I can't quite figure it out. Here in the Americas, "what do you do" and "where do you come from" are common questions people ask almost as soon as they meet. In my experience, this is much less common in Spain
but maybe this is just my personal experience and not necessarily the rule. I suspect that it is considered impolite to ask such questions to near strangers. I think that it is certainly more discreet not to pry into people's lives right away. In Latin America and Anglo America as well the "what do- you- do" and "where- do -you- come -from" questions are really common and should not be seen a rude--just curious.
As far as asking the price of everything: I think that it's rude or at least is an indication that someone is putting price on the front burner, and that's often not a good trait,but it's fairly common. I usually save those questions for the price of apples and tomatoes
