Is the price a starting point?
Source A: Leave room for an offer — an original second-hand market trader commentary
At our second-hand market, some stalls display a price but welcome a reasonable offer. I would like that choice to remain available. Objects can be difficult to value precisely, and a conversation may help a buyer and seller reach an arrangement they are both pleased with. A price card is useful information without necessarily being the final word in every transaction.
Different circumstances can matter. A buyer may want several related items, while a seller may prefer to clear a larger group than carry it home. An offer can identify that possibility. It should not require either person to explain private finances or pretend that the object is worthless. The conversation can concern the proposed purchase and whether a different arrangement suits both sides.
I recognise that bargaining can become unpleasant. Some customers treat a marked price as an invitation to criticise everything on the table, or continue after the trader has said no. That is not the kind of exchange I want to defend. A polite offer should be easy to refuse, and refusing should end the negotiation unless the seller chooses to suggest something else.
Please let stalls state clearly whether their prices are fixed or offers are welcome. Nobody needs to guess the rules from how confidently another customer speaks. We could provide simple signs and expectations for respectful conduct. A market can support different selling styles without insisting that every trader negotiate or that every buyer enjoy doing so. I would rather improve the clarity around the choice than remove a conversation which sometimes helps an object find its next home. The arrangement should remain useful on a busy afternoon as well as in an ideal friendly exchange described before the stalls open.
Source B: A clear price should not test your confidence — an original customer response
I like the market, but bargaining is the part which can make me leave without buying. When a price is only a beginning, I do not know whether paying it means accepting a fair offer or failing a small social examination. Watching somebody else negotiate a lower price can make the same object seem to have different costs according to who feels able to ask.
A fixed price lets me decide privately whether the purchase fits what I can spend. I do not have to perform disappointment, invent a reason or guess how much the seller expects me to challenge. That clarity can be valuable to customers who simply want to browse and choose, as well as to traders who would rather answer questions about an item than defend its price repeatedly.
There can still be flexibility. A trader might advertise a clear group price or reduce an item later, without requiring each customer to negotiate individually. Those arrangements also need explaining. A sign saying ask about discounts may recreate the same uncertainty if nobody knows what kind of request is welcome or whether declining the discussion will seem rude.
I support allowing stalls to differ if the information is genuinely visible before someone begins buying. Please make the signs simple and ask traders to respect a customer's choice not to bargain. An offers-welcome notice should not imply that a person paying the stated amount has been foolish, and a fixed-price notice should not be treated as a challenge for persistent visitors. Review whether the system reduces awkward exchanges for both sides. The market's character can include conversation without making a confident negotiation the unofficial entrance fee to a reasonable purchase.
Write a letter to the market organiser evaluating bargaining and fixed prices, and recommending how stalls should explain their approach.
Use your own words and base your response on both sources. In your response:
Write about 250 to 350 words. Up to 10 marks are available for reading and up to 25 marks for writing.
60 exam-style questions on CIE IGCSE English Language 5.2.3 Question 1(b) directed writing task. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.