South Korea has thousands of traditional markets which have been slowly dying for decades - lack of transparent prices is frequently cited as a major reason. Few people want to spend time haggling just to buy a mackerel.
I used to sell bicycles where everyone expects a discount. Not being weak I would risk them walking away. Typically I would explain that we don't have much mark up on actual bikes and would also point out that I had spent a half hour or so on them so they can get the perfect machine. I would also explain to them that next week they would forget the price and that in ten years time they would see the price paid as a bargain.
I would then say that everyone likes a deal and that I could do them lights or a D lock or a helmet. I would explain that he brackets for the lights or the lock can be a faff to get right, and that if they took my deal, then we would get the chosen extras fitted properly and now. Usually this was enough for them to get the free lights, paying for the helmet and D-lock. So, by not being weak and being honest about 'my boss killing me for discounting', I would get full retail plus the upsells and a loysl customer. Nobody walked off with this stance which was great.
Naturally we had mountains of the accessories offered so it would cost $10 - $20 in parts that cost less than trade price.
Despite the fact that the store in question usually has pretty crappy service and I avoid them, the customer focus in that interaction increased the chances that I'll go there again in the future.
(Why did I try if I normally don't? It actually started when I misheard the price they said, and I figured why not just roll with it and see what happens?)
I also have a suspicion that people even find haggling rude. I also think others are confused by it, like the choosing beggar subbredit seems to often just be bad attempts at haggling
But you are tangibly hurt by systemic discrimination. Otherwise qualified people give up their career choice to avoid harassment or because of inequitable salary. Then we are left with less qualified and motivated people staffed in important positions. Your work, health, or other aspect of your life are affected, just not in ways you can easily see or measure.
Of course in this era of ultra-sensitivity to racist issues, your seller's phrasing seems problematic. But the ability to recognize the difference in cultures is an asset, not a liability.
I get a lot of low effort people who want you to drive everything to them and pay bottom dollar (even though I’m very centrally located). Super annoying.
So you most likely are getting those responses because a large chunk of the CL buyers are in the market for prices at that level. A 20% discount feels like something you can get from the retailer if you just wait for a sale. But I guess, CL is popular enough where if you have the time to wait it out, you might eventually find a a buyer. But still seems insane to me that anyone would take that deal considering the risks.
Also, FWIW, there is no reason you can't counter offer in those cases. Considering the amount of time and effort it takes to meet in person, it is probably better that the price be pre-negotiated via e-mail before meeting in person. I certainly would never show up in person and try to get a lower price on the spot. The few times I have lowballed via e-mail (I was/am looking for a really niche item, and the only suitable listing has been sitting on CL for weeks) I got counter offered. It was still too high for my tastes, but the listing is still there so I might try again in a few weeks!
"$800 firm" means something. The alternative to "sell at a fair price on both sides" is "no sale", not "sell at a stupid price." I kept the camera and still use it instead. I was getting rid of it because it wasn't 100% what I wanted in my studio space, but it's fine (just not delightful) as a B or a C camera; 80% of what I could optimally do with a different model is worth way more than taking an extra $300 bath. Eventually I'll sell on eBay and get what I'm looking for that way--I didn't want to bother with shipping, but wasting my time with unserious offers makes that a lot more appealing.
(And we aren't even getting into the significant mental effort of engaging with the ridiculous set of scammers trying to get you to fall for their fake-Zelle-notification stuff.)
I do. Or used to. Then I kinda learned how it all works. If I had an item that could sell for say, 100 on ebay, I'd list it for 80 to get a quick sale without shipping. Then people offering 50 seem rude or crazy to me.
Then I learned to just price it high. So now, that item I'll list for 120, and 'fine, final offer' it to 80 and that works way, way better.
I think people just want to feel like they won, more than about values of items.
Another protip: Never list anything for free. You'll find the worst in society. List it for 5 or 10 dollars, then just tell the buyer it's free when they come.
So I could see a situation where most buyers with actual intent to purchase are only searching in the "Furniture" section. And the chairs in question might not have been nice enough to attract interest from the "flippers" in the free section.
Underpricing something is as bad (or worse) than overpricing it
If I think that chair is worth $50, and you're giving it away ... I think there's something wrong
If I think it's worth $50, and you ask $20 ... I think "he must not want it - this is a great deal!"
