If it is asked: Some sellers, when asked about the value of an item, say, “Its value is one hundred,” while selling it for eighty. However, he fears that the buyer may be one of those who bargain hard, so he says, “One hundred,” assuming that the buyer will bargain until he brings it down to eighty. Is this permissible?

The answer is that it requires further detail. If the buyer will be reassured by this and take it at the price he quoted, then this is unlawful, because it is deception. But if, when the seller sees that the buyer is determined to purchase it, he says to him, “Wait, my brother. I told you one hundred because some people bargain with me and force me to lower the price, but its actual value is eighty,” then this is permissible, although it involves something blameworthy on the seller’s part. Yet he is the one who brought it upon himself. For if he says, “My brother, its value is eighty, but I told you one hundred out of fear of bargaining,” the buyer will likewise no longer be reassured that its value is really eighty. Hence, we find that when a seller says this to some buyers, they feel affronted and offended, and go elsewhere. So the seller should be told: “State the price as eighty, with no bargaining. If he buys it, that is what is wanted; and if he does not, the item remains.”

There are also some people who, when an experienced man skilled in bargaining comes to them, immediately tell him the price; but when a person of innocent disposition comes—one who does not know such matters—or a woman, or a young man unfamiliar with such matters, they raise the price for them. This is not permissible, because it is taking people’s money through deception. The gullible person is given one price, while the shrewd and capable person is given another. This is unlawful. What is obligatory is that he be sincere and genuinely well-wishing toward people, for this is part of the religion.

If someone were to ask: Can unfair overcharging also occur to the seller?