Stuff you can\u2019t buy. A single pair of ankle socks. Oh sure, a lot of stores sell the socks, but not by the pair. You are forced to buy six or eight or a dozen in most places. If you look hard, you might find a store that sells a three pack. An off-brand three-pack, where the heel disappears after three uses. Maybe you want a white pair, a gray pair and a black pair. You are forced to acquire at least nine pairs.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s another thing. Color. I like more color than what\u2019s available in our black, white & gray fashion world of today. Red, yellow, green, blue; that\u2019s what I\u2019m looking for. I have to go on-line to a site called \u201cJoy of Socks\u201d to get them. Guess what? They sell them by the pair. I like that, so I usually buy three or four. My decision, not theirs.<\/p>\n
Socks aren\u2019t the only problem. A lot of retailers try to load you up with more product than you want. Go to an office supply store for a small box of paper clips. You have to buy a dozen boxes. Old coots like me use 6.8 paper clips a year, on average (don\u2019t believe me? look it up at Old-Coot-a-pedia). A small box is a lifetime supply. A dozen small boxes is something you have to take care of in your will.<\/p>\n
How about grocery stores, the big chains? Buy one get one free (with their rewards card). The stores around here will let you buy one at the lower price, but many other places won\u2019t give you the discount unless you buy two. Food stores aren\u2019t the only ones that bundle discounts like this. A lot of other businesses do. You need a pair of dress shoes for a wedding? Something that happens to us old coots because we tossed out all those suits, ties and leather shoes when we retired. Thinking we\u2019d never need them again. We forgot about the funerals we\u2019d be attending and the next generation\u2019s weddings. So, you go looking for a cheap pair of shoes to get you over the hump and are confronted with a 50 percent off sign on the rack. \u201cWow! I lucked out this time.\u201d Then, you read the fine print, \u201c50 percent off the second pair.\u201d Shoes, suits, pants, a whole bunch of things you barely need one of, are often priced like this. <\/p>\n
We grew up in a world where the customer made the choice, not the merchant. We grew up in a penny candy world and spent our childhood gazing into a candy case full of sugary delights and telling the patient clerk, \u201cGive me a black licorice stick, no make that red, a couple pretzel rods, two bubble gums, a spearmint leaf, an orange slice, a bit-o-honey, a jaw breaker and two fire balls.\u201d Interspaced with a couple of dozen, \u201cUms.\u201d We walked out with a little brown bag chocked full of sugar treasures. As close to nirvana as a ten-year-old can get. We had choices. Now we don\u2019t. And, I\u2019m stuck with a drawer full of socks I don\u2019t need. <\/p>\n