Trades Gone Bad

I am all about the trade.
I live for a good trade.
I have things just for the trade.
I stick by my trade.

Okay, only once in the last year and four months have I not followed through. But, the deal is still pending and I admit I am in the wrong. AND, I will make amends!

Where to begin? This new friend mentioned last fall that she had some sort of case of drinks she did not want. Let's say it was chocolate Ensure or something like that. I will put one of those in the freezer and drink it frosty cold and call it a milkshake. (I am a sucker for chocolate even if I have to consume chemicals.) She offered it to me. When I said, how about a trade?, she concurred that would be great. We figured out what I had that she wanted. In fact, she loved whatever it was I had....oh, lots of fat-free cheese because she is diabetic.

Note: If you buy the wrong food and take it back to the grocery store, by law they cannot put it back on the shelf. I hate fat-free cheese.

So, I handed 8 lbs of cheese through her passenger window and looked in the back seat for the drinks. ??? Oh, I told the other women about our trade and that sweet little old lady said she sure would love the drinks, so I could not resist giving them to her. My smile did not just fade. It immediately disappeared and I presented a cold and stormy face, I am quite sure. I did not ask for the eight packages of grated Kraft fat-free cheese back because I was so stunned.  I wished I had.

So, yesterday, I mentioned if she ever had cartridges from her printer that she was throwing  away, I would trade something for them. I am not sure what happened next, but she mentioned she had two small tubes of Colgate toothpaste that she did not want. She wanted something minty. How about Aquafresh, a huge tube?  She was so happy because that was exactly what she wanted and what she used.

Tonight, I waited by my car in the parking lot as she drove past me. She stopped and I presented her with the Aquafresh. She said, Oh! And then handed me a plastic bag with a newspaper and something else. After five minutes, I looked at the side of the bag and saw a white box. What is this? She laughed and said it was my toothpaste. Okay, now I take it out and it is CREST, not what we discussed. She acted all innocent--Oh well...nervous laughter. Plus, the box AND tube were dirty like Coke had been spilled on them.

I was flabbergasted--It's use by date is over two years ago! She shrugged her shoulders--Use it anyway. It won't rot your teeth...shrugs again. I handed her back the toothpaste--This was not the deal. You can keep it. Besides, I won't give old toothpaste to my children and grandchildren.

I looked hard at her and then presented a lip smile..you know, sort of a smirk, not genuine, not with the eyes. You know, this is the second trade we have made where I got nothing. 

As she smiled at me, I could take it no longer. She made no promise to bring me the two tubes of Colgate. Just give me back the Aquafresh and I will trade someone else for the Colgate unless you find yours that you were looking at when we made the deal. She handed it back with a bit of disgust on her face. I smiled genuinely and said my goodbyes.

Then, I was shaking and boiling as I drove home. How dare she? Some days you have to teach people how to treat you. I am usually not so upset about a slight. But, it seemed she did both these slights on purpose. Moreover, she made no noise like she would make it up to me. Either time. She acted like it was no big deal to her.

Exbf thought I should have done what I did. (I called him to complain.) Believe me, he does not always agree with me on matters like this.  He tells me if he thinks my actions are wrong. Of course, he is wrong when he says I am wrong.

This is a minor trade, I know. But, it just irked me that the only two times we have traded, I got stiffed. Grrrr...it's a good thing I do not have high blood pressure because I could feel the top of my head coming off as it was. Of course, that could be the Diet Coke with caffeine that I had just consumed...two whole large glasses.

(By the way, I give things away all the time with no talk or expectation of anything coming my way and no favor being returned to me.)

Your turn
Tell me, have you had trades gone bad? Did you ever have anyone who just seemed to stiff you on purpose and show no remorse?