NEGOTIATION

Negotiation - By the bear

Negotiation is a big deal in Asia, it is culturally embraced and can be a lot of fun if done right. In this page we will try to let you know the Dos and Don’t of haggling in Asia

Before we start, here are a few things you can’t negotiate:
- Food and restaurant
- Grocery store, Convenience store, etc.
- “Official” type store, for example Official “Apple Store” or the Official “Nike Store”


That being said, there are still many opportunities to haggle. Here are few examples where you should try to lower the price:
- Street Market
- Hotel, Hostel, Apartment, etc
- Rent a Motorbike
- Booking trip with local agencies (To go snorkeling, hiking, etc.)
- Anything that had to do with providing services


So, negotiating (haggling) is a skill that everyone can develop. It’s perfectly normal if you’re shy or if you find it to do difficult at first. Don’t worry, you can only get better!(or find yourself a bear that is good at it..) We will give you a few trick that can boost your confidence and also provide you with things to say in this situation.


Do’s:

Know your stuff! This is the most important thing to do to boost your confidence and to avoid being scammed.

For example #1, before you rent a bike, you should always take some time to visit 2-3 places that rent motorbike and ask for their price. Come in those knowing what you want (specific size of motorbike - for this example) and casually ask for the price and thanks them while saying that you will think about it. Once you know the average price for the specific motorbike that you want, go to the place where you received the best service and politely ask if they can lower the price (make sure that you mention a specific price, don’t only few, can you lower the price, tell them: can you rent it for me at this price “xx”). At this point, best case scenario, they will say yes, worst case they will say no. it’s also easier to haggle while being on low season .

For example #2, before you buy something in a street market, you should take some time to look online for the item you want in order to have some idea of its real worth. You can use website such as Aliexpress.com or Wish.com and look for the common item you would like to buy. If you find the same item online that you want to buy over there, you can offer a price that resemble the one online (with a slight margin of profit for them.. obviously, they still need to make money).
Also, be aware that MOST of the items you will find in street market are actually counterfeit. You won’t find real Supreme bag for 5$... Rolex watch for 10$... The real items will ONLY be found in their respective store, at a very Western price..

At this point if you cannot find the item you want online, you can use these simple negotiation trick:

Ask for half the price they initially offer you. They know that you are a tourist and halving the price like this will set the table for a real haggling session. From there, have fun! They will ask for more while you will ask for less. Make jokes, talk with them, let them know why YOU should have this for a lower price, make them your friend. Don’t take it too seriously, people like to haggle and they are used to it. Most of the time they will like a good negotiation session. From our experience, if you manage to lower the price 2 or 3 times, then you have a good deal. Sometime you won’t lower the price much and it’s simply because they really gave you a good deal at first.
Please always remember to be polite, smile and have a good time. At the end of the day, they are trying to make money in order to feed their family and make their business run

Go as early as possible in street market If you want to have the best deal possible in the street markets, you should always try to be their first customer of the day. It’s a common belief that the quicker they can make a sell, the better their day will be. Also, at this time, touching an item and not buying it means bad luck, so you might have a better chance to get a lower price.


Don’t:

Don’t ask for the impossible Yes, sometime you will get a ridiculous offer from the vendor, but most of the time you will get a fair starting price. Don’t ask for a very very low price as they still need to make some money.

Don’t lose your temper Haggling is meant to be fun and respective. Don’t get angry if you cannot get what you want at your price. At this point, just leave and try to find it somewhere else. Be happy, you’re on a holiday, enjoy your time!

Don’t think they’re stupid They are working, most of them at staying at their stand 7 days a week overseeing thousands of people. We are all human, we can make mistake, we can be tired or we can be angry. Treat everyone fairly and with respect, that way you will receive the same treatment.