Yesterday, somebody or something at Amazon input the wrong command, and the Kindle Voyage went on sale for $59.99, almost 75 percent off its $199 price tag. Like any other person who inhales the internet like life-giving oxygen, I saw news of this mistake immediately and took advantage of it within moments, receiving an order confirmation before Amazon made its fix.

Today, Amazon notified me by e-mail that I will not be receiving the Kindle Voyage. Instead, I've been gifted $20 in credit at Amazon, which will be instantly credited during my next purchase. Frankly, that's a substantial step up from my previous corporate cancelation in November 2013, when Walmart canceled my $329 order for a 60" Samsung ultra-slim HDTV and paid me off with a $10 gift card.

I'd like to say there's a lesson here about not exploiting the weaknesses of corporations as many mega-corporations have done to consumers for decades. I'd like to advise you to be better than them. But no, the lesson is clear: when you see a too-good-to-be-true deal online, make the purchase. You may never get that cheap TV or e-reader, but two free Hamiltons go a long way when you're eyeing that Criterion Blu-ray of My Winnipeg. Life is short, and you have to do what it takes to see the works of Guy Maddin.