Love it or hate it, but bargaining is there and if you ignore learning how to make it work for you, you’ll end up spending all your weekly budget in one day.
Knowing how to bargain is a priceless skill-set for any traveler.
By knowing how to bargain you will not only save money, but might even learn to have a great time doing it. Another plus is that you won’t end up being pulled into every stall when they realize that you’re easy to fool, or being kicked out of the stall and have to run for cover (just like my mum in India – but that’s another story)
By sharing what I’ve learnt I hope you won’t have to end up in the same situations as my mum… :p
How To Use Your Eyes
In many places, shopkeepers won’t even let you look around before they start to hustle the price. A tip is to wear sunglasses, that way it will be a lot harder for them to see what you’re looking at and keep them from trying to sell you everything your eye catches.
While looking around, try not to stop in front of the stall. Instead, slow down and walk slowly past while looking for things of interest.
Try not to point at anything, for some reason that really gets them going…
If they do see you looking at something and start a hustle with you, just smile and say yes to everything, as if you don’t quite understand and don’t actually care.
If you’re two people together and one of you finds something interesting but isn’t sure if it’s worth buying, split up and look at different things, it will make it harder for the salesman as he can’t be at two places at the same time.
Rules Of The Street Hustle
The unwritten rules are different depending on where you are, so if you really want to be sure what prices to bargain with, research what the normal bargaining prices are in the country you’re visiting.
But if you prefer it simple, just do what Nathan does:
Cut the given price in half and start the bargain from there, slowly going up a few percent at a time.
Get The Price, Don’t Give It
They will most likely ask you to give them a price, which is the worst thing you could do if you’re unsure about its ‘real’ value. You might give them a price that’s way higher than they are expecting, and they will either say ‘ok’ right away (a sign that you were willing to pay more than it’s worth) or they will realize that you’re easy to trick and try to get even more money out of you.
Always have them give you the starting price, then cut in in half and work from there – make sure you don’t start too low, or they might feel insulted. My aunt is a great example of this, she pushed the prices so much that in the end she wasn’t allowed to buy it anymore!
Always Keep A Smile On Your Face.
The most important thing when shopping and bargaining is to smile. I know it can be really hard when you are getting things thrown in your face and people putting sticks in your ears to clean them and grabbing your clothes and arms, but try to remain calm – getting pissed off can get you in worse trouble than you can imagine!
The Top 4 Tricks For Getting A Good Bargain:
- Act surprised when given a price, laugh a little and say that it’s waaaay too much!
- Start to walk away – even better, start walking away in the middle of discussing a price and act uninterested.
- Be the first customer of the day – By being the first customer they will give you a good price as they believe they will have ‘good luck’ and set them up for lots of sales for the rest of the day.
- Being the last customer is even better, because when there is not much time left the prices can drop to nothing. It’s kind of heartbreaking sometimes because you realize how desperate some of them are, but if your in it for the deals – this is great for you!
I hope you find these tips helpful, if you have any experiences or tips you would like to act, please share with us below in the comments!
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