Choices
I was at the hardware store, looking at several long butane lighters. They looked the same, were made by the same company, and all promised to produce reliable flames with minimal risk of explosion. The only difference seemed to be in price, with one costing $3.99 and the most expensive costing $7.99.
I confess to a moment of indecision, thinking that there must be some reason that the pricier one is better. After all, one doesn’t want to take any chances when fire is involved. But frugality won the day, so I pulled the less expensive lighter off the rack and brought it to the counter.
The clerk was a man in his sixties with a kind, grizzled face, so I thought I would ask him if he knew what the difference was. I gambled that his financial interest in selling me the priciest item available would be outweighed by his human sympathy for a novice in need of guidance, so he might give me a straight answer. And perhaps I was missing some obvious difference that he could point out.
“I noticed that you have one of these for $7.99, but this one is only $3.99. Do you know the difference?”
“Marketing,” he declared with finality in a strong Boston accent. “They wanted to be able to charge more, so they slapped a fancy name on the other one to get suckers to pay more. Either one will light your fire.”
“Okay!” I replied. “I appreciate your honesty. I’ll take this one, then.”
He chuckled slightly, then donned his professional demeanor again, turned to the register and rang up the sale.
“Do you want a bag?”
“No thank you,” I said, then walked out of the store carrying a new lighter and a tiny bit of renewed faith in humankind.