Bangkok, Thailand, 2006

Bargaining is an art. Bangkok has taught me that. Love, too – like bargaining – is also an art. I’ve taught myself that. There’s rules to follow and strategy in the planning. First, you have to know what you want. Second, you need to decide where you want to get it from. Third – and perhaps most important – is knowing what you’ll settle for. And lastly comes the decision to take it – even if you’re getting the deal you want, or leave it – because sometimes you get what you pay for.

As far as the sellers are concerned, they too must follow rules and produce strategy. My best advice to them is to let the buyer come to them. People know what they want and they’ll seek it out until they find it. The more you push someone to buy a product, the more the buyer considers the true necessity of what they’re being pushed to buy, the more bothered they become and the more motivated they are to walk than take a tuk tuk or taxi and give them money.

It’s business, it’s strategy, it’s love and it’s all the same.