CBST Bulletin: How to bargain

Bargaining when shopping is a way of life in many parts of Asia, and Thailand is no exception to this. Though it is gradually becoming less common, it is still something that any visitor will have to get to grips with if you want to get reasonable prices for most things you buy.

In some places prices are fixed (e.g. department stores, supermarkets, generally anywhere there is a price tag) while in a lot of other situations bargaining is expected and necessary to get a good price. Even in department stores and other fixed price situations discounts can be negotiated if you are buying high ticket items (e.g expensive jewelry) or a lot of one thing (you might be able to get 10 CD's for the price of 8 or 9, for instance).

You're in the strongest position if you know what the going rate for an item is, but figure on knocking somewhere between 10% - 40% off the starting price. Except in the most touristed areas (Patpong night market, for example) it is pretty rare that the first price quoted is several hundred percent more than the going rate. The more expensive items can generally be bargained down more. You will help your chances at getting a good price by being patient, friendly, smiling a lot and not raising your voice. Treat it as a kind of game to get the most out of it - getting angry or aggressive will never help to bring the price down. Note that if you offer a price which the vendor accepts, you are then expected and obliged to buy the item. Not doing so is regarded as breaking a promise and will certainly not endear you to the vendor, to put it mildly.

Speaking Thai can also help, as if you look and act like a free spending tourist it may be impossible to get a significant discount (many vendors will give cheaper rah kah poot tai dai 'Thai speaker prices'). Though the asking price for a foreigner is likely to be higher than it would be for a Thai (sometimes considerably so), it's not really two-tier pricing - if you're good at bargaining it's definitely possible to only pay local prices. A good idea to try and gauge the going rate is to compare prices to various other vendors, and see what kind of price the item you want goes for in fixed price stores if possible.

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Same Old Shopaholic