As leisure trips to distant destinations take off during the winter schedule, you will often be transported to another financial culture. In many Finnair destinations haggling is still an essential part of the culture. A skilled haggler knows the rules and is able to strike the right note necessary to make a good deal. Here is how:
1. Familiarize yourself first. Before you buy anything, always make a tour, examine items and ask for prices in a number of shops to get an idea of the price range.
2. Haggling is a social event. Be cheerful, friendly and maintain a good atmosphere, but always keep a poker face. Don’t show any great interest in the object you are hoping to buy. Ask the price of a few other products first and only then casually approach the item in which you are interested.
3. If you buy several items at a time, you get a bigger discount. Every product and all seams, buttons and joints should be examined carefully. If you find a defect, this will entitle you to an additional discount. With clothes you can often detect bad quality from the reverse side or by the fact that a label has been glued and not sewn on to the fabric.
4. Before you start negotiating a deal, consider what you are prepared to pay for the object. Don’t quibble over pennies, however.
5. An excellent help is a pocket calculator as this will enable private haggling. In front of a large crowd of onlookers you’ll receive a worse price, because preserving face is important in many cultures.
6. Ask the seller to offer the first price. If the answer is “what would you like to pay”, ask again. Your counter offer will depend on the price level: it could even be a quarter of the figure quoted by the seller. But if you offer too low a price, the seller will notice that he is dealing with a beginner (see point 1). The seller and the buyer offer prices in turn, until a price is reached at which both parties are satisfied. When you begin to get close to a price, you can ask for a final offer, “last price”. If the price is acceptable, it is time to buy. If not, then you can continue on your way without worries.
7. You can test the seller’s final price by walking away. If there is still scope for haggling, the seller will come after you and make a new offer. If you are allowed to depart undisturbed, the price was too low. At this point you should humbly return to the stall – if you really want the item.
8. Don’t start haggling if you are not interested in buying. There is no compulsion to buy, however, even though you start to haggle – except at the stage when you have offered a price, which the seller accepts. You should never offer a price that you are not prepared to pay.
9. You should have local cash to pay with, because cards are often not accepted. Where haggling takes place, the prices quoted are usually for cash.
10. A good and fair haggler is respected. For example Indians and Chinese are old trading people and are highly skilled in business. Often the first question is: “What country are you from?” This is because Europeans are known to be bad hagglers. Australians and Americans are more careful with their money.
Senja Larsen
Filed under: Communications | Tagged: haggling, holiday, price, travel
