I was actually responding to “Did you need any?”, the point being that it did not really matter once you made them whether you gave them to Clippy or not.
The distinction between making and buying them is not so important. When you demonstrate you are willing to buy something at a price someone else is willing to sell it for, you essentially cause more of that thing to be produced.
That’s why I mentioned I was making paperclips, not just buying them.
I was actually responding to “Did you need any?”, the point being that it did not really matter once you made them whether you gave them to Clippy or not.
The distinction between making and buying them is not so important. When you demonstrate you are willing to buy something at a price someone else is willing to sell it for, you essentially cause more of that thing to be produced.