Cheapculture's Bargaining Handbook
Culture is cheap, just like everything you buy in Thailand could be cheaper. A well learned lesson in SE asia is that of bargaining. On an average day, I probably made at least 15 transactions with at least half involving bargaining. Prices are almost never set (food being an exception), not to mention that most new comers don't know what prices should be anyway. Whether you are actually cheap, or just don't want to feel like a sucker tourist, you should try your hand at bargaining. Not only that, Thais are actually very fun people to bargain with. Price discrimination is everywhere and heavily depend on the way you look, speak, and react. But it's really a guessing game both ways: of the seller guessing what you'll pay, and you guessing if it's the right price. Not getting into game and auction theory, I'm going straight to tips:
1. The basic one first: never accept the first price they give you. Make some facial expression to show your discontent. This is the initiation of bargaining. Don't give yourself away by considering the price, a moment's hesitation is enough end the game!
2. Say no to the price, but make no intention to walk away....not yet anyway. Wait for the next price they give you.
3. Now it's your turn, always be fast and bid a bit lower than you're willing to pay. Why? Because you won't get the price you bid unless you're lucky. At most, I'd say bid about a third of the initial price.
4. You'll be cross bidding for a while. To speed up the process and minimize time cost, make sure you bid fast. I can't emphasize speed enough because pausing the game almost always makes the seller more sure of your non-information - that is, that you don't know the real price, your biggest weakness in the game.
5. If you buy more, you can almost always bargain down a lot more. I can't tell you how much extra baggage I've acquired because I've used the "Ï'll buy one more" tactic one too many times in order to get things at nearly half price. (Umm, yeah. I know that this doesn't make that much sense, because it throws out the initial price completely at the game's end. But once a girl asked me to buy a scarf for $1. I jokingly said why don't you give me at $0.5 each and I'll buy two. This has happened many many more times.)
6. Don't say please. While you should be polite, it's not really about that. Do feel free to use other phrases such as "come on" or "for me your special customer?", and we all know a smile goes a long way.
7. Keep small bills around. This is really helpful because you can take out what you want to spend (even if it's way below market price), and just say it's all you have. It's kind of a cheap shot, so I only use this when I actually only have so much money. On quiet days, stores and tuk tuk drivers rather sell something with a little profit than nothing at all.
8. Show that you really will walk away. This works best when other competing merchants are around, but for me it's also worked for monopoly sellers. So put down that scarf you love - afterall, you don't really need it.
9. Many touristy places have learned one of the most skillful bargaining tactics - guilt. Sellers will often complain about why you're bargaining when you're a rich tourist, or why you're giving them such a hard time when you're in their country. They prey on our catholic upbringing!
Okay, so what they say is actually pretty true, which is why it works so well. It's up to you whether you want to be a sucker and pay to be released from your guilt (a lots cheaper than emotional stress on a trip in my opinion!) Or just ignore them and keep bargaining. Don't make it political, this is afterall a market transaction.
So before you call me a heartless guttersnipe, let me just say I have complete certainty that guilting is a game tactic. Once a tuk tuk driver guilted me into paying him 100 baht more (about $3, and double the original 100 baht price we agreed on) on the basis of expensive gasoline prices that day. When I took out the bill he literally took it from my hand, laughed a great jolly laugh before giving me the you-sucker face. Seriously. And yes, it's happened more than once!
Endnote: Thais are really fun people. Smile and be playful with them. Don't take bargaining too seriously, because it can be really enjoyable and fun instead of stressful and a pain. At worst, you don't buy it. Trust me, you can definitely get the exact same thing somewhere else (I might even tell you the secret for this later)
Culture is cheap, just like everything you buy in Thailand could be cheaper. A well learned lesson in SE asia is that of bargaining. On an average day, I probably made at least 15 transactions with at least half involving bargaining. Prices are almost never set (food being an exception), not to mention that most new comers don't know what prices should be anyway. Whether you are actually cheap, or just don't want to feel like a sucker tourist, you should try your hand at bargaining. Not only that, Thais are actually very fun people to bargain with. Price discrimination is everywhere and heavily depend on the way you look, speak, and react. But it's really a guessing game both ways: of the seller guessing what you'll pay, and you guessing if it's the right price. Not getting into game and auction theory, I'm going straight to tips:
1. The basic one first: never accept the first price they give you. Make some facial expression to show your discontent. This is the initiation of bargaining. Don't give yourself away by considering the price, a moment's hesitation is enough end the game!
2. Say no to the price, but make no intention to walk away....not yet anyway. Wait for the next price they give you.
3. Now it's your turn, always be fast and bid a bit lower than you're willing to pay. Why? Because you won't get the price you bid unless you're lucky. At most, I'd say bid about a third of the initial price.
4. You'll be cross bidding for a while. To speed up the process and minimize time cost, make sure you bid fast. I can't emphasize speed enough because pausing the game almost always makes the seller more sure of your non-information - that is, that you don't know the real price, your biggest weakness in the game.
5. If you buy more, you can almost always bargain down a lot more. I can't tell you how much extra baggage I've acquired because I've used the "Ï'll buy one more" tactic one too many times in order to get things at nearly half price. (Umm, yeah. I know that this doesn't make that much sense, because it throws out the initial price completely at the game's end. But once a girl asked me to buy a scarf for $1. I jokingly said why don't you give me at $0.5 each and I'll buy two. This has happened many many more times.)
6. Don't say please. While you should be polite, it's not really about that. Do feel free to use other phrases such as "come on" or "for me your special customer?", and we all know a smile goes a long way.
7. Keep small bills around. This is really helpful because you can take out what you want to spend (even if it's way below market price), and just say it's all you have. It's kind of a cheap shot, so I only use this when I actually only have so much money. On quiet days, stores and tuk tuk drivers rather sell something with a little profit than nothing at all.
8. Show that you really will walk away. This works best when other competing merchants are around, but for me it's also worked for monopoly sellers. So put down that scarf you love - afterall, you don't really need it.
9. Many touristy places have learned one of the most skillful bargaining tactics - guilt. Sellers will often complain about why you're bargaining when you're a rich tourist, or why you're giving them such a hard time when you're in their country. They prey on our catholic upbringing!
Okay, so what they say is actually pretty true, which is why it works so well. It's up to you whether you want to be a sucker and pay to be released from your guilt (a lots cheaper than emotional stress on a trip in my opinion!) Or just ignore them and keep bargaining. Don't make it political, this is afterall a market transaction.
So before you call me a heartless guttersnipe, let me just say I have complete certainty that guilting is a game tactic. Once a tuk tuk driver guilted me into paying him 100 baht more (about $3, and double the original 100 baht price we agreed on) on the basis of expensive gasoline prices that day. When I took out the bill he literally took it from my hand, laughed a great jolly laugh before giving me the you-sucker face. Seriously. And yes, it's happened more than once!
Endnote: Thais are really fun people. Smile and be playful with them. Don't take bargaining too seriously, because it can be really enjoyable and fun instead of stressful and a pain. At worst, you don't buy it. Trust me, you can definitely get the exact same thing somewhere else (I might even tell you the secret for this later)
This entry was posted by cheapculture, on
Sunday, September 30, 2007.
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