Used Goods

-Ring ring ring-

“Hello, Dominion of Movies.”

The voice on the other end is unfamiliar to Fernando. “Yeah, I was wondering if you had any copies of Red there.”

Fernando takes a quick look at the aisle. “Uh, I don't have any in right now, but if you want I can give you a call as soon as I get one back, if you'll give me your name and number.”

“Oh, I meant if you had any copies up for sale.”

“Wow, coincidental. Actually, I was planning to throw one up on the sales rack tomorrow. Did you want me to hold that for you?”

“Yeah. I'll be down.”

So Fernando places the case for Red behind the counter and the following day he readies it for purchase. About an hour after opening a guy Fernando has never seen before comes in. “Yeah, I'm here for Red,” he says.

“Right here. It'll be eight bucks.”

“Wow, that's a great deal.” Then the man looks down and frowns. “It's used.”

“Well, yes. That's why it's eight dollars.”

“I wanted a new copy. You told me you had a new copy.”

Now it's Fernando's turn to frown. “Er. No. Sorry, but generally my sales are used. I do do special orders though, but generally those are for hard-to-find movies instead of stuff that's been just released that you can easily find at Wal-Mart or wherever.”

“You told me it would be a new copy. Do you have a new copy?”

“I'm afraid I said no such thing. The only copy of Red I have for sale is the one on the counter in front of you. Sorry.”

This does not satisfy the man's consumption needs, so he leaves. The copy of Red is placed on the sales rack and is snapped up by one of Fernando's regular customers later that day.