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Zen
and
the art of
buying grey Cell Phones
Apurv Parashar
2000189
Group-4
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he Proble!-"The problem involved here was to get myself a cheap cell phone which
Would cost me less then Rs3000
Would not necessarily be the size and weight of a mortar brick.
Also wanted a !decent" range of features on my gizmo where !decent" for me usually
borders on the e#travagant for others. The only way this seemed possible was for me to
tap the !grey" market which e#ists in $affaar %arket and &aalika 'azaar in (elhi.)owever these markets have a reputation of being twin edged knifes of sorts as too many
stories abound of people having been taken for a ride by smooth talkers and ending up
paying more than the retail price for these gadgets. 'ut confident* by virtue of desire andneed* decided to press on and did e#tensive research of sorts on retail as well as grey
prices and ultimately headed for these markets. Along with e#perienced friends* headed
out and ultimately got what desired after two days of scouting at Rs+,00 about -00
bucks less then retail. The entire process* the negotiations* the threatened walkouts andthe ridiculous stories told on both sides of the counter were tremendously instructive and
here attempt to analyze our transactions as a /uintessential middle class guide for
getting that cell you want for a wee bit less of your pocket.
he #etup-" 'oth of these markets /uoted above operate on a negotiation model where
the term !marked price" goes for a big si#. 'argaining is the mantra of the day andrepresents the pinnacle of materialistic fruitful communication for the buyer. The game
itself starts upon your initial glance towards the seller"s rack The sub1ects in /uestion are
armed with counters resembling better a cigarette2beedi bo# rather then a shop and the
seller towards you$It is here I must emphasize that this entire process is an exercise in
communication between you and the seller. Through your moves, your attitude, yourspeech, you are unconsciously (or consciously) sending signals by which a seasoned
seller makes up his mind to what price he can take you for and hence reacts .t is at thislevel if you are careful you can turn things around your way as intend to show or at least
prevent yourself to be cheated. n effect it generally boils down to a two player
communication problem which e#pands to more if more sellers or buyers are involved.
$enerally similar communication techni/ues will follow for both &aalika and $affaar* but
will differ in some few vital areas due to characteristic differences between both in
location* setting and type of sellers. This becomes increasingly important when choosingbetween markets* if the time you can spend is limited. Also note that this is intended not
to be a general bargaining guide for any product or market but only for this peculiarproblem for markets /uoted above as many methods developed for this situation turn ontheir head in say* a souvenir shop or some place else.
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4ollowing the lead of successful $enerals from history* we begin by analyzing the
opponent by segregating him into two classes
he Paan-%eedi type vendor25.These types dominate in $affaar and have a
reasonable presence in &aalika. They are typically sitting behind a small glasscounter showing their wares on the open street and hence their name. The vendors
themselves range from right to chaps looking like actual beedi types to
!respectable" looking broken 6nglish speaking types. They have about -02- cellphones right there for you to see and have more stashed somewhere and are even
connected well to get you a model if you care to name it for him. They usually
deal in second hand phones but can be the best source for a killer buy on a new
phone provided you can verify their claim. These tend to be more receptive tobargaining strategies then the second type as they have to resort to similar
communication channels for their sales pitch to make up for their lack of shop
structure and hence lack of trust and reliability therein.
he &'espe(table #hop)eeper* vendor25 These are mostly found in &aalika
where they usually host other electronic items but can be wholly 7ell &honeoriented too. They have all the fa8ade of retail and inspired by some original
cardboard bo# packs on their showcase* /uote even higher then retail price. They
usually assume an arrogant attitude so as to 1ustify the higher floor area occupiedby them compared to the path side vendor sitting outside his shop. They rarely
deal in second hand stuff but like to classify all their wares as new* whatever
condition they are in. 9ot invincible to bargaining techni/ues* but they are less
receptive then the first type maybe* as they seem to get a regular share of rich
gullible customers who go home happy in the thought of making a bargain 1ustbecause they bought it from &aalika.
he +yth25Before developing our general tactics* we clear the air first by breaking a
myth about bargaining in general and specifically here. )aving watched too many)ollywood movies in which the buyer and merchant simply name prices until they agree
one that is roughly halfway between the original asking price and offer price* many
people think that this is the way bargaining really works. Well it doesn"t.
f you try to ask for a discount the seller will come up with all kinds of stories as to how
his margin is Rs0 or even lower* or how this phone is worth much more but he"s doingyou a favour because he you are his first sale of the day::f you believe his story* andaccept the figure that he named* you are going to be paying an outrageous price.
