Do not force your supplier to ripe you off!

I used to have a manager who was from India. Every now and then, he would tell us Indian folklore relevant to the situation. One of them which he always repeat is "what is a little rain when you are already wet!" Another one was about this man who gave a cobbler some leather to make a pair of shoes. Not wanting to be cheated, he asked the cobbler if he can make 2 pairs. The cobbler replied yes. This man then thought that if he answered so quickly there must be enough leather left for another pair and asked if he can make 3 pairs. Again the cobbler said yes! So the man asked for 4 pairs! Again yes was the answer. This went on until the main asked for half a dozen! Again the cobbler said yes! At this point the man stop asking for more. Some time later, the man return only to find that the original piece of leather has been turned into 6 pairs of tiny little shoes!

On Friday last week, I met a very interesting man in Johore Bahru (the capital of Johore - the southern most state of Peninsular/West Malaysia) who founded a bread factory that now supply to outlets around Johore, Singapore, and as far north as Kuala Lumpur. He was relating an experience one of his business associate had importing shoes from China. Like the Indian folklore above, this business associate of his negotiate a price that was essentially half of what was earlier negotiated. When the goods arrived they noticed that each box had only half a pair of shoes!

The moral of the story is this, your supplier need to make money as well. Yes no one wants to be cheated and we should not be cheated. However, force his hands beyond limit and you may get a surprise.

This man also spoke of how some of those street stalls in China who sell to foreigner at an exorbitantly high prices. He would counter offer and walk if the trader starts cursing. They will call you back if they can still make money from your counter offer. They will keep cursing you as they sell you the item. What this man did was interesting. He asked the trader if he still makes money. If they say no, then he will advise them not to sell. But if they say yes, then he asked them to stop cursing!