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Your support makes all the difference.Lance Armstrong's drug disgrace has cost his reputation dear, but a wholesale merchant in Dorset has also taken a big financial hit in the wake of the cyclist's doping revelations.
Karl Baxter, the owner of Wholesale Clearance UK in Poole, bought 10,000 DVDs about the Tour de France cheater that he now fears are worthless.
The Science Of Lance Armstrong, a 2005 Documentary from the Discovery Channel, tells how his "superhuman physiology" helped him to victory, promising viewers a glimpse into the "secrets of his success".
While his natural abilities certainly did aid Armstrong in his quest for titles, the full extent of his "secrets" was obscured. We now know that "science" played a far greater role in propelling him to superstardom than previously imagined.
Mr Baxter, who was aware of the rumours surrounding Armstrong at the time of purchase, said he may only get a tenth of the money he spent despite paying what he believed was a "good price". He intended to split the stock into smaller lots for traders to sell at car boot sales and online retailers once the negative press coverage over Armstrong had "died down". Though more people are aware of Armstrong's deceit than ever, Mr Baxter is still hopeful of a sale.
"We're definitely looking to sell them: we've had quite a lot of inquiries so maybe we can get rid of them and get some of our money back," he told i. "We've had a lot of suggestions about what we could do with them: making a mosaic, or using them as coasters and beer mats."
But he warned: "Any surplus stock that you buy is a risk – just because something looks nice and shiny to us doesn't mean that it's going to sell."
He also suggested that the DVDs could be fashioned into wind chimes, bird scarers or a dominoes track. "Armstrong has had a good life for the last 20 years," he told the Dorset Echo. "I just wish he had either kept his mouth shut a bit longer or not done it in the first place."
The DVDs are currently in storage awaiting a new home.
Meanwhile, in an Australian library, a sign was posted saying that all biographical titles about the cyclist "will soon be moved to the fiction section".Manly Library in Sydney denied that the books would be moved, and local councillor Chris Parsons claimed it was simply a "prank".
"It happened on Saturday and a member of the public has taken a photo and posted it on social media and it's gone viral," he said.
The first part of Lance Armstrong's confessional interview with Oprah Winfrey last Thursday attracted an unexpectedly low 4.3 million viewers.
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