How do you bargin.....

[peejay]

A friend and I are leaving next week for Nassau, St.Thomas and St Martin. Neither one of us knows how to bargin with the local to get the price down. I would really like some input on this........ Help!!!

[prttygirlmss]

When I went to these islands in Sept, they were eager to sell. I would ask the price and I would say " I will think about it". Then they always would try and sell at a lower price.

[firefly333]

You see a nice wood carving for $50 you offer $40 and they say, hey man I need $35 and you say, hmmm and start to back away and maybe they say ok, I havent sold anything all day, ok, its a steal but ok $40.

[skylock]

This is how I do it.

 

If something is marked $50 I say will you take $25

 

They say $45, I say $30 They say $40 I say I will take it for $35. If they say no, I walk away. Usually they will say ok, steal it from me for $35.

 

If the price is not marked, you say how much? They say $50, you say best price today, they say $40 you say $20. You should get it for about $30.

 

After you do it a couple of times, it gets easy.

 

I have also found it depends on the type of shop you are in. If the shop is airconditioned and the price is marked, that is usually the price you will have to pay.

 

It also helps if you have an impatient partner that says things like, Come on, I am ready to go, or come on, that is too much money.

 

I love doing it so much, I now do it at home with about a 50% success rate. Not at Walmart, except one time on a pool, but at the local hardware and lumber place it works really well.

[extcat]

Inquire about price then act like you have no interest in it. Be prepared to walk away without buying. And stick to your guns.If they offer a lower price say no thanks. Kind of look at it and then look somewhere else. They will offer a much lower price.

[belle907]

IF you are looking at several things in the shop/stall you cna usually get a better bargain when buying in quantity. We were in Cabo and found a shop that had hats we needed to pick up, we ended up getting 3 baseball hats and 3 or 4 other small items for about $16. total. The hats were nice quality and didn't have tacky sayings or pictures on them.

 

Offer half of the marked price or the quoted price and then go up from there. Carry small bills so you can give exact change when paying.

[Wennfred]

Pick up the item you really like, get excited over it and show it to your relative or friend and then ask what it cost. When the merchant gives you the price give him/her a sad frown and say "damn thats way too much, I saw the same one down the street for half price". Put the item down and start walking away. They will surely grab you before you leave the store.

 

Thats how I play, works for me all the time.

 

 

The other method is have your friend come over and say "Oh, I saw that same items down the street for alot less", make sure the merchant hears that and your friend says it out loud.

 

 

 

Fred

[JoshGrrrr]

Haggle with them until they let you walk away. That's when you know you've reached the bottom. That works when buying cars as well. I used to sell cars. My friends would ask how to get the best deals. I always told them to haggle until the salesmen lost interest in them. Then, buy at the last offer before that happened.

[popcorngal]

Inquire about price then act like you have no interest in it. Be prepared to walk away without buying. And stick to your guns.If they offer a lower price say no thanks. Kind of look at it and then look somewhere else. They will offer a much lower price.

 

This is pretty much how I do it as well. I've walked away more than once and bought nothing...but I've also had them chase me down the sidewalk to make the sale. If you've made a reasonable offer and they don't take it, then they don't want the sale very bad. Look elsewhere!

[kyrisong1]

Haggle with them until they let you walk away. That's when you know you've reached the bottom. That works when buying cars as well. I used to sell cars. My friends would ask how to get the best deals. I always told them to haggle until the salesmen lost interest in them. Then, buy at the last offer before that happened.

My GOD Josh your avatar scared the HECK outta me, ekkkkkkkkkkkkkkk:eek:

Carole

[S.S.Oceanlover]

You see a nice wood carving for $50 you offer $40 and they say, hey man I need $35 and you say, hmmm and start to back away and maybe they say ok, I havent sold anything all day, ok, its a steal but ok $40.

 

Why would you start to back away when they offer you a lower price then you offered to buy the item for?:confused:

 

Bill

[Richard in Panama]

In Latin America it's perfectly acceptable to ask for a "better price" . . . usually they will come down . . . and then if it's too high, start to walk away.

 

What doesn't work is to first try it on, look in the mirror, discuss it, talk about how it looks . . . and then start to talk price. They already know you want it, so why budge? Look at different things, show casual interest, and ask prices for several things some of which you don't care about. It's easier for Americans to think of this in terms of "negotiating" than "bargaining."

[cmecruise1962]

about 5 times. It FREAKS me out! :eek:

[cruzn buckeye]

My GOD Josh your avatar scared the HECK outta me, ekkkkkkkkkkkkkkk:eek:

Carole

 

WOW! I was trying to blow it off my screen so I didn't have to squish it!!!

