The art of negotiation

It's usually pretty entertaining for me. The sales people approach you and if you show even the slightest interest, they won't leave you alone. I enjoy talking to these people, usually kids, and if I can't get rid of them, I usually lowball them so much that I anticipate a quick departure. I'm not trying to piss them off, but I really don't want anything. If they accept the lowball offer then by all means I'll buy it, but that is a rare occasion.

This one guy selling glasses made eye contact with us on the bus. He was asking $5 for a pair of fake Ray Bans. Nah. Then he flashes four fingers. The guy next to me is already sporting a pair of fakes. I don't wear sunglasses because it is too inconvenient to switch my glasses all the time. The guy drops a finger. We should ignore him, but he's just too interesting. He hand signs two for five dollars. We continue to shake our heads. I don't remember the three fingered offer - suddenly he's giving us the peace sign. This is ridiculous. No thank you we mouth through the window. Finally, he's holding up one finger. He doesn't understand it's not about price, we just don't want them.

Today at the market in Saigon I foolishly stop at a booth to look at the wares. Everyone is trying to grab your arm. I decide to look at a t-shirt and then decide I don't want it. It's not about price, it's about quality. She's asking five dollars. I say No way while crumpling my face and shaking my head simultaneously. That's too much for a shirt here. She asks me how much I want to pay. I'm really not interested so I say I wouldn't buy it for two dollars. She says Ok, two dollars. I really have to go so I just start walking. Now there are two women involved. Ok, one dollar, sir, one dollar. I keep walking.

Finally, there are the people who come out at night. With stacks upon stacks of books. Photocopied versions of all the guidebooks, best sellers and classics. I've been wanting to read 1984 and On The Road so I peruse the stack quickly. If they catch your wandering eyeball, they've got you cornered. We were about to get our dinner and I already have a couple of unread books so I wasn't really interested, but I inquired about price anyway. 60,000 dong for On The Road. That's about four dollars. I lowball, offering 30,000. She suprisingly accepts and so I pay. This is a crazy world.