If you want to really know someone’s personality, watch the small behaviors. Most people are pretty good at controlling the big stuff, but usually reveal themselves through small actions. Of course, you can’t tell what someone is like from 2-3 small events, but over time, if you are patient, observe, and don’t talk too much, you will begin to collect many of the small puzzle pieces that will give you a pretty accurate picture of the other person’s personality.
Garage sales are a great place to see peoples’ personalities in action as they dicker for low-value items. Now, I get the negotiation thing…my Master’s work in Psychology was on negotiation techniques. And I love to negotiate for stuff…almost never paying full price. But one thing you learn in that game is that there’s a fine line between negotiation and insult, and if you cross it you will often lose the deal if the other person gets his back up.
I don’t mind the folks who negotiate over a $25 item and beat you down to $20…hey, I planned to sell it for $20 anyway! But what gets me is the ones who see a high value item being sold for pennies and still insist on beating you down. Case in point. We sold a number of sports bags, some brand new (bought but never used). One large hockey bag (worth about $40 and new) was priced at $2. You might (or not) be amazed at how many people offer $1 for a $2 item that is clearly worth a lot more. My answer when they offer the $1 is one I learned about 20 years ago from a man who managed to cut me off at the kneecaps when I tried to push past what was already a fantastic deal: He said (and I say the same today in these circumstances)…”If its that important to you and will make you feel better, sure, take it”.
Then there are the people who won’t pay $5 for an excellent condition plastic patio set, but will hang around till the end of the garage sale to see if you will put the remaining stuff on the curb, where they can get it for free! Then they have no hesitation stepping onto your property to load up their nice new SUV.
I think that is the beauty of a career in Psychology…people never fail to surprise you in their capacity for both meanness and greatness.