As I pulled into my driveway yesterday with a load full of nice size oak for my kid to split I see a BMW SUV in the street and a guy at my front door. He's talking to my wife but she sends him my way once she sees I'm home. He's interested in buying wood from my 9yo who has had a firewood stand in front of our house going on 3 years now. My son sells $5 and $10 stacks. The guy is asking if there's a discount if he buys $50 worth. Now, he knows its a kid he's buying from. I had half a mind to lay into the guy for trying to wrestle more wood out of a kid for less money but I politely told him my son has a hard time keeping up with demand selling wood at his full price and he offers no discounts. And that's the truth - he had 10 cords of wood ready to sell this year and this weekend alone he sold $530 worth of wood. C'mon man, go take your BMW SUV and pay like everyone else!
OTOH, another way to look at it is it would be an easy lesson in finance and economics... volume pricing. Could've said, Sure, buy five $10 stacks and get a free one. Not a thing wrong with that. But, nothing wrong with saying what you said. But I wouldn't think badly about the man for asking that question. Just the way the world works.
I would agree when it comes to adults. No kid should be expected to give a volume discount especially when he's not selling volume. Maybe I'm being sensitive because it's my kid and I know how hard he worked but I'm still bothered by it.
The advice given here many time to those that scrounge wood is "it never hurts to ask". If it is OK for us to ask, it should be OK for a buyer to ask as well. Those that ask should be aware the answer may be NO.
I tend to think you're being too sensitive about it unless the guy was just being a jerk. I was raised on a farm/ranch and 'horse trading' is a way of life around here. Not a thing wrong with asking for a discount. Might not get it, but it's real common. I can envision me doing that with a young fellow in a good-natured way. Literally, a lesson in finance. And teaches him how to deal with people. But your son also can, literally, stick to I-only-sell-five-and-ten-dollar stacks. The buyer could just go elsewhere if that is the case. As for me, if I had a son, I'd rather him learn to dicker, lol. It might just be the way people are raised... bartering being second nature or not.
You have more restraint than I do jrider. I would of sent that guy packing. What a jerkass!. When I see a young kid selling something or hustling, working for a dollar, I usually give a tip for having ambition and the drive to work. Not try to get a better deal.
Adult to adult I would totally agree...I may even agree with it if he was 15 or so but kids are taught (or should be) to listen to adults. At 9, he may give in simply because it's an adult who's asking even if he doesn't want to. As parents, it's up to me and my wife to teach him about bartering and price haggling. He's a good kid (I know he's my kid so I'm biased) but he really tries to do the right thing without exception and he listens to adults. I would agree with Biddleman, and give a few extra bucks to a kid who has ambition and is busting his butt.
Most parents (the good ones anyway) teach their kids to be respectful towards adults. You expect a 9 year old to outsmart and out dicker a grownup!!! It'd be comparable to buying from an organization with intellectually challenged adults and "having" to dicker. Or running a race against a person in a wheelchair and saying. Give me a head start. The grownup is literally already at a huge advantage physically and mentally. Stop being a cheap azz and pay the full price. In fact give the kid a tip for being a productive member of society. Being a cheapskate is bad enough already and will get you disliked by society, but doing that to a little kid is wrong...WRONG..WRONG. Do you also dicker at lemonade stand prices and girl scout cookie stands?
His son does not have a lemonade stand. jrider has already said in other posts his son has made thousands of dollars. I have tipped my hat to his son in other posts. But he has a real business. No need to lecture me.
You don't think the Girl Scouts make thousands and thousands of dollars on cookie sales? I bet no on dickers them on the price. If anyone did I guarantee the mothers would think they were a real jerk. I'm not lecturing, just pointing out how you likely look to others.
The guy did you a favor, giving you a chance to address the issue with your son...real world. I stop at lemonade stands and pay double even if I'm not thirsty.
I’m in the “valuable life lesson” camp on this one. The fella may have opted for 5 $10 stacks if your son threw in a $5 bundle as a discount. If that same wood is going to sell quickly anyway, then your son might not offer the deal. If not, he might want to offer the deal next time. Capitalism at its finest
