“The price is $900… but for you, $600.”
“It’s on sale!”
“Buy one, free one!”
What’s up with these hook-line-and-sinkers? I used to be fooled, but I finally figured out that no matter where you go, no matter what day of the year… Taiwanese shops always have a special price or sale on whatever it is you happen to be interested in. They always have an “original” price and a “sale” price (thus pre-empting bargaining efforts). They make you think you already got a discount. Sales are always happening. You can always buy one, get one free.
Haha, I was just chatting with a Kiwi yesterday that visited HK for the first time and told him Chinese are suckers for a bargain, even it’s a trick like hiking up the price by e.g. 10% first (without telling) and then offering a 5% discount (shown on big signs). Works everytime.
a good way to lower the price(get a special discount) in taiwan is to pretend that u don’t like the product very much but still keep staring at it. the clerk would think u are hesitating because of the price that they will make it even lower while u are “pretending” to consider buying. don’t compromise the first time they offer u a “special price”. the better u act, the better discount u get. good luck!
ps. the previous suggestion only works under the circumstances of bargining at such places as night market, traditional market, inexpensive shops…
What I have a hard time with is not being able to just look at things. Every time I look at something in a store or market, the seller/clerk scares me off from even considering buying it. Part of the reason is that I tend to shop around for a long time before I make a purchase, so I like to have a bit of time to think about what I’m buying (stingy, I know). Sometimes sellers will be like “look here is where the batteries go” or “look these are the nice straps on the shoes”. Obviously, these things can be discovered on one’s own. Oh well, its a good thing I love it here so much.
Arg, I hate that too, it drives me nuts. Just leave me alone, and if I have any questions you’ll be the first to know. I also really hate it when prices are not marked on things. I just bought a computer, and all the shops had the laptops out on display, with no prices. So I have to waste my time (and theirs) asking so how much is this one? how much is that one? and that one? and that one? just post it, dammit, so I can see that your shop is too expensive and move on.
But what’s it “worth”? Cost to the seller, including their investment of time, research and so on, plus a fair profit level so that the seller can make a decent living? I don’t have a problem with that, and in fact, that model is necessary so that our society can function. Do you have a better idea?
But what’s it “worth”? Cost to the seller, including their investment of time, research and so on, plus a fair profit level so that the seller can make a decent living? I don’t have a problem with that, and in fact, that model is necessary so that our society can function. Do you have a better idea?[/quote]
If a vendor buys a plain wooden duck for US$5, it doesn’t suddenly become “worth” US$10 just because he sat on his ass all day trying to sell it. Nor does it become worth US$10 just because he has 3 kids and an ugly wife to feed.
Now if the vendor were to get up off his fat ass, paint the duck in pretty colors, and then sell it for US$10, he could claim to have added value and so justify hiking the price. But a vendor who buys a plain wooden duck for US$5 then attempts to sell the same wooden duck for US$10 is defrauding customers by misrepresenting the true value of the duck.
[quote]If a vendor buys a plain wooden duck for US$5, it doesn’t suddenly become “worth” US$10 just because he sat on his ass all day trying to sell it. Nor does it become worth US$10 just because he has 3 kids and an ugly wife to feed.
Now if the vendor were to get up off his fat ass, paint the duck in pretty colors, and then sell it for US$10, he could claim to have added value and so justify hiking the price. But a vendor who buys a plain wooden duck for US$5 then attempts to sell the same wooden duck for US$10 is defrauding customers by misrepresenting the true value of the duck.[/quote]Painfully wrong and shortsighted on so many levels.
the buyer isnt buying a plain duck “worth” $5, he may well have bought 100 ducks at $5 at a discounted rate when they are “worth” $10
the value is what someone will pay - i dont need a wooden duck, so for me the painting it doesnt raise the value, I would see both as firewood and retail value of 0.5 cents (or whatever)
the seller is engaged in trade, ie, taking ducks from a duck factory where there is an excess of demand and transporting ($1) repackaging ($2) and selling the duck ($10) to make his net profit ($3 minus tax and other costs) in a different market with lack of supply
the seller may even have invested in creating a new market
Monkey, I know where you’re coming from. A lot of things are grossly overpriced, but that doesn’t mean that some profit margin isn’t reasonable. You don’t seriously expect people to forego paying jobs in order to set up shop, pay rent, and spend all day carrying inventory (purchased with money which could have been invested profitably elsewhere) just so you can come by and offer them just THEIR SOURCING COST for the items, do you?
Please tell us you have a better understanding of reality than that!
OBVIOUSLY, vendors provide a service by finding out where to source things, bringing them in close proximity to you, and providing you a convenient variety of items to choose from. That occurs at a cost to them, including opportunity cost. And it is a service that has real, practical value in the world we non-monkeys live in. You’re not paying for the COST of the milk in the bottle when you buy it. You’re paying for that, plus the valuable service of it being provided conveniently to you. If you don’t think that service is worthwhile, then stop buying your milk at the store, and go try to find your own cow to suck on.
What DB said… Also, the “value” of an item is not determined by what someone is willing to sell it for but what someone else is willing to pay for it… See Jesus shaped toast, Elvis nail clippings, “Lucky” license plate numbers etc.
itakitez,
The old platitude that “something is worth is what people are willing to pay” is just circular logic. By the same token you can ask “but what will people pay?,” and of course the answer is they will pay “what they think it is worth.” Not a very useful definition.
Maybe a man stuck on a desert island with a suitcase of cash and no food would pay US$1000 for a loaf of bread. The value of the bread doesn’t increase 1000-fold. The transaction that takes place covers the actual value of the bread (US$1) and the amount the merchant thinks he can stiff his customer for in the circumstances (US$999). If you want to say the bread is “worth” US$1,000, then that’s fine … whatever.
I don’t doubt that merchants have some useful function in society. But there’s certainly nothing honest or noble in buying something and selling it just to make a quick profit. On the ladder of low-lifes, even taxi drivers rank higher than merchants. At least they do something useful.
[quote=“monkey”]itakitez,
The old platitude that “something is worth is what people are willing to pay” is just circular logic. By the same token you can ask “but what will people pay?,” and of course the answer is they will pay “what they think it is worth.” Not a very useful definition.
Maybe a man stuck on a desert island with a suitcase of cash and no food would pay US$1000 for a loaf of bread. The value of the bread doesn’t increase 1000-fold. The transaction that takes place covers the actual value of the bread (US$1) and the amount the merchant thinks he can stiff his customer for in the circumstances (US$999). If you want to say the bread is “worth” US$1,000, then that’s fine … whatever.
I don’t doubt that merchants have some useful function in society. But there’s certainly nothing honest or noble in buying something and selling it just to make a quick profit. On the ladder of low-lifes, even taxi drivers rank higher than merchants. At least they do something useful.[/quote]
The value of the bread to the man does increase 1000 fold.
First the zombies, then the commies. Time to get off the island![/quote]
Beware the zombie commie vampires, they will bleed you dry. Them and the international conspiracy of Jewish bankers and Freemasons.
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