"AITA for not giving a discount to a kid?"
I (26f) was vending at a local craft fair last weekend. I make little crochet dolls and accessories and they've been pretty popular with my friends/acquaintances so I thought I'd try selling them for once and see if I liked it. I price everything pretty cheap all things considered, and I mostly just wanted to make enough to cover my table fee and maybe get a nice lunch after.
I usually just give my stuff away so my friends had to kind of push me to price things appropriately at all lol. I had a pretty straightforward display with all the prices on signs in front of the items.
Around halfway through the day, a dad and his kid (around 8 maybe?) were lingering around my area of the craft fair and looking over. I'd seen them walk past my table and look a few times, but I didn't want to be a pushy salesperson so I just smiled and kept busy crocheting in my lap.
After a while when the kid finally came up and asked for one of the dolls on display. I told her the price and she handed me a few bills that were maybe 1/3 of the price and said that was all she had. I was tempted to just let her have it, but there was a lot of time left at the fair to sell things to people at full price.
And I thought it was kind of weird that her dad had seemingly told her to haggle with me that low when my prices are low already. So I just told her that sorry, it's the price on the sign, and she got upset and said that she really wanted it. I told her the doll costs more than what she has and handed her the money back. She whined a bit and ran back to her dad.
He came up and asked me if I was really not going to let a little girl have a doll and that my prices were ridiculous. I didn't really know what to say, so I just kind of stared awkwardly for a moment before repeating that the prices are on the signs and apologizing again.
He kind of grumbled that I was ridiculous again and him and his kid walked off. They kept passing by for like an hour after and glaring at me, and before the left the dad came up again and asked me if I ever made any sales with this kind of business practice.
I didn't want to argue with him anymore so I just kind of ignored him and smiled at someone else walking by. He stood there glaring at me for a really long minute and then just stomped off. I feel like an ahole because under normal circumstances I do just give away my stuff.
And if it had been closer to the end of the day I might've been more open to haggling just to have less stuff to take home. But I didn't like that the kid seemed to kind of expect I'd just give her my hard work for less without a reason, and, like...her dad could've forked over the rest of the money if he really wanted her to have the doll.
At the same time though I kind of priced things with the hope that anybody who really wanted something could probably afford it, and I wasn't exactly out with the goal of making a ton of money, so I felt like i was being kind of inconsistent with telling her no on principle.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
GreekAmericanDom said:
NTA. But you really need to learn to trust yourself so much more than this. A single glowering dude shouldn't trigger this level of an existential crisis. You make stuff. That costs you time and material. Selling it has other overhead. If you are not covering your costs and time, you're doing it wrong.
your-mom04605 said:
NTA. Go to Walmart and try to pay 1/3 of what something costs and see what happens…kid’s dad is TA for using the kid to try and manipulate you into a lower price. Sell your stuff for what you think is fair. People can buy it, or not.
HelenGonne said:
NTA. I've run into those dads who pull that scam before. I'm only surprised he didn't demand a free one. He has the money; he just thinks you look like a good target for bullying.
Confident_Idea_9914 said:
NTA...one crafter to another, don't ever short change yourself. A lot of hard work goes into those items - hours of work at the least. Most importantly, don't let anyone talk down to you like that. Next time tell the parent (politely) "You buy the materials needed, I'll teach you how to do the craft, then you tell me if my prices are too high."
Also, if they try to low-ball you, if your price is $25 (just an example) and they say "I'll give you $5 for it." Come back with, "Because you made that offer I'll let you have it now for no less than $45."
Hello_JustSayin said:
NTA. Why didn't dad open his wallet to pay the difference? Your price is your price.
BlueRFR3100 said:
NTA. It's not like you are price gouging a starving child over a piece of fruit. It was a craft fair. Everything for sale there is a luxury item. You can charge what you want according to the value you place on your items. Customers can pay or not pay according to the value they place on those items.