If you want to buy something in a market in China, you should remember that you can buy many items for at least half price if you know how. Pulling on the price is a true art, so start cultivating it right now.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: What to Look for
Step 1. Find a great outdoor market
Generally, it is safe to assume that everything can be bargained here. However, in shopping malls, this is not the case. If you go to the markets, haggling is acceptable. Don't think that you are insulting their uses or being impolite.
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In large open-air markets, you usually find yourself in front of very similar vendors. You will be able to compare the various proposals of an area and get the best offer.
In Chinese, to ask “What is this?”, Say Zhe shi shenme? (pronounced: 'jeh shirr shenma')
- Evaluate the markets as you would examine a supermarket shelf. The easily visible shops are like the parts of the shelves that are at the same eye level: they are the most expensive. The shelves placed higher or lower represent the hard to find outlets. If you're willing to wander around a little bit, you could save a lot of money on the initial offer.
Step 2. Know that hotels are not necessarily out of the bargain market
Always worth a try even if they are adamant with respect to the price list. In particular, if there are many empty rooms, they will be more inclined to make at least a small profit.
Offer to stay for several nights after the first rejection. To begin with, convince them by saying that an extended stay was not part of your plans, but, for a good deal, you are ready to consider it
Step 3. Look for flaws
If you like something and the seller steps in to import its price in an unexpectedly aggressive way, don't be afraid to point out its shortcomings. Local inhabitants always do.
It doesn't have to be true. Unless the product is unique or was made by the grandmother with the little sight she had left, give your opinion. Sellers have thousands of other similar products in the back and that's their job. If the dye is bad, say so. If a product looks poor quality, support it vigorously. While not the truth, it's your opinion that matters. The trader will never know what you really think
Step 4. Once you see something you like, compare it with the same good offered in other stores
This warning goes double if you are in a tourist area. In large markets, most vendors have similar, if not exactly the same products. Don't get stuck at the first sign of life.
- Having little time is an expression that does not belong to the vocabulary of those who haggle. If you find another store with similar goods, but it doesn't have exactly what you want, ask. The petite woman you're talking to is likely to vanish and become invisible, returning with an object closer to your taste. Nobody knows how he does it, but he succeeds. And it will do so if asked.
- But there is more: the large tourist areas will have higher prices. Going to a place frequented by locals should allow you to find lower rates. Ask around.
Method 2 of 2: what to do (or not to do)
Step 1. Learn some of the local language
The last thing you want is to be considered the classic Western tourist so fascinated by these exotic and weird costumes for him that he doesn't even notice the most obvious scam. Chewing on the local language will make the salesperson understand that you can juggle and that you can't be fooled.
- Knowing a little bit of the language will give the impression that you know what you are doing or where you are going, even if this is not the case. The seller will not be sure how long you stay in the area, and therefore will be more willing to offer you a reasonable price. Clearly demonstrate that you can speak by greeting in Cantonese or Mandarin.
- Also, you will touch the trader's heartstrings. You are in his country, you speak his language, you spend your money to buy his products. What else could he want?
Step 2. Act as if your interest is low
This is an old trick that doesn't even need to be explained. Regardless of how hackneyed it looks, it's still usable. Acting uninterested in front of a product will tell the seller that, without a shadow of a doubt, you won't buy it if the price doesn't suit you.
Worry less about your words (there will likely be a language barrier) and more about your behavior. Most body language is universal. Don't sigh for something even if it were to be absolute perfection. You will be perceived as an easy target
Step 3. Pretend you have less money than you actually have
You will be surprised at the power that an almost empty wallet has. Keep most of the money elsewhere. Shows an emaciated wallet. The trader, however, will not hesitate to take your every penny from you.
If you're on a budget, don't miss out on larger, more expensive items. In case you like an item but it costs three times the money you have, show your interest. The seller will approach you (give him about five seconds); tell him, one way or another, that you would like to buy the product, but that you can't afford it. It may take a couple of minutes, but most of the time, the price tag is so high that it far exceeds the real price of the item. So, by accepting your situation, the trader will still make a profit
Step 4. Don't feel guilty
Many tourists think that the vendors are worse off than they are economically speaking and that by accepting their first offer they can contribute to the local economy and improve the lives of these people. In reality, all of this ruins the business of the people who will go around the markets after you. When the shopkeeper starts pulling on the price, don't feel bad. These merchants would not sell their products if they did not make money from transactions.
