He offered his first price. My expression must have said it all.
“It’s not good?” he asked.
“It’s not far from here at all,” I responded, trying not to show my amusement.
I found his first offer funny…
1. Because he had looked like such a sweet, little, old man, that I wouldn’t have imagined he’d be so shrewd. (Although I couldn’t really blame him for assuming I might be a tourist and trying for more.)
2. Because we both knew it was a ridiculously high price to start with for the distance and
3. His face was so innocent as he said, “It’s not good?”.
We haggled a bit, although it was good natured. He said I should pay more, while I continued to insist that it was too close to pay much.
He ended up taking my price, and was very nice about it. I drove home with the kids, silently rejoicing that, although there is still a lot for me to learn in terms of acceptable prices and how to haggle, I am getting just a bit better at it.