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;o you know what he"s up to. 9ow what do you do< f you don"t want to pay an
outrageous price* you have to remember one simple guideline= ell hi! a story$ ,e told
you a story and no. you tell hi! one. Tell him you intend to buy the phone right thereand place the money in front claiming that as all you had minus the auto fare. The >
have this much only? @ story /#work* provided you act it out convincingly and the
money you lay in front is does give the poor chap some margin and at the same timereasonable to you. This works e#tremely well with the first type as they often doubt
sincerity of their prospective !customers" as even many 1aywalkers also ask them out for
fun.
$ood acting skills are important too. &ractice your surprised look in the mirror. When he
names his price* look shocked and start apologizing. >"m really sorry. had no idea it
was so e#pensive. thought it would only be around half that price. like it but don"twant to waste your time. There"s no way could afford it.@ This also sometimes works
but often mistook for sarcasm but when its not* you are most likely to be made another
offer. ;o you have to decide on instinct by your perception of the seller and to what
particular tone and content will he respond to. personally found that a subtle firstreaction is much more useful if you know that the price is grossly inflated and has to
come down like in this case as will be seen 1ust ahead.
We now e#amine general tactics for effective bargaining and will later review my own
e#perience and analyze it in light of aforementioned and communication theory by doinga mini case study.
he General 'outine25
#tri)ing a pose25our attitude is everything when you go in. Almost every seller
seems to welcome a positive* fun* and friendly potential customer and sales
interaction. Abrasive ta)e no prisoners in your fa(e 'a!bo type attitudesusually are not e!bra(ed .ith the sa!e enthusias! although you mayhave to
end up being a little aggressive to stri)e the final deal$At the same time sincerity
must* and can not be compromised for a light disposition when dealing especially
with the first type. This can not be overemphasized as the repeated /uestion fromthem is to whether you reallywant to buy a cell phone and that itself is very
important for the /uoted price to begin its downward spiral.
he routine itself-" )ow to start 4irst of all through e#tensive market research you
should be familiar with prices and models available. ;o you will have idea aplenty
when you actually venture out to buy. 9ow is the time to scan all the counters outthere. ou see a phone you like or were thinking as a possible buy. ou then proceed
to ask its /uoted price. The price /uoted is almost certainly way above your threshold
limit and is almost twice if you are in &aalika. t is then advisable to react with
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subtlety in mind and keep inspecting the phone up and down* in and out. 4inally
when convinced of the set"s value it is advisable to follow a scaled down routine on
some other phones even if in pretence. This should be done in order not to give awayyour liking for that set. Beep asking /uestions though* about model* battery life*
features even if you know more than him.
3eep in !ind this is not a eer(ise in delay but one in .hi(h your sin(erity as
.ell as gullibility 5or the la() of it6 is (o!!uni(ated to the seller. f it"s not
happening* you are missing the point. f you feel it is not happening your way* thenask a different /uestion and keep asking and e#amining until you incite the seller"s
interest and attention. Cnnecessary delay will bear no fruit and you must enter now
the second phase of the great game.
9ow you come back to your best bet phone and ask for a second price which
generally meets with two responses25
A ne. pri(e is 7uoted !arginally less then previous$ he 7uestion &,o. !u(h are you prepared to give*
n case of first response* act with disgust: This is an opportunity for you to be your
e#pressive best: and start narrating stories at the same time pressing home the point
that while u appreciate the set* you will not be taken for a ridees* make this clear inclassic direct style communication and how you can not pay him the higher price and
carry the feeling home of paying more than fair. The keyword here is&ngage*.
