Once my mother went to a bakery and tried to buy a cake, but the woman working there said no, because it was the last one and if she sold it she wouldn't have any cake left to sell later.
I think about this a lot, it is a metaphor for something but I haven't quite figured out for what yet.
Similar logic as the (very) rural grocer who told a friend of mine when they asked for wholemeal flour: "I don't stock that, because it just keeps selling out."
Imagine having the same feelings about wholemeal flour as Aziraphale (Good Omens) has about the books in his bookshops - please don’t buy them because I want them for myself!😄
It's not a certain store, but more a certain strategy (or value system) where having an empty shelf for a long time is considered worse overall than selling a few more items.
Full shelfs signal abundance and prosperity, whereas empty shelfs equal squalor and poverty.
I don't think it's good business at all, unless maybe when you find yourself in a society/period where the fear of being looking poor/lacking is overwhelming.
I went to Target to buy patio furniture, but they were out. They wouldn’t sell the display in case they got more in. They weren’t certain they WOULD ever get more, nor would they bother to call me if they DID get more.
That was 2011. Haven’t been back since.
Our local electricals store did the same 'oh no, we don't have that in stock' 'but you've got one there?' 'no we can't sell that one' 'can I order one?' 'no, it's out of stock at the warehouse'
Well, maybe don't have that on display as a thing I can buy then, if I can't! 🙄🤦🏼♀️
We went to a place called "de conch shack" and this dead eyed island waitress said no conch. When pressed she admitted there was conch but she was saving it for tomorrow. After much discussion we got some, left a blistering review. Owner apologized and offered free dinner if we return. We won't.
It may make sense if they also sell slices of cake and think it's better to have a dozen happy costumers buy slices than one buy the whole thing.
It may also be stupid
I watched a lady in a pizza place try to buy the "by the slice" pizza because she didn't want to wait for a whole one. They wouldn't sell it to her. Sometimes it makes sense.
It had probably been in there for a long time as display, that's why at fast food places even if the display looks like they have a whole bunch u could eat, they can't sell it to you cause it's been there for weeks/months depending on how quick it looks old and gross
Yeah there are real breads on display at my local grocer that are literal years old. Dust is more a problem than rot once they're rock hard and dried out 😅
When you hold on too tightly to the things you have, you could miss out on the opportunity to receive more.
Money she got from selling the last cake would enable her to buy more cake ingredients to make more.
But she refused to sell it and was still stuck with 1 soon to rot cake.
I'm loving it, and this is so farfetched it could be true, but as a parent I just want to ask how trustworthy your mum is and how long ago this happened and how old you were at the time, because this is totally the shit I would tell my kids if I forgot to buy a cake when I was in town.
Story: A man goes into a country store for ketchup. Walks in, and every shelf is full of salt. Different containers, but all salt. "Ketchup?" says the owner. "Hang on." They search the store and the owner tries the cellar. More salt! But there's also ketchup.
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"You must sell a lot of salt here," the guy says to the shopkeeper, who seems a bit surprised. "Well, no," he says, "We don't really sell much of it at all."
Then he gets a faraway look and says "But I'll tell you: That guy who sells it to me? Lordy, does HE ever sell salt!"
