Originally Posted by hastakala

After several years of reading FT intermittently, this is the first thread on which I have felt compelled to post. The comments have been superb.

I travel to Asia regularly, with home base in Kathmandu, for my business of buying ritual objects, jewelry, and assorted art work. While haggling is an essential element to all aspects of business there, I have developed a set of operating principles that work for me.

1) It's all about the relationships. The purchase of product means nothing without seller and buyer respecting each other and experiencing joy in the transaction.

2) There is no formula for where I start the bargaining or at what price it concludes. As long as I can make a profit on resale, and the seller can make enough to stay in business, it's all good.

3) I learned this motto from older and wiser traders than I - "Trade not Aid." How I interpret this is that I would much rather "overpay" for an item than to simply throw money at a charity - especially if my purchase allows the seller to improve his life and that of his family. A small purchase can make a world of difference for someone who earns less in a month than I do in a day.

4) There is no right price. I sometimes buy from poor and disabled street vendors an item I purchase in quantity from the same producer from which the street vendor is supplied - and at a price which provides the street vendor a small profit. Locals call me crazy, but I call the interaction priceless.

5) At the end of the day, of the year, perhaps of life, I will remember the relationships far more clearly than the bargains.

Just my two rupees worth!