I don’t have the right network but I’m thinking about checking out the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. So I went to Amazon to see if they had any information on when it’s coming out on DVD.
Now, I knew it hadn’t been released yet. And I saw they don’t have a release date for it. No problem.
But according to Amazon “What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?” 77% of the customers bought a copy of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Which must have been difficult for them what with it not having been released yet.
And under “Frequently Bought Together” I’m told that a lot of people have been buying an unreleased copy of Avatar along with their unreleased copy of Spartacus.
Being as you’re giving them no money and they’re giving you no product and there isn’t even a promise on when the product might be available and either party can cancel the “sale” at any time, I’d say it’s a pretty nebulous form of transaction. It’s the equivalent of me going to a Ferrari dealership and telling a salesman I’m going to buy a new Ferrari when the 2011 models come out and he agrees to sell me one if I show up on that day with the money.
I think his point (sorry if you didn’t miss it and I’m explaining what you already know) is that the “transaction” described doesn’t constitute any kind of sale.