Share the Lava!

Sometimes when you're working your space, you get the opportunity to interact with customers who are browsing.  The Sunday after I moved into my new spot, I was at YesterNook trying to get everything set up, while working around the usual Sunday crowd.  Not an easy task, let me tell you.

A woman came through with a kid who must have been about 11 or 12.  He was the kind of curious little guy who was interested in just about everything he saw.  I like kids like that.  They remind me of a younger me, except I was a lot quieter than this guy was.

Anyway, my space is a mess.  I'm still moving stuff around to get it into place.  I've got tubs crammed full of stuff everywhere.  Very little of my actual inventory is accessible or visible.  And his eyes land on one of the few items that are both--a lava lamp.  And then his eyes light up!

The next few minutes are a flurry of questions and pleading that can only come from a child who has discovered a true treasure that he must have.  And his poor grandmother was caught completely off-guard.

"Nana!  It's a lava lamp!  I've always wanted one!  Can I get it?  Will you get it for me?  It would look so cool in my room!  How cool is this?  Please, Nana?  Please?  My birthday is coming up?  It's only 12.99!"

She put up a valiant defense, but I could tell she was struggling.  "We'd have to call your mother. She might not want you to have one.  I can't get you something like that without talking to your mother."  Of course, his answer was:  "Call her.  She won't mind."

I was in and out of the space, constantly running downstairs for something or another, so I don't know if the call actually got made.  However, I couldn't resist getting involved and stirring the pot a bit.  On one of my passes through, I pointed out to both of them that I was having a moving sale and everything but furniture was 20% off.  Sneaky devil.

That, of course, got the little guy going again.  "Nana!  20% off!"

Now, I fully admit that getting involved in these kinds of things is a little risky.  I'm all for making a sale, but it can come across as being pushy or nosy.  Still, nothing ventured; nothing gained.  Right?  And, honestly, anything that I didn't have to try and find a place for in the new space was a blessing to me.

Besides, it was kind of fun to watch the kid go.  I was kind of rooting for him to get it at that point, just to see him win.

So, I pulled out my last secret weapon.  The markdown.  I had to run back downstairs, so I turned to Nana and said "I could take a couple bucks off the price for him with no problem.  And you'd still get the 20% off."  I thought the little dud was going to jump through the roof at that one.

When I came back upstairs, he was holding the lamp and thanking me profusely.  Score one for the kid!