You know the frustration of trying to buy an airline ticket…the pricing and timing are things we apparently have simply accepted as a fact of life we must endure. But what if you were buying something else, and used the airline industry’s formulas—say for paint for your house…?

You go in and ask a simple question—“how much is your paint?” and The Paint Agent says it depends on a lot of variables. So you ask for an average price…

The Paint Agent says their lowest price is $12 a gallon, and they have 60 different prices, up to $200 a gallon. Your obvious response is to ask what the difference is in the paints for those prices, right? But the Paint Agent tells you there isn't any difference; it's all the same paint.

So you go for the $12 paint.
The Paint Agent asks when do you intend to use the paint?
You want want to paint tomorrow.
It's your day off.
And the Paint Agent tells you that paint for tomorrow is the $200 paint.

When would you have to paint to get the $12 paint?
Well, if paint was sold like airline tickets, you would have to start very late at night in about 3 weeks. But you will have to agree to start painting before Friday of that week and continue painting until at least Sunday.

The Paint Agent then tells you he’ll check and see if there is any paint available. Of course, you can see there’s plenty of paint…but that doesn't mean there’s paint available, because they sell only a certain number of gallons on any given weekend.
Oh, and by the way, the price per gallon just went to $16.
There isn’t any more $12 paint.

The price went up as we were talking?

The Paint Agent informs you that they change the prices and rules hundreds of times a day, and since you haven't actually walked out of the store with your paint yet, they just decided to change.
He suggests you purchase your paint as soon as possible.
How many gallons do you want?

So you ask for maybe five gallons.
Make that six, so you'll have enough.

The Paint Agent then tells you that if you buy paint and don't use it, there are penalties and possible confiscation of the paint you already have.

They can sell enough paint to do your kitchen, bathroom, hall and north bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do the bedroom, you will lose your remaining gallons of paint.

What does it matter whether you use all the paint?
You’ve already paid you for it!

The Paint Agent tells you they make plans based upon the idea that all our paint is used, every drop. If you don't, it causes us all sorts of problems.

What happens if you don't keep painting until after Saturday night?
Every gallon you bought automatically becomes the $200 paint.

Then you make the mistake of asking about all the "Paint on sale from $10 a quart" signs…and the Paint Agent tells you its for their budget paint.
It only comes in gallons.
One $5 gallon will do half a room.
The second gallon to complete the room is $20.
None of the cans have labels, some are empty and there are no refunds, even on the empty cans.

If you’re like most people at this point, you’re ready to walk out and buy what you need somewhere else! But the Paint Agent says you may be able to buy paint for your bathroom and bedrooms, and your kitchen and dining room from
someone else, but you won't be able to paint your connecting hall and stairway. Because you can’t buy that paint from anyone but this paint company...and if you paint in only one direction, it will be $300 a gallon.

Ah-ha! You thought their most expensive paint was $200!
But that Paint Agent smugly says that’s if you paint around the room to the point at which you started.
A hallway is different.

So what if you buy $200 paint for the hall, but only paint in
one direction—will the paint company confiscate the remaining paint?

No, they'll charge you an extra use fee plus the difference
on your next gallon of paint.

And that’s what the world would look like if paint were sold like airline tickets!