[ SECRET POST #2902 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2902 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 058 secrets from Secret Submission Post #415.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

You act like people don't do this ALL the time for every other thing that can be bought ever. As my boss always says, Always ask for a discount because you might just get one.

[(Anonymous)]

But if you're actually asking for a discount all the time, aren't you a pain in the ass?

[(Anonymous)]

No. You are being frugal. They don't got to give you one but it sure as fuck don't hurt to ask.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I disagree, I think it's rather rude and no way to go through life.

But that's life I guess, different strokes and all that.

[dancing_serpent]

Not rude everywhere, though. Sometimes it's even expected. Or if you don't get a discount, it's expected that you get gifts with your purchase instead. Both practices have become increasingly popular in Germany over the last decade or so.

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, yes, if you live in a place where haggling is the culturally expected norm, it's fine. If it's not the culturally expected norm, it is rude.

[dancing_serpent]

Well, it didn't used to be so in Germany, but we're slowly on our way there. Things change. I admit, I'm not the greatest haggler - mostly I'm too afraid of people laughing in my face if I dare to ask. I do love saving money, though, so sometimes I give it a try.

[(Anonymous)]

What the fuck, where in Germany do you live? Because I've lived in different parts of the country and haggling is most certainly not considered the norm here, nor do you get a gift with your purchase everywhere. And most people will consider you cheap and rude if you start whining about the price and try to get a discount.

[dancing_serpent]

Yeah, don't try to do it at the supermarket or the little bakery/butcher or so. And don't try it buying a 5 Euro t-shirt. But the larger stores like Karstadt, Galeria Kaufhof, Douglas are a fair bet. Or the more expensive clothing shops, or car dealerships.

Just like with all those bonus programmes (Miles & More, Payback, Family Card, etc) the stores want to keep their customers and are prepared to give discounts. So the guy buying a cologne plus the complete care series at Douglas will most certainly get a little extra when he asks.

It's just not something most Germans think of. We're supposed to be orderly and stick to the rules. Only the rules are slowly changing, and more and more people are taking advantage of it.

[(Anonymous)]

DA.

I live in Germany, too, and I've seen it happen in more expensive clothing stores and also when you buy something more expensive, like a TV.

I definitely wouldn't consider it the norm, either, though, and when you do it for inexpensive things, then yeah, that's rude.
I wouldn't really know, though; I've lived in the same tiny town my whole life and haven't been around much, and I hate shopping.

[(Anonymous)]

That's scary! So if you're good at haggling, you'd get a better price than others who are not as good. Maybe who are socially inept, like I am? That sounds deeply unfair and I think haggling should be illegal.

[(Anonymous)]

LOL, snowflake.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, but the discount is usually not much. It's only for expensive one-off items (like a car or a TV) and personally I'd rather pay an extra 3% or so or not get some stupid free gift than haggle. Being direct has weirdly got me plenty of free stuff, too.

[dancing_serpent]

Not only that. Something I noticed is that it's mostly the people who do have money and can afford to buy expensive things who do the haggling. Because they can always say they're going to take that big amount of money elsewhere, the stores are willing to give as not to lose them as customers.

Of course, what most people don't seem to know is that prices in that range are made with discounts in mind. There's something called the "Unverbindliche Preisempfehlung" in Germany, and that's a bit open to discussion.

I could go on on that topic a bit more, but I don't want to bore you. *g*

[elialshadowpine]

Not boring to me! I find it fascinating, actually, how different cultural norms are about things like this. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Generally, when I'm buying something that's going to cost more than 50€ such as an electrical appliance, I definitely shop around. I don't haggle, but online vendors are generally much, much closer to the actually expected price of the item than the UVP mentioned above.

Brick and mortar stores will almost definitely price match their chain's online prices (the store prices tend to be 10-20€ above for example for video games) if the customer knows.

It's a rotten system, and I really wish they'd just price properly in the first place - costs me a lot of time and energy to actually pay the right price for stuff.

[diet_poison]

You're still being a pain in the ass, though. Especially if you're talking to cashiers who don't set prices. :/

That doesn't apply to artists, but I still think asking for a discount on a personal good/service is really rude since you're basically saying "I think your work is worth less" (unless their prices is unusually high).

Basically, it might work, and it might be frugal, but it DOES make you a pain in the ass.

[(Anonymous)]

This. It's one thing to say "I would love to commission something, but I can't afford your prices. Would you be willing to do a commission for X $? I understand of course if that's not possible." But saying "hey you charge too much" is rude and insulting.

[diet_poison]

Yeah, if you're really understanding and emphasizing that it's because you can't afford it, then that might be ok. But not "Can I have a discount?" or "I really think this should go for $X" or whatever.

[dysmaid]

Maybe it doesn't hurt, but you sure as fuck should be mindful about the tone you take when you ask. The message in the secret is incredibly rude, implying that the artist's work isn't worth what they're charging. If it was a discount they were after, and not just bitching because they couldn't afford the cost of a commission, they should have been respectful about it. As it is, it just comes off as whining and devaluing the artist's work, and I see that happen to very talented people all the time. There's incredible pressure to offer commissions for a price that wouldn't even be comparable to minimum wage, and it's insulting to demand that of someone who has spent years getting themselves to a certain artistic level and is trying to earn what their work is worth.

[(Anonymous)]

Asking for a discount doesn't seem to be what the OP is talking about, though.

To me, the quote in the secret doesn't suggest an attempt to strike a bargain or offer a lower sum in the hope the artist will take it. Since the quote does say "I love your work" so in this instance I would't assume it was a dig at the artist, e.g. "Honey, you're not good enough to be charging so much." However, without knowing the price or what the art looks like, we can't be sure if the price really is too high and the artist has no idea (might be too new at it to realize no one is going to buy at that price), of if the person quoted is actually the one who doesn't know and is used to artists who under-price their work or who are in a lower talent bracket and this person assumes all artists should be charging rates within a ceratin fairly low range regardless of talent, quality, or amount of labor involved.

(I've met a lot of people who think particular items should always cost within a certain range because tat's what they see at the places they typically shop, so when they encounter a high-end or artsy hand-made version, they squawk at the price because in their mind a table/rug/stuffed animal should't cost that much and the price of materials and labor are irrelevant.)

[(Anonymous)]

That's exactly what it is. If you havent seen it, it's usually a subversive attempt to strike a bargain because, oh noes, you can't get extremely detailed at at $5.

I have literally seen someone being repeatedly told they charged too much for a full color piece with a detailed background--even though it was, like, $25.

[(Anonymous)]

Pretty rude way of asking, then. If I were an artist, I'd never cut a deal with someone who acted like that.

[(Anonymous)]

Your boss is kind of obnoxious, then. Your boss also does not grasp that there are times and places where this isn't appropriate, but then if you don't care about looking greedy or socially clueless then yeah, go for it.

[(Anonymous)]

There's a difference between asking for a discount in circumstances where the product you're haggling over has enough of a margin built in to allow it, and haggling in the case of one-off artisan items (which in the case of commissions are created to your exact specifications).

Feel free to try it on in both circumstances, but don't be surprised if people in the latter think you're an entitled jerk.