Those Dang Carnies

Okay, so I promised a story about how Burke got schmoozed at the fair by the carnies and here it is!  First, you should know that Burke almost never impulse buys.  In fact, it is incredibly hard to get this man of mine to buy anything for himself.  The second thing you should know is that Burke's been struggling with some serious shoulder, neck and back pain for several months, but has resisted all my efforts to get him into a chiropractor.  Okay, on to the story.

As we strolled through the varied displays and merchandise tents at the fair selling everything from magic tricks and life insurance to cowboy hats and bikini onesies for your baby (super classy), we spied a booth set up advertising a solution to neck/back pain.  Uncharacteristically, we stopped and tried out the 10 minute demo.  The product three Turkish gentlemen were promoting was called a "Pinook" that looks like a mini MP3 player, but instead of ear buds, it has pads that stick to your skin and send electric pulses into your skin to make your muscles tense and release, simulating a massage that helps relieve tension.  Pretty cool concept and after just 10 minutes, Burke's tension was significantly decreased.  The guy helping us had Burke google Pinook on his phone to show that the product normally went for $350 bucks, but that he could give it to us for $100.

It was clear that Burke was sold on the product and despite the nagging feeling I had to discourage him, I swallowed my hesitation as I realized he so rarely buys anything for himself and gave him the go-ahead.  Hours later as we made the half hour drive home, Burke brought up how pleased he had been with the honesty of the salesman and how down to earth he had been.  I agreed and mentioned how nice it was to not have a product that sold itself.  What a bunch of gullible greenies!

After I tucked Daphne in bed, I came into the bedroom to find Burke with his new toy spread out on the bed and a scowl of frustration on his face as he moaned,  "I got taken by a bunch of carnies!"  It turns out our "honest salesman" had pulled a fast one on us!  Although we had tested a Pinook massager that was indeed $350 bucks, the product we actually got in the box was called an IQ Massager and once we looked it up online we realized it was a total counterfeit rip off of the Pinook that only sold for $100!

                          

Look how exactly they have copied the Pinook (fake on the left) - it's actually pretty impressive.  The most ironic thing about all of this is that while we lived in Paris two years ago Burke took a counterfeit class to identify counterfeit products and went with his classmates to this sweet Counterfeit Museum in Paris to see all sorts of crazy rip-offs that are going busted on the Black Market all the time.  

The next day we drove all the way back down to Logandale just to return the stinkin' knock-off.  Burke got his money back, Daphne took a nap in the car and we had a great visit, so it wasn't a complete loss.  However, I think Shane Hughes nailed it on the head when he teased Burke, "Well, it's a pretty safe bet that if you're buying something at a carnival or out of the back of a van, it probably isn't legitimate."  Lesson learned!