Dealings

You know that feeling of being cheated... When you realise that you could have struck a good bargain or gotten a much better deal somewhere else for whatever you had just bought. It can sting and even sometimes get one angry. This usually motivates me to do my best to not be ripped off my money in the market. And one has to always bring their A-game, because it seems everybody be tripling their prices these days.

My first instinct when I am told the cost of a service or good is to cut it into two, especially if I have never bought it before and have no real idea of how much. But someone had me speechless when I was about to try that.

I only wanted to buy a phone case. I thought it would cost about $5, for example. It took me a while to find the one I wanted, but I did. Just when I asked and expected the seller to hit me with twice the usual cost, he said $4. That surprised me, and so I asked for more than one, since it felt like a good deal. What's more was how he even attended to me.

When I let him know that I thought he'd ask for way more, he said he doesn't like to waste time and energy. That was his price, he continued, and he's already gained what he should on it. It was just a phone case, but he was polite, understanding, and spoke calmly. It only made sense to ask for his number and just become his regular customer.

On the other end of the aisle was a completely different experience. I had bought a new pair of earphones—just new on the market—and I was already mad in a matter of minutes. But my negligence played a part.

Oraimo Freepods 2—yes, those earphones. I bought two of them, actually. When they were handed to me, I only opened one box and tested the earphones in it. They sounded fine, and everything seemed alright. But I didn't do the same for the second box. I took it unboxed and went home with it. What I found at home was that the case wouldn't charge the earphones. "God dammit." Returning it was going to be a problem.

The seller wasn't going to replace it or give me a refund. Rather, he wanted to refer me to the repair services down the road. I had just bought it the day before, and I couldn't be paying for repairs so early. But that's the thing with having already made payment sometimes. Getting a refund could be a problem.

The only card I had to play was to "change it for the seller," which means to express my dissatisfaction and anger at the seller. He caved, then he replaced the earphones for me. This time, I checked everything.

Quite frankly, I didn't think I would get another one or even a refund. It had already left with the product, only to return the next day. If I were the seller, I'd find it hard to trust that I wasn't being deceived with the buyer passing on a different product that was already faulty as the same. I got lucky, but I learnt a lesson that day.