Agree. When I lived in Hong Kong, I loved reading tourist guides because they'd note that in the markets, locals (or mainlanders) may be able to haggle down as much as half the original quoted price for something, whereas a westerner could expect to successfully bargain down 20-30%. What a bunch of malarkey! I (both there and anywhere else) always firmly make my first counteroffer half what I'm originally quoted and if they say no, I say that's as high as I'll go, and if they don't agree, I'll say thanks but I just can't do that much and walk away. Probably nine times out of ten, they run after within 30 seconds and agree to my price. Also - I find it's best to have a bit of that type of back and forth for a bit where they start to comedown in price and you politely stay firm, because if you walk away immediately, they may not be invested enough in the deal yet to care.

Another strategy - I'll keep very little local currency in my wallet and keep the rest in a pocket or separately in my bag, so I can actually pull out my wallet in negotiations and say "no, really. I just don't even have more than that with me so I just can't pay more, sorry" and that can help.