Do you want to sell?

 

It's happened again. A few days ago I mentioned that I was parked in a car park waiting for someone to finish shopping. A man approached me and asked if I wanted to sell my car. I said "No" and he went away.

Well, it happened again. My car was parked on our drive in our front garden. It was on private property. Someone has put a well printed and produced card under the windscreen wiper.

It said, "Do you want to sell your car? We offer good prices. Phone this number ..."

I looked up and down the street and none of the neighbours' cars had a similar card on them. I did not know whether to feel proud that my car is attracting attention, or to be insulted because it is an old wreck. So old the Driving Instructions Manual is written in Latin and so are all the controls on the car. 

And another thing ... every so often, about once a month I would say, we receive a card through the letter box from various Estate Agents. The card says, "Do you want to sell your house? We have three potential buyers who would like a house in your area, and yours is an ideal house for them."

Are these people serious when they print and distribute these cards to various households? 

Consider the cost involved in production and distribution of such adverts. Do people suddenly think, "Oh yes ... that's what I'll do. I'll sell my house and move because there are at least three potential buyers out there!"

I know some people sometimes make impulse purchases as a result of adverts, but does that really happen with impulse sales? 

Can you imagine me approaching a woman in the street and saying I like her handbag, would she sell it to me? 

Well, that too happened to me. I was approached by a woman in town who said she liked my trousers because of their mauve colour and she wanted to buy them of me. I refused politely.

Whilst I was not looking, she stole my trousers and ran away. I had to chase her trouser-less for at least a hundred metres until she finally threw them away and ran off.

Luckily, the trousers I had just bought were not damaged as they were still in their packaging. 

On an unrelated matter ... Did you know my grand-father invented the colour mauve. Before then there was red, and there was blue, and violet, and purple, but no mauve. He went to the shops with my grandma and she tried a dress on. She asked him, "Do you like the colour? What is it called?"

He was eager to go home and replied, "Come on ... move!"

She said, "Mauve ... that's my favourite colour from now on!"