You break it, you buy it

"You break it, you buy it", "you break it, you've bought it", or "you break it, you remake it" are terms for a policy by which a retail store holds a customer responsible for damage done to merchandise on display. It generally encourages customers to be careful when handling others' property. In United States politics, the phrase has also been used metaphorically, to suggest that if an actor inadvertently creates a problem, the actor is obliged to provide the resources necessary to correct it. During the Iraq War, this principle was referred to as the Pottery Barn rule, although that company does not have such a policy.