For a while now, I have been asking retailers, especially those driving their businesses through Instagram, if potential buyers after seeing prices on the posts still try to negotiate. The answers I got were all in the same direction - yes, they negotiate all the time.

The funniest was:
They negotiate all the time and when you ask them to pay, they run away.

That said, I would like you to share your thoughts on why we as Nigerians like to negotiate even when buying online. If you can, please shed more light on why you won't pay even if you negotiated a great deal.

Let the comments pour in


Lekan
Gramsquare.com - Nigeria's top Online Fashion Marketplace

In Nigeria there's shops everywhere. Every 20, 10 steps if you live in Lagos, there's a shop. What am I talking about! We have hawkers, people on the street yelling "come and buy what I'm selling!" In some places they'll stick it in your face and say "buy!" Like say na dem put the money in your pocket, or they'll drag you off the street and not let you leave their shops until you buy something. So you either learn to say you're not interested if you're not, or you say "How much?" And trust me, those traders don't shirk at 100% mark ups or more if you seem gullible enough so you slash the price they say in half, then you chop off another half if you're really brutal or less if you're not, it's not as if you willingly went in the shop when they dragged you off the street. And it's your money. Of course you're gonna negotiate. Or you'd never get through the market with your wallet intact! We do same on the web I guess. Never know when you might come across a bargain. We are traders afterall. At least those who go to market are. And some just do it cos they enjoy the banter.

You got to learn to weed out the timewasters is all. Stick non-negoprice on it and don't entertain and you might be bothered less.

budaatum:
In Nigeria there's shops everywhere. Every 20, 10 steps if you live in Lagos, there's a shop. What am I talking about! We have hawkers, people on the street yelling "come and buy what I'm selling!" In some places they'll stick it in your face and say "buy!" Like say na dem put the money in your pocket, or they'll drag you off the street and not let you leave their shops until you buy something. So you either learn to say you're not interested if you're not, or you say "How much?" And trust me, those traders don't shirk at 100% mark ups or more if you seem gullible enough so you slash the price they say in half, then you chop off another half if you're really brutal or less if you're not, it's not as if you willingly went in the shop when they dragged you off the street. And it's your money. Of course you're gonna negotiate. Or you'd never get through the market with your wallet intact! We do same on the web I guess. Never know when you might come across a bargain. We are traders afterall. At least those who go to market are. And some just do it cos they enjoy the banter.

You got to learn to weed out the timewasters is all. Stick non-negoprice on it and don't entertain and you might be bothered less.

This is a good point, but do buyers also try the same shopping online?

To your last point, wouldn't a non-negoprice drive away potential customers?

Still expecting more responses on this, Nairalanders

oelesin:


Still expecting more responses on this, Nairalanders

Most Nigerian are accustomed to haggling before making payment...it's a default setting

oelesin:


This is a good point, but do buyers also try the same shopping online?

To your last point, wouldn't a non-negoprice drive away potential customers?

Buyers would try same online. But it does not seem to chase potential customers on non-negoprice Amazon and many other e-sites. Should make one wonder what they do right.

oelesin:
For a while now, I have been asking retailers, especially those driving their businesses through Instagram, if potential buyers after seeing prices on the posts still try to negotiate. The answers I got were all in the same direction - yes, they negotiate all the time.

The funniest was:
They negotiate all the time and when you ask them to pay, they run away.

That said, I would like you to share your thoughts on why we as Nigerians like to negotiate even when buying online. If you can, please shed more light on why you won't pay even if you negotiated a great deal.

Let the comments pour in


Lekan
Gramsquare.com - Nigeria's top Online Fashion Marketplace

it's the psychological nature of the Nigerian customer
no more, no less

Nigerians are VERY price sensitive people

TellMeTheTruth:


Most Nigerian are accustomed to haggling before making payment...it's a default setting

Exactly

budaatum:

Buyers would try same online. But it does not seem to chase potential customers on non-negoprice Amazon and many other e-sites. Should make one wonder what they do right.

they are operation in a different clime, amongst people with a different mentality

that is what they seem to have gotten right

Ugosample:


they are operation in a different clime, amongst people with a different mentality

that is what they seem to have gotten right

The issue in Nigeria is competition and reminds me of the non-nego tomato seller at Ketu.

There used to be no Ketu Market in the early 80s when one woman set up a stall of one big tray of non-nego tomatoes and peppers. Her tomatoes were always the best quality and sold far too expensive for the likes of me who, considering the number of mouths I had to feed, sacrificed quality for quantity and went to aboki in Mile 12, but she piqued my interest. Right by her stall which she opens at 4 would customers queue to buy very good quality non-nego tomatoes and peppers, till one day, undercut woman set up her own stall of one big tray of very good quality tomatoes and peppers right next to non-nego woman and priced her tomatoes and peppers slightly less than non-nego woman priced her's.

Not long after, considering the huge profit to be made as Ketu developed and grew, quality, price, location, customer care, big mouth, smile, flirt, rude, obnoxious all set up their own stalls of tomatoes and peppers and so developed Ketu Market where tomatoes and pepper sellers compete. Today, Ketu Market is a thriving nego-market for all sorts of people competing to sell all sorts of foods. And the customers have found a place to bargain because there's always someone prepared to undercut.

