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This is more personal:
Donât people think I look at their profiles when they make me offers for my merch on FB Marketplace? I got an offer today for a like-new ukulele that I custom-painted, plus a padded carry bag with the asking price for $25 only they wanted to pay $20. But upon viewing their profile, I saw theyâd visited Naples, Italy earlier this month. I found that odd, being able to afford an overseas trip, but not wanting to pay the asking price for this item. Theyâre also a pro violinist and teacher, and an RN, as well as living in Troy, MI, which is kinda hoity-toity (but not like the Grosse Ptes. or Bâham). HmmmmâŚ
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Iâd say counter-offer $30! 
Some people are just dicksâŚ
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Nah, I just made it a sorry, price is firm. But Iâm thinking of adding:
Forgive me, but I couldnât help notice that you could afford to go to Italy, but you expect someone to accept $5 less than what theyâre asking for this item? What world do you live in?
Addendum:
I reported them for a deliberately low offer. Yes, FB lets one do that!
Then I replied to my âSorry, price is firmâ with âAlso, did it occur to you it might be offensive to offer a lower price for an item when I notice from your profile that you could afford to go overseas?â and that I reported them for the aforementioned.
Spoiler: Itâs a white woman.
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So, a little bit more on thisâŚ
I asked if it ever occurred to her that it might be offensive to offer less than was asked. And note that she didnât type, âHi, would you accept 20 for it?â; she used the make an offer button. I also told her I looked at her profile and saw thatâd sheâd gone to Italy, so the low offer did seemed odd (paraphrasing here, I deleted the chat).
She replied and told me that she was âbargainingâ, didnât I know that? Um, no - saying Iâm going to pay you 20$ isnât bargaining, itâs making an offer. Bargaining is when one makes an offer, than a counter offer is made, correct?
And that she was scared of me. Hoooo boy! A person has got to have a low fear tolerance to be scared by yours truly, and I think those who know me here would agree. That every time sheâd play the ukulele sheâd be scared. I wasnât sure if she was for real or playing on my sympathy. I explained my sitch, that Iâm out of work and disabled.
I donât remember much else, or else I donât want to, it was too absurd even for me. I know now with all certainty that trying to explain to someone their own entitlement is futile.
And I could use the money. I couldâve taken 20. But I felt insulted by that. If I felt it was worth $20, thatâs what I wouldâve asked. But I think thereâs added value in my artwork. And the uke itself hasnât been played very often.
I think a lot of this has to do with my very recent decision to become a full-blown Debs Socialist. And keeping my integrity doesnât start with writing letters to politicians or posting and/or sharing political content. It begins with me. This doesnât mean Iâm going to go around with a bag of painted rocks to throw at people randomly. It means speaking out for myself after Iâve made sure itâs justifiable to do so.
Of course. she could come after me with that âhurt-feelingsâ law, I expect. I donât care. What about my feelings?
And I feel the absurdity coming on again, and not the good kindâŚSIGH.
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PART THREE: THE SAGA ENDS (thank goodness)!
Soooo,
She bought it. And sheâs a kid. I mean, like still in her early 20s, maybe? So Iâm guessing sheâs never known financial hardship. I got the impression she still lives w/her parents. I wonder if she was drunk last night? Oh well, she paid the 25 bucks and I gave her one of my custom-painted uke boxes gratis because lagniappe has my initials in it. And no hard feelings involved on either side.
FIN
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Sounds like it had a happy ending, then! It might have just been youthful ignorance on her part, it seems⌠Iâm glad you got the cash, and she got a ukulele with your wonderful art!
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Ridiculous "fear"complaints with no actual incident or specificity have always been a tool of the troll.
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Iâm taking a class in law school this semester in Advanced Negotiating Skills. I was really dreading this class because I have an engineerâs mindset when it comes to negotiations. Meaning, I hate negotiations. The class so far as been surprisingly good. Weâre reading the book Getting To Yes, and an example early on in that book of the kind of negotiation thatâs very common but also very ineffective is haggling over price with an antiques vendor. Please note, I am not endorsing this book. Some people apparently love it, and others think itâs garbage. I have not read enough to form an opinion. Itâs just that your story resonated with me in relation to what little of the book Iâve read so far.
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I wonder about this sometimes because I donât understand it.
I know in other cultures, they haggle about everything and thatâs just how it is for them. But weâre used to - you go to the store, you see the price tag, thatâs what it is - except sometimes itâs not. Like youâre expected to haggle over some things (like used cars) but not others. And a swap meet or internet sale, it seems like haggling is expected.
So yes, it may be insulting, but is it really? Or is that just culture clash? And possibly even our own culture clashing. Because those things arenât necessarily clear, even to us.
Anyway, glad it turned out well for you. 
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Iâm pretty sure she was drunk.
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I wouldâve been less insulted had she actually typed a message, such as, âWill you take $20 for it?â rather than just using a FB button.
And letâs face it: Haggling online isnât as effective as doing it in person. The verbal cues, the body language - itâs all part of the fun.
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I love Leeja Miller. She has a lot of really good content.
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A new constitution in Chile, and the right-wing goes out of itâs way to stop it.
Something I learned:
Here water is a commodity, where demand determines the price in a free market. Itâs a basic tenant of the constitution set in stone by the the Pinochet dictatorship.
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âThe 1980 constitution left the Chilean State with a very weak role. It only intervenes when the private sector can no longer guarantee certain cervices that the population has a right to.â
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The current economic model is a legacy of the military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet.
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In 1980 Pinochet passed a neo-liberal constitution. It was the brainchild of Chilean economists educated in the United States. They aimed to keep state intervention to a minimum. Leaving the market to sort the rest.The economic boom benefitted a tiny eliteâŚ
So, basically, Chile has been like Kansas under Brownback.
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