Good sales people are worth their weight in gold. I've thought about taking a course in sales, just for the social engineering skills that can be picked up.
What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
31–40 of 66 posts
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#32I had some similar experiences in Morocco; going to a bargaining country is a great education. An example of the kind of social hack they use is that if they offer a tourist their hand, the tourist feels compelled to shake it. One guy used this trick, then used the beat of inaction to wrap a snake around my friend's neck. She was understandably startled, and while she was standing there confused, he pulled out some o…
A friend was somehow tricked into allowing a hawker to start tying an intricate string bracelet using his finger as the base. His finger was stuck in the knot, and the guy ignored my friend's requests to be let go. It ended with quite a lot of shouting. Oh yeah, some African guys in France tried that one on me. The best response I managed was to look 'em dead in the eye, and say "Sorry, I don't speak English". That'l…
in the uk, kids will come up to you with puppy-dog eyes and just hold out their hands. i was at a bus stop and a 10-year-old in designer clothes came up to me. i laughed and told him i wasn't giving money to someone dressed in nicer clothes than i was. he didn't budge. then i told him i didn't have any cash on me (all i had was traveler's checks at that point, plus bus fare). he didn't budge. finally, i reached in my pocket and pulled out all the change i had--probably about 20p. i dropped it in his hand and said, "ok ok, you got me." he looked at the money with disdain, dropped it on the ground, and put his hand out again. by that time, the bus had arrived, so i was able to end the interaction, but talk about persistence (stupidity? stubbornness? many words apply.). i sometimes wonder how long he would have stood there had the bus not arrived when it did.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#33You really have to visit one of these places to understand the whole setup. They most certainly will try to rip you off and will use every trick in the book to do so.
My favorite is this one: You pick a cheapish looking rug and they tell you you have "champagne tastes" and say it is very expensive (even though it is worth nowhere NEAR the price they ask). I remember my uncle replied to these men with, "No... I think I just have beer tastes".
That being said I highly recommend visiting the country as it is beautiful and just loaded with history going back to Roman times.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not that "they are there to rip you off", they also enjoy bargaining tremendously. Most of them would much rather haggle to 20% the original price then just get the money, an probably feel dissapointed by the tourists who either pay or walk away. It's simply a bit of culture shock.
My girlfriend recently spent a few weeks in China, and related some of the same stories. She figured out the process pretty quick: it's not quite that the people she encountered enjoyed haggling, it's just what they're used to. Haggling successfully to a low price gets you respect from the seller. It is a completely foreign concept to Americans, who tend to come away with this feeling that either they've just been ri…
I think the people who enjoy it are the people buying, not selling.
I was recently in Taiwan with some locals, and everything we did was discounted. It seemed awkward bargaining at a 4-5 star hotel - but we ended up paying about half by paying cash in advance.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#35I had some similar experiences in Morocco; going to a bargaining country is a great education. An example of the kind of social hack they use is that if they offer a tourist their hand, the tourist feels compelled to shake it. One guy used this trick, then used the beat of inaction to wrap a snake around my friend's neck. She was understandably startled, and while she was standing there confused, he pulled out some o…
I had a guy start something like this in Rome recently. I reacted so strongly to being touched by a stranger selling stuff that the guy called me names. I guess I'm just not used to personal contact except handshake.
In Rome I would worry about someone touching me - it is a common tool of distraction by the pickpockets there.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#36I absolutely hate bargaining like this, and countries where you're hounded and hassled to buy things without price tags on. For me, it's an education on how not to do business. It's quite like spam email. Unfortunately this system just doesn't work with me. I'm less likely to go in a shop with no price tags on, because then I know I'll have to ask the shopkeeper the price of everything. It's inefficient. I guess if y…
I agree that bargaining is inefficient for small transactions but it is the basis of business, everywhere in the world, regardless of whether or not there are price tags.
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#37Turkey is nice, been a few times. You really need to become immune from this kind of thing, or at least play them at their own game. If they say 100 euros, you say 20 and agree on 40. Seriously - they are there to rip you off and would sell anything for any price if they thought they had got you to pay more than you first wanted to. :)
It's not that "they are there to rip you off", they also enjoy bargaining tremendously. Most of them would much rather haggle to 20% the original price then just get the money, an probably feel dissapointed by the tourists who either pay or walk away. It's simply a bit of culture shock.
Obvious link
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#38Very similar to:
http://onstartups.com/home/tabid/3339/bid/1415/5-Startup-Sal...
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#39The book mentioned by Cialdini was one of my favorite reads of last year. It just melts away and before you know it; you finished it.
By the end, have you bought 3 more books, the training tapes, and a lifetime subscription to his newsletter?
Re: What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
#40Great article. I wonder if rug merchants will have to adapt now that their tactics are getting wider exposure?
Why would they? It's not about what's new, it's about what's effective. And these tactics have been effective for thousands of years. Of course, they're more effective with tourists who haven't been exposed to this sort of bargaining before, and have been trained to smile, nod, and pay whenever someone tells them a price. Still, this sort of salesmanship is -- and will always be -- effective. Why? Because it's person…
Yes, but for thousands of years there hasn't been an Internet with bloggers detailing this sort of thing for the rest of the world. :)
I was commenting less on the haggling aspect and more on the team-based shill/forced-reciprocity system.