Just a little bit

"Just a little bit ...."

I can't remember how many times I have said these words during my travels in Turkey. Asking for just a little bit more off a price, inevitably followed by the salesman lowering the price just the teeniest, tiniest of bits and the game of haggling continued. Slowly we come to an agreement that is satisfactory to both of us. Most of the time it takes a couple of minutes, sometimes it takes more than an hour. When my boyfriend's father bought a carpet, the process took more than two-and-a-half hours! We all got hungry in the end, even though salesman offered us tea and cookies throughout the negotiations.

So what is haggling, exactly? It can be defined as bargaining. Instead of buying a product that has a set price, you say you'll pay a price that is ridiculously low and the salesperson will react by asking a ridiculously high price. When he has done that, the game of haggling has officially begun. At the start it is important to have quite a gap between the two prices mentioned so you both have the feeling of coming together with the prices.

During this game it is essential to have a poker face and use your best acting skills, and it definitely pays to be creative. Every time you react to a new price the salesperson mentions you sigh dramatically:
"That high? Give me a break! I still need to live after this purchase and you know what, my teeth are bad and I have lots of high bills to pay."
Slowly you add something to the initial price and you wait for the reaction:
" My dear, sweet customer, when I tell you my price, I make no profit at all, really, you have to believe me, no profit at all. But you know what, I like you, I will give you a good price."
Another reduction for you and so it continues until you reach a satisfying conclusion.

You can make this game of haggling as long and as interesting as you want if the shop is lacking customers. What has always struck me in this game is the ingenuity of the salespersons. They are the best storytellers you'll ever meet. Their fertile imaginations bring all sorts of fantasy into the yarns they spin. And they are the toughest negotiators around.

Turkey is not the only country where haggling is an accepted form of setting a price. Many countries use it around the Mediterranean Sea like Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. You'll also find haggling to be common in some Asian countries like India and Indonesia. You might be surprised to learn how many places embrace haggling as a part of life.

The point is that haggling is a very personal way of buying or selling a product. There is something very satisfactory about buying a product by haggling since you have the feeling you actually benefit from your actions and your creativity. It's very empowering. You leave the store happier and more confident, feeling as though you spent the amount you that you wanted to spend, even though you don't know what the "real" price of the product. And all this with a clear conscience.

But do we ever know what the real price of a product is? In the Western world the prices may be tagged onto products with typed numbers that we're forced to pay if we want the item, but I am not alone when I say that many times I feel the price of a product far exceeds its value. There is nothing we can do about it; we can't haggle in countries like The Netherlands, Sweden or the USA. But now, after having been to Turkey where I literally haggled over my every purchase, I find it difficult to restrain myself from launching into a bargaining session at the bakery.

Unfortunately, not all my haggling experiences left me feeling happy and confident. There were times that I felt I got ripped off when haggling was involved, no matter how much reduction I received from the salesperson's initial price. I can't say precisely why I thought it was so; it was merely a feeling. I guess in the end both systems have their pros and cons. My boyfriend says, "If they still laugh at the end of the bargain, you got ripped off." Maybe, but think about the salesperson who tells us goodbye from behind the counter under the set-price system. When he or she flashes you a blinding smile, don't you feel ripped off as well? Just a little bit? It all comes to the fact that we are rarely satisfied--even a little--with the prices of products, whether fixed or haggled over. Period.