Today my observation refers once more to the new printer I got Wednesday--a printer that I really didn't need for I already had a good one. I have learned a lesson from this acquisition and old product dispensation. I have learned that if you want a good deal on something, find an Extra Special Situation. An Extra Special Situation is where someone has had loyal service from a product and they are feeling guilty about parting with the product before the end of its useful life. They identify with the product and consider how they would feel if so abandoned. Under this Extra Special Situation, the owner feels that he owes something to the product--something reflective of the valuable service it has already performed and respectful of its remaining potential. As the old product has been sacrificed by the owner for something new, so now a sacrifice from the owner is rightly due to insure that the product finds "a good home." The asking price, if there is one, will be a discounted price reflective of the service rendered by the product and the sense of guilt felt on the part of the owner. Mark, at work, said he would be willing to take my old printer. I, of course, could not ask a price for the printer--one does not sell an old friend. But I did have with the printer two black and two color high-yield unused ink cartridges worth some $165. I first told Mark I would give him the package (printer & ink) for $117. Then I got to thinking about what a good home this would be for the printer, and I reduced the price to $50. Mark said that if he considered the deal much longer, I would be offering him money to take [care of] my old printer. Clearly, Mark was encountering an Extra Special Situation.
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