You’ve got an item on you; your phone, a piece of clothing, a bag, or an accessory, and someone asks you how much you got it for. This could be a friend, an acquaintance, or a total stranger.
Thing is, people will always ask you how much you bought “what” at different times. Some do it because they genuinely want to know the price range of the item.
Others are snoopers who’d rather die than mind their businesses, while some want to measure the amount you bought yours versus how much they bought theirs and then rate you accordingly.
Whatever the case is, here are 20 solid things to say and do when someone asks you such questions. Some of these responses are polite and some are not but yeah, that’s about it.
20 Responses When Someone Asks How Much You Paid For Something
1. “Half the original price”
When a person asks you how much you bought your item for, you can choose to tell them straight on regardless of the reason they’re asking.
Tell them that whatever they have in mind is their cup of tea and you move on, quickly. Sounds cool, yeah? This is amazing if you’re in a good mood and you’re willing to offer that information to the other party.
2. “Oh! It’s a priceless gift”
“Oh! It’s a priceless gift I got from my boyfriend, it’s actually the first and last ever of its kind. I’m sorry you wouldn’t be able to find this anywhere else.” See that? That’s a killer line for a person who asks you the price of your item.
You can furnish the person with every product detail to rub your bragging in. After all, they asked you a question, didn’t they?
3. “Don’t ask me, not a seller”
If you notice that someone’s trying to get snoopy with you by asking the price of the items you’ve bought, go ahead and tell them off. Yeah.
You are at liberty to roll your eyes and say, “Don’t ask me, I’m not a seller”. This will cause them to back off quickly.
4. “The original price”
There are genuine people who might ask you how much you bought an item for because they’re looking to get information about the item. This might cause them to ask someone who’s using the item for further clarification.
It’ll be inappropriate for you to turn them off or reply to them in a curt manner. You can tell them how much you bought the item for and even share some features that the item has got.
This will be of immense help to the other party and you’ll have made the world a better place to live in by your kind gesture.
5. “Sorry, I can’t tell”
You’re not under any sort of pressure to share how much you bought an item for. It is totally up to you to decide if you should tell them and why you should tell them.
You can tell the other party that you’re not comfortable discussing the cost of the item and yes, that’s okay.
This shows you’re a sovereign individual and you’ve got the right to hold onto or release information as regards your item purchase.
You shouldn’t feel bad when you choose not to say how much you bought your item for. However, it’s important that you respect the other party in the process.
They might not be snoopers. They might be genuinely searching for information as regards the product, hence the reason you should be considerate when expressing your choice to be private.
6. “How much do you think I bought?”
You can decide to play on the intelligence of the person asking by replying with a question. “Why are you asking?”, “What do you care about?” These are different ways to reply to questions.
Replying to a question with a question quickly makes the other person answerable to you why you think of something else to escape the uncomfortable situation.
This is a smart way to evade a question if you don’t want to give an answer to the question.
7. “I don’t like you asking”
Some people consider it rude when you ask them how much they bought an item for. Especially when you don’t share a personal relationship with them or when you ask them in a group.
This can arise because of sour experiences that they’ve had in the past when people judged them to their faces or mocked them because of how much they bought their items for.
If you’re such a person, you can simply tell the person that you consider it very rude to be asked such a question and you’ll not give an answer. It sounds curt but hey! That’s life.
8. “This cost anywhere between…”
If you don’t want to say exactly how much you bought an item for, you can give them a price range to keep them in the loop.
Here’s a line, “Typically these watches cost anywhere between $70 to $250 dollars but a lot depends on your choice, finances, and your personal style.
You can also pitch in where you got the item and that’ll do just fine.
9. “I bet it’s rude to ask this question in some countries”
If you don’t want to tell them off directly, that’s fine. There are other ways to do it and one such way is the use of humor.
This is a way to tell people off gently without causing feelings, emotions, and tension to rise. So while you make humor out of telling them off, you’re able to pass the point across.
An eruption of laughter might ensue while you’ve passed your message across to the other party.
10. “Never mind”
Some people ask you the price of your item because they pride themselves as good negotiators and would want to guilt trip you for paying a high price for a product.
