Television advertising for a light travelling iron succeeded in interesting one would-be customer, known to the authors, who went along 15 to Currys,Dixons, Dickens and Jones and other likely shops on the assumption that the iron would be in stock. It was not. The shops chosen had other travelling irons, but not the brand that had been advertised. Was the customer going to the wrong shops? Or had the producer advertised before sorting out physical supply to retailers? Or had the producer failed 20 to'sell' the product to the retailers? Whatever the reason, the lack of availability of the product in the right place at the right time meant that a sale was lost: in the end, the consumer settled for a competitor's brand