Just because you should seem uninterested and not innocent doesn't mean you shouldn't be happy. You smile! Brighten their day! You don't have to walk with a serious, frowning expression. Interact with Chinese traders as you would with those in your city
Step 5. Don't get stuck
Many sellers follow the strategy whereby they propose a price so high that they convince you to buy after giving you a minimal discount. Offering a good at a quarter of its total cost is not unthinkable.
Be sure how much you are willing to pay. However, this can be arbitrary. Nothing has a fixed cost, it is an imaginary escalator that no one knows for sure how to judge. So, if you are going to spend 20 euros on a teapot, then this is its exact value. The owner made the same reasoning when setting his price
Step 6. Use the volume variable to your advantage
Do you like that giant umbrella but the seller is not going to give in on the price? Well, you also like this set of spoons and this bracelet … can you give them away if you pay full price for the umbrella?
Yes it can. If you don't like the price you are offered but the seller is willing to negotiate, think in terms of volume. Probably, the merchant has so many small items that the lost money is marginal and fully rewarded by paying for the large item. So, go ahead. Take a look around
Step 7. Know when to back down
If the seller cooperates with you but is unwilling to accept your price, respect it. Use your instincts to understand when someone is playing and when someone would actually lose their money in a transaction. If you can't understand a trader's true intentions, don't buy from him.
If you haven't had a successful haggling experience in one store, go to another. Choose any item to evaluate what the cost of the other items would be. Soon, you will be able to clearly distinguish what is good business and what is not
Advice
- If you are Asian or can easily pass for Chinese but don't speak the language well enough to be mistaken for a local, generally raising an eyebrow at the first price offered by the seller and having a laugh should prompt the trader to lower the price. At some point it will refuse to decrease it any further, and you will probably get a good deal.
- The Chinese currency is the yuan, or renminbi (RMB). In Hong King, you'll find the Hong Kong dollar instead.
- If you speak Chinese well enough to conduct transactions smoothly, find a smaller local market. Starting prices will be lower and the stalls less crowded.
- If you have a very good command of Chinese, you may find merchants who will tell you "Since you speak Chinese so well, you are my friend, so I will give you a discount!". However, the price is too high. Not special. At all.
- If possible, you should know some Chinese phrases, such as "How much does it cost?" and “It's too expensive!”. The more you speak the language, the better you will be able to raise the price.
- Do not ask for the price of an item, unless you are interested in buying it. Several places have vendors who manipulate you into staying if you show interest in the price.
- If you find yourself being mobbed by vendors who show you their products and insist you buy them, ignore them and keep walking. Alternatively, a polite way of saying that you are not interested is bu yao, xie xie (“I don't want it, thanks”). It is pronounced "bu yao shie shie" (in this sentence, the word "yao" is underlined).
- Go around. If one seller does not lower the price, tell him that another sells it for a certain lower amount of yuan.
- Vendors on the Silk Road, Xi Dan and Wangfujing generally have English speaking shopkeepers or talking calculators. Starting prices will be higher, which means you'll have to work harder.
- Hong Kong merchants are less likely to haggle. You might get a 10% discount on Temple Street, but you will be kicked out of the shop if you insist on a 50% discount.
- If it's all new to you, practice with a lower priced item that doesn't interest you that much. Thus, you will understand how it all works before you try with an item you really want to buy.
Warnings
- Your success may depend on your perception level. You should try to determine from the expression on the seller's face what his intentions are and whether he will change his mind.
- Also, check to see if the merchant tries to shed untrue bills when giving you change. Mongolian, North Korean or counterfeit banknotes are often given. So check for the RMB sign.
- Most of the shops bargain; however, shopping malls, bookstores, government-run retail outlets, and international companies do not. Some small stalls that do not allow you to raise the price may have signs indicating it.
- Beware of tourist traps in areas frequented by foreigners. The two most common involve buying paintings or going to a tea house. A sociable "student" might walk up to you and ask if you speak English, which is harmless, but if he suggests something, don't accept! He may insist that you buy poor quality paintings for a very high price or invite you to have tea and then make you pay a huge bill. Don't let caution stop you from talking to genuinely friendly people. You can understand that it is a trap if the dialogue involves some paintings that you could buy according to your preferences or an invitation for tea.
