lesson learned in trade 101

i should learn to haggle.  i was in search for good quality pashmina shawls, and friends here in SG suggested that i go to Tekka Centre in Little India.  so with two co-Young Scholars and MRT/Map on hand, off we went.  there were nice shawls (waaaayyy cheaper compared to those we have back in Manila), and i bought some to take home.  i was about to pay until my co-YS from India started to haggle. 

i was surprised but i found it sweet.  she is a Ph.D. student, and it was out of character to suddenly take a brave front and negotiate (or so i thought).  the store owners were from India (i suppose) but there has been some difficulty reaching a compromise (they were already disagreeing, in English, quite aggressively that it made me uncomfortable.  i honestly didn't want to cause some misunderstanding, especially over a mere SGD2 discount (they already gave me a free scarf anyway) but my friend was determined (and even asserted that the sellers made a big profit from my purchase).  miss diplomacy that i was, i politely ended their argument (successfully so, thankfully!) and left the story --- happy with my purchase, happier that someone i knew for only 5 days or so stood for me (so i don't get cheated) and happiest because my friend and i agreed to buy pashmina directly from hyderabad, india, where it is cheaper and better quality.

i couldnt ask for more.

or maybe, i should learn to haggle.  after all, in those places, haggling is part of the happy dynamics of trade.