They even write back asking for more, even Bill da took one back with him to America. I knew this was going to a difficult long-term game, a marathon rather than a short sprint. My adversaries knew the true economic value of their merchandise and were fully cognizant of the popularity of their wares. It was time for strategy number two the systematic criticism of the desired object to lower its negotiated value. I claimed the dyeing was uneven, that they had not used vegetable dyes but some cheap synthetic substitute, that the green was not the rich emerald green but a fuzzy shade of bottle green. I protested that the tassels were not the genuine Chinese silk but an inferior Korean imitation brand. I berated them for the medallion design, asserting that is was pass, the design of past seasons. This time again they stood their ground. They said, but memsahib , we have had three enquiries this morning alone for this particular rug, and we will not part with it for less than eight hundred dollars. Eight hundred, I cried. Do you mean Rupees ? No one will pay eight greenbacks for this shoddy rag. It was time for strategy three quantity discounts and competitive threats. I taunted them, comparing them with their competitors. I said, Kabul Rugs across the road is selling it for only four hundred dollars. And Rugs of Iran on the corner, are offering a free prayer mat with every rug . I mentioned that I would refer my affluent friends to their shop. They could become the exclusive supplier of rugs to the elite of Delhi. But they were unaffected by my exhortations. They replied that they had recently started this venture and had no urgent need for expansion. As for the competitors, they wondered, why wasnt I shopping there if they were offering such attractive prices.It was time for the most infallible of strategies, temptation, which had withstood the test of time. I pulled out five, crisp hundred-dollar bills and tempt...
