Proverbs 20:14 - Meaning and Application

See here, first, the ways people use to get a good bargain and buy cheap. They do not only ask for a lower price in a fair way, as if they had little need or no real interest in the thing, even when they may need it very much. There can be wisdom in that. But they also speak badly of something they know is valuable. They say, “It is no good, it is no good,” or they bring up one flaw after another. They may say it is not a good kind, or it is too expensive, or they can get a better one somewhere else for less.

This is the common way of bargaining. In truth, they may know the opposite of what they are saying. The buyer, thinking this is the only way to get even with the seller, also praises the goods far more than he really believes and defends the price he wants to pay. So both sides act wrongly. The bargain would go just as well if buyer and seller were both honest and spoke plainly.

Second, see the pride and pleasure people take in a bargain once they have made it, even though they have just shown that they were not speaking truthfully while they were making it. When the buyer has forced the seller down, and the seller has agreed to take less rather than lose a customer, the buyer goes away and boasts about the excellent goods he got at his own price. If anyone speaks against the bargain, he takes it as an insult and a criticism of his judgment.

Maybe he did know the value of the goods better than the seller did, and maybe he did get a great deal. But notice how easily people are pleased with what they get and proud of their sharp dealing. A lie and a trick are things a person should be ashamed of, even if he gains much by them.