0267 - The Deal. - 2022.11.14 |
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Comment: I don't like haggling. I don't think it's fair that the price of something can change based on how charismatic or smart I am. I don't like that prices can change based on whether or not a seller likes me (and that we can't, after the fact, ascertain whether that attitude correlates to my race or gender or accent). I don't like not knowing how much a given item is going to cost ahead of time - or even if it'll be available at all - and therefore, being unable to make plans. I particularly don't like how haggling is a key component of the real estate market, which, here in the early twenty-first century, is a major driver of the entire economy and also represents the majority of wealth owned by most homeowners. There was a certain politician/celebrity I'm not going to name who made haggling his brand. He would always brag about the deals he made, how he would always get great deals on what he wanted. Over and above my antipathy for the haggling process, bragging about being good at it seemed like a nonsensical move. Surely, when you loudly proclaim that you're going to pay less for goods and services, the people selling them, seeing you coming, will pre-emptively raise their prices so that your haggling ability will only bring them down to normal levels, yes? That's certainly what I'd do, assuming I was willing to do business with such a person to begin with. It's pretty likely, of course, that my ever-so-ethical position on haggling stems from the fact that a) I don't come from a haggling-in-the-marketplace culture, and b) I'm not any damn good at it. As a result, I have some trouble writing characters who are good at it. So yes, both Lee and Zoa, here, are terrible negotiators. A deal's a deal, though. I'm sure it's fine. |
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