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This part of the culture boggles my mind from a distance, but I haven't experienced it firsthand. Wouldn't a side effect of this common practice be a negative o
by zeta0134 7y ago
This part of the culture boggles my mind from a distance, but I haven't experienced it firsthand. Wouldn't a side effect of this common practice be a negative opinion of merchants? Like, if you go into every shop with the implicit understanding that the merchant isn't charging a fair price, and you're going to have to talk him down, doesn't that make the merchants seem dishonest by default?
That seems like it'd bubble out and affect the surrounding communities, but I don't know how exactly. Do you have first-hand experience there?
- thatoneuser 7y agoOf course it makes them seem dishonest, look at car dealers where this is the primary mode of operation. And just like car dealers, when everyone in the market does it you have to play along or risk losing out.
- 7952 7y agoI guess a traditional vendor will make their own products that they are selling. The marginal cost could be pretty low, and there is no fixed price put on the hourly rate of the vendor. In that case it makes sense for the vendor to sell at any price that isn't completely insulting if they have product available. It is not dishonest because there is no fixed price in the first place. But it would be stupid to sell yourself short, and that would devalue the product and insult the buyer.
- zeta0134 7y ago... huh! I guess from the states, I'm used to seeing a vendor as sort of a middleman. That makes a lot of sense actually. Thanks for the insight!