<story><title>What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey</title><url>http://academicbiz.typepad.com/piloted/2007/01/what_i_learned_.html</url><text></text></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>ced</author><text>&lt;i&gt;Look at the weave, this is how you can tell it is not machine made.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;I hope he didn&apos;t believe that. Turkey is full of fake. People don&apos;t have a continuous relationship with the seller, so the seller focuses on selling something that &lt;i&gt;looks&lt;/i&gt; great. For fruit and vegetables, this isn&apos;t much of an issue (What You Taste Is What You Get), but I struggled to find a bike. All bells and whistle, no quality.&lt;p&gt;That&apos;s the positive side of megabrands and chain-stores, they have reputations and standards.&lt;p&gt;I was surprised by how social haggling was in Turkey. As far as I can tell, a lot of sellers do not lower the price because you&apos;re going to leave the transaction (i.e.: the rational way); they lower it because they want to feel good about themselves. Typically, college students get better prices that way. Foreigners can get either royally screwed, or offered a free meal at a restaurant. Turks want to think of themselves as being great hosts (and they are).&lt;p&gt;I tried a few times to tell a merchant: I can get a better price elsewhere. Even if it was true, they didn&apos;t care.&lt;p&gt;We went to a high-end restaurant last week. 6 foreigners, some obviously older and well-off, and one Turkish girl. We sit, start eating, then want to order wine. She haggled. And won. I still don&apos;t get it. Presumably, the reputation of the restaurant was at stake. It&apos;d be rationally selfish, but still. Foreigners are not coming back!&lt;p&gt;The requirement to haggle in so many situations has some unfortunate day-to-day consequences. Some Turks become used to lying under all circumstances. (though to be fair, I got some of my best relationships ever here)&lt;p&gt;Last anecdote: some cafe manager told me he has trouble finding personel. They pay an employee 1.50$ / hour (1$ if you&apos;re unexperienced, no joke) in my city. The price of a beer might be around 2.50$. The ratio is much worse than in the Western world, so I ask him, why don&apos;t you increase the pay? Nuh-uh, he said. Things don&apos;t work that way around here.</text></comment>
<story><title>What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey</title><url>http://academicbiz.typepad.com/piloted/2007/01/what_i_learned_.html</url><text></text></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>babul</author><text>I see this more of a lesson in persistence paying off, and understanding your client, their needs, how to predict and answer their questions, and behave to sell effectively (in this case usage of the environment) - things any entrepreneur in any business needs to know.&lt;p&gt;Yes, it is a social hack and manipulation to an extent (I don’t agree with bringing the kids in etc., that is low), but these are the same lessons and issues found in most business (merchant wants as much as he can get, client is often reluctant to buy until they see the benefits to them, and in order to reach a deal there is often much bartering and negotiations to be had).&lt;p&gt;Are some of the people we meet and network with, especially in business conferences and trade-shows, any different? Are price negotiations between the companies we interact with any different?&lt;p&gt;Simply put, the rug sellers understand what they are selling, what people are willing to pay, and how to sell it to them, and these are things all people in &lt;i&gt;business&lt;/i&gt; should know.  If win-win can be achieved (client thinks they are getting a bargain and seller is happy with sale price) then all the better. If you buy a rug, are happy with the rug, are happy with the price, what is the problem?&lt;p&gt;It is really market competition, and in many cases desperation, that is the root of the unethical behaviour. I do not agree with using pressure tactics, misleading &quot;consultative&quot; selling (was what he was teaching them about rugs true or was it tailored to his needs?), inferior goods supplied (&quot;bait-and-switch&quot;), or the multitude of other things that occur. But I see similar behaviour occurring in many high pressure environments, especially in the financial services sector (some stock brokers come to mind).</text></comment>