SLC-S24/W1 - Tangled Emotion | The Powerful Conversation

Hello everyone! Today I am here to participate in the Steemit Challenge by @sitaraindaryas. It is about learning the Powerful Debate - Tangled Emotions. If you want to join then:

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Join here: Steemit Challenge S24W1 | Powerful Debate - Tangled Emotions

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1. Have you ever successfully bargained your way to a great deal? What worked for you persistence, politeness, or a little humor?

Nowadays everyone when visits the shops bargains while buying the things from the shops where the prices are not fixed. And everyone has it's own way of dealing to bargain.

Many times I have successfully bargained to my desired deal. A recent example is that I bargained to a great deal while buying the cap.

I had to buy a cap for me to protect my head from the sunlight and avoid sunstroke. At first I went to a fixed prices shop. There was the price of 550 PKR for each cap. I thought I could get the same stuff in low price.

So I heated towards another shop with the flexible prices and where I could bargain. It was where I had to show my bargaining power to buy the cap at possible low price.

After entering the shop I selected this cap with the logo of Adidas. I asked for the price he shocked me by saying 450 PKR which I wasn't expecting. I bid him 250 PKR for the cap. He totally denied and asked me to visit other shops to get at that price. After listening to this I increased 50 rupees and offered him 300 PKR. He again denied. The shopkeeper was looking very persistence and egoistic.

But after giving this offer I left the shop and as I was going to enter the next shop son of shopkeeper called me back. He asked me what did my father say and what did you offer I told the whole story. I was also persistent at my offer of 300 PKR for that cap. Finally I got this cap for the PKR 300. It was the best deal to buy this cap because my friends have bought caps for 500 PKR.

Initial Asked Price	450 PKR	10.74 STEEM
My First Offer	250 PKR	5.966 STEEM
My Last Offer	300 PKR	7.16 STEEM

So with my persistency and politeness I became able to successfully bargain 150 PKR by saving 33.3% while buying the same and my desired cap.

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2. Do you believe it's fair to negotiate prices in local or small shops? Where do we draw the line between saving money and respecting hard work?

In my opinion it is fair to negotiate prices in the local or small shops. But the important thing is that whole negotiating the prices we should not lack behind in the respect and appropriate method.

I will say that bargaining is very normal in many cultures. The place where I live bargaining is normal for the customers and shopkeepers. As soon as the customers enter the shop and see any product simply asks the price and then shocks the shopkeeper by giving a very low offer for that and it is normal and mostly females do this thing.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

So it is fair to negotiate the prices but we need to keep in mind that the small business or local shops have less margins than the mafia. The owners put a lot of efforts to earn their livelihood and their goal is to fulfil their needs of daily life. So if we aggressively bargain and disrespect them to save only a little money then it can unintentionally devalue their work and dedication.

Sometimes we see the poor hawkers selling their hoods to make both ends meet and those persons have very low profit margin on the products and they are just looking to get enough profit to feed their family. We should respect those poor shopkeepers, hawkers instead of debating with them for the negotiation.

We see different artisans and hand axe goods and these things take a lot of time and require the skills of the person. Sometimes we just see the value that it is made up of clay but we do not value their skills and time they have our to make it so we should respect those workers and shopkeepers and avoid negotiations with them.

But if we feel the prices are high then we can politely ask for the discounts and especially when we want to buy multiple items.

Sometimes in the society it happens that the customers guilt the sellers by highlighting the faults in their goods just to get discounts even they are already giving the products at reasonable price. It is not a good way and it discourages them.

When we go to the big stores then we do not even try to bargain and we happily pay them even more money than expected. So if you see the prices in the local shops are reasonable then don't bargain but respect them.

So it is fair to negotiate the prices but in the good manner and only when the prices looks higher than the quality of the products.

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3. What is your strategy when you ask for a discount? Are you more of a sweet talker, a quiet smiler, or a straight talker?

My strategy to ask for the discounts depends upon the shopkeeper. If I am familiar with the shopkeeper then I often smile quietly. When I listen to the price and feel the price looks very high then I wonder and smile by seeing the face of the shopkeeper. Then I politely ask now tell me the original price which will charge for this product and after some debate when I see the price is now reasonable I buy the product.

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

On the other hand if I am not familiar with the shopkeeper then I use the strategy to talk in a straight way. I have noticed that the strangers can be handled more easily than the familiar ones. Once I went to buy a pants and the shopkeeper was stranger. He gave me the price but it was high. I simply talked in the straight way and I asked him to lower the price and gave my offer. I added of you think my offer is bad then it is ok I will go to another shop.

So I talk straight with the strangers but smile quietly with the familiar ones. One the whole my mind is to talk in the straight way with everyone.

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4. What is the most unexpected or hilarious response you have ever heard from a shopkeeper? Some replies stay with us forever share your funniest memory!

Sometimes we seem some unexpected responses and replies from the shopkeepers which amaze us. These may be funny or drastic.

Recently I went to buy a hand bag for my nephew. I saw a stall and went there and I chose a bag and ask the shopkeeper for its price. Without telling the price the shopkeeper packed the handbag and handed it to me. I asked what is the price he said 1000 PKR and I said I will give 500 PKR. He wondered at my offer and said آپ چل پھر کر میلہ دیکھیں (go and see the festival). It was really funny for us and even we laughed at this.

I was not expecting this response from the shopkeeper but unexpectedly got it.

Another real life experience is that my uncle does trading of animals especially cows and buffaloes. Here we are the buyers and the seller is the shopkeeper.

A few months ago we had a buffalo and later on we sold it to another person. That second person or buyer kept that buffalo for few months and he sold it again to anyone else. And when this buffalo was in our possession it used to have around 5 litre milk on a daily basis.

So as soon as we got the news the person who bought from us has sold the buffalo we went towards the current person who has the buffalo. We dramatically asked him we have listened that you want to sell the buffalo. He said yes I want to sell it. We asked about the characteristics of the buffalo even we know already and he I got some surprising and funny replies. He said the buffalo gives 10 litre milk per day. He added the buffalo is 4 months pregnant as well. We were laughing quietly because he was telling a lie. It was hilarious ????.

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5. In a pricing debate, who do you usually support the customer looking for value or the shopkeeper trying to survive? Why do you lean that way? Personal experience or principle?

In the pricing debate I will support the customer who is looking for the value of the product under the reasonable price tag.

It is my thinking that each shopkeeper keeps margin while selling the products. Without keeping the margin the shopkeeper do not sell the products. I have experienced it often on the shops with the flexible prices that they tell around 2x more prices than the original prices mostly in the case of shoes and clothes. It is my personal view.

I will support the customers to debate with the shopkeeper to get discounts in the prices on the products. Usually the shopkeepers tell high prices so that they can sell their product at their desired price level after the bargaining of the customers. They give a lollipop to the customers in the form of a successful bargaining but the poor customers are always being fooled by the shopkeepers with their tricky prices.

So a customer who does not bargain and debate for the discounts will buy the products at relatively very high price than the customer who debate for the bargain. Because it is obvious that the shopkeeper will not sell their products of they are not getting their desired profit margin. So we should bargain and buy the products at the possible low prices.

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I invite @suboohi, @chant, and @josepha to join this to learn some points about the powerful conversation and tangled emotions and share their own life experineces.