Cash
The last thing I did before escaping Bangkok for Songkran was to give Chalerm a list of things to sell.
After procrastinating for only a year or two I got around to write ads for photo equipment I no longer use. I had to think about this, you see. Even if I had not used a particular piece of equipment for years I might want to use it one day. And when I held it in my hand owning it felt good and I didn’t want to let go.
But to be realistic, if I had not used something for five years, what were the chances that I would use it the next five years? Sell it, said my inner accountant.
So I gave Chalerm a list and he translated it to Thai and put the items on the web.
I try to set fair prices. Second hand is second hand. Sometimes Asians pay too much for used stuff, if you ask me. It seems to me that Asians value “current model” and “new-looking condition” more than Westerners do, as these factors bring “face” to the buyers. The asking prices for used photo equipment in MBK are quite high.
In Farangland I usually sell at the prices I have set in the ad. I tell callers that the price does not include any haggle room, the buyer agrees that the price is reasonable, and we are done.
But this doesn’t work in Thailand. In Thailand people want to haggle and bargain and give bids. They seem to think they get cheated if there are no negotiations.
In Farangland I tell people that they can’t haggle on the phone. How can they know what something is worth before they have seen it? But in Thailand the buyers haggle first and come to look at the item later.
The buyer today complained to Chalerm the price of a flash gun. According to the buyer it was almost as expensive as new. This was not true, even if I had put some haggle room on the top, this being Bangkok.
The buyer made it sound like we were highway robbers. But the offer must have been good as he gave us a bid by phone and showed up and bought the flash within an hour.
I have told Chalerm to keep the money. If he gets enough he can use it to pay the rent in The Mansion.
Tags: second hand, Thailand