In The Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry first saw the Firebolt in the window, he saw that it was "price on request." I remember being confused by that and asking dad what that meant. He probably thought I was an idiot because the answer was, "You request for the price and they give it to you." But it was just such a strange concept to me that I couldn't understand it: Why the hell wouldn't you just give the fucking price so that I don't have to bother the sales people?

Now that I'm older I see what's going on. See, if I want a bed at Raymour & Flanigan, a desk at Staples, or a bookcase at IKEA, the price is there. But those are mass-produced, cheap furniture. Mom and dad had the good shit. So if you look at manufacturers like Baker, Stickley Audi, or Century, they don't list the prices. It's because they have a suggested retail price and the retailers put whatever the fuck you want. Mom found a dining room set at Macy's that cost $9000 for the table, $2000 for the arm chairs, and $1500 for the regular chairs. Guess what? If you go to the manufacturer's showroom, they're selling it for half off. And even then it's a negotiation; you can haggle a price down if you want.

Still, this shit is really pissing me off. I'd rather they just listed the price in the fucking brochure so I don't have to email the guy every day and wait a couple of hours for the response. I've got other things to do.