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	Article / Life / How to bargain			Article by: Somkid ( 02-02-2008 )

When in Bangkok, the name of the game you need to know and master is "bargaining". Many shops and stalls here don't have any price tags and the price you'll be quoted are always so that you can bargain them down. You'd be a fool not to, because everybody and their mother bargains here and so should you! Hey!..it's a bang or be banged world out there on the streets of Bangkok, these tips will hopefully help you avoid the latter.

Separate your spending money: When going to bargain, you need to separate the money that you plan to spend. It's especially useful if you already have in mind the amount you want to spend on a particular product and put just that amount in a different pocket or purse compartment (You'll see how important this is in the later tip below). Another good reason for separating the cash is because it just doesn't look good after a long session of negotiating and then you pulling out a wad of cash, so the wise thing to do is to separate your spending money!

Put on your poker face: If you want any sort of bargaining leverage, you must adopt a poker face. Do not show any sign of excitement even if you really love the product and it's the exact thing you've been searching for your entire life. Any good salesman will be able to detect this and use it to their advantage by playing to your emotions. Trust me, they are very good at this...it's how they make their livings!

Gauge the average price: It's always a good idea to visit different shops to determine the average price before making your opening bid. Some vendors are very greedy and can quote tourists 3 to 4 times the normal price (or more in some cases). They do this because they've gotten away with it before, and they'll do it to you if you look like pork on stick (easy target). It happened to a friend of mind from the U.S. He was quoted 1,200 Baht for a statue and was given the background story about its origin and how it's handmade by a bunch of old ladies and kids up in the mountains somewhere. He thought the statue would make a good souvenir and 1,200 Baht isn't too bad given how it's handmade and all. However, he decided to bargain anyway and was able to get the price down to only 450 Baht. He walked away feeling so proud of himself only to find out later down the road that other vendors are selling it for only 200 Baht! This goes to show that you can be some of the best bargainers out there, but can still be suckered if you don't know the fair price to bargain from. So remember this, find out what the average quoted price is first and then follow the next tip.

Use the bid and go method: The bid and go method is basically making a low bid and then walking away if your price is not accepted. The psychology behind this is that the vendor knows that once you walk away, the likelihood of you coming back is pretty much zero. If your low bid will still make them a profit, they're sure to call you back. If you're a farang, the general rule of thumb is you should slash 50%-60% off the quoted price, since you'll be overly quoted because vendors think all farangs are naive and filthy rich. If they don't call you back after walking away, it means your offer was too low and the vendor was probably disgusted by your audacity. Don't sweat it though, just move on to the next shop and make your bid a little higher. If your bid is within acceptable range, then the vendor will try to win your business by bidding you up. You should remain steadfast and stick with your original offer, no matter what. If the vendor still refuses, then just politely thank him/her and turn around. In this situation, it's very likely that they'll call you back and accept your price. If this is the case, then you absolutely must follow the next rule.
(Note: this technique works best in large markets or tourist hotspots, where the competition is high and product widely sold.)

Honor your offer: If the vendor accepts your offer, then you must do your part by paying up. Otherwise you'll be doing a great disservice to all tourists and farangs alike. It just goes without saying that not honoring your offer is extremely rude and gives all visitors a bad reputation. How would you feel if the vendor said, "I was just kidding about that price!" Some vendors can get very irate for having wasted their time (time is money to them) and cuss the daylights out of you in every known language. Trust me, you don't want to be in that situation as it can get very ugly and embarrassing (and you won't have any anybody's sympathy either), so please do yourself and everyone else a favor and honor your offer!

Don't fall for the "today's only" price: There's no such thing as "today's only" price, if there really is such as thing then tomorrow's price is even cheaper. This is a widely used sales technique and you shouldn't fall for it. The main point being here is that you shouldn't allow yourself to be pressured into buying anything. Take your time and remember that you are in charged, and you have the power to decline and simply walk away if you don't like something. Many tourists here end up buying things they didn't really want because they didn't want to appear rude being in foreign country (and also not knowing the customs and culture). The vendors know this very well and will use it to their advantage. If you're one of these overly nice people then see the next advice.

Go with a friend: There are plenty of good reasons to bring a friend along, such as keeping you entertained or offering a second opinion. However, the main reason to bring a friend is so that they can talk you out of a dumb purchase or help drag you out of a shop that you find hard to escape. You can also make negative comments about the product with your friend without being confrontational with the vendor. You can say things to your friend like "the color is faded" or "the texture's not right" while making disapproving facial expressions. Most vendors will get the point and offer some sort of discount.

Buy more than one: Another method to gain bargaining leverage is to ask how much it would be if you were to purchase more than one. Remember that vendors are selling to make money, and more your buy, the more money they'll make. Being the case, many of them are willing to give you a discount if you're buying in bulk. Therefore, if you see an item that you want to buy more than one anyway, always pretend that you're just interested in one but are willing to buy more if the price is right.

Lather them with compliments: Everybody loves a compliment, it's just human nature. People in general like to feel appreciated and important. If you know exactly what you want and the shop to buy it from, then this method can especially help you. Before making any negations you should have a stroll around the shop first. Find out who's the owner and make compliments on their shop, clothes, skin tone, hair, or whatever you see in the shop that the person seems to be into. Tell them they're handsome or beautiful and keep in mind to show genuine interest in what they have to say (it's very helpful if you're one of those sexy people, of course you probably already know this). Once you're in good terms with the owner, casually go over to the item of interest and get down to business. If the compliments didn't do much, then you can soften them down further and bring out the next arsenal.

Tell them it's for your mother: Everybody loves their mother, especially here in Thailand where people go around sporting their "Love Mom" T-shirt. Heck, I have one myself! If flatteries and compliments didn't have much impact, then say something like "Please...it's for my mother. It's a birthday gift for her and she would really love this". In most cases you'll hit a soft spot and they'll give in. If they still refuse however, it either means you're a bad actor or they're the type of extremely greedy and callous salesperson you'll meet now and then. No worries though, the next technique is designed just for these type of people.

Show 'em the money! Remember the first advice about separating your spending money? This is where it comes into play! Just reach into your pocket and pull out your dough and show them how serious you are about making the purchase. People love the sight and smell of cold hard cash, especially money hungry people. In most cases it'll be pretty tough for them to refuse at this point, but just case they do, you can get even more aggressive and entice them even more by this last and ultimate technique.

Shove 'em the money! Take their hand and slap those cold hard cash right in their palm! Tell them something like "Please, take this..it's good money!..see?..count it! I really want this for my mom but this is all I have, please take it!" At this point you've now put them to the utmost test, by introducing their sense of sight, touch, and smell to their ultimate object of desire and entire reason for being in business. I can almost guarantee that you'll get what you want with this. If you didn't, it probably means you need more practice or the sales really would put them at a lost.

Bargaining is a game that requires persistence, determination, personality, and a good understanding of human psychology. Some people may say that it's manipulative, but remember that it's just a game that both sides win when an agreement is made. The vendor makes a profit (though not as much as they hoped) and you're getting the product at a desired price. Most important is you'll have fun doing it and at the same time is able to practice your social skills. The more you practice, the better you'll become at it. Go out there and have some fun by giving some of these techniques a try! …..and certainly do let us know what happened in our Forum. Good luck!

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