These people take it upon themselves to ridicule you for “overpaying” when they could’ve gotten the same item for a few cents.
Our choice of items differs so what catches your fancy might be archaic and old-fashioned to me. I might be a person who loves to spend money considerably on luxurious things while you like to economize and settle for cheaper stuff.
That’s a mean attitude to have and so if you find someone asking you how much you bought your item because they’ll love to guilt trip you, then tell them you feel uncomfortable discussing the price of the item with you.
11. “It’s Private”
You might be a person who’s extremely careful with the details of your life that you give out to other people and as such you feel uncomfortable discussing such issues.
“It’s private” is self-explanatory. It tells the other party that they’re crossing their boundaries which will not be tolerated.
You can simply say, “it’s private” and the other party will understand enough to leave you alone.
12. “I got a great deal“
“I got a great deal” is an excellent way to give the other party a vague answer. This also boils down to the level of privacy you want as an individual.
Saying you got a great deal implies that you got a good bargain in the purchase of the item. That you didn’t pay more than you were originally supposed to.
Saying I got a great deal is a way to give a hint that you’d rather not give details about the price of the item.
13. “Hey! You can’t afford it so don’t bother“
Some people have no intention of purchasing the item and worse still are asking for the wrong reasons. Probably to size you up or to have the latest information as regards your dealings.
If you find that someone is being snoopy around you and is asking for the price of your item because of malicious purposes, then it’s okay to shun them sharply.
Telling them they can’t afford it is a good way to put them in their place. That way it hurts them enough to make them stay away.
14. “Check The Internet”
People have this disturbing habit of asking others what they can easily find on the internet. It’s distressing to be around such people because they’ll always ask you questions as regards everything even when the answers are available on the internet.
These days the rate of internet shopping has skyrocketed as most people make their purchases from online retail stores which means that most of the items people have on can be searched for online without having to bother people.
You can simply tell the person asking to check it out on the internet
15. “Let’s not talk about the money, okay?”
You went on a vacation and sure you’ve had to spend some money in the process. You share with your friend all the wonderful memories, pictures, and experiences you had on your journey.
Instead of sharing your excitement, your friend blurts out, “how much did it cost?”. This might be a result of your spending. You’ve spent so much on what your friend sees as frivolous.
This causes the discussion to become heated, hence the need to politely avoid conversations around the amount you bought it for.
16. “It’s been a while, I don’t really remember”
It’s possible that you might have forgotten how much you bought the item for. This can pass as a good excuse in such cases.
If you’re looking to tell a white lie in order to avoid such awkward situations then, you can also use this and deal with a guilty conscience later.
Once you say you don’t remember, no one will pester you on the subject again. Saying you don’t remember lets you off the hook.
17. “My wife can tell you”
If you’re a person who’s extremely carefree with people and as such you keep divulging private information to people and of course getting your reserved spouse irritated, this can be a good fit.
Asking your spouse lets them come up with a good answer that is perfect for the situation. That way you get to escape an hour’s sermon from your spouse on the “importance of discretion.”
18. “Let me get back to you on that“
This is a perfect answer that tells the person asking that you’re uncomfortable with sharing such details of your life.
Let me get back to you on that is a mild way of suggesting that you’re most likely not going to spill the price to them.
19. “That’s a very personal question”
Privacy means different things to different people. This applies to everything about them including the details of their life that they choose to share.
When you say that it’s a very personal question, you clearly mean that he or she shouldn’t ask such a question next time.
A personal question is one that pokes private areas of a person’s life that isn’t for public scrutiny.
20. “It doesn’t matter because I like it“
We buy things because we need them and also because we like the items. This answer is simple, polite, and straight to the point.
When you use such a line, you can quickly change the subject of the conversation so that the person doesn’t try to ask again.
Conclusion
Despite how private you are as a person, people will always ask you how much you bought your items–regularly.
The key thing is for you to find out why they’re asking and then decide if you’re going to tell the other party the amount you bought it for.
If not, you can tell them off sharply, politely or you can choose to tell them how much you bought it and where. It’s all your call.
