A Baseball Blogger Analyzes My Recent Amazon Purchase

In a move that has sent shockwaves throughout Temple Nation, David Temple has purchased Digital Versatile Discs containing all three seasons of the television program Veronica Mars. Though the exact financials of the deal are unknown as of this writing, it is expected that Mr. Temple spent at least $45 and as much as $50 for the trio of box sets.

With the news surfacing last month regarding forgotten left-over Amazon gift card credit, rumors have been swirling regarding if and how Mr. Temple would spend these funds. It appears that the front office has found what they believe to be the answer to the glaring lack of critically-acclaimed television programs featuring adorable female leads.

“We feel really great about the deal,” Mr. Temple said in a press conference announcing the transaction. “We think this was a situation of the right deal falling into our laps at the right time.”

Though it was no secret that David Temple would soon be flaunting his new found financial flexibility, the commitment inherent in this deal raises some eyebrows. No one really know how much gift card credit Mr. Temple had or has, but a monetary commitment such as this will surely put some strain on the organization. In addition, with unopened seasons of The Kids in the Hall and Aqua Teen Hunger Force waiting in the minor leagues, it seems that perhaps the Veronica Mars DVDs are an extravagance David Temple did not need to acquire.

Veronica Mars owns a career 4.8 EVALOR (Enjoyment Value Above Law and Order Reruns), valuing the purchase price at more-or-less $10/EVALOR. This seems to be in stark contrast to other recent transactions:

Item	Transaction	$/EVALOR
1st Season of Clone High	Purchased from eBay user BonerJamz1995	2.1
Seasons 1 and 2 of Lost	Received in Christmas trade with mother for an ugly lamp	2.4
Bourne Trilogy	Torrented from the Internet	∞

The initial overpay sounds even worse when you factor in that shows with the makeup and profile of Veronica Mars average a loss of .8 EVALOR in each re-watching. Compare this to the average regression of a DVD collection such as Arrested Development’s .00001 EVALOR loss per re-watching, at it would seem that the shine will wear off Veronica Mars sooner rather than later. This could have major implications in future years, as Mr. Temple could have a very expensive asset just riding the shelf, or being used in a platoon with a romantic comedy or Biz Markie YouTube clips.

This purchase also ties up money that could be used this winter, when entertainment needs will be higher, and prices will most likely be lower due to the holiday season. Simply put, this was a move to boost morale, for David Temple to show that he cares about the TV he watches, and will overpay for entertainment now, even if it proves to be detrimental in the future. There seems to be no other explanation for such a grandiose move coming from a front office known for its shrewdness and fiscal responsibility.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see David Temple make some concessions in the near future, thanks to this uncharacteristic overspend. He may have to pass up craft beer for domestic, and perhaps even bring his lunch to work a few more days a month. He’s proven he has the ability to make situations such as those work, but it’s not a great go-to strategy for making a competitive DVD collection. Perhaps there are more moves coming, or perhaps we just don’t know the financial situation as well as we thought, but at this time, this seems like an atypical poor decision on behalf of David Temple.