I want to write about haggling and politeness. As time is pressing, I’m going to steal a leaf out of Ken Wilson’s book here and instead say: “Coming soon – something on haggling.”
And in the meantime, I have a taster to whet your whistles which is a lovely anecdote written by Chris. And I know this is getting to be a habit, but when Chris sends me inspirational anecdotes like this, it seems such a shame to leave them lolling about in the comments section. So here’s Chris on haggling:
My first big trip out of Europe was to Mexico and I found a really interesting guidebook before I went which was really a collection of anecdotes and stories rather than specific “go here do this”.
I decided that I wanted to buy a hammock during the trip and that I would need to haggle.
For months I researched everything there was to know about hammocks and identified the village way south where I would make the purchase and trained myself to recognise perfect weave, masterful technique and perfect balance.
My three month visit started in the North, after crossing the US border, and one idle afternoon waiting for a bus I found myself wandering in a small market and I decided to reinforce my knowledge of hammocks by looking at some examples.
I found some, fingered them, inspected them, separated fibres and then wandered off.
“Hey, gringo, you wanna but hammock”
‘No, gracias, it’s ok”‘
“I make special price..”
“No, it’s cool, I’m not interested, thanks.”
‘4oo pesos.”
“No, thanks, I’m really not interested.
“300 pesos’
“Thanks, it’s a really nice hammock but I don’t need it.’
“Ok, 200 pesos”
I really knew I was going to buy a hammock in the village that made the best ones in Mexico so I really wasn’t interested.
And I walked away.
“100 pesos”.
And I got on the bus.
And I sat there , looking out of the window, thinking about all the research I had done.
THAT hammock had ticked off against EVERY check that answered the question – is it the best?
Except – village.
I NEVER found another hammock even a bit close in the next three months of travel!
Thanks again Chris! And has anyone else had interesting haggling experiences?
I am terrible at haggling, and often feel uncomfortable doing it. When I lived in Mexico it was very common to haggle in the market for clothes and handicrafts, much like what you describe above.
I did enjoy a little bit of haggling in the food market in Mexico though, and my favourite expression was “un pilón”, which was an extra piece of fruit or vegetable that I would ask for if we were haggling a bit over the price.
Chris’ story is so funny. Don’t we often pass by opportunities because we’ve too fixed an idea of how things should be?
Lindsay’s trick in haggling, this throwing something in at the end to bring down the overall price, strangely enough satisfies everyone, doesn’t it? You’d think that the dealer getting a worse deal, but he’s happy enough to have sold one more item. That’s how things went for me, too, buying a souvenir rug in Marakech: I came home with a big one… and a little one.
Many thanks Lindsay and Anne for your delightful tales.
I’m with you Lindsay – I feel uncomfy haggling, but at the same time I’ll enjoy a bargain and that pilón has appeal. I reckon that little rug could have sealed the deal for me too, Anne.
The idea of walking into my local supermarket in the UK or US and attempting to haggle over the price of veggies seems so outlandish. But at the same time its pretty well known that things like hotel rates, rental car fees, what we’ll pay for our new car…well, they’re up for grabs. So where is the line here?
It keeps reminding me of that old joke: “We’ve established what you are; now we’re just haggling over the price”
Haggling has come to Germany mainly through the immigrant subcultures, I’d say. Here at a Bavarian outdoor market you could never haggle over price, but you most certainly can get warm and cozy with “your” grocer, and you’ll find you’re suddenly getting a better deal. It’s that special German preference for trust and stability and “Kundschaft”, or custom.
In getting a better deal, I find that (car, furniture…) salespeople are often quite helpful in helping figure out which combination of features would bring the price down and make the quality just right. I’ve pored over catalogs in shops. There’s a sense of shared achievement of making things work “inside” the rather rigid structures of a fixed price system.
[…] such as Mexico, where deals are somewhat harder to come by, you can use this to your advantage. Vicki Hollet, for example, relays an instructive anecdote from a friend who took a trip to Mexico. When […]