Life in an aquarium.

Day-to-day goings-on.

September 11, 2005

At 11:24 AM, mal said…

rule of thumb on the "sale". Ask for the business, then shut up and see what happens. It requires lots of patience and the confidence that you have the right offer on the board though
At 12:15 PM, anchovy said…

In the law an offer to sell or an option to buy expires in a "reasonable" time if the term is not specified...

Also, where the seller has relied reasonably on the buyer's actions to his detriment, the courts will sometimes oblige the buyer to perform on a theory of implied contract (or promisory estopel). This is especially true where there's a history of past dealing between the parties as here.

Anyway, that's the law, which has so little to do with reality so much of the time. For what it's worth, it's been a week or two since I've "shut up" (depending on how you see it) and I've got a warehouse full of goods costing me big-time rent. It's just not in my nature to sit back and watch the buyer gallop off to my competitor down the street (or forego a purchase altogether).

I thought I knew what I was going to do. I'm not so sure now.

Thanks for indulging my penchant for metaphore! And thanks for the advice. I do appreciate it.