4 ms·

I would like to swap "people" in your sentence for "americans". It's a cultural thing, not a human thing.

by fijal 12y ago

pedrosorio 12y ago
It's actually the opposite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences
simplemts 12y ago
Seriously? Bargaining, or discounts, in this example is very, very common all over the world. I have found Americans do less of it than in most parts of the world, such as China, Turkey, Thailand, Morocco, etc.
- dspillett 12y ago
  I've assumed that my experience is accurate and that it is more common in rural areas (where ad-hoc/informal barter systems still prevail) and poor areas that see significant numbers of (relatively) richer visitors (i.e. tourists). In the latter case the price starts high (to catch the people who will just pay anyway) then the price goes down, or there is a bait & switch (the bargain item advertised in the window is sold out, could we interest you in this instead?), or both. Perhaps the poster above is conflating "loud, brash, confident tourists bargaining" with "American tourists" - a pair of populations that certainly do intersect though not as much as commonly held stereotypes would suggest.
deleted 12y ago
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cpncrunch 12y ago
Actually, it is mostly Indian customers who seem to automatically ask for a discount, and they generally aren't too bothered when they don't get it. As another comment pointed out, bargaining is a way of life in India, so this shouldn't be too surprising. American customers usually have a reason for asking for a discount ("do you have educational discounts" or "we're just a startup"). Generally larger businesses don't ask for any discounts, although that could just be because my prices are low for them.
- skj 12y ago
  Larger businesses don't ask for discounts... before they purchase the product. They ask for discounts when it's actually time to pay up and they've started using the service.

I would like to swap "people" in your sentence for "americans". It's a cultural thing, not a human thing.

by fijal 12y ago

I would like to swap "people" in your sentence for "americans". It's a cultural thing, not a human thing.

It's actually the opposite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining#Regional_differences

simplemts 12y ago

Seriously? Bargaining, or discounts, in this example is very, very common all over the world. I have found Americans do less of it than in most parts of the world, such as China, Turkey, Thailand, Morocco, etc.

dspillett 12y ago
I've assumed that my experience is accurate and that it is more common in rural areas (where ad-hoc/informal barter systems still prevail) and poor areas that see significant numbers of (relatively) richer visitors (i.e. tourists). In the latter case the price starts high (to catch the people who will just pay anyway) then the price goes down, or there is a bait & switch (the bargain item advertised in the window is sold out, could we interest you in this instead?), or both. Perhaps the poster above is conflating "loud, brash, confident tourists bargaining" with "American tourists" - a pair of populations that certainly do intersect though not as much as commonly held stereotypes would suggest.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

cpncrunch 12y ago

Actually, it is mostly Indian customers who seem to automatically ask for a discount, and they generally aren't too bothered when they don't get it. As another comment pointed out, bargaining is a way of life in India, so this shouldn't be too surprising. American customers usually have a reason for asking for a discount ("do you have educational discounts" or "we're just a startup"). Generally larger businesses don't ask for any discounts, although that could just be because my prices are low for them.

skj 12y ago
Larger businesses don't ask for discounts... before they purchase the product. They ask for discounts when it's actually time to pay up and they've started using the service.