I have respect for people who can shop with intelligence and get the best deals. I also have respect for people who are good at bargaining. But does there come a point when good bargaining crosses a line and just becomes “cheap”? I don’t know. If you’re Anne Hathaway and you have $35 million (or more) in the bank, should you really haggle over the price of a pair of sunglasses at a flea market? That’s what happened, according to Star’s source:
Star Magazine has learned that despite having $35 million in the bank, Anne Hathaway isn’t above haggling with a flea market vendor! Strolling through an LA market in mid-March, Anne spotted a pair of vintage 1960s sunglasses she just had to have, but the $80 price tag seemed steep to Hathaway.
According to an eyewitness, Anne wheedled the amount down to $55 and, to sweeten the deal, agreed to snap a selfie with the seller – just as long as he promised not to post it online.
“It seemed obvious that Anne was having a blast negotiating deals… she also struck deals on a vase and a vintage straw hat!”
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
My take: I think people selling their goods at flea markets expect you to haggle. Maybe they even get insulted if you don’t try to haggle. At flea markets, every price is negotiable. And props to Anne for being good at it. I’m so bad at haggling – if someone quotes me a price I don’t like, I get mad and walk away. I’m all, “F—k them, I didn’t even want it that much.” It’s even worse when I’m trying to sell something and someone tries to haggle with me – I get all flummoxed and I don’t know how to handle the art of the deal.
Now, all that being said… Anne Hathaway can afford it. But maybe she can afford it because she knows a good deal and she’s good at haggling. Or maybe she’s just cheap. Or all of the above.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
I’m not good with that kind of thing either. I hate bringing up money, etc. Like my next door neighbor pretty much uses me as a free babysitter when her bad ass grandkids come over, and she has to go somewhere. I watch them, because I feel bad if they have to stay outside all day (their grandfather makes them either stay upstairs, so he can watch porn, or he makes them stay outside all day), so I say fine. But the thing that bugs me about it is that she (and her daughter) always tell me that they’re going to pay me to watch them. I don’t ask for money–they say that they’ll do it. So then, the first few times, I was expecting it–and then they say something like ‘I’ll give it to you next time I’m here’…and I feel awkward bringing it up, so I don’t say anything. Grifters.
Oh, VC, that makes me so mad! You sound just like me and I never really got any better. I wouldn’t be able to say anything and I would resent it. And if I made up an excuse I’d feel sorry for the kids. The thing is, if you let someone creepy like that take advantage of you, they will continue to do it. So, you go learn how to stop doing it, and then come back and tell me. You go first lol.
I know your pain VC. I lent some money to a so called ‘friend’ once and every time I see her she just pretends nothing ever happened. I feel embarassed and ‘cheap’ in asking my money back and i kind of feel second hand embarassment for her because I would never want to find myself in that situation. I could never.. If I owe money to somebody (which has happened very very rarely) I don’t eat, shop, travel until i have given the money back.
She, on the other hand, tells me where she has traveled, eaten and shopped and I don’t think I’ll ever see my money back. We’re not close anymore so I consider that money as a reminder of what a crappy person she is.
Money makes me nervous and if I was super rich I don’t think i could haggle. I don’t even do it now because it makes me feel like i take advantage of poor people trying to speculate on their life.
Virgilia please stick up for yourself…i was like that too at your age. Here’s how you fix it and not make it about money: tell them that you are saving for a writing course. Not a lie – you should totally do it because you always write so well. So don’t call it “my pay” when you talk to your neighbour, call it “my school fees”.
Oh dear. They need to either compensate you some way, or gramps needs to turn off the porn and actually spend some time with his grandchildren.
I think flea market vendors expect you to haggle and they inflate their prices accordingly.
When I think of cheap people I think of people that leave terrible tips.
I’m sure some of the other posters have hilarious experiences with truly cheap people. Can’t wait to read them!
I agree. I don’t think this is being cheap, it’s what you do at a flea market. I never pay their sticker price there.
Back when I waitressed the 2 worst tips I ever got came on Sundays. I’ve said here before that after waiting on a table of 5, all they left me was a rock with a bible verse taped on it. The other time all I got was a quarter, again another table of 5. Both times I was told I shouldn’t be working on Sunday, it was the Lord’s day. Never mind the fact that had I not been working they wouldn’t have gotten their food. Oh, and I did toss the quarter back at the guy and told him “he could keep his money and his judgement” I think I got wrote up for it, but it was totally worth it.
So you shouldn’t be working but they have no issue with going into a restaurant, where they will be served food.
d*cks
They left you a rock with a bible verse? Seriously? That’s horrible. What’s also kinda funny is that this church that I knew that passed out tracks, had ones specifically for waiters and waitresses—and the first thing that it said was that you need to tip your waiters/waitresses good (they had the standard 15-20%), and basically said that how can you expect the waiter to read the tract, if you’re a shitty tipper.
I’ve NEVER seen anyone like that–and I live in a pretty religious area (full of Lutherans and Apostolics).
Most Christians I know would simply pray for other Christians who had to work on Sundays i.e. the ones who had to miss church. I never saw any judgement cast on them. I know this one woman whose schedule was changed to working wednesdays and sundays–church days–they just asked her if she could change it, and when she said she couldn’t–they said that’s too bad, and we’ll try and visit with you on other days when you’re not working.
@ VC .. most of the church folk I waited on were extremely nice, respectful and decent to good tippers. It was just those 2 tables. The funny thing is that it was several years apart in different parts of the state. I still have the rock.
Both times I was told I shouldn’t be working on Sunday, it was the Lord’s day.
