Thank you for taking the time to provide input @simvasion . I wouldn't have thought NPCs would have bought from the table either but the fact remains the ray gun disappeared. It wasn't just placed into household inventory, I checked. At the very least an inventory reload problem occurred.
I don't usually even notice a sales table on that SM Gallery lot because I'll have a sim there to paint, woodwork or play a musical instrument. Consequently, I couldn't even say whether or not the sales table gets packed up by an NPC sim. If I run into this again, I'll watch more carefully.
Nothing negates the fact that since January of this year I've run into more problems caused by played sims being selected for an NPC role than ever before. It didn't use to bother me and I sometimes got a kick out of seeing just who might be thrust into an NPC role. Now, though, I cringe at the sight of seeing an NPC role filled by one of my played sims.
