Store Owner’s Unprofessional Reaction When I Offered Afghan Rugs

[u/Successful_Taro_1842]

I recently tried to sell a hand-knotted rug to a retailer. I walked into a rug store that was full of rugs from different countries, mostly from the Middle East. I wanted to ask the owner if he might be interested in hand-knotted rugs from Afghanistan.

After greeting him, he immediately started asking me very direct questions. I explained that I was importing rugs from Afghanistan and asked if he had customers for them. I admitted I wasn’t familiar with retail pricing and gave him my offer, hoping to hear his counteroffer.

But before even discussing numbers, he suddenly became rude. He said things like: “If you were in my country, I would throw you out of my store,” and “My rugs are better than any rugs—how dare you suggest this price?”

I was shocked. I just stayed quiet and realized this was how he treated people. I’m not sure exactly where he was from, but he had a Middle Eastern/Arabic accent. Regardless, I thought this kind of customer service was very unprofessional, especially here. I still don’t understand why he reacted that way, but it left me with a very negative impression.

[u/hyundai-gt]

Sounds like whatever price you quoted him insulted him. Was it way above or below what they sell their rugs for?