How to Haggle in Third World Countries

When traveling abroad, many tourists are presented with a new and unseen form of shopping, where prices are not set, the seller is out to get as high a price as possible and where the confused tourist is often expected to haggle for the lowest price. Having lived overseas my entire life, I thought it might be useful for any would be shoppers in foreign lands to know some of the ground rules of shopping in a third world country.

First, if there isn’t a sticker on the item, the price is usually negotiable. This holds especially true in open markets and anyone who has traveled overseas will tell you that the best shopping experiences they had on their vacation were in and among the open air markets or bustling stales of the country they visited. The lack of a stickered price on an item is a clear indication to a savvy traveler that the price on the item is negotiable. In fact, in many countries it’s actually expected that the buyer will haggle for the lowest price.

Sellers know that any foreigner with travel experience knows that haggling for prices is simply what is done. To compensate for this, most sellers will actually inflate the original price of an item by as much as ten times. The fact that you’re visiting their country equates to you having a lot of money, even if that isn’t the case.

Now that both you and you’re sales person are aware that there is going to be a haggle over the price of the item, the ‘game’ begins. The ‘game’ is simple. The shop keeper tries to get you to spend as much money as possible on the object you want and you desperately trying to get the lowest price. Luckily for you, you’ve read this article long before traveling to your destination and are ready with these important tips.

·        First things first. Ask for the price of the object. When the seller tells you how much, offer half that. If he accepts... you’re pry getting robbed but if he screams out in disbelief at your low ball offer, you’re off to a good start.

·        Unless the vendor actually starts crying, he’s still going to make a profit on the item you’re buying, so don’t start feeling sorry for the guy.

·        Remember that no matter which country you go to, there are always ten other artisans or shop keepers selling the same identical item you want. Its a buyers market, so make the stall owner give you the lowest price possible. If he doesn’t, go somewhere else.

·        If things don’t seem to be going your way, try offering some of your foreign exchange money in place of the local funds you have. For-ex is always a welcomed sight. However, before you make this gutsy move, make sure that you know the current black market rates for your foreign currency or else you’ll lose your shirt on the deal.

·        Playing merchants off each other is a great way to drop prices. Competition is the name of the game. Go back and forth between sellers, getting progressively lower and lower prices.

·        Lastly, the biggest weapon in your arsenal is simply to walk away. Yup, if you’re not feeling happy with the price that you’re getting, thank the seller and simply turn around. I can promise you that within three seconds of you’re back turning the price will drop another twenty percent.

So as you’re enjoying your next vacation in whichever third world country suits your fancy, remember that shopping is a much more involved experience overseas. Think of shopping as a game between you and the shop keeper. Haggle hard and both the sellers and you, the buyer, will walk away happy.

» left by Anonymous 1 year 275 days ago.

thanks for the advice.

Respond to this comment