Everything is a bargain. If the price is set by the company it's because they've already researched the most effective way to take everyone's money instead of just focusing on you.

Regarding the Turkey story, I just would not follow the man no matter what. I can't help, but persuasion doesn't work on me - the more other person tries to persuade me, the less likely I will buy anything.

Agreed

I've seen bargaining even in department stores, a woman haggling down the price of Coach bags in Macy's by offering to buy several at once. She got the discount.

Just like you, I don't like being sold to, but I have no problem bargaining for something that I seek out myself. In Thailand and India I bargained for clothes, for my backpack, for cab fare, for souvenirs. It was not adversarial at all, and often both me and the merchant was having fun, trying to read each other's minds, pushing and retreating, biding our time. In a way it's kind of like dating =)

You mean, if you're not careful about how you do it, you might end up screwed and coming home with something that you didn't want? :)

(sorry, had to be said)

Yes, the seller and the buyer both want the best price they can get on any given transaction. However, the time and energy required to get that price through haggling are often worth far more than the difference in purchase price. When buying or selling a house, I'll haggle, but I don't want to waste my life haggling over each rug.

I suspect that as Turkey develops economically, most people there won't want to, either. Here in Taiwan, this sort bargaining is far, far less common than it used to be.