6ngage the shopkeeper even if he appears reticent and try to bring him to the second
response orto a price you might be willing to pay.
Things get interesting in the second response and preferably you should not suddenly/uote your price or a price below it* but rather wait and incite the seller to give hisbest price insisting as it is his product he should come out with a fair price himself.
This delay takes a little bit of the shock out of the price you will /uote which is even
lower then the price you think is fair.
Cpon hearing that price now it is the seller"s turn to act in disgust. This cycle can be
ended now by instinct and fle#ibility and your as well as hisneed to make a sale.Dnce you /uote a price and you think it is fair to you and him stick to it and now
you enter the final act* the walkout.
ou must also be a good actor when you do your >walkout@. lmost all successfulbargaining sessions involve threatened or real walkouts. f you are not have any
success in getting to the price that you want to pay* it is time to apologize for wasting
the seller"s time* and pretend to leave. $enerally in $affaar* you will be called backE0F of the time. t usually takes one or two threatened or actual walkouts to get a
good price. The walkout is also useful because if the shop2keeper lets you go* you
know that he is not going to go any lower and you can always come back if you want.Though you shouldn"t if you think your price is fair
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%odyal)-" 6#pressive gestures* facial movements* and or the lack of them* will
emphasize motivation toward a purchase. 7ommunicating what you will pay and
when you believe something is over2priced can be accomplished through bodylanguage. 6ye e#pressions* hand movements* a smile* or dropped 1aw* will all be
understood regardless of any language barriers. our kinesthetic disposition will be
of paramount importance throughout the transaction.
%-" )owever once you do sight things you like and hear stuff you like* stay cool*
calm* and collected. &ut your best poker face on. After going crazy over a phone* by
praising it up one side and down the other* donGt be amazed when the shop owner
wonGt budge from his price. The shop owner then knows how much you want andlove that piece. )eGs got the upper hand now. Dnce you have revealed your true
intentions and desire* to regain any leverage with the shop owner is futile. ;hop
owners* Gm convinced by now* have e#traordinary powers of mental telepathy. hen
you see an ite! you .ant being non(halant about the .hole thing .or)s best. know it may be difficult but remaining neutral works to your advantage. The thrill of
ac/uiring what you want is worth the challenge of staying cool.
a)ing it slo.-"magine thatyouare a seller. A guy walks into your store and shows
some interest in an item. ou give him your best sales pitch* and price negotiations
begin. After a minute or two* if he leaves without buying something* you haven"t lost
anything* but if you spend ten or fifteen minutes* you will be e#tremely reluctant tolet the customer leave the store without making a sale. 6ven if you are only going to
make a very small profit* you will want to make sure that the customer buys
something. This brings us to our second guideline= ;pend a lot of time at the counter.Ask a lot of /uestions. 6#amine the phone in minute detail. &retend that you are
interested in other phones as well. Try things on* and try to look as if you have all the
time in the world. 6#ercising patience may be the difference between getting whatyou want for the price youGd like to pay or not. /on:t be i!pulsive. Beep those
feelings zipped in your back pocket and put some restraint in your wallet. Hearn to
pull back gently on your reins* as you go charging toward your potential purchasing
victory.
,abeus Corpus-" f you can rant along a cell phone of a buddy or take the cell
phone buddy with you it can be very useful indeed. The most important use comesalong in the happy coincidence when you intend to buy the same model and can
dangle the phone in the air* moaning in disgust as to how it really costs a tenth of the
/uoted price. Dr you can resort to comparing the phone on counter with that in yourand as how despite having more features your phone costs less then that on the
counter.
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;llusion of )no.ledge-"ou /
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end second hand model. erred in letting my e#citement show for the other model which
the shopkeeper picked on. ;o this effectively negated our advantage of looking for two
phones and was thoroughly avoidable. %eanwhile continued with my inspection of thephones and kept asking /uestions which he rather intelligently replied.
The dialogue went something like this scaled down in time
%e= s this is the new %itsubishi %ars
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