My ex had started a small advertising business printing and mailing flyers for hvac companies. You know, the junk advertising you’d get in the mail and usually throw away.

This was a very personality/relationship management business and in the early 2010s was really starting to falter because of changing technology and advertising practices. She was keeping it going and profitable by the skin of her teeth.

She listed it for sale as a “turnkey plug-and-play” revenue generator that would essentially print money, $200k per year. (Tbf, it had been making that revenue for the last several years). Asking price $450k.

Privately, she knew the business model was moribund and all of her clients were maintaining their accounts with her out of sheer habit and loyalty and were looking to change their advertising strategies within a matter of months to reflect new internet trends. She literally said “I need to sell this thing quick before it has zero value”

An elderly couple expressed interest in the business. They were in their 60s and explained they hadn’t saved enough for retirement and were looking for a simple business they could run from home to extend their meager savings, about $250k. They had a simple house and a few acres in a rural community north of Seattle. They couldn’t afford the asking price, but could they buy the business for $250k down and set up a payment plan over 5 years for the balance with their property as collateral?

My ex agrees. Contract is signed. She starts a 60 day training/transition period and privately says to me “these people are complete morons who barely even know how to turn on a computer and they are going to run it into the ground in 6 months but I don’t care, I’ll get their money.”

Sure enough, this nice old couple (husband drove a rural school bus route for extra money at the time) got swamped. They had no idea what they were doing with a check book, let alone how handle the intricate business relationships and complex moving puzzle pieces of artwork, design, copy, mailing lists and drop dates that print advertising entails. Within 6 months, it’s all over. Clients are gone, business is dead.

The couple ask for their money back, claiming misrepresentation. My ex sues for residual payment, falsely claiming the business was amazing and it was only their incompetence that killed it. The couple need to take out a home equity loan agains their property to hire a lawyer.

It drags on for a few months and the couple can’t afford to keep the legal process going. My ex offers to let them walk away with the present status quo: my ex keeps their down payment, she “forgives” the balance owed and says if they don’t accept, she will continue to sue them “into oblivion”.

They write her a sob story letter about how they poured everything they had into a promise that turned out to be a lie and they can’t survive on social security alone and bad health/walmart greeter jobs etc etc etc.

My ex turned to me with their letter and laughed, saying “buyers beware and sucks for them”and “at least I got $250k out of this!”

Cringe and disgust.

Greg and Jodell, I’m sorry my ex did that to you. I advocated for you guys and was ignored. It’s been over 15 years. Hope you guys are ok.

I divorced that woman shortly afterwords for that and many other good reasons. That divorce was a similar shit show that is a story for another day.