A short while ago, I found myself in a conversation with an organic soap-maker at the Pike Place Market. To be fair, his soap was very high-quality stuff, but I found one serious problem with it: the soap was exorbitantly priced. Since I was dealing with the soap-maker himself and had the option of purchasing a slightly lower quality soap in bulk for a far more affordable price (less than $5 a bar, thank goodness), haggling seemed my best option. So haggle I did.
What I found was that the soap-maker couldn’t sell me on the quality of the bar at that price, and he knew this–as he didn’t put up much of a fight. But what he then said to me has puzzled me ever since: the reason I should buy the soap, he said, was because he paid his soap-makers $18 an hour, which is more than I currently make at the moment. Not sold on the idea, I smiled, declined, and took off. I’d later go on to buy about 17 more bars for about three bucks more. (more…)