The Sale

Yesterday Tom listed two very retro (and very heavy) stereo components on Craig's List and then he did research and saw that similar components sold for much more. So he changed the price, upped it by 125 additional dollars, which made it still quite low.

But nearly at the same moment, aha! The phone rang. The caller asked about the components and Tom knew immediately, the man had seen the lower price, first.

And alas, he had.

So Tom told him he'd sell the components at the lower price since the man was calling about that price, even though he'd since changed it. The man then told Tom he'd come by at 5:00.

Immediately, someone else called willing to pay the new, higher price. Of course.

Then Tom turned to me and moaned some "woulda, coulda, shoulda" things, like, he should've done the research, first, but he'd gotten the components years before at a yard sale for cheap and had thought hey! He'd be getting a spiffy profit if he sold them for that (original lower) price.

I told him, "Well, yes! You should have looked-up selling prices, first. And you should've told the guy upfront that you'd made a mistake and the price was now _____." But Tom said he couldn't do that. It felt like a moral dilemma to him and he had to do what he felt was right.

I just sighed.

Anyway. The young guy came and by looking at his clothes and car and hearing his story, we could tell he didn't have much money--he'd been trying to build the perfect stereo system for years (highly annoying his wife--with which I could identify, certainly). He also brought with him his adorable, 4-year-old sweet and quiet-as-can-be daughter who melted our hearts. Also, he whipped out an extra ten dollars hoping it would make Tom feel better for letting the components go cheaply (we thought that, kind.)

Well. Tom came in from the garage after the man and his little girl drove away and said he felt absolutely no regret about not getting the extra $125. He felt great about letting the young man go home with such a good deal.

We both felt contented, in fact. There are, after all, more important things in Life than money.

No, really. There are.



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