Good salespeople are selling us a better version of ourselves. And who doesn't want that, whatever the price?

It's funny to hear the rage that a holiday symbolized by cute little Cupids and fluffy things brings out in people. That resentment definitely makes you want to not just ignore the holiday but do something as a protest ... a statement against dinner for two and cheesy professions of love.

We have to think of society's portrayal of salesmen as not true to life but as that great American character making it against the odds, the hustler. It's not that we tend to think of salespeople as evil hucksters, but that the writers and directors see them as characters relying only on their wit, character and drive.

All of the worst stereotypes about women and shopping come true at sample sales. But if you have a chance of getting a fabulous pair of shoes for 10 per cent of the retail price, it might be worth throwing an elbow for.

Initially, a sample sale was for 'insiders' only. It started as a designer thanking his friends and the editors who'd helped and supported him by selling designer clothing to them at extremely low prices. Now everyone is getting in on the act.

People are witnessing how interested consumers are in experiencing digital music, consuming it that way, and having the convenience of consuming it that way. It's a quickly growing, voracious audience.