If you want to buy an item at a market in China, you have to remember that you can buy the item for half the original price offered if you know how. Bidding is a skill – start honing your skills today.
Step
Method 1 of 2: What to Look for
Step 1. Look for a large open market
As a general rule, you can safely assume that everything in this place is negotiable. You can't do it in a shopping mall. If you keep shopping at the market, haggling is natural. Don't take this as an insult to their culture or think they are poor.
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In a large and open market, you will usually get a similar price for each seller. You will be able to compare stores in one area and compare one seller to another.
To ask “What is this?” in Chinese is “Zhe shi shenme?” (pronounced 'jeh shirr shenma')
- Think of the market as a shelf in a shopping mall. The shops on the outside of the market are shelves at eye level – the prices for the items on these shelves are the most expensive. The shelves at the top and bottom represent stores that are hard to find. If you're willing to shop around for a bit, you might be able to save some money off the shop's initial offer.
Step 2. Know that hotels are not always non-negotiable
You can try haggling for a hotel even though they already have a fixed price list. This can be done especially if many hotel rooms are vacant, so they will prefer to take a little profit.
Mention that you will stay longer if you are turned down. Warm up the conversation a bit, then make them think you won't be staying that long – but for a good price, they'll consider it
Step 3. Pay attention to product quality
If you're holding onto something and the store salesman lunges at you like a cheetah wanting to eat a squirrel, don't be afraid to point out the damage to the product he's selling. The locals always do this.
You don't have to be honest all the time, unless the product is really good and the grandma who sold it made it with what's left of her eye sight. Just say what you want to say. For a product, they stock it in the thousands at the back of the shop and this is their job. If the painting is not good, say so. If it looks cheap, say so. Even if it's not true, your opinion is important. They won't know what you really think
Step 4. When you find something you like, do a comparison to other stores
This becomes doubly important if you are in a touristy area. In large markets, many stores have similar or even the same products. Don't just stop at one shop.
- The phrase running out of time is not in a bidder's dictionary. If you find another store that has the same item, but doesn't have exactly what you want, ask. Chances are the little lady you're talking to will disappear into a mysterious place and then reappear with something similar to what you like. No one understands how he does it, but he can do it. And he would do it if asked.
- What's more, prices in large tourist areas have usually been greatly increased. Visiting places frequented by locals will get you a cheaper price. Ask the locals.
Method 2 of 2: What To Do and Don't Do
Step 1. Make sure you can speak some of the language
Avoid being a clueless person who only loves beautiful and strange cultures and doesn't notice that there is a piece of wool in front of his eyes. The ability to speak the required language can make shopkeepers alert and not sloppy.
- Understanding a little of the language gives the impression that you understand what you are doing and have been in the area for a long time, even if you don't. Shopkeepers won't know how long you've been in the area, so this makes them reasonable prices. Do this from the moment you first arrive until the moment you leave, with a Cantonese or Chinese greeting.
- In addition, you will also please the shopkeepers. You are in their country, speak their language, want to spend money to buy their product. What more could they ask for?
Step 2. Act like you're not interested
This should be something that definitely has to be done. Although it seems outdated, it is actually still effective. Being unconcerned about whether to buy or leave an item will tell the seller that you definitely won't buy if the price isn't right.
Don't worry too much about your words (there may be language limitations) and think about your behavior. Body language is common language. Don't attack something even if it's not perfect. You will be considered an easy target
Step 3. Pretend you have less money
You will be amazed at the capabilities of an almost empty wallet. Put a lot of money elsewhere. Show your almost empty wallet to the seller. They also won't hesitate to take every sheet you have.
If you are "lacking" money, don't immediately give up on getting bigger and more expensive items. If you like something that costs 3x your money, show your interest. The seller will come up to you (wait 5 seconds) and tell them (any way) that you want to buy the product, but you only have a certain amount of money. It may take them a minute or two, but since the profits they charge are usually high, the little money you have really shouldn't be a problem. They will still benefit if they accept your offer
Step 4. Don't feel guilty
Many tourists leave with the mindset that the seller is poorer than them and by taking the price of the first bid submitted, they have contributed to the economic life of the seller and made it better. In fact, when you do this, you are destroying the market for all of us. When you start bidding, don't feel guilty. These people will not sell their goods if they do not profit from the transaction.
