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Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
Although skewed some of these Ferengi sayings have relevance to Terra.
- Once you have their money, never give it back.
- You can't cheat an honest customer,
but it never hurts to try.
- Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to.
- Sex and profit are the two things that never last long enough.
- If you can't break a contract, bend it.
- Never let family stand in the way of opportunity.
- Always keep you ears open.
- Keep count of your change.
- Instinct plus opportunity equals profit.
- A dead customer can't buy as much as a live one.
- Latinum isn't the only thing that shines.
- Anything worth selling is worth selling twice.
- Anything worth doing is worth doing for money.
- Anything stolen is pure profit.
- Acting stupid is often smart.
- A deal is a deal
... until a better one comes along.
- A bargain usually isn't.
- A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all.
- Don't lie too soon after a promotion.
- When the customer is sweating, turn up the heat.
- Never place friendship before profit.
- wise men can hear profit in the wind.
- Never take the last coin, but be sure to get the rest.
- Never ask when you can take.
- Fear makes a good business partner.
- The vast majority of the rich in this galaxy did not inherit their wealth;
they stole it.
- The most beautiful thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut it down.
- Morality is always defined by those in power.
- When someone says "It's not the money,"
they're lying.
- Talk is cheap; synthehol costs money.
- Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother.
- Be careful what you sell. It may do exactly what the customer expects.
- It never hurts to suck up to the boss.
- Too many Ferengi can't laugh at themselves anymore.
- Peace is good for business.
- War is good for business.
- You can always buy back a lost reputation.
- Free advertising is cheap.
- Praise is cheap. Heap it generously on all customers.
- If you see profit on a journey, take it.
- Money talks, but having a lots of it gets more attention.
- Only negotiate when you are certain to profit.
- Caressing an ear is often more forceful than pointing a weapon.
- Never argue with a loaded phaser.
- Profit has limits. Loss has none.
- Labour camps are full of people who trusted the wrong person.
- Never trust a man wearing a better suit than you own.
- The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife.
- Old age and greed will always overcome youth and talent.
- Never bluff a Klingon.
- Never admit a mistake if there's someone else to blame.
- Only Bugsy could have built Las Vegas.
- Sell first; ask questions later.
- Never buy anything you can't sell.
- Always sell at the highest possible profit.
- Pursue profit; women come later.
- Good customers are almost as rare as Latinum - treasure them.
- Friendship is seldom cheap.
- Free advice is never cheap.
- Never use Latinum where your words will do.
- Never buy what can be stolen.
- The riskier the road, the greater the profit.
- Power without profit is like a ship without an engine.
- Don't talk shop; talk shopping.
- Don't talk ship; talk shipping.
- Anyone serving in a fleet who is crazy can be relieved, if they ask for it.
- Enough is never enough.
- Compassion is no substitute for a profit.
- You could afford your ship without your government - if it weren't for your government.
- Get the money first, then let the buyers worry about collecting the merchandise.
- Gamble and trade have two things in common: risk and Latinum.
- Never let the competition know what you're thinking.
- Never trust advice from a dying Ferengi; listen but don't trust.
- A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all.
- Home is where the heart is, but the stars are made of Latinum.
- Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.
- Go where no Ferengi has gone before; where there is no reputation there is profit.
- There is a customer born every minute.
- Beware of the Vulcan greed for knowledge.
- If it works, sell it.
If it works well, sell it for more.
If it doesn't work, quadruple the price and sell it as an antique.
- There's nothing more dangerous than an honest businessman.
- A smart customer is not a good customer.
- Revenge is profitless.
- She can touch your ears but never your Latinum.
- Death takes no bribes.
- A wife is a luxury, a smart accountant a necessity.
- Trust is the biggest liability of all.
- When the boss comes to dinner, it never hurts to have the wife wear something.
- Latinum lasts longer than lust.
- Mine is better than ours.
- He who drinks fast pays slow.
- Never confuse wisdom with luck.
- He's a fool who makes his doctor his heir.
- Beware of small expenses: a small leak will kill a ship.
- Important, more important, Latinum.
- Faith moves mountains - of inventory.
- If you would keep a secret from an enemy, don't tell it to a friend.
- Profit is the better part of valor.
- Never trust a wise man.
- Everything that has no owner, needs one.
- Never do something you can make someone else do for you.
- Nature decays, but Latinum lasts forever.
- Sleep can interfere with opportunity.
- Money is never made. It is merely won or lost.
- Wise men don't lie, they just bend the truth.
- There is no honour in poverty.
