So what does all this have to do with zen, and/or,

Zen has many meanings and of course the one that comes first to mind is the philosophy of Buddhism. And it is a valid and useful philosophy for many.

Over the centuries, the term "Zen" has come to mean many things and has even crept its way
into mainstream society as sort of a jargon for "enlightenment".

In fact Webster explains it as: To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash of enlightenment. Originally applied to bugs, but occasionally applied to problems of life in general. "How'd you figure out the buffer allocation problem?" "Oh, I zenned it."

I was raised in a middle class family and in my adulthood decided to become a "writer and
observer". Yes, I make a living too, selling my wares on the Internet (not a lot of demand for
philosophical writers in the mainstream marketplace".

My girlfriend was raised in a regular middle-class family where, though comfortable, money was not always available "on a whim". This happens a lot and many relationship counselors truly believe it is one of relationship's biggest challenges; that is, the philosophy of money. My girlfriend and I laugh at that. She is now a high-paid attorney and I hustle for dollars making sure my orders go out and
such.

So what does all this have to do with zen, and/or, bargain hunting?

One day, while filling my store inventory I remembered how I like to shop. For bargains. And every time I found one that was of great quality (not just a better price, often the best price can mean
disaster as anyone knows who has shopped on the Internet (or even in a physical store). But at a very decent price with great service.

My stores were not like that. They were marked up at the manufacturer's suggested retail prices
and, though I was making many sales, I was not creating "zen". In other words, customers were not
particularly angry at me for any reason, they were simply getting what they expected. Another
quality but maybe a bit overpriced product on the Internet.

People go to the Internet for bargains. If you have not zenned that, and you own a store, you will.
They want service and will pay a little more for that service, not a lot more but a little. So I decided
to see if zenning it really worked. Low and behold, the same week I marked down my item, found new legitimate drop shippers who could do the job fast, I could not believe the difference. I was not having
to come to them ( through a lot of advertising dollars), they were coming to me. Word of mouth was
getting out. Zenners were zenning others, who were zenning others.

So the Zen Of Bargain exists; whether you like it or not. Want to make more on each single
product you sell? Fine. I can sell twenty of them at a much lower markup than what the manufacturer recommends and still make twice as much as you will if you sell at top price.

The choice is yours. Do you want to jump up and down every time you make a sale (and you will)
for an item overpriced on the Internet.....or do you want to zen your customer into being happy and, not only coming back for more, but "zenning" their friends and associates to order as well. I opt to do it my way, but "zen again" what other way really is there?