Bargaining, or haggling, is the age-old tradition of negotiating a price through discussion. In many local markets across the world, vendors will negotiate the price of an item in order to capitalize on a sale. If you want what's being sold, it's important to know the finer points of bargaining like a pro.
Know the situations in which it is appropriate to bargain. Not all situations call for bargaining. A bazaar in Morocco may be a great place to bargain, but Harrod's in London probably isn't. What's acceptable is one place is bad shopping etiquette in another.
If you want to know whether it's acceptable to bargain, say something casual like "It's just a little too expensive for me." If the merchant makes a counteroffer, he's effectively opening the door to bargaining, in which case, haggle away. If he stands
Find out what locals pay. In most places where haggling or bargaining is common, there's a double standard when it comes to the price tag: What locals pay is often far less than what tourists pay.
Even if you find that an alpaca scarf costs 60 Peruvian nuevo sol for locals but 100 nuevo sol for tourists, don't necessarily expect to be able to bargain down the price of the scarf to 60 nuevo sol. Many vendors won't sell the "locals" price to tourists out of principle, although you may be able to get pretty close if you're skilled
Have cash in hand. In many places where it's common to bargain, cash is king. Vendors either won't accept credit cards or will be displeased about them. There are a couple benefits to carrying cash instead of opting for credit:
You won't be enticed to splurge on an item because you'll be limited by how much cash you have.[1] Budget ahead of time and you're guaranteed to stick to your budget.
Reaching out with a handful of cash and exclaiming "It's all the cash I have" is a good trick that often works. Vendors will be tempted to go ahead and grab the cash in exchange for the item.
Know the situations in which it is appropriate to bargain. Not all situations call for bargaining. A bazaar in Morocco may be a great place to bargain, but Harrod's in London probably isn't. What's acceptable is one place is bad shopping etiquette in another.
If you want to know whether it's acceptable to bargain, say something casual like "It's just a little too expensive for me." If the merchant makes a counteroffer, he's effectively opening the door to bargaining, in which case, haggle away. If he stands
Find out what locals pay. In most places where haggling or bargaining is common, there's a double standard when it comes to the price tag: What locals pay is often far less than what tourists pay.
Even if you find that an alpaca scarf costs 60 Peruvian nuevo sol for locals but 100 nuevo sol for tourists, don't necessarily expect to be able to bargain down the price of the scarf to 60 nuevo sol. Many vendors won't sell the "locals" price to tourists out of principle, although you may be able to get pretty close if you're skilled
Have cash in hand. In many places where it's common to bargain, cash is king. Vendors either won't accept credit cards or will be displeased about them. There are a couple benefits to carrying cash instead of opting for credit:
You won't be enticed to splurge on an item because you'll be limited by how much cash you have.[1] Budget ahead of time and you're guaranteed to stick to your budget.
Reaching out with a handful of cash and exclaiming "It's all the cash I have" is a good trick that often works. Vendors will be tempted to go ahead and grab the cash in exchange for the item.
