If you’re shopping for goods in the Western world, you expect to see a price tag on most things, whether it’s a secondhand toaster at a garage sale or a can of beans at the supermarket. But clearly advertised prices are a relatively recent phenomenon, originating in the 1870s. Before then, haggling was the norm, with the major exception being stores run by Quakers, who believed charging different prices for different customers was morally wrong. Philadelphia businessman John Wanamaker is ...
