To say that I love action figures would be an understatement. Juvenile as it may sound (and a bit retarded, I admit) I still buy toys and even play with them whenever I get the chance. Of course, these days I have my son as an excuse to do that.
As a young boy, I never had a lot of toys, and my parents would never buy me the ones I liked. I made do with cheap knock-offs and makeshift toys of wood and whatever materials were at hand. I guess I never outgrew that part, and now I'm making up for it.
My work as a writer is also another excuse for my childish obsession. Truth is, my story-making skills were honed, as it were, from my days of playing. When I played, I had a full-blown plot, dialogues and background stories for every "character". And, believe it or not, my first stories for TV were inspired by my "play stories".
I am, however, a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to buying for myself, so I only buy my toys at bargains and second-hand shops. If the price is right, I would never resist the urge to make a purchase, whether its still in the box or 'loose' as the used toys are called. I actually prefer the loose toys because they could already be played with unlike the boxed ones that I can't open without a bit of regret because they are collectors' items while still in the box.
I am always on the lookout for good buys, so imagine my surprise when I happened upon a store in Bacolod where an original DC Direct Wonder Woman figure was on sale for P200.00. That is a bargain of the highest degree, since action figures of the same make and quality would sell for three to four times as much even in vaunted Divisoria.
Here's where the problem started. As I began to inquire more into the mentioned toy, the old lady who was minding the store must have seen how eager I was and began to up the price.
"Ay, P250 pala." ("Oh, it's actuially P250.") she said.
I was miffed, of course. I understand that people need to make a living. I understand that the old lady was just hired help, and that she was following what her employer must have told her about upping the price when they can. But I can't help but feel irked that she was ignoring me half the time before she finally realized that I was seriously into buying her merchandise. And then she gave the price a 25% increase on the spot.
Okay, P50 is not a lot, in fact I would have still bought the action figure if she insisted on it. But miffed as I was, I still haggled for the previously mentioned P200 price. So she gave in and I left with my prize.
Upon leaving the establishment, I checked the new addition to my collection and found a price tag behind it - P800.
The old lady had made a mistake. She sold me the toy for a quarter of its real price.
There came my dilemma. Annoyed as I was, I had the urge to keep the toy, with thoughts at the back of my head like 'teach her a lesson' or 'serves her right' justifying my action.
But there was also a more powerful thought in my head, that of guilt and pity. The old lady would have to pay for the P600 deficiency in her sale. Being just hired help, she probably didn't make that much in a week. She deserved a lesson in respect and fair play, no doubt, but not through me. Not at the expense of my conscience.
Had there NOT been a price tag, I would have walked away a happy man, ignorance would have been bliss. But I did know that I had just cheated an old lady, unscrupulous as she was, of P600, and that wouldn't do.
So I walked back to the store, returned Wonder Woman, and left empty handed, but also guiltless and with a clean head.
Still, it was a nice action figure...
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