Happy with their success at shopping, Jesus wanted Ranma to explain his mysterious technique. “What was that technique you used to get them to lower their prices?”
Ranma raised an eyebrow, mostly at the way the long haired man wearing the crown of thorns phrased it oddly. “It’s called haggling. Even though they have marked prices, you can ask them to lower their price and negotiate. You can’t overuse it though.”
Jesus was eager to learn the secrets that might lead him to actually getting a laptop with Buddha’s approval. “Don’t overuse it how?”
Ranma considered the issue. “Well if they have fair prices, it’s not worth the bother. It’s best if there is an item that is overpriced, as the manager might be considering putting a sale on the item so that they sale more. You can think of it as asking for a sale that hasn’t happened yet. Also if you have several items you want to buy, and ask for a deal on one item, the shopkeeper can consider how much money they will make on all the stuff you’re buying, not just on the one you’re asking for a discount on.”
The analogy to sales made it clear to Buddha. “Ah, I hadn’t thought of it that way. So it’s similar to the discounts offered on sales.”
Ranma nodded, since understanding this stuff was vital for getting good deals. “Right. The merchants buy their wares ahead of time, and they want to sell them for more than they paid plus their other costs to make a profit. Sometimes an item doesn’t sell well, so they do a discount on it, or they’ll do sales on one item to get you to buy other items. In a worst case scenario, they at least want to sell it to you for what they paid so they don’t take a loss on it.”
Jesus found the topic fascinating since money troubles were their biggest household issue. Buddha was great at managing their budget, but too stingy of his tastes. “So why can’t we haggle for deals all the time?”
Ranma smiled, actually enjoying sharing what he’d learned in the years of his short life. “That’s the same problem as a store that has too many sales. They actually raise their normal price higher, so their sale price is just getting close to the normal price. That’s why stores with too many sales are usually no good. Since they set their own prices, the sale can be a trick.”
Buddha lit up in comprehension as he was guilty of being overly attracted by sales and discounts. “So how do we tell the difference and choose a good store?”
Sharing his wisdom was quite satisfying for the young man. “Remember, a store has to make a profit to stay in business, but different stores do it in different ways. Stores with the best prices keep their costs down, so they tend to be more simple. A store that’s too fancy pays for that somehow.”
Jesus perked up as he thought of something, getting a little excited. “Like those special offers Buddha is always going after?”
Ranma nodded. “Yeah, those are only good if they’re just drawing in more customers, which is fine. A store that makes more sales is generally better. The bad offers are the ones that get you to buy more than you wanted, or spend more than you should have.”
Thinking about it, Ranma thought of a decent example. “It’s like name brand goods. The good part is you know what you’re buying. Off label stuff can be of any kind of quality, but if you look, you can find off label stuff that’s better than name brand. The famous goods have to add the cost of their advertising and label to their cost. So a quality off label thing is best, then the name brands because they have a known standard. Stores are like that, nice busy stores are good, but a quality plain store is best.”
Jesus held up his shopping bag. “Is that like the clothes we bought?”
Ranma tilted his head and considered the issue, since it wasn’t a simple one. “Nah, those were imperfect and discontinued goods. That’s because of what I said earlier, they at least want to make back their costs. I’m kinda surprised you guys like factory defect stuff so much.”
Buddha smiled warmly. “There is something charming about these imperfect goods. The price for the overall quality is very nice as well.”
Jesus was happy for different reasons. “I’m just glad we didn’t have to buy underwear with strange designs this time.”
Ranma laughed at the memory. “Heh. Well, I’m gonna head home guys. Take care and have fun.”
Jesus waved good-bye with a smile. “Peace be with you Ranma-kun.”
Ranma coming back to the Tendo home with shopping bags drew a little bit of attention.
Kasumi lit up with a gentle smile. “Oh, did something interesting happen Ranma-kun?”
Nabiki was more idle curiosity as she snacked on chips while watching television. “To think you had money to spend on things Saotome. Buy some sexy lingerie for your girl form?”
Akane mostly reacted to Nabiki’s comment. “Pervert.”
Ranma sighed and rolled his eyes at the two younger sisters. “Jeeze, I bought new boxers ya perverts.” Done shooting down the peanut gallery, Ranma gave Kasumi a lazy grin. “Eh, just another boring day, didn’t do much other than a bit of shopping. You know of any good places to buy fresh veggies?”
Kasumi tilted her head to the side. “Why yes, but what would you need vegetables for?”
Ranma paused at the odd question, then wondered what she thought he was going to do with them. Which made him wonder if he should tell her the truth or make up a funny lie. Eh, they were already confused enough, interesting truth would be fine. “An offering for Buddha.”
“Ah.” Satisfied with his answer, Kasumi stopped pondering strange martial arts uses for vegetables. “I can take you to the market some time and introduce you.”
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(Posted Mon, 09 Sep 2013 17:36)
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