[millerboy88]

I know you can bargin quite a bit in the Bahamas, but what is your experience at places like St. thomas and St. Maarten

[prttygirlmss]

We had no problem in ST. Martin and ST.Thomas in the open markets. In fact my 14 year old son was getting good at it.

[howard6933]

I know you can bargin quite a bit in the Bahamas, but what is your experience at places like St. thomas and St. Maarten

 

It doesn't matter where you are in the Caribbean. You can bargain at the best of stores even in St Thomas and St Martin, including Cardows, Lttle Switzerland, A.H. Riise, all of them. ;) If you get a price from them, just ask if they can do better. 9 times out of 10, they'll say I have to see my supervisor. They go away for about 10 seconds and come back with a better price. :p We were in Cozumel a couple of years ago and my wife saw a nice diamond ring that she liked. The sales person mentioned a price and my wife though it was kind of high. One of our friends that was on the cruise with us came over to the counter and whipped out her jewelers loupe.

She had been an estate jewelry buyer for a large NY department store for many years. When the sales person saw the loupe, I thought he was going to have a stroke. Our friend examined the diamond and said that she thought is wasn't worth the price the guy was asking. He immediately lowered the price several hundreds of dollars and we eventually bought the ring. :rolleyes: So don't be afraid to haggle....most of the time it works. :D

[westernmom]

I have a problem with my dh! He always feels sorry for them and usuallys says, "If you want it, just get it." So, if I want something I part ways with him so I can get a good deal!

 

We took our kids on a two week trip to California one year and hit all of the attractions and then went down in to Tijuana and my 16 year old son thought it was the best place of the whole trip! He really got into "bargaining" with the vendors and had a great time making deals! Now he's 36 and is going with us on this next cruise. I bet he has a blast trying to find deals on the islands!

[MamaParrotHead]

1.) how aggressively you bargain depends on how bad you want the item

 

2.) don't give the shopkeepers a hard time about it, be courteous and polite and in the end, just say, "I had planned on spending $X, this is what I have". That may or may not work out for you.

 

3.) how eager the shopkeepers are to sell depends on how many ships are in port that day. that knowledge will go a long way.

 

4.) how far you can get them down depends on a few things. if the item handmade (jewelry or a carving versus a tshirt or something prefabricated)? Is this shop located in a mall/shopping area or an open market stall or on the beach? What is a reasonable price for the item (shop around before making offers to see what the item is going for elsewhere)?

[cruise_pirate]

Haggle with them until they let you walk away. That's when you know you've reached the bottom. That works when buying cars as well. I used to sell cars. My friends would ask how to get the best deals. I always told them to haggle until the salesmen lost interest in them. Then, buy at the last offer before that happened.

 

LOL your avitar is great! I thought there was a little bug crawling on my screen and tried to squish it.:rolleyes:

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Haggle with them until they let you walk away. That's when you know you've reached the bottom. That works when buying cars as well. I used to sell cars. My friends would ask how to get the best deals. I always told them to haggle until the salesmen lost interest in them. Then, buy at the last offer before that happened.

Worked for me too at a Chevy dealer of all of places in good 'ole USA. After haggeling a little, we walked away. They had our cell phone number in case they "changed their minds." About 10 minutes later, we were at another car dealer when we got the call that they would accept our offer. We've had that truck for about 10 years now.:p

[mudpievelour]

Usually my husband will spot something he thinks I will like. I walk over to it, frown and say, "How much"? They will quote me a ridiculous price and I will laugh and say "I can buy it for less than that in the States." Then they will offer me a lower price and I will wave my hand and say "No thank you" and start to walk away. They may offer a lower price or say "What is it you want to pay?" I usually quote about a quarter of their "original" price. They laugh and I say, "Thanks anyway. Goodbye." and start to walk out. They usually say "okay, but you're killing me" or offer a price just a little above what I quoted. At that point, you have to decide just how bad you really want it. Sometimes waving greenbacks in front of their face and saying "take it or leave it" will work. ONLY do this if you can walk away without it and be happy.

[ffspread]

My favorite way is to keep different amounts in each pocket. When you see something you like, pull out the amount from the one pocket that has what you want to pay, and say something like "this is all I brought with me from the ship". I'd say 90% of the time I get it for the price I want. Good luck and have fun, but don't let the sellers intimidate you.

[ronkay]

It is an Art and a Sport, my DW can not do it at all, she feels sorry for them and says if they asked that much they must need it. I have been in a lot of different countries over the years and found if done with respect and tact it is expected and respected.

 

But I do agree that you must have small bills and have the extact amount you want to pay. Do not hackle down a price and then ask for change. And especially do not lie, do not say I only have $40 and then pull out a $50 to pay for it, this would be disrepectful.

 

basically my wife will walk through somewhere and then tell me what she wants and I will tell her no, then go back in the shop a little while later and get it for her.