Definitely a cultural/regional thing. When you find yourself at the Turkish bazaar and don't negotiate you will be considered as a sucker, but in the US we see the price and if we are OK with it, we pay and walk away. Nothing wrong with either. I heard that a compromise is when no one is totally happy, and I think that's the closest to the truth one can find. I would say I negotiate when I can (e.g. starting salary or rent, price of a house, etc.) other wise I try not to. The ideal situation is that I could afford whatever I want without worrying about the price, but I'm not there yet.