10%

As I walked past a car dealership the other day it occurred to me how bizarre it is that you pay the ticket price for about 90% of items bought retail but there are a few complete exceptions where you are able to (and expect to) negotiate.

Why is it that when you buy a couch you can try to negotiate 10% off but when you buy a leather jacket your only hope for a discount is a sale or coupon. They can both be an item costing hundreds of dollars. I am not sure if it has something to do with the cost of the item but it's kind of weird that buying a $20,000 car involves having to stampede out of show-rooms to show you are serious about buying but for a $3 cup of soup you would never look for a discount. Maybe it feels like stores that sell big ticket items (electronics, cars, couches) are making so much money which actually isn't true as those items are often sold at much lower margins than a can of soda or a T-shirt may be.
It's also not like the guy working at the Gap works any more or less hard than the dude working at the local Chevy dealership but somehow you feel like the one dude's ripping you off while the other has no connection to pricing. So maybe the connection the salesguy has to actual cost is where it feels different. But even walking into national electronic stores you often get offered deals and discounts so there too does it matter. but you can easily spend the same amount at Macy's yet you never see a guy going up to a sales associate to tell him that he's buy the sweater if he can get 15% markdown. Then again the Macy's salesguy also won't try to sell you into some kind of scam maintenance contract on that sweater.
It's also not like it's chain stores or national brands because you wouldn't try to get a discount at Subway or in a Bodega but you are 'expected' to look for a discount at both a FORD dealership or a local used car lot.

I blame this on the 10% discount thought. Although the percentage is the same a 10% discount on a pair of $60 shoes is 'only' $6 so maybe not worth the hassle while even a 2% discount on a $30,000 car is enough to buy 10 pairs of non-discount shoes
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