yeah. as an American, I think haggle culture is annoying as hell. it’s completely unnecessary. they’ll tell you the price is really high, and then you’ll ask for something really low, and then they’ll meet you in the middle where the price is supposed to be. what the hell was the point?

it’s partly an ego thing. if you’re selling something, and you don’t give them at least some inconsequential discount, they’re going to feel like they got ripped off. even if you’re giving them an honest price that they won’t find anywhere else, they need to buy it at a price that’s lower than what is offered. The buyer and seller both need to feel that they are smart because they moved the price from what the other person wanted.

selling your motorbike or camera gear on Facebook is absolute hell. 90% of the messages you get will be wasting your time. “hello, I would like to buy your motorcycle for $40”. haggle spam, basically. oftentimes they will agree to some price and then actually show up to your place, stare at the bike for an hour, and then change their bid to something so low that it is not sensible.

I could list examples for hours.