How NOT to Haggle

[Elenthis]

Today I accidently saved myself some money. A substantial amount on a single purchass (25%) but NOT a substantial amount overall (1 plat). I did this by taking out some coins withuot counting (a handful of gold, silver ect) and I tried to buy the item twice, thinking I had enough for 2 units. Well, I didnt even have enough for 1. At least not the first time I asked.
1. Buy item: you dont have enough money
2. Buy item again: You haggle the price to X and now have the item.

This is how NOT to haggle.

[Kelemvor]

I'm not sure if you queried this on ASK and/or were advised to post, but your assessment of the situation is not correct.

Dalvyn
Builder Council Grandmaster



Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 4109
Location: House of Wonder, Waterdeep
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:41 am Post subject:

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I would think you first haggled it down incredibly well (down to 7 plat, 2 gold, 7 copper).

Your next attempt at haggle did not go that well though (only down to 9 plat, 4 gold, 1 electrum, 4 silver, 4 copper).

If you want to make sure that you pay less than a given amount (e.g., 8 platinum), you should first put away all the extra coins, and then spam "repair gloves" till he accepts to do it for less than 8 platinum (as long as he asks for more, he will tell you that you don't have enough money for that).

Naturally, because of the spam it creates, better not do that when there are many people around.


Tortus
Sword Master



Joined: 22 Aug 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Silverymoon
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:47 am Post subject:

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Eh, Dully, you sure you wanna say stuff like that on the forums..? ;D
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Dalvyn
Builder Council Grandmaster



Joined: 16 Jul 2003
Posts: 4109
Location: House of Wonder, Waterdeep
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:46 am Post subject:

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Well ...

1) Is it wrong to do so?

I don't think it's wrong. The spam is wrong, obviously, but haggling sessions can be long and tedious. And since you do not have the option to refuse the price offered by the merchant, I think that's a good work-around.

2) Is it wrong to say it on public forums?

Let's be honest. Several people know this "trick", and people like to share this kind of "trick" behind the scenes. There is no way we can control what is being said over there, so the only thing we can do to make the game more fair (as in: not give unfair advantages to people "in the know") is to publicly share the trick.

Having too few coins in your inventory in order to haggle for a better price is acceptable, since in real terms you would not accept the full price if you thought you could reduce it with a little charm or intimidation

[Travis]

This was a very useful post. Now I actually know how TO haggle.
This makes the skill much more useful.
I was wondering if there was a way that you could barter, so that you could sell things for more? It seems like it's pretty random... I wonder if it would work to put a floor on what you would be willing to sell things for based on your haggle skill. Like... you won't part with an item if the buyer does not raise his price 10% of the origional value offered.