O_o My brain can’t even process that bit of logic fart.
I’ve been a waitress for a really long time… and I could write a book about cheap people!
That’s not even funny, that’s just sad. 🙁
I hated working Sundays. I swear people left all their money in the collection plate at church. I worked hard and got terrible tips. It was awful because it got busy all of a sudden and I had huge groups.
Actually you probably should start a blog about it. Public shaming for cheap tippers!
I used to hostess because I could never stomach being a waitress, and the waiters would always complain to me that the Sunday church crowd were especially cheap and rarely tipped even beyond $1, regardless of size of the group.
If I wrote about my experiences with cheapskates, it would end up being a book! From relatives to bosses to landlords to (former) friends, I’ve encountered far too many skinflints in my life – people whose passion for saving a few bucks trumps has taken over their lives. They all seem to have two things in common (besides their stinginess): none of them are hurting for money, and in fact most are millionaires; and they do take advantage of other people.
speaking of cheap, my grandmother’s brother took me and a couple of cousins to Mc Donalds when we were kids. He bought each of us 1 hamburger, 1 soda each yet made us share the small order of fries
Maybe she needed a disguise and she met this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGy0N9SW82c
“ten for that you must be mad!”
You’ve made my night 🙂
A) it’s Star so this could be made up.
B) it’s a flea market! Of course you ask if they’ll take less.
C) rich ppl stay rich BC they’re not parting with their money quickly. Nowhere does it say they have to pay top dollar for something just BC they’re rich. I see absolutely nothing wrong with her behavior. It’s not like she under tipped someone in a service job.
Also, she’s buying vintage so that’s good for the environment! 🙂
Haggling is such an art, a skill. I’m so jealous of people who can haggle without being worried about looking ‘cheap’…..what’s cheap about wanting to save money, am I right?
Me? Terrible haggler. I get all embarrassed and flustered and all HOT inside with shame. Ugh. It’s a gift that not all have!
So agree. I think sellers at a flea market expect you to haggle. That’s why I stink at flea markets. It feels so fake, like you’re acting in a play and I don’t know my lines. I’m so scared I’ll insult them or be taken advantage of. Why can’t the price just be a fair price?
I hate anything that involves money like that – even tipping someone for carrying my bag. It’s not that I begrudge the money, I just find the whole thing so awkward and horrible. I either tip correctly, and feel like a jerk for handing someone two dollars, or I overtip and know it’s compensating for something. Gah! I hate it.
I’m the same! I hate haggling, I feel like I’m being cheap and difficult if I do. I’m ashamed to admit it, but if I’m with someone they usually end up haggling on my behalf. I was also bullied once into buying shoes I was only mildly interested in by an over-aggressive salesperson (“You can afford it!”), so there might be a pattern…
I can definitely walk away from something when I feel the price is too high, and I’ve gotten a bit better with haggling I think….. (cough). One thing I don’t like to do is, when I’m traveling, haggle over already cheap prices on hand-made goods by locals in poor areas. I feel like a terrible human being doing it. I mean, if the product is the measly equivalent of $3 or $5 where in the states a similar thing would go for maybe $60…. why are you trying to only pay them a dollar for it? You can afford to travel for fun, this is their living!
I’m the same way when we travel to Mexico. My take on it is that if the original price is a great deal, I won’t even question it….I will pay the full price and be happy with my purchase. Makes me feel like a total asshole to quibble over a couple dollars with someone who needs that money way more than I do. Probably why I will never save up much money!
I got an old fashion singer sewing machine for $15.00
At flea markets I always haggle a bit, and vendors expect it. Most lower their price, but they can always say no if they don’t want to.
At sales like that I always marked things at what I thought they were really worth, both by the book or by me. If someone reasonably haggled me, I’d accept, if it wasn’t something that was precious to me. I do not like being insulted by cheap hagglers because I always marked fair. Anne is a cheap twat who could keep her money. I don’t like her bitch face in the first place.
PS..I find it insulting and insensitive that someone with her money would haggle with someone who obviously has so much less. Rich people don’t usually make a living at flea markets. I liken it to her stiffing a waitress. Which I’m sure she thinks is also okay because she’s so cool. Getting a photo with her is worth $25 bucks? F her.
Whoa, calm the hell down. Did AnnE kick your puppy or pee in your Wheaties or something?
Why should she over pay for items that us mortals wouldn’t just because she’s famous? She didn’t ‘stiff’ anyone-she paid a price both she and the SELLER determined was fair. The seller could have just as easily said no! If you’re not marking up your items at flea markets then you’re not playing the game the way pretty much everyone else is. Sellers mark their stuff up because haggling is expected. For alot of people-both sellers and buyers-it’s part of the fun. I hate this concept that famous people should just pay whatever we determine and shouldn’t try to get a deal. How do you think rich people STAY rich? Everyone deserves a good deal, whether they’re famous or not.
I hate situations like that. I just can’t do it.
We came from a family that just didn’t talk about money. It was one of my grandfathers big rules – he worked his way up from nothing and ended up earning a great sum of money over his lifetime. Coming from nothing, and knowing the other side of the fence, I think that’s a big reason why he didn’t like to bring it up.
Maybe she just likes haggling since shes so good at it XD way i see it is that it would get pretty boring always being able to afford everything
haggling doesn’t make her cheap. what makes her cheap is GIVING someone a picture of herself with them and then telling them what they can or can’t do with it.
Spot on
I love what she did to her hair in the last picture but the ensamble is for a 11 year old girl
Haggling is cheap but leaving smaller tips is not cheap. The service is included in bills.