Hello everyone 👋. How y'all doing? Feels so good to be here at last. I've been coming by for a while now, seeing @samostically post, engaging and all of that. And after all of that, I can very well say I know what the community wants, the kind of post expected and all. So, today I'm here to share about something we Nigerians are widely known for, especially in our markets, and that is bargaining.
In a Nigerian market, you just have to bargain. While growing up, I do follow my mom to the market, especially during the festive periods when she needs to get us shoes, clothes and such for celebrations. And I can't remember anytime I've followed her to the market and and there won't be some/any form of drama.
The seller can call a particular cloth, fifteen thousand naira and in my own mind, I will be like, it is worth it, at times I just feel maybe the seller should remove one or two thousand naira from it, but before I could even process all of that I would have heard my mum say, "haba, can't you sell it for six thousand naira."
It always left me in shock, the way a seller would call a price and the way my mom would slash/cut the price to less than half. Sometimes I feel embarrassed and wish I had just stayed at home.
I don't even know the best word to describe it, but my mom won't even flinch it bother. Funniest part is how the seller too wouldn't feel bad about it, rather they would begin to converse, debate and keep mentioning different prices, the seller lowering it from the initial price he called and my mom staying on hers or raising it a little higher too. And that is how they will continue.
Most of the time they will eventually agree on a price, other times my mum would just thank the seller and move on to another shop to price that same thing. And by the time we've walked and visited almost all the shops and has priced the same item in each, she would have already know who had the highest price and who sells for the lowest. Then we will now make our way back to the particular seller who sells for the lowest.
And whenever I ask her why she bargains like that, she usually gave me the same answer, she will say, "my dear, the fact that the finally agree to sell it at that price means they still make some profit of it. Don't fall for their sweet mouth, have sweet mouth too."
And it's not just with my mum, that is the way it is with every buyer and seller in a Nigerian market. Bargaining has become, or let me say, bargaining is a part of the market culture itself. Sellers already know buyers will negotiate, so they tend to raise the price when you ask so that by the time a buyer negotiates, they will finally get to the last price they can sell their wares.
And honestly, it is good. I love how it creates conversations and all of that, sometimes it turns into friendship and the next time you are going to get another thing again you already have a go-to customer. Visit a Nigerian market and see how loud it usually is, different people bargaining, negotiating, and comparing prices.
And today, all those visits to the market that once makes me feel embarrassed as now become one of my favorite memories, and today I as well don't just go to the market to buy a thing without first bargaining.
🌹
Images are AI generated.
Thanks a lot for taking your time to read through, kindly do well to stop by my blog @marsdave for more exclusive and amazing content.
❣️❣️❣️
Posted Using INLEO
