Shopping experiences

I decided to buy a couple of pots today while I was in town. I stopped by a push-cart near the market that was filled with pots and knives and a whole bunch of other kitchen miscellany (and a noisy bustle that ). The gentleman initially demanded an outlandish price (7000 shillings or $4.50) for a 1.5 liter aluminum pot. I decided it wasn't worth negotiating, so I tried to walk away. The man blocked my path and told me he'd give it to me for 4,000. I told him that was still a ridiculous price and tried to get past. He implored me to take it for 3,000 and I told him that I just wanted to leave. He sheepishly asked me to take it for 2,000 (I'm pretty sure that's still above the value). I wanted to just get past him and take care of other errands, so I handed him 2,500 (I figured he'd start begging if I kept it at 2,000, which I still think was too high, but at least a somewhat reasonable mark-up).

I was also looking for a filing cabinet for the office, and those aren't available on push carts. I decided to visit a furniture store, which is a completely different experience. I was the only customer in the shop and so all the shopkeepers were rushing to help me (I was just trying to find out prices and measurements). I found a nice little 2 drawer metal cabinet with a lock for 185,000, which I figured was a bit steep, but at least it was useful to have the info. I thanked the manager and was on my way out when she informed me that delivery was free. I thanked her again and she told me that we would get a 10% discount if we agreed to pay the value added tax (Tanzanian VAT is 18%). She also mentioned that if we didn't want to pay the VAT, she would give us a receipt with a much lower price (I'm not sure if that's for her tax purposes or for ours). Well, at any rate, this was definitely educational.