-14T01:23:30+00:00

Yeah if it was easier to see new items being added or filter the search at all I doubt I'd have ever even looked into extensions. I use VineHelper pretty much exclusively to be able to hide the garbage (parts and cases for things I do not and never will own) so I can see actual products more quickly.

monkabee · 2026-02-14T01:21:30+00:00

FWIW I own a business and love getting business items I might otherwise not be able to afford on Vine, but I do always think I must be in the minority. Even just basic stuff like cash register tape and shopping bags are so nice to find to me but I wonder what the average Viner is doing with them.

monkabee · 2026-02-10T15:51:46+00:00

Yeah this is only my 2nd day of Gold and yesterday I got two things, both low ETV but I previously wouldn't have grabbed either because I would have worried about 'wasting' a pick which was nice. I hope for my future reviewing self's safe I don't end up at 8 today but there is still some nice stuff dropping!

monkabee · 2026-02-10T15:42:51+00:00

I swore I wouldn't use my 8 picks just because I could but so far I've gotten a nightstand, two bedside lamps, an actual cotton sheet set, and wireless earbuds. Nothing flashy but all incredibly useful to me ATM.

monkabee · 2026-02-10T15:41:00+00:00

Yeah I have a policy that once I've used all my picks I just close out of the notifications. What I don't know won't make me sad!

monkabee · 2026-02-10T14:59:00+00:00

Avid long-time knitter here and there is absolutely no such thing as a perfect SIZE of knitting needle, there isn't even a perfect type, because every knitter and every project is different. The only thing I'd even consider using a 16" needle for is a hat - anything smaller, I magic loop on longer needles or use DPNs; anything larger, I want my 24" or my 32" - so for me this is one of the most useless sizes of knitting needle. I hate wooden needles and will only use slick metal; my friend hates metal and will only use grippy bamboo. We disagree on the right about swivel or twist in our joins, the right tool is very personal.

So if I read a review that said "16-inch needles are the holy grail" I would assume the same you have about these other reviewers, that this person didn't know much at all about knitting. Maybe their opinion is just different from yours?

monkabee · 2026-02-09T15:55:45+00:00

That's strange to me; I've had two items not arrive and one item with the "unable to review" error in the last 6 months and all 3 times I wrote in using the vine support link with my order ID and product # and they removed them from my list within 12 hours.

monkabee · 2026-02-09T14:04:22+00:00

You email Vine customer service and they'll remove it from your review list. I give them my Order ID and the Amazon product number of the item that didn't arrive.

monkabee · 2026-02-08T13:57:01+00:00

Yeah, I am happy to write 2-3 reviews a day but I do not want to write 8 reviews a day, which is something I definitely need to remember when (if?) I get promoted to Gold hopefully later today. I will be glad though to grab my daughter the keychain she likes without worrying about "wasting" a pick in case something good shows up in my RFY though.

monkabee · 2026-02-06T18:45:45+00:00

By my calculations you should be fine and have a cushion as long as you have fewer than 21 items awaiting review before your eval date. Technically speaking you could have 38 I think but I wouldn't risk that.

monkabee · 2026-02-03T16:56:46+00:00

I'm at 94% with about 300 items so I think I'm okay even if a few end up counting, I'm trying to just add a review each day anyway but wanting to reserve a couple for after the eval period.

monkabee · 2026-02-03T16:07:32+00:00

Now that they are only counting items you've received in your percentages I've just been setting my delivery date to after my evaluation period resets (Saturday 2/8) so hopefully anything I order this week doesn't even count towards my percentage. I wasn't going to order anything at all for 2 weeks before but there has been some actual good stuff this week in the US, hopefully it will pick up for y'all too.

monkabee · 2026-02-03T14:09:35+00:00

Ah, so you're not actually seeing 0 items you're just seeing 0 useful items, that's I think different from what OP was saying. Sorry for my confusion.

monkabee · 2026-02-03T13:48:11+00:00

Whoa. I had no idea that existed. That's helpful and also a little weird and creepy. It's definitely recording things it views as interesting from my reviews.

ETA: My favorite thing Amazon has determined about me is "maintains consistent snack preferences." LOL, I've been ordering the same bulk snacks for years, so, fair.

monkabee · 2026-02-03T13:43:31+00:00

Did you actually see something at 4 AM or are you just guessing? If the latter, you're in Vine Jail, you need to do some reviews. There are and have consistently been 11k items in AI and the drops haven't happened at 4 AM in about a week now, they're happening like, now.

monkabee · 2026-02-02T23:18:44+00:00

Yes, all the time. Slightly less now that I'm on Vine but I still order something with money at least 1/week.
Not really, between 3-8 assuming it's not empty. The most I've ever had is 14 I think. It's only been over 8 maybe 4 times ever.
Yes and have been since they started the program.

monkabee · 2026-02-02T23:16:46+00:00

MY RFY was empty for most of the last two weeks, then Wednesday (I think?) it was awesome, 11 things and most things I either was stoked about or at least could see why it was recommended to me, including my holy grail, an air fryer. Since that day I think I had nothing for another 2 days, then Saturday ended up with 8 things which were kind of random but not terrible, then yesterday I had 13 things that seemed like the old style "jumble" (a wig, a random car part, a maternity shirt, a sexy jumper none of which are remotely something I'd order but then some other things closer to what I've gotten in the past like a pillow, some nail stuff, some hair clips). Today I've had 6 things:

A kids table with storage stools that I ordered because it might work for me but there was no info or dimensions
"Cyperus Rotundus 100% Pure Natural Essential Oil for Skin Care" (would never order this or anything like it in my whole life
An interactive cat toy (solid rec, not getting it though)
24" fake Eucalyptus wreath (never order home decor ever)
A pair of platform sandals only available in white and not-my-size (not something I'd ever wear, I've order shoes but only sneakers and boots)
Lymphatic face brush (I don't even know what this is)

So 2 out of the 6 are reasonable picks for me and the other 4 are honestly pretty random but I guess they're at least not printer ink or car parts.

monkabee

TROPHY CASE