"Eternal happiness for a dollar? Hmmmm... I'd rather keep the dollar."
- Mr. Burns -
While entering a national park to go for a hike, I saw an older western lady haggling with a vendor over a couple of hiking poles. She was ruthless, catty, suspicious... really the ultimate haggler. I thought, I'm sure if we both went to the same markets and stores here in Korea and bought the same crap, she'd come out having spent less money by a good measure. But then, I don't think I'd come out any less satisfied with the purchases and overall experience. In fact, I find the more worried I am about pinching pennies here and there, the less happy I am when I actually hand over the money.
And people say I'll get ripped off that way. If I travel to poor countries and buy stuff, I'll get a bad price, I'll get taken advantage of, I'll be made a fool. Ok, so be it. If others want to scrimp and save instead of giving a few extra bucks out to vendors in impoverished countries who can barely put food on the table, then by all means. I'll gladly trade those extra dollars for a stress-free trip paying prices for things that I believe are fair.
That's always how I paid for things in my life anyway; I'm not so concerned with the lowest possible price, but rather with what price I believe is reasonable given the product or service purchased. In poorer countries, at a market, the initial 'rip-off' quoted price before haggling is usually what you'd be likely to pay back in your own western country for the same sort of thing. I don't have it in me to get in a fight with much poorer people about giving them as little money as possible.
- Mr. Burns -
While entering a national park to go for a hike, I saw an older western lady haggling with a vendor over a couple of hiking poles. She was ruthless, catty, suspicious... really the ultimate haggler. I thought, I'm sure if we both went to the same markets and stores here in Korea and bought the same crap, she'd come out having spent less money by a good measure. But then, I don't think I'd come out any less satisfied with the purchases and overall experience. In fact, I find the more worried I am about pinching pennies here and there, the less happy I am when I actually hand over the money.
And people say I'll get ripped off that way. If I travel to poor countries and buy stuff, I'll get a bad price, I'll get taken advantage of, I'll be made a fool. Ok, so be it. If others want to scrimp and save instead of giving a few extra bucks out to vendors in impoverished countries who can barely put food on the table, then by all means. I'll gladly trade those extra dollars for a stress-free trip paying prices for things that I believe are fair.
That's always how I paid for things in my life anyway; I'm not so concerned with the lowest possible price, but rather with what price I believe is reasonable given the product or service purchased. In poorer countries, at a market, the initial 'rip-off' quoted price before haggling is usually what you'd be likely to pay back in your own western country for the same sort of thing. I don't have it in me to get in a fight with much poorer people about giving them as little money as possible.
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