I had no idea it was possible to negotiate prices at a large chain grocery store until today. I was in line at the deli counter behind a tiny, sweet old lady. She pointed at a small end of a ham in the display and asked the clerk to weight it for her. It was about half a pound. What happened next floored me.

“Will you sell it to me for half price?” she asked the clerk.

“Yes,” he said, and wrapped it up for her.

I commented to her that I didn’t know you could negotiate the price of a ham. She told me that if the meat is less than a pound, they will often sell it at a discount. That’s because it is too small to slice and sell. She pointed out that these ham ends are the perfect size to chop up and use in a casserole or cold salad.

You never know what you might learn at the deli.