It is insane how true this is. If I put something on Craigslist for $10 that I was thinking about throwing away, someone polite will buy it within a week and show up on time. The first time I put something in the "free" section instead, someone sent me a legit hate email because they didn't like the item I was giving away for free... wtf?
Maybe we just set the initial price differently?
Do you consider that to be good faith negotiating?
And maybe you work with them on that and they’re like, “ok but I actually have a commitment tomorrow and can only meet at 3:30am and if there’s a waning crescent moon hovering above us…”
The demands get longer. It’s clear they’re not actually interested. They’re just testing their own waters and are time wasters.
They sometimes actually do, but they aren't meant for haggling purposes, and are often only allowed up to a small amount (like say $20). They're meant for things like price-matching or resolving pricing discrepancies.
I used to be a cashier at a sporting goods chain store. No one ever told me, but I discovered I could give 5% discounts without an override. My team lead could give 10%. No one ever asked for a discount, but I would have probably given them if the customer asked nicely. Of course I could also adjust the price if the tag showed something different, and the computer did not request an override unless it was a large discrepancy.
don't try to haggle with retail staff.
There was no slot for the cue anymore, and no sticker on it
Asked the guy in Sporting Goods how much it was
He looked at it for a minute and said, "how's $5.97 sound?" (that was the price of the marked-down solid maple stick, this was a two-piece fiberglass jobbie (probably a $40-50 cue at the time))
I told him, "sounds great"
He printed-out a "replacement" price tag, and went to check out
We ended up with over 35% off a mower last year because the engine meter had more than .1h (6m) on it, along with some dirt and grass clippings in the mower deck
Brand new (minus 20 minutes of run time and some dirt) with all the warranties intact
I am NOT a strong negotiator, I'll usually only ask if I'm buying a few things or my checkout price will be greater than ~$200, but just asking will usually be enough. "Can I get a discount" or "can you throw in some of this stuff for free." But even with that, I've been able to get plenty of discounts.
And that expands a TON if you add floor model/open box/dent and ding items. Almost any store will give you a minimum of 10% off on AT LEAST those items.
Places you can negotiate:
* Any car dealership
* Buying houses or real estate
* Renting apartments/houses not managed by multi-city corporations
* Music stores, excluding Guitar Center
* Guitar Center (somewhat)
* Mattress stores
* Furniture stores (that are at least on the level of Ashley furniture) or independent (so no Ikea).
* SaaSes that have sales teams [email them and ask, they often will give discounts if you have a better reason than "I want a discount" which is a pretty low bar. Like student (real student, not I still have my college address 10 years later), military, I'm a poor startup founder and can't afford the full price. <- I've used this a few times pre-revenue]
* Smaller software companies that aren't selling games (email them and ask, they often will give discounts if you have a better reason than "I want a discount" which is a pretty low bar)
* ANY place that sells anything used from slightly used to antiques
* Farmer's markets
* Boutique food stores (this one is kinda iffy unless spending a fair bit)
* Flea markets
* Dentist offices (the approach is different here usually appealing to loyalty discounts, personal hardships, or extra cosmetic type services)
* Mall kiosk vendors oftentimes
* Outside of the US any kind of vendor in a shop that is in a specialized mall (ex. In Seoul in the electronics district, there are malls full of small vendors that have similar inventory as everyone else, you can haggle a ton)
* Any independently owned shop that has most items retailing for >~$50 or average ticket price >~$100.
* Non-chain Restaurants (but I'd generally avoid it unless going high end because margins are usually tiny)
* Pretty much ANY store that hasn't "standardized" itself to death.
* Rental cars
* I could keep going.
Places you can't:
* National chains where the sales staff is minimum wage. Walmart, Best Buy, Target
* Stores selling small-ticket items (average purchase is under $100)
* Online retailers (outside of standard coupons, etc)
* Grocery stores
* Regional/nationally managed rentals.
* I'm having trouble thinking of other places you can't negotiate at least a little at...
The moral of the story is any place with a physical presence MUST charge a considerable markup (40% markup would be in the discount store range of markups) in order to stay in business, so if it is worth their while to make a sale they will haggle.
If they are selling commodity goods or small ticket items it's difficult to make it worth their while to even talk to someone wanting to haggle.