Living in Beijing Series: The Art of Haggling

Disclaimer
This post is meant to be an educational and not to favour any sides. The author does not support nor against buying fake goods. Besides that, this post is not sponsored by any party but if you would like to know read more about life in China, we gladly accept your gracious click of support at the end of this post.@asianetwork welcomes all questions in the comments section below regarding China especially about eating and living in Beijing and will be read by Reena.K herself or her team. If you are interested in pursuing an education (in English) or looking to supply any products from China, we would gladly assist you too. Last but not least, have a lovely day :)
The asianetwork team.
Author: Reena.K
video: youtube

Recently a video of an American guy haggling in Beijing went viral in the internet and it probably scares you but haggling without a fight is no fun

Haggling in today’s Beijing

Haggling now has turn into a sort of tradition; some call it a form of entertainment or engagement between locals and tourists. I will be honest with you, in the modern world of e-commerce, the locals here get their high quality imitation somewhere else. And in terms of haggling, the Chinese ladies would rather take pictures with you when they see a a good looking foreigner. But because you’re there to buy something, getting you to pay becomes an important affair for all the vendors.

The rules of the Game

A lot of people may not know this but there are rules and etiquette when it comes to haggling.
So the golden rule for all tourists is You Are Expected to Haggle

• Don’t ask about the price; don’t ask to try, unless you are serious about buying it. Because if you haggle until a price and then you decided not to buy and walk away, it is considered rude.
• Prices they stated are always at least 400% higher.
• Chinese vendors are tough but you can be tougher. Sometimes haggling takes up to 15 minutes because they(the vendors) want to close the sale, and you want to get the goods at your price

Things vendors say:

“YOU WANNA BUY?”
“THIS IS NIKE, THIS IS JORDAN, 800KUAI!”
“200? USD? EURO? “
“YOUR BAG IS MORE EXPENSIVE, COME ON, GIVE ME BEST PRICE!”
“CAN YOU GIVE ME YOUR BEST PRICE?!”
“GIVE ME YOUR BEST PRICE!”
“GIVE ME YOUR BEST PRICE!” X10…(expect it)

Once you settle on the right price, pay the right amount. If the vendor gives you your change, be sure to check the notes.

Need a little tip?

They don't display the price on a board, which means there isn't a fixed price to start off with. SO...

• Do some online searching before you go and check out similar prices. If your guide is a local student you can always ask him or her where locals shop
• Do not pay unless you are satisfied with the price.
  A simple trick is, if the vendor keeps telling you to give your best price, insist on it, if the vendor is pushing you, you can walk away and most likely they will call you back to renegotiate.
• Assuming after all the research you did, you find your budget as 200 kuai, tell the vendor you want it for 150 kuai. And once the both of you go on and on for at least 15 minutes and more till she offers you 400, you can say: 180. If she goes: “Come on, 200 then!” You got your deal.

Remember that the game is simple, whoever is tougher wins.

Personally, I’m not a fan of these places because it’s mostly for tourist and the goods are not returnable if you didn’t like the fake goods you bought. Places like Silk Street and Pearl Market are for tourist. But according to experience me and my friends have, we can bring down prices from 700 chinese yuan to 50 chinese yuan

Conclusion

Haggling is an art, and bargaining without a fight is no fun. It can be tiring, but if you choose not to haggle, you can always get the locals here to help you get the things you want online. Imagine the contacts we have *wink

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Cheers,
Reena.K

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