Those "different clime" people with a "different mentality" were not born with "get it right" genes as history shows their markets developed out of tomato selling in Ketu Market. The customers have learned and adapted to an environment of non-nego by price-checking all the negos and non-negos and buying from the one that best fulfils their needs. The smart trader is the one who knows to not only compete on price and so gets it right by adding value to every sale.

budaatum:

The issue in Nigeria is competition and reminds me of the non-nego tomato seller at Ketu.

There used to be no Ketu Market in the early 80s when one woman set up a stall of one big tray of non-nego tomatoes and peppers. Her tomatoes were always the best quality and sold far too expensive for the likes of me who, considering the number of mouths I had to feed, sacrificed quality for quantity and went to aboki in Mile 12, but she piqued my interest. Right by her stall which she opens at 4 would customers queue to buy very good quality non-nego tomatoes and peppers, till one day, undercut woman set up her own stall of one big tray of very good quality tomatoes and peppers right next to nen-nego woman and priced her tomatoes and peppers slightly less than non-nego woman priced her's.

Not long after, considering the huge profit to be made as Ketu developed and grew, quality, price, location, customer care, big mouth, smile, flirt, rude, obnoxious all set up their own stalls of tomatoes and peppers and so developed Ketu Market where tomatoes and pepper sellers compete. Today, Ketu Market is a thriving nego-market for all sorts of people competing to sell all sorts of foods. And the customers have found a place to bargain because there's always someone prepared to undercut.

Those "different clime" people with a "different mentality" were not born with "get it right" genes as history shows their markets developed out of tomato selling in Ketu Market. The customers have learned and adapted to an environment of non-nego by price-checking all the negos and non-negos, buying from the one that best fulfils their needs. The smart trader is the one who knows to not only compete on price and so gets it right by adding value to every sale.

interesting analysis you got there.

Ugosample:


it's the psychological nature of the Nigerian customer
no more, no less

Nigerians are VERY price sensitive people

"Nigerians are VERY price sensitive people" because we like to eat our cake and have it. We have unrealistic dreams and expectations but have little resources (money, ability, power, knowledge, etc), with which to fulfil them but want to have them fulfilled anyway.

I can only suppose 'praying' must work or we would have adopted more realistic expectations by now.

budaatum:

"Nigerians are VERY price sensitive people" because we like to eat our cake and have it. We have unrealistic dreams and expectations but have little resources (money, ability, power, knowledge, etc), with which to fulfil them but want to have them fulfilled anyway.

I can only suppose 'praying' must work or we would have adopted more realistic expectations by now.

you have given a very valid reason....

I think the ride of social media in Nigeria also coincided with the explosion of unrealistic expectations in Nigeria

Now the youths all look up to that standard in the media as the standard to guage their lives

Ugosample:



you have given a very valid reason....

I think the ride of social media in Nigeria also coincided with the explosion of unrealistic expectations in Nigeria

Now the youths all look up to that standard in the media as the standard to guage their lives

People always had unrealistic expectations. People in the 70s were the computer age kids and the world would end by the millennium. Their children in the 80s were the consuming kids, "the world is ending so why bother?" The 90s was the 80s on steroids then came the millennium but with no end so the social media age kids arose and spoke and we are in the twenty tens. My hope is looking back we find it is the coding decade when we began to know how to organise with it. They can be named the organised kids.

budaatum:

The issue in Nigeria is competition and reminds me of the non-nego tomato seller at Ketu.

There used to be no Ketu Market in the early 80s when one woman set up a stall of one big tray of non-nego tomatoes and peppers. Her tomatoes were always the best quality and sold far too expensive for the likes of me who, considering the number of mouths I had to feed, sacrificed quality for quantity and went to aboki in Mile 12, but she piqued my interest. Right by her stall which she opens at 4 would customers queue to buy very good quality non-nego tomatoes and peppers, till one day, undercut woman set up her own stall of one big tray of very good quality tomatoes and peppers right next to nen-nego woman and priced her tomatoes and peppers slightly less than non-nego woman priced her's.

Not long after, considering the huge profit to be made as Ketu developed and grew, quality, price, location, customer care, big mouth, smile, flirt, rude, obnoxious all set up their own stalls of tomatoes and peppers and so developed Ketu Market where tomatoes and pepper sellers compete. Today, Ketu Market is a thriving nego-market for all sorts of people competing to sell all sorts of foods. And the customers have found a place to bargain because there's always someone prepared to undercut.

Those "different clime" people with a "different mentality" were not born with "get it right" genes as history shows their markets developed out of tomato selling in Ketu Market. The customers have learned and adapted to an environment of non-nego by price-checking all the negos and non-negos, buying from the one that best fulfils their needs. The smart trader is the one who knows to not only compete on price and so gets it right by adding value to every sale.

This is really an interesting and in-depth breakdown. Thanks a lot.

Any more suggestions on this?

As in eh.... Me sef taya!