- Win or lose, there's always Huyperian Beetle Snuff.
- A woman wearing clothes is like a man without profit.
- Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.
- Only a fool passes up a business opportunity.
- Treat people in your debt like family ... exploit them.
- Never sleep with the boss's wife unless you pay him first.
- Never sleep with the boss's sister.
- Small print lead to large risk.
- Greed is eternal.
- There's always a way out.
- If the profit seems too good to be true, it usually is.
- Never cheat a honest man offering a decent price.
- Buy, sell, or get out of the way.
- Even a blind man can recognize the glow of Latinum.
- Everything is for sale, even friendship.
- As the customers go, so goes the wise profiteer.
- A friend is only a friend until you sell him something. Then he is a customer.
- Friendship is temporary, profit is forever.
- A lie isn't a lie until someone else knows the truth.
- A lie isn't a lie, it's just the truth seen from a different point of view.
- Gratitude can bring on generosity.
- Ferengi are not responsible for the stupidity of other races.
- Never trust your customers.
- Never trust a beneficiary.
- If it gets you profit, sell your own mother.
- The flimsier the produce, the higher the price.
- Never judge a customer by the size of his wallet ... sometimes good things come in small packages.
- There's always a catch.
- The only value of a collectible is what you can get somebody else to pay for it.
- The sharp knife cuts quickly. Act without delay!
- Necessity is the mother of invention. Profit is the father.
- Law makes everyone equal, but justice goes to the highest bidder.
- Wives serve; brother inherit.
- The answer to quick and easy profit is: buy for less, sell for more.
- Competition and fair play are mutually exclusive.
Fair play and financial loss go hand-in-hand.
- A Ferengi waits to bid until his opponents have exhausted themselves.
- The family of Fools is ancient.
- There's nothing wrong with charity ... as long as it winds up in your pocket.
- Always ask for the costs first.
- If possible sell neither the sizzle nor the steak, but the Elphasian wheat germ.
- New customers are like razor toothed gree worms. They can be succulent, but sometimes they bite back.
- Opportunity waits for no one.
- Females and finances don't mix.
- Make your shop easy to find.
- Sometimes, what you get free costs entirely too much.
- Ask not what your profits can do for you; ask what you can do for your profits.
- You can't free a fish from water.
- The difference between manure and Latinum is commerce.
- What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine too.
- Even in the worst of times someone turns a profit.
- You are surrounded by opportunities; you just have to know where to look.
- Don't pay until you have the goods.
- The customer is always right ... until you have their cash.
- Respect is good, Latinum is better.
- Never kill a customer, unless you make more profit out of his death than out of his life.
- His money is only yours when he can't get it back.
- A thirsty customer is good for profit, a drunk one isn't.
- Never spend your own money when you can spend someone else's.
- Never allow one's culture's law to get in the way of a universal goal: PROFIT.
- Never give away for free what can be sold.
- If a deal is fairly and lawfully made, then seeking revenge especially unprofitable revenge, is illegal.
- Beware of relatives bearing gifts.
- If you're going to have to endure, make yourself comfortable.
- Never gamble with an empath.
- Time is Latinum. The early Ferengi get the Latinum.
- If you can sell it, don't hesitate to steal it.
- A piece of Latinum in the hand is worth two in a customer's pocket.
- Share and perish.
- When everything fails - run.
- Ferengi's don't give promotional gifts!
- Know your enemies ... but do business with them always.
- The world is a stage - don't forget to demand admission.
- Whenever you think that things can't get worse, the Revenue will be knocking on your door.
- Never offer a confession when a bribe will do.
- Even dishonesty can't tarnish the glow of Latinum.
- Whenever you're being asked if you are God, the right answer is YES.
- Genius without opportunity is like Latinum in the mine.
- There are three things you must not talk about to aliens: sex, religion and taxes.
- If you want to ruin yourself there are three known ways: Gambling is the fastest, women are the sweetest, and banks are the most reliable way.
- There are two things that will catch up with you for sure: death and taxes.
- If your dancing partner wants to lead at all costs, let her have her own way and ask another one to dance.
- Never bet on a race you haven't fixed.
- Borrow on a handshake; lend in writing.
- Drive your business or it will drive you.
- Let other keep their reputation. You keep their money.
- If the flushing isn't strong enough, use your brain and try the brush.
- Klingon women don't dance tango.
- It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door.
- Wounds heal, but debt is forever.
- Only give money to people you know you can steal from.
- Never trust your customers, especially if they are your relatives.
- Employees are the rungs on your ladder to success
- don't hesitate to step on them.
