Deals, Quotes and Small Print
Adults follow a buyer through a busy trade fair and decode the phrases used in buying and selling worldwide, from 'list price' and 'net 30' to 'caveat emptor'.
A free Live Quiz for Teens for Adults at CEFR C2 level. Topic: The world of economics.
A live quiz for teens and adults: every student answers on their own phone at their own pace, while the class board shows crews racing to open their vaults.
Buying trip at the Hong Kong trade fair: You are a homeware buyer at a three-day trade fair, haggling with suppliers, chasing quotes and trying not to blow the season's budget.
Questions
- CLEARANCE: Everything must go. Prices slashed while stocks last. No haggling, please. Our margins are already thinner than our patience. What does 'while stocks last' mean here?
- Don't accept their first quote. Nobody pays the ____ price at a fair; it's a polite fiction, like 'homemade' on a menu. Aim for 20% off. Which word fills the gap?
- Our minimum order is 500 units. Below that, we'd be paying you to take them, which my accountant calls charity rather than commerce. Under 500 units, the supplier would not make a profit but a ____.
- Boss: 'We're ordering 2,000 lamps. Ask for a better price. Volume is the only leverage we've got.' Write to the supplier. Build your message.
- SOLD AS SEEN. NO RETURNS. Any resemblance to a working product is purely coincidental. What does 'sold as seen' tell the buyer?
- Our best and final offer: $4.20 per unit, FOB Shenzhen. Lead time is six weeks, give or take a typhoon. At this price, we're practically giving them away. Which two statements are true? Pick two.
- Avoid stall 14. He tried to ____: $40 for a mug worth $5. Charming man, though; he smiled the whole time he was robbing me. Which words fill the gap?
- Don't sign until you've read the small ____. That's where the real price lives, somewhere between 'subject to' and 'at our sole discretion'. Which word completes the phrase for hidden contract details?
- You drive a hard bargain. Let's ____ halfway: $3.90, and I'll throw in free samples. My children will simply have to eat less this year. Which word fills the gap?
- Payment terms: net 30. Late payments incur 2% monthly interest. Compounded, that is a sharper economics lesson than any degree. What does 'net 30' mean?
- Supplier: '$3.90 and free samples. Do we have a deal?' You agree, but you've learned to trust ink more than handshakes. Reply. Build your reply.
- Samples arrived. Lovely lamps; they simply don't light up. We paid upfront, naturally. The Romans had a phrase for buyers like us: ____. Which phrase fills the gap?
Printable worksheet
This Live Quiz for Teens comes with a free printable worksheet: 4 parts for students to do after the game, and an answer key for the teacher. It prints at three levels (Support, Core and Challenge); this is the Challenge sheet. Sign in free to print the whole sheet.
What's on the worksheet
- Answer from memory · No options this time. Write the missing word.
- Circle the answer · Read the sign or message. Circle the best answer.
- Put the words in order · Write the message the crew sends.
- Write your own question for the crew · A sign, note or message from Buying trip at the Hong Kong trade fair, a question about it, and its answer.
Part 1: Answer from memory
No options this time. Write the missing word.
- TEXT FROM YOUR BOSS Don't accept their first quote. Nobody pays the ______ price at a fair; it's a polite fiction, like 'homemade' on a menu. Aim for 20% off.
- SUPPLIER'S EMAIL Our minimum order is 500 units. Below that, we'd be paying you to take them, which my accountant calls charity rather than commerce. Under 500 units, the supplier would not make a profit but a ____.
- WHATSAPP FROM A COLLEAGUE Avoid stall 14. He tried to ______: $40 for a mug worth $5. Charming man, though; he smiled the whole time he was robbing me.