10 secrets of successful shopping in Thai markets

Shopping in Thailand is a distinct art, every Russian tourist should dive into the subtleties of which on the eve of the trip. Compliance with certain rules allows foreigners to save money or buy more things for the same amount of money.

Of course, you can’t bargain at fixed-price stores, but there is a useful opportunity to do so at small and solid markets, such as “Thepprasit Market” in Pattaya, Phuket Seafood Market, Samui markets or at sailing markets in general. In these markets, the goods are finally in the hands of the buyer after bargaining, leading to a price reduction that suits both sides.

The floating markets in Thailand are not just floating markets, but floating markets as well.

Why-you-should-haggle-in-Thailand

It’s understandable that people haggle in markets for the sake of saving as much as possible. But in Thailand, haggling to make a purchase has more than just that reason. In Asian countries, they allow you not only to lower the price, but also to earn respect in front of the seller. If the tourist does not know how to bargain, or refuses to “fight verbally” by putting the initially announced amount on the counter, this deprives the seller of the pleasure that he gets from the process.

Bargaining in Thailand for him most often serves not as an attempt to cheat in the form of selling a product at an inflated price, but rather as an intellectual battle. Its crowning achievement will be the sale of goods at a mutually beneficial value. And so, let’s get to the secrets!

Secrets of successful bargaining in Thailand

Study the salesman

As mentioned above, haggling in Thailand when shopping is always necessary. The rule does not apply only to stores, hypermarkets (e.g. Big C, Tesco Lotus or Macro) and small street vendors (including makashnitsa) where goods are sold at fixed prices. It is worth noting that Thai vendors are not eager to haggle. But if the buyer is faced with a Hindu seller, of which there are many in the country, the haggling will be bright and effective – in this case the prices in Thailand may be significantly reduced. When the tourist refuses to bargain, the seller is not very happy even if the item was well-priced.

Don’t rush

However attractive the product is, don’t agree to pay the designated amount right away. Many Thai sellers overcharge you by 2 to 3 times. Divide the suggested price by three and then tell the seller that you would like to take the item at this price. If he’s easily compliant, feel free to lower the price to about half or 70% of what you originally quoted.

Haggle? Buy

Don’t bargain unless you plan to buy a specific item. When you reach an agreement with a seller and then refuse to repurchase an item, you present yourself to the other party in a disadvantageous light. It is also considered improper behavior in the market to haggle again after receiving the seller’s agreement on the price offered by the buyer. To buy cheaply in Thailand for anything you have to set yourself a number lower than the amount you want to take the item for and slowly bring the seller round to it.

Watch out for rejects

When the bargaining has taken place and the buyer has picked up a purchase with a previously unnoticed defect, which the seller cannot replace due to the lack of a second copy, you can refuse the purchase without fear of “losing face,” as they say in Thailand. If the defect has no influence on the use of the product, the price can be reduced to a minimum.

Don’t be overconfident

Exit after a failed bargain is a useless trick in Asian countries. Because the markets there are not empty, the seller will not call you in order to sell the goods at a minimal cost. While this trick may be effective in the CIS countries, with the Thai people such buying tricks do not work.

Treat with respect

To make trade in Thailand go smoothly, don’t speak badly of the product. If you argue that the item is undeserving of any money, you will offend the seller and you yourself will make the bargaