Quick story: I recently saw a chicken painting by folk artist Ernest Lee in a downtown Asheville store window. The price was $65. My budget is a bit tight at the moment, but I had just received a rebate in the mail for $60. So, on a whim, I cashed the check, marched into the store, and offered them $60 cash (as in not credit or check) for the painting. The proprietor said, “You can buy it for $60 is that’s the price.” I explained that, no, it was tagged $65, but what I had was $60 and hoped he’d consider the offer. He looked at me like I was wearing three soiled winter coats and pushing a grocery cart while muttering to myself and said, “We don’t bargain here.”

After I left (mortified), I got to thinking, why not? It’s a painting being sold in a second hand store. While I’m sure there are some guidelines for pricing, isn’t retail cost fairly subjective? I know that similar paintings are selling for about $40 on Ebay, so $60 seemed a fair-market offer.

What do you think? Is it okay to bargain with merchants or is the price tag the final answer?

Of course it’s OK to at least ask if they’ll accept a lower offer. The proprietor’s terse answer was rude, IMO. He could have declined your offer in a nicer way and you wouldn’t have felt so mortified. If bargaining is merely making an offer and it being accepted, declined, or a counter offer made, then I don’t see how anyone could have a problem with that. But frankly I don’t like haggling, such as is generally the expected procedure in places like Mexico or at most car dealerships in the U.S. That’s where the posted or asked price is never expected to be the price paid. I’ve made offers even at high end stores where the merchandise may have appeared slightly soiled or damaged, and have had such offers accepted.

Don’t feel bad about merely asking as you did. The proprietor was just a jerk in the way he responded. In most stores in the U.S the price tag is the final answer, but not necessarily always.

I think that was a bad move by the gallery owner. Granted, it’s cutting into his profit margin a little, but it’s kind of a tradition to haggle over art (and any other collectable for that matter), because the value is relative. $5 isn’t much of a hit to take for a sale, either.

It’s kind of a shame we don’t have more of a bargaining culture here. The only places I know of where you can usually make those kinds of deals is at flea markets.

Then again, I’d hate to have to haggle over the price of milk at Ingles, so maybe it’s not all bad.

True. I have often wondered why bargaining is accepted, even encouraged, in other places and/or cultures (like tourist places where the cruise ship stops in Mexico or the Bahamas or China Town in NYC or any other large city) but frowned upon most places that are not garage sales or car dealerships.

Besides, by paying with cash, you would have saved the guy at least $2 to $5 in merchant fees he would have had to pay to VISA or Mastercard if you had paid with a credit card, so it would nearly have been the same amount out of his pocket anyhoo.

It seems like our largest purchases are generally subject to bargaining: cars, already mentioned, as well as homes or other property. I think there’s a subtle difference between bargaining and haggling. Bargaining is sort of a negotiation - offer, counter offer. Haggling sometimes involves game playing. I’ve done both, but I really would rather not have to haggle. In fact, to avoid that, the last 4 vehicles I’ve purchased I’ve purposely done it in haggle-free environments, and I do feel I got the best price possible. Plus, I didn’t come away feeling like I may have been “taken” or like I’d just been put through a wringer by having to haggle for hours. I think there is a place for bargaining, and again, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a lower price regardless of where you are, but haggling for every purchase, like in some other countries, would get old pretty quick I think.