The Grey Market.

I sent a Tweet a few days ago that mentioned I was enjoying some grey-market chocolate-covered cordial cherries.

It occurs to me that people don't have a clue what I mean when I say "grey-market."

The grey market is a spectrum of shades between the White Market (New items, taxed fully, not on sale) and the Black Market (Stolen goods, drugs, designer counterfeits).

And it goes a little sump'n like this:

Off-white: seasonal items bought out of season (such as my cherries), items on sale/clearance, items bought with coupons.

Light Grey: damaged/expired, items bought at salvage and factory-return stores.

Actual Grey: yard sales, flea markets, classifieds, barter & freecycling.

Dark Grey: free samples & charity.

Near Black: dumpster diving, panhandling, welfare & foodstamps.

And the aforementioned Black & White Markets, of course.