The Haggling Thread
Apr 14, 2013 | 12:06 pm
#46
Join Date: Apr 2000
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Wow, religious references in a topic started by a handle of FlamingPanties! I love FT!!
I hate to haggle for anything, can't the world just put a price tag on it and be done with it?
Cheers!
JudyJFLA
I hate to haggle for anything, can't the world just put a price tag on it and be done with it?
Cheers!
JudyJFLA
Apr 14, 2013 | 1:04 pm
#47
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
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A grim religious lecture kind of sucks the fun out of the topic, don't you agree?
I'm back from IST for a while now, and here's my observations on what works:
The bundling method worked. I got a better deal when I agreed to buy a few of whatever.
A couple of sellers haggled very weakly and gave it to me at my requested price almost right away.
I didn't use the walkaway method. Didn't need to.
The last few lira in the wallet method works. It really was my last few lira, so there was no choice.
The Grand Bazaar really had better money exchange rates than anywhere else, including outside in Beyazit. GB money exchangers have variable rates among them.
You may get better deals by going out of the central tourist area. I took a ferry to Kadikoy and headed to the Sali Pazari in Asia. The prices were better than in Sultanahmet.
After several days of looking at stuff and haggling, I made last day purchases at the GB for stuff I came for and hadn't bought. I found a few no haggle vendors that I liked dealing with. After shopping around I knew the prices, and realized they were giving me a good deal.
I am so eager to return to Istanbul and tour Anatolia.
I'm back from IST for a while now, and here's my observations on what works:
The bundling method worked. I got a better deal when I agreed to buy a few of whatever.
A couple of sellers haggled very weakly and gave it to me at my requested price almost right away.
I didn't use the walkaway method. Didn't need to.
The last few lira in the wallet method works. It really was my last few lira, so there was no choice.
The Grand Bazaar really had better money exchange rates than anywhere else, including outside in Beyazit. GB money exchangers have variable rates among them.
You may get better deals by going out of the central tourist area. I took a ferry to Kadikoy and headed to the Sali Pazari in Asia. The prices were better than in Sultanahmet.
After several days of looking at stuff and haggling, I made last day purchases at the GB for stuff I came for and hadn't bought. I found a few no haggle vendors that I liked dealing with. After shopping around I knew the prices, and realized they were giving me a good deal.
I am so eager to return to Istanbul and tour Anatolia.
Last edited by flamingpanties; Apr 14, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Apr 14, 2013 | 1:31 pm
#48
Join Date: Feb 1999
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We were in IST a few years back and I saw some beautiful scarves. The sign on the stand said 2 for $20. There was a man in our group who said to the seller, "I'll take 3 for $20" and got it. So I went up and said the same. I probably would have taken the 2 for $20, but I needed 3 for gifts. I guess you can just stand back and see what others negotiate for and ask for the same deal.
Apr 14, 2013 | 1:34 pm
#49
Join Date: Nov 2008
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+1. My little "moment" came on the streets of Bangkok. On certain days, people line some streets near the Palace to sell wares and, in some cases, personal items. Basically they just setup a small table or lay down a blanket on the sidewalk. One girl was selling some family goods including an old cast bronze Buddha, for which she wanted 2,500 Baht (about $50 or $60 at the time); not at all cheap for something being sold on the street. I got that reduced to 2,000, saving myself a whole $10. Absolutely nothing to me but assuredly a lot to her and her family. At the time, I didn't realize how hard it is for a Thai person to sell such a statue so, for me, it was just a good bargain. When I found out the implications - that she and her family were probably very poor and quite desperate - I felt like absolute sh*t (and still do). I guess without regrets we'd never learn.
I tend to work way off the beaten path. When I am in some horrible place in Africa I won't haggle. What is $5.00 to me? I'll never miss it. But to some poor family it means a ton. Now in some places I will drive a hard bargain.
Last edited by Gamecock; Apr 14, 2013 at 1:47 pm
Apr 14, 2013 | 4:06 pm
#50
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Apr 14, 2013 | 5:21 pm
#51
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Spokane, Washington
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I'm quite terrible at haggling... But I've had some skilled companions on my travels that could get a bargain at the market/bazaar. They're always ready to walk away, using some sort of 'poker face,' making them just appear slightly interested, and persistent with a "no, no. too expensive."
Apr 14, 2013 | 6:25 pm
#52
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Please don't take this as condescending, but you sound like a kind, decent person.
I tend to work way off the beaten path. When I am in some horrible place in Africa I won't haggle. What is $5.00 to me? I'll never miss it. But to some poor family it means a ton. Now in some places I will drive a hard bargain.
I tend to work way off the beaten path. When I am in some horrible place in Africa I won't haggle. What is $5.00 to me? I'll never miss it. But to some poor family it means a ton. Now in some places I will drive a hard bargain.
