Pokhara is an expensive city. To make my way through all the expenses, bargaining is a must. Whether it be fruits or vegetables, clothes or sandals, creams or shampoo, while buying them, I try my best to reduce its asking price to as low as my ability allows me to. Bargaining, as we all know, is a negotiation that a buyer and a seller engage in to fix the ultimate price that will be paid for certain goods. In a way, it is a strategy to fix the price. When we think of bargaining, we think of haggling at little shops for groceries, clothes and so forth. But it is also seen in the case of expensive items like automobiles. In fact, even at places where there are signs saying Fixed Price, haggling is done.
Well, here are a few tips to bargaining that I have managed to collect. To begin with, one has to go to a store with a clear head, knowing exactly what one wants. One should never truly express the degree to which one likes the item. One doesn’t have to feel one is impolite or dishonest if one lies a bit to the seller that the same item is being sold at a much cheaper price in the store next door. One should not hesitate to create some fuss and drama and pretend that one will walk out if the price is not negotiated to one’s demand. Finally, one should never buy something one can get at a much cheaper price somewhere else.
Bargaining is not only for purpose of buying goods. According to Dr Chester Karrass, the author of the book “The Negotiating Game”, there are five types or bargaining. The first kind is share bargaining which deals with division of money, property and power. The second type is problem solving bargaining which helps the two parties to work with each other to solve problems together. The third one is attitudinal bargaining which aims at structuring and strengthening a long-term relationship by choosing the right type of attitude for the two parties. The fourth variety is personal bargaining. It is a process of internal struggle that reconciles competing needs and goals between oneself and the external world. The last type is in-group bargaining where the negotiators often work on behalf of a large group, organization or country whenever there is a conflict between personal and group goals.
Haggling helps us to save money, and it kills time too. Collective bargaining increases performance, promotes fairness and clearly spells out rights at the workplace. But at the same time, it endorses bureaucratization and creates polarization between two working parties. One needs to weigh the pros and cons and make a choice. Well, bargaining is a negotiating strategy in which parties collaborate to find a win-win solution to their dispute. As long as such an upshot is expected, bargaining should be insisted upon.
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