Bargaining Tips for Travellers

We who travel for extended periods on tight budgets generally pride ourselves on having a richer experience of the countries we visit than those who rush through on a package tour. Implicit in our rich experience is meeting and getting to know a wide range of people. Many of our interactions with people center around commercial transactions, and in many parts of the world this means bargaining. Some people consider bargaining to be in bad taste, especially in developing countries where the difference in income between the seller and the buyer can be enormous. I think this concern is misplaced. In most places there is no fixed price for any item; the bargaining process is necessary to determine the value of the item.

False beliefs about bargaining

We don't bargain prices in developed countries:

It’s quite common to ask a shop owner if he doesn't have something "a little cheaper".

There is a “true” price for any item that is somehow being hidden from us when we bargain:

We know, in developed countries, that different stores charge different amounts for the same item and that the same store may change the price of an item during seasonal sales or when the store is in need of ready cash.