Why are some people so afraid of haggling?

Question

I'm having a friendly disagreement with my in-laws. My father-in-law was a 20 year "lifer" in the US Air Force. He says that haggling with someone over the price of a good or service is not worth the time and is rude. He and my mother-in-law always talk about how for the first few years they were married they lived in military housing without any furniture or a car.
My dad spent 8 years in the Army before he married my mom. My parents had a combined income of less than $30,000 for most of childhood. If we needed something major my dad would haggle like an arab trader and/or come up with some type of barter arangement for a used item. We were rarely without 2 old but decent vehicles, owned our own home and a collection of second-hand yet tasteful furniture. We rarely received any assistance from the goverment.
Who's in the wrong here? My in-laws say I'm kind of being a jerk when I wheel and deal for large purchases. I say they suffered because they were afraid to make a little noise.

Answer 1

Absolutely nothing wrong with haggling, there needs to be more of it. We're so used to just paying the price and being ''civil'', we've forgotten the roots of our economy. There are limits of course, you can't expect to haggle the price of your groceries. But a used car, of course. I bet you're in laws just don't like confrontation. Sounds like they probably get real upset when people argue. Probably take days to get over it. Some people just arent comfortable with it, stay true to yourself, but don't disrespect them, you're stuck with em.

Answer 2

confrontation bothers ssome folks