Day 125 of 135

Day 125: Negotiating with a Supply Man

In his flat in Kra艣nik, Grandpa (A), who spent thirty years as a supply man at the town's ball-bearing factory, hears out his grandson (B), a buyer for a supermarket chain, who has come with an offer to sell some of Grandpa's old things online.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Mama m贸wi艂a, 偶e przychodzisz z ofert膮, a nie na pierogi. Siadaj, tylko pami臋taj, 偶e trzydzie艣ci lat by艂em zaopatrzeniowcem.

    Your mum said you were coming with an offer, not for pierogi. Sit down, only remember that I was a supply man for thirty years.

  2. B

    Prosta sprawa: gramofon Unitry, figurki z 膯mielowa i komar z gara偶u. Zar贸wno zdj臋cia, jak i aukcje bior臋 na siebie, za trzydzie艣ci procent.

    Simple: the Unitra turntable, the 膯miel贸w figurines and the Komar moped in the garage. I'll handle both the photos and the listings, for thirty per cent.

  3. A

    Trzydzie艣ci? Za takie mar偶e w PRL-u sz艂o si臋 siedzie膰. Za zdj臋cia telefonem dam ci pi臋膰, i to z obiadem.

    Thirty? Back in communist Poland, margins like that got you locked up. For taking pictures on your phone, I'll give you five, dinner included.

  4. B

    Pi臋膰 to nie oferta, tylko zaproszenie do wyj艣cia. Mimo to zejd臋 do dwudziestu, bo takie figurki chodz膮 po kilka tysi臋cy.

    Five isn't an offer, it's an invitation to leave. Even so, I'll come down to twenty, because figurines like those go for several thousand.

  5. A

    Wiem, po ile chodz膮. Ale figurki s膮 babci, a gramofon m贸j, zatem negocjujesz z dwiema stronami, a przy stole siedzi 艂agodniejsza.

    I know what they go for. But the figurines are your grandma's and the turntable's mine, so you're negotiating with two parties, and the one at the table is the softer one.

  6. B

    Wobec tego proponuj臋 pakiet: pi臋tna艣cie procent od gramofonu i figurek, a komara sprzedam bez prowizji, jako rabat rodzinny.

    In that case, I propose a package: fifteen per cent on the turntable and the figurines, and I'll sell the Komar with no commission, as a family discount.

  7. A

    Komara nie sprzeda ani wnuk, ani nikt inny, bo obieca艂em ci go, jak mia艂e艣 dziesi臋膰 lat. Rabat na w艂asny motorower?

    Neither my grandson nor anyone else is selling the Komar, because I promised it to you when you were ten. A discount on your own moped?

  8. B

    M贸j? By艂em pewien, 偶e dawno o tym zapomnia艂e艣. Przecie偶 on od lat nawet nie wyje偶d偶a z gara偶u.

    Mine? I was sure you'd forgotten all about that long ago. It hasn't even been out of the garage in years.

  9. A

    Zaopatrzeniowiec niczego nie zapomina. Co sobot臋 go smaruj臋, po czym odpalam i czekam, a偶 wnuk przyjdzie po niego jako wnuk.

    A supply man never forgets anything. Every Saturday I oil it, then start it up, and wait for my grandson to come for it as a grandson.

  10. B

    A wnuk przyszed艂 jako po艣rednik, z tabelk膮. Niech b臋dzie: komar zostaje m贸j, a od reszty bior臋 tylko dziesi臋膰 procent.

    And your grandson turned up as a middleman, with a spreadsheet. Fine: the Komar stays mine, and on the rest I'll take just ten per cent.

  11. A

    Za p贸藕no. By艂bym ci go da艂 za darmo, gdyby艣 przyszed艂 na pierogi. Ale przyszed艂e艣 z ofert膮, wi臋c p艂acisz trzydzie艣ci procent, jak sam proponowa艂e艣.

    Too late. I'd have given it to you for free if you'd come for pierogi. But you came with an offer, so you pay thirty per cent, just as you proposed yourself.

  12. B

    Trzydzie艣ci procent od w艂asnego prezentu... Dobra, wygra艂e艣, zaopatrzeniowcu. To zaczn臋 od nowa, jako wnuk: cze艣膰, dziadku, przyszed艂em na pierogi.

    Thirty per cent on my own present... Fine, you win, Mr Supply Man. Then I'll start again, as your grandson: hi, Grandpa, I've come for pierogi.

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