Just because you have to pretend to be disinterested and innocent, doesn't mean you can't be friendly. Smile! Do this and brighten their day! You don't need to put a flat face. After all, they are human – interact with them
Step 5. Don't stay in one place
A common strategy used by most sellers is to set a high initial bid price, so that when you leave, you come right back when they decide to give you a small discount. Sometimes they can even offer something for of the original price.
In the end, what matters most is knowing how much money you are willing to spend paying. When determining the price of an item, you are free to bid. There is no fixed price – all items sold have been inflated in price without anyone knowing their original price. So, if you want to buy a teapot for IDR 260,000, 00, then that's the price. Shop owners do the same when setting prices
Step 6. Buy lots of stuff
You like big hanging umbrellas, But the seller doesn't want to lower the price? You also like a set of spoons and bracelets? Can you get it for free if you buy the umbrella?
Yes, the seller can provide it for you. If you don't like the price offered by the seller, think about something else. Chances are, the seller has lots of little trinkets that don't cost too much and the price has already been covered by your purchase of the bulky item. So go ahead and look for these little things. Look around you
Step 7. Know when you need to back off
If the seller is friendly to you but can't lower the price to your liking, respect them. Use your instincts to sense when someone is hard to bargain with and when someone is really going to lose on a transaction. If you can't judge their character, don't buy from them.
If you can't bargain at one store, go to another. Take any item to measure how much it costs other items. In no time, you'll be able to predict good and bad deals
Tips
- If you can speak Chinese to make transactions conveniently, look for smaller local markets. The initial price will be lower and the shop less crowded.
- Stores in Hong Kong are hard to bargain with. You may get a 10% discount on Temple Street, but you will be kicked out of the store if you insist on a 50% discount.
- If possible, you should understand the Chinese of “How much does it cost?” and “Too expensive!” The more Chinese you understand, the more likely your bargain will be successful.
- Shops at Silk Street, Xi Dan, and WangFuJin may have shopkeepers who can speak some English or have calculators that can speak (electronic dictionaries). The starting price here will be higher, which means you'll have to try harder to haggle.
- The currency in China is the Yuan or Renminbi (RMB). The currency in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Dollar.
- Shop around. If the price can't go down, point to another shop and say that this shop is willing to sell for _ Yuan.
- If you feel attacked by a seller who puts his product in front of you and forces you to buy it, shut up and move on. Alternatively, a good way to say you're not interested is "bu yao, xie xie." Pronounced "boo-yaw, shie shie" (In this sentence, the word "yaw" rhymes with "el").
- If you understand a lot of Chinese vocabulary, you might run into a salesperson who says, “Since you can speak Chinese, you are my friend – so I'll give you a friend's price!” The price offered by the seller is actually still expensive. The price is not special at all.
- If you're from Asia, or look like you're from China but don't speak Chinese very well, usually by frowning at the seller's first offer and laughing, the seller will lower the price himself. At some point they won't lower the price anymore – this means maybe you've got a good deal.
- If this is something new to you, practice with cheap stuff you don't really care about. This way, you'll get into the habit of haggling before you try it on the item you really want to buy.
- Don't haggle on things you don't want to buy. Some stores will have salespeople who can keep you in the shop if you show an interest in the price of an item.
Warning
- Beware of tourist traps in touristy areas. Two of Beijing's most common pitfalls are buying art or a tour of the teahouse. A friendly “student” will come up to you and ask to learn English, which is harmless, but if they want to take you somewhere else, don't follow them! They will pressure you into buying cheap art at a very high price, or invite you for tea and charge you a very high bill. Don't let this stop you from talking to a friendly person sincerely. This trap can be easily avoided by saying you want to drink tea or see art in the place you have chosen.
- Check if the shopkeeper gives other currency when exchanging small coins. Sometimes, Mongolian, North Korean, or other obscure currencies are exchanged. Then check the RMB mark.
- You can haggle at most stores, however, you can't bargain at malls, bookstores, government stores, and international companies. Small non-negotiable shops will have a sign indicating this.
- Your success depends on your ingenuity. You should try to determine the situation from the expression on the seller's face and whether the seller is willing to lower the price.
