Thursday, July 5, 2007

Life List Day 108 - Indulge My Curiosity

I was browsing the classified ads of my local paper, looking for used bike. There were ads for furniture, computer parts, exercise equipment...and then I came across this:

REACH MOUTHWASH, 18 OZ. Brand new. $2

Immediately, I thought, WHY? Why would someone go through the bother and expense of placing a classified ad, taking calls, letting someone into their home... to sell a $2 bottle of mouthwash?!

This is the sort of thing that eats at me.

So I called.

At first, I said, "Whoops, wrong number," and hung up when a woman answered, because I'm that big a coward. Besides, I didn't want her to think I was making fun of her. I just wanted to KNOW.

So I waited...and then I called again.

This time when she answered, I said, "I'm calling about the mouthwash. Is it still for sale?" Real innocent...like I figured a hot item like that was likely to have been snatched up immediately.

"Yes, it is," she replied.

So I asked a few questions, like what flavor it was (mint), and where she was located (within a couple miles). I couldn't figure out a way to ask WHY she'd be selling it when she said, "Well, I have a few of them. So any time you want to stop by, feel free."

Ahhhhhhhhh. Mystery solved. She probably inherited a case somehow - maybe she was a gameshow winner and got a lifetime supply - so stood to make more than just a couple bucks.

After I hung up, it occured to me I still didn't know how she could justify the cost of a classified ad, even if she did have several bottles.

So I called the classified department of the newspaper.

Turns out, ads up to two lines are free.

And I can now sleep at night.

3 comments:

soleil said...

that's too funny. though that's the kind of stuff i wonder about too.

someGirl said...

That was great!! I would have called too!

Anonymous said...

Such a nice blog. I hope you will create another post like this.