Well im in Oz but its getting too easy so I just booked a 3 month ticket too south east asia and i wanna get into that plus its cheaper thenb oz and I gotta slow my spending lol. I just wanna know are there any rules too haggiling in thailand. I know your supposed too be friendly and never raise your voice but how much is the rule of thumb too get off the declaired price of the vendor, if he says 100 Bhat do i shoot dfor 50 or what ? I was thinking trying too get everything for about 25-50 percent of the asked for price ? please help on this one
will

hmmm i dont know if there are any rules as such ...

i learnt that, if you walk away from the vendor saying they charge too much, they will call you back ( if the price you offered was substantial)

i heard something about coloured bags, if they put your product in a certain coloured bad it lets other stall owners see if your a good barterer or not. for example, a white bag could mean your shit at it, so everyone will rip you of, but a coloured bag means your good,and other sellers will know not to rip you off.dunno how true that is tho

also,if you learnt basic thai, ie numbers and simple phrases like "how much" etc, you will get thai speakers discount.

wow, never heard the colored bag thing. Perhaps bring a bag of your own to put purchases in so you're a mystery to them...?

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule. However, it is always key that you DON'T show you're really attached to an item. I always find they come down on the stuff I really don't want. So, if you can project that "don't really care if I buy this" mood, you may have more success.

Good luck! And yes, you never want to get out of control or yell in SE Asia...the person who does that "loses face" and is an embarrassment to both themselves in those who witness the incident, according to their culture.

worldwidemike

further to Mike's post about not getting out of control.....try to maintain a smile, act casual and always be polite...it goes a long way.

i'd say, unlike most of the develpoing countries - the 'start at 1/2 the asking price' rule DOES NOT apply in thailand. they just have so many tourists and willing spenders, they don't need to reduce their inflated selling costs if they don't want to. most of my deals ended up at around 65-75% of the starting price. i just smiled a lot and kind of pleadingly said "please, please!" sometimes touching the arm of the seller if she were female and friendly... i had fun with it.

i forgot to mention,

its so damn cheap in thailand, why barter down ridiculasly low when you know your already getting a damn good deal from them in the first place.


i feel so mean bartering ( except on fake LV bags....THAT i WILL barter!)

Even Thai people themself will never do the 1/2 price from what they are told because they know what they're going to get from the sale person - the nasty looks and some bad words as a gift.

This country isn't used to the cold faces and too bold personalities. So, just bring up your friendly part when you be there, you'll be surprise.
:blink:

be friendly, but don't look too interested, be stern with your price...if they won't sell it to you for what you want, just leave because you will find the same thing at 1,000 other vendors or they will chase after you with the price you wanted.

oh, always remember that if you set a price, and they agree...you better buy it. they don't take too well to people bartering as a means to pass time. lol. my friend and I learned this the hard way in s.e. asia.

bargaining was very fun when we first got there..it got to the point where we were doing it just for hobby, but after a few weeks you'll be thinking...please just give me a normal rate...i dont have time for this.

I've been to Thailand many times...and just know that they sort of expect you to pay more than a native person because your a farang and almost should pay more. Like the others said never get heated or impolite. Some vendors also will lower their prices if you buy more than one thing from them...like Von Dutch and Vuitton is everywhere and if you buy...say three shirts instead of two it helps. Definately know a few Thai words (without having to wip out your phrasebook) they take REALLY well to that and are impressed. If you absolutely cannot, they almost always have calculators at their booths....ask to see it and you can go back and forth. But always stay smiling and like one person said, you already getting that item for ridiculously cheap so...think before cutting their price down horribly.