Bartering Questions

[PastMember]

Heya,

I'm having trouble figuring this out, so I thought I'd see if anyone knew more about the issue than I did.

I know in craft stalls during Gather, buying anything for display price is considered silly. But, is bartering acceptable when purchasing items right from the Hall or would it be considered offensive?

[Bree]

I can't speak for any other Halls, but if you try to barter in the Vintner Hall, they'll laugh at you and send you away empty handed. :D

[PastMember]

It probably varies from Hall to Hall and from person to person, and depends a bit on the situation. *g* Sorry, that's not a very helpful answer! But some factors to consider might be:

- If the goods are being exchanged not just for marks, but for other goods or services (for example, a tailor exchanging a new tunic for a smith to mend a broken knife) there might be a little haggling as to the relative value of the goods.

- If the goods are collectively produced, rather than made by one person, bartering will be less likely. For example, if the Vintner Hall has 100 bottles of wine to sell and they're priced at 2 marks, an individual journeyman is probably going to get in trouble for letting one go for one-and-a-half marks, because they aren't just "his" - there'd be a whole team at the Hall responsible for tending the vines, gathering and pressing the grapes, etc. But a jeweller who'd made a necklace by himself would be in a better position to barter a little, as long as he paid his craft dues.

- Most buying and selling goes on at Gathers and Market Days (that's what they're for!) so it's relatively unusual to just walk up to a Hall and buy something - most holders will be too busy in their daily lives for shopping!  :D The exceptions would be for large orders - for example, if Lord Alalir wanted to order in lots of wine for a Hold wedding from the Vintner Hall - or expensive commissions - for example, a minor holder ordering a new harp for his daughter to play. Since in both cases a lot of marks would be involved, this would mostly be done by wealthy holders or their representatives, and they would probably have to accept whatever price they got, since there is no alternative supplier they could deal with!

Hope that helps! If you're not sure about something in your post, remember you're always welcome to discuss the idea with the Council or one of the Mentors to see if it would fit in with Pern Canon.

[PastMember]

That definitely helps. Thank you both.