6 Tips to Better Haggling in China

Image: Taken 6/13/07 as Chris Wong, and I, Jonathan Fung, explore the inside of an electronics store near the Xian Hotel. It was way larger than we had expected, and sold all sorts of spare computer parts. You probably could haggle in there, since the prices on ten-year-old computer parts drop every day.

Street-side shops in China love tourists. Tourists, for the most part, have a lot of money, and can be a very easy way for shop owners to make a big profit if the tourists don’t know what they’re doing. So, after three weeks of intensive practice with haggling in China, hopefully I can share some of the tips that I picked up. These tips do not require any knowledge of the Chinese language since most places have a calculator so you can communicate numerically. But admittedly, it does help to know some Chinese since it is a LOT easier to get ripped off when the shopkeeper can pretend not to understand you. So, here we go! Hopefully this how to haggle and bargain guide helps.

Note: You can (usually) only bargain in small street-side shops where prices are not marked. However, if it is a small family owned shop, even if there are marked prices, it can never hurt to ask if you can get an item at a small discount, especially when you’re buying multiple items or shopping with a group of friends who are also making purchases. However, at large department stores, unless you plan to spend at least 100 USD, odds are that you can’t get a discount.

Do not ask the price, if you don’t want to buy. When shop owners have to actually have to rack their brains to think of how much they want to charge you, then open their mouth and tell you the price of something, they are assuming you want it. In fact, the shopkeeper’s initial price is often worthless, and it can help to ignore the figure they give you. Nine out of ten times, they just make those up by looking at how gullible and rich you look. Asking the price in China is simply a show of interest in an item, and an indication that you are looking to engage in negotiations to purchase it.

Know what things are worth in China. Before you even ask the price, you should know what their product is worth, or the maximum you’re willing to pay for it. Often, it helps to think in USD (or whatever currency you’re most used to) then convert to RMB. By knowing what you’re willing to pay, you can judge your counteroffer knowledgably. This price guide may help you with this task.

Counter-offer at reasonably lower than what you’re actually willing to pay. Do NOT counter-offer them at your max offer. You’ll have to expect to work up from your counteroffer. Is there a rule for what percentage of the starting price you should shoot for? No not really. I’ve had to go as low as 10% of the original price to get the shopkeepers to talk sensibly. It’s far more useful to just know what the item is worth and counter-offer accordingly. But in general, if the price seems even a bit ridiculous, you can expect to slice it at least in half before making a purchase. Just know that if you ask a ridiculous price like 5 RMB for a knock-off Rolex, you run a high chance of pissing off the shopkeeper. Depending on where in China you are, that could be dangerous.

Remember that the shopkeeper is NOT your friend. Please. Communism, as we once knew and feared it, is out the window in most places in China. The place is a capitalist heaven where everyone is out to make money and accumulate personal wealth. That includes all shop owners. They are there for one reason: to make money and to feed their families. They are NOT there to help you take trinkets back to your country at discounted prices. Keep that in mind when the shopkeeper starts to try treating you nicely and coaxing you into believing that you’re like family to them. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. But in general, if the shopkeeper seems all too happy to oblige and give you that “student discount” or “special tourist price” you can suspect that they’re still getting the better end of the deal.

Do not smile. When you start smiling and laughing while bargaining, it is a sign of weakness, and the shop vendors don’t take you seriously. I found that shopkeepers are usually willing to go with a lower price if you look somewhat fierce and look like you know what you’re doing. Sunglasses and a cockily-donned cap usually help. Those shopkeepers don’t mess around when you dramatically take off those sunglasses to make eye contact and give them a cold and prying look. You should laugh only to scoff at their unreasonable opening price.

Be willing to walk away. The walk-away tactic is definitely very effective if you use it correctly, and often gets you the price you want, especially if you’re planning to make a decent-sized purchase. Walk away ONLY after you have demonstrated reasonable interest in the item and have negotiated it to almost the price you want, but the shopkeeper still refuses to cut that extra few Yuan off the price. It works especially well in stores which are relatively empty and itching for your business. Often the shopkeeper will grumble, yield, and then call you back giving you the price you want. And if they don’t, but you still want that item, just come back after a while. No shame in that.

And with these tips in mind, hopefully you can save some money next time you’re in China or wherever else and trying to haggle for a better price!