August 28, 2005
You're breaking my heart ...
A little kid walks up to us while we're eating lunch in Cabo San Lucas, and he instantly launches into a sales pitch.
"Mister. Would you like to buy my animals? Four for 10 dollars," he says as he pulls them out of the bag and puts them on the table in front of us. Colorful turtles and armadillos and other critters, each with a little wooden bobble head nodding at us while the kid waits for me to respond.
"I dunno. That's a lot," I say, looking at him, then at the animals. I counter with "four for five dollars." This draws a look of pain.
"Mister, you're breaking my heart."
After extensive negotiations, the little capitalist manages to get $7 out of me for three of them. They're probably worth about 50 cents each. But I admire his perseverance. The "breaking my heart" gambit, though, apparently is a tried and true negotiating tactic in Cabo.
A few days later, when I'm negotiating for a necklace for Lara, the seller hits me with the same line.
"You're breaking my heart."
"You're breaking my heart," I counter.
"But you have two hearts," he says, pointing to me and Wes.
Touche. But I still negotiate another $30 out of the price before I leave with a happy heart, knowing Lara will love this necklace.
Posted by Bob Benz at August 28, 2005 4:16 PM