Buy this, free that

I love waking up on Sunday mornings. It means a hearty breakfast followed by the usual Jatujak browsing cum shopping spree. A trip to the weekend market never fails to introduce more surprising, if not amusing Thai cultures to us. So to speak, we were bemused again today.

Once we stepped foot into 'Busyland' we saw that a crowd has gathered. There were cartons and cartons of toys, which i do not doubt the proprietor intended to sell off in ONE DAY in this shopping haven. Huh? Is it a possibility to strike gold in one day? Mr. ToyBoy may not seemed like he attended business school, but he sure has the basic principles of marketing right. Maybe he has a copy of Seth Godin's Purple Cow for Christmas last year.

Anyways, the location was perfecto. It was smack right in the middle of the walkway . Eat at the famous ramen stall, you hear him. Head to the toilet, you see him. (Note: There is no correlation between the variables. So 'famous ramen stall next to the toilet along the walkway in Jatujak, I don't anticipate seeing you in court)). Secondly, the weather was right for business. In the intense heat, kids (like mine) get really unreasonable and would stomp their feet for toys when they detected one, using their infamous inconspicuous antennas. It's Sunday. You don't want to deal with whiny and cranky children. Give them what they want and nobody gets hurt. Finally, the sale pitch gotta make NO sense. "Buy this push along mini cooper for 200baht and you get this gargantuan battery-operated dinosaur which roars, walks and grunts for FREE."

You thought you heard wrongly. Then he confused you more by adding the detail of how much the clamorous extinct reptile would cost on OTHER day.. a hefty 1750 baht. Wtf..

Now, how about telling the innocent crowd that the dinosaur is on sale today and you are throwing in the mini cooper as a BONUS. Sure, follow my suggestion and you will lugging the boxes back to the sorry ass of your van at the end of the day. Meanwhile, Mr.Toyboy is laughing all the way to the bank. Hey, gimme back my money!