6 ms·

"I always walk away wondering if they're laughing at me behind my back" They're probably not laughing at you. They are either confused because the foreigner g

"I always walk away wondering if they're laughing at me behind my back" They're probably not laughing at you. They are either confused because the foreigner got a decent price out of them, or grateful you didn't hold on for a lower rate. It's the ones that don't haggle that they're laughing at...

patio11 18y ago
My brother gets immense satisfaction about haggling in China. "Don't you give me the foreign devil price! I grew up in Hong Kong, I know how this game is played! This T-shirt is shoddy and only worth 1/6th of what you are charging, I will pay 1/5th and curse your name!" He can pull it off, despite having grown up in Chicago and being white as the driven snow. Personally I'm glad that Japan is largely a sticker-price society, the stress would wreck me.
- wlievens 18y ago
  I once haggled off a lot of the price on a purse (gift for my mom) by accident: I told the merchant I was checking out the rest of the market first and would come back later. He just kept going down until I felt no reason not to buy the item.
drothlis 18y ago
Or wondering why an obviously-rich foreigner is so stingy as to haggle down a few cents that mean nothing to him.
- ryanwaggoner 18y ago
  Very simple: I'm a greedy bastard.
- rythie 18y ago
  Because no matter what you pay, the person who actually made it gets almost nothing all the same. If you pay a lot you reward the person who sells it to you for high balling the price, lying usually and aggressive selling manor. In addition you make the price high for others who can't afford high prices such as people travelling for 6months+ which have low budgets.
- petercooper 18y ago
  It's easy to think that things in non-Westernized countries cost peanuts, but it's rarely true. Haggling is almost never over "a few cents" (certainly in no example I've seen - someone who haggles over less than a dollar for a >$10 purchase is probably just a dick). Take Morocco, for example. They'll try and charge you hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for a carpet ( http://www.ehow.com/how_2318956_moroccan-carpet-less-than-minutes.html http://www.ehow.com/how_2318956_moroccan-carpet-less-than-mi... ). Even t-shirts in China will go for a few bucks or more.

patio11 18y ago

My brother gets immense satisfaction about haggling in China. "Don't you give me the foreign devil price! I grew up in Hong Kong, I know how this game is played! This T-shirt is shoddy and only worth 1/6th of what you are charging, I will pay 1/5th and curse your name!" He can pull it off, despite having grown up in Chicago and being white as the driven snow. Personally I'm glad that Japan is largely a sticker-price society, the stress would wreck me.

wlievens 18y ago
I once haggled off a lot of the price on a purse (gift for my mom) by accident: I told the merchant I was checking out the rest of the market first and would come back later. He just kept going down until I felt no reason not to buy the item.

drothlis 18y ago

Or wondering why an obviously-rich foreigner is so stingy as to haggle down a few cents that mean nothing to him.

ryanwaggoner 18y ago
Very simple: I'm a greedy bastard.
rythie 18y ago
Because no matter what you pay, the person who actually made it gets almost nothing all the same. If you pay a lot you reward the person who sells it to you for high balling the price, lying usually and aggressive selling manor. In addition you make the price high for others who can't afford high prices such as people travelling for 6months+ which have low budgets.
petercooper 18y ago
It's easy to think that things in non-Westernized countries cost peanuts, but it's rarely true. Haggling is almost never over "a few cents" (certainly in no example I've seen - someone who haggles over less than a dollar for a >$10 purchase is probably just a dick). Take Morocco, for example. They'll try and charge you hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for a carpet ( http://www.ehow.com/how_2318956_moroccan-carpet-less-than-minutes.html http://www.ehow.com/how_2318956_moroccan-carpet-less-than-mi... ). Even t-shirts in China will go for a few bucks or more.