Apr 14, 2013 | 6:48 pm
#53
Join Date: Feb 2011
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After several years of reading FT intermittently, this is the first thread on which I have felt compelled to post. The comments have been superb.
I travel to Asia regularly, with home base in Kathmandu, for my business of buying ritual objects, jewelry, and assorted art work. While haggling is an essential element to all aspects of business there, I have developed a set of operating principles that work for me.
1) It's all about the relationships. The purchase of product means nothing without seller and buyer respecting each other and experiencing joy in the transaction.
2) There is no formula for where I start the bargaining or at what price it concludes. As long as I can make a profit on resale, and the seller can make enough to stay in business, it's all good.
3) I learned this motto from older and wiser traders than I - "Trade not Aid." How I interpret this is that I would much rather "overpay" for an item than to simply throw money at a charity - especially if my purchase allows the seller to improve his life and that of his family. A small purchase can make a world of difference for someone who earns less in a month than I do in a day.
4) There is no right price. I sometimes buy from poor and disabled street vendors an item I purchase in quantity from the same producer from which the street vendor is supplied - and at a price which provides the street vendor a small profit. Locals call me crazy, but I call the interaction priceless.
5) At the end of the day, of the year, perhaps of life, I will remember the relationships far more clearly than the bargains.
Just my two rupees worth!
I travel to Asia regularly, with home base in Kathmandu, for my business of buying ritual objects, jewelry, and assorted art work. While haggling is an essential element to all aspects of business there, I have developed a set of operating principles that work for me.
1) It's all about the relationships. The purchase of product means nothing without seller and buyer respecting each other and experiencing joy in the transaction.
2) There is no formula for where I start the bargaining or at what price it concludes. As long as I can make a profit on resale, and the seller can make enough to stay in business, it's all good.
3) I learned this motto from older and wiser traders than I - "Trade not Aid." How I interpret this is that I would much rather "overpay" for an item than to simply throw money at a charity - especially if my purchase allows the seller to improve his life and that of his family. A small purchase can make a world of difference for someone who earns less in a month than I do in a day.
4) There is no right price. I sometimes buy from poor and disabled street vendors an item I purchase in quantity from the same producer from which the street vendor is supplied - and at a price which provides the street vendor a small profit. Locals call me crazy, but I call the interaction priceless.
5) At the end of the day, of the year, perhaps of life, I will remember the relationships far more clearly than the bargains.
Just my two rupees worth!
Apr 14, 2013 | 8:56 pm
#54
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Home Airports: CAE/CLT
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, National Executive
Posts: 5,460
After several years of reading FT intermittently, this is the first thread on which I have felt compelled to post. The comments have been superb.
I travel to Asia regularly, with home base in Kathmandu, for my business of buying ritual objects, jewelry, and assorted art work. While haggling is an essential element to all aspects of business there, I have developed a set of operating principles that work for me.
1) It's all about the relationships. The purchase of product means nothing without seller and buyer respecting each other and experiencing joy in the transaction.
2) There is no formula for where I start the bargaining or at what price it concludes. As long as I can make a profit on resale, and the seller can make enough to stay in business, it's all good.
3) I learned this motto from older and wiser traders than I - "Trade not Aid." How I interpret this is that I would much rather "overpay" for an item than to simply throw money at a charity - especially if my purchase allows the seller to improve his life and that of his family. A small purchase can make a world of difference for someone who earns less in a month than I do in a day.
4) There is no right price. I sometimes buy from poor and disabled street vendors an item I purchase in quantity from the same producer from which the street vendor is supplied - and at a price which provides the street vendor a small profit. Locals call me crazy, but I call the interaction priceless.
5) At the end of the day, of the year, perhaps of life, I will remember the relationships far more clearly than the bargains.
Just my two rupees worth!
I travel to Asia regularly, with home base in Kathmandu, for my business of buying ritual objects, jewelry, and assorted art work. While haggling is an essential element to all aspects of business there, I have developed a set of operating principles that work for me.
1) It's all about the relationships. The purchase of product means nothing without seller and buyer respecting each other and experiencing joy in the transaction.
2) There is no formula for where I start the bargaining or at what price it concludes. As long as I can make a profit on resale, and the seller can make enough to stay in business, it's all good.
3) I learned this motto from older and wiser traders than I - "Trade not Aid." How I interpret this is that I would much rather "overpay" for an item than to simply throw money at a charity - especially if my purchase allows the seller to improve his life and that of his family. A small purchase can make a world of difference for someone who earns less in a month than I do in a day.
4) There is no right price. I sometimes buy from poor and disabled street vendors an item I purchase in quantity from the same producer from which the street vendor is supplied - and at a price which provides the street vendor a small profit. Locals call me crazy, but I call the interaction priceless.
5) At the end of the day, of the year, perhaps of life, I will remember the relationships far more clearly than the bargains.
Just my two rupees worth!
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