Unfiltered Story #278204

(My 9 year old brother is insisting on buying an action figure online worth $80 for his birthday which we all, parents and siblings, think is very unreasonable. The only one indulging him is my father who has a soft spot for his youngest. After speaking to our father, we persuaded him to negotiate with the youngest and help him understand that $80 is too high for a toy. This is how the conversation went. An important side note is that my brother has received cash from relatives and family friends for holidays, a custom in our country for those particular holidays and has got a significant amount till date.)

Dad: (Brother’s Name), that toy is a little expensive, don’t you think?
Brother: It is but I was really hoping we could buy it. It’s a collectible and is of amazing quality.
Dad: Even so, your siblings never bought anything so expensive at your age. Why don’t we try searching for something a little lower in price? Lots of great quality toys are out there for lower prices.
Brother: But you’ve bought consoles for (My Name) and (Older Brother’s Name) before. I’m only asking for a toy.
Dad: But consoles have longer value and you can play multiple games on them. Would you like a console instead?
Brother (after thinking about it): No, I want my toy. What if I used my own money instead? I have enough and that way, it’ll be my money only that’ll be used and not the family’s.
Dad: Umm okay but then that doesn’t count as a birthday present so how about you buy that and I buy you another present for your birthday?
Brother: Okay!!

(Cue face palming and laughter by the rest of our family as we realized what happened. Our father, a career long negotiator had just managed to lose a negotiation to my 9 year old brother).