- The secret of one person is another person's opportunity.
- A madman with Latinum means profit without return.
- The justification for profit is profit.
- A friend in need is a customer in the making.
- A friend in need means three times the profit.
- A Ferengi in need will still never do anything for free.
- When the Grand Nagus arrives to offer you a business opportunity, it's time to leave town until he's gone.
- When the customer dies, the money stops coming in.
- Fighting with Klingons is like gambling with Cardassians
- it's good to have a friend around when you lose.
- Never trust a hardworking employee.
- Give someone a fish, you feed him for one day.
Teach him how to fish, and you lose a steady customer.
- Tell them what they want to hear.
- A wife who is able to clean saves on hiring a cleaning lady.
- In business deals, a disrupt can be almost as important as a calculator.
- If they accept your first offer you either asked for too little or offered too much.
- Stay neutral in conflicts so that you can sell supplies to both sides.
- Never begin a business transaction on an empty stomach.
- Instinct without opportunity is useless.
- Never take hospitality from someone worse off than yourself.
- Only pay for it if you are confronted with loaded phaser.
- Always know what you're buying.
- A friend is not a friend if he asks for a discount.
- Profit is like a bed of roses - a few thorns are inevitable.
- Beware of any man who thinks with his lobes.
- Knowledge is Latinum.
- Rich men don't come to buy - they come to take.
- Never throw anything away - it may be worth a lot of Latinum some Stardate.
- Pride comes before a loss.
- Don't take your family for granted, only their Latinum.
- Loyalty can be bought ... and sold.
- All things come to those who wait, even Latinum.
- Beware the man who doesn't make time for oo-mox.
- Manipulation may be a Ferengi's greatest tool, and liability.
- If you steal it, make sure it has a warranty.
- Life is not fair (How else would you turn a profit?)
- Every dark cloud has a Latinum lining.
- Never deal with beggars; it's bad for profits.
- Don't trust anyone who trusts you.
- You can't buy fate.
- There's a sucker born every minute. Be sure you're the first to find each one.
- The truth will cost.
- Ambition knows no family.
- The higher you bid, the more customers you drive away.
- Never underestimate the importance of the first impression.
- More is good, all is better.
- If you got something nice to say, then SHOUT.
- If you can't sell it, sit on it, but never ever give it away.
- A warranty is valid only if they can find you.
- He that speaks ill of the wares will buy them.
- Never question luck.
- Celebrate when you are paid, not when you are promised.
- Respect other culture's beliefs; they'll be more likely to give you money.
- A dead vendor doesn't demand money.
- Satisfaction is not guaranteed.
- Let the buyer beware.
- A contract without fine print is a fool's document.
- Anyone who can't tell a fake doesn't deserve the real thing.
- A warranty without loop-holes is a liability.
- Synthehol is the lubricant of choice for a customer's stuck purse.
- Only fools negotiate with their own money.
- A Ferengi is only as important as the amount of Latinum he carries in his pockets.
- A lie is a way to tell the truth to someone who doesn't know.
- Gambling is like the way to power: The only way to win is to cheat, but don't get caught in the process.
- A wealthy man can afford everything except a conscience.
- No lobes, no profit.
- Never let a female in clothes cloud your sense of profit.
- It's not the size of your planet, it's income that matters.
- The fear of loss may be your greatest enemy or your best friend - choose wisely.
- A pair of good ears will wring dry a hundred tongues.
- Wish not so much to live long, as to live well.
- When in doubt, lie.
- When in doubt, buy.
- When in doubt, demand more money.
- When in doubt, shoot them, take their money, run and blame someone else.
- Never purchase anything that has been promised to be valuable or go up in value.
- It's better to have gambled and lost than to never have gambled at all.
- There's many witty men whose brains can't line their pockets.
- The way to a Ferengi's heart is through his wallet.
- Always count their Latinum before selling anything.
- There is no profit in love - however, a strong heart is worth a few bars of Latinum on the open market. Keep it on ice.
- Latinum can't buy happiness, but you can sure have a blast renting it.
- If at first you don't succeed, try to acquire again.
- Diamonds may be girl's best friend, but you can only buy the girl with Latinum.
- It's better to swallow your pride than to lose your profit.
- Never close a deal too soon after a female strokes your lobes.
- An empty bag cannot stand upright.
- Blood is thicker than water, but harder to sell.
- Business is like war - it's important to recognize the winner.
- Rules are always subject to change.
- Rules are always subject to interpretation.
- No good deed ever goes unpunished.
- When Morn leaves it is all over!