The thrill of haggling comes from personal interaction, not just the hunt for a low price.
Haggling for transport is an ancient tradition, handed down from horse traders to the automotive sales counselors of today.
Alongside a putrid canal, shoppers jostle among stalls, haggling for the fresh produce being unloaded throughout the day from trolleys.
Meanwhile, drug companies will come under pricing pressure from makers of generics, and doctors may find their more patients suddenly haggling for discounts.
Two hours later, in Sousse, I fled the traffic-choked modern districts and took refuge in the walled quarter, where I checked into the spartan but clean Hotel Medina and headed out, hoping to haggle for objects from local artisans.
Perhaps some of the charm of this particular lump of plastic resulted from haggling over its price.
A senior UN official, who spent hours haggling with Mladic from the early days in Knin, characterised him as "a psychopath – highly intelligent and profoundly violent".
After weeks of political posturing and backroom haggling, budget negotiators from the administration and Congress have agreed on the broad outlines of a plan to balance America's federal budget by 2002.
Although it is not mentioned specifically in the lawsuit, Mercedes tried in 1999 to discourage dealers from haggling with customers over car prices, under a program that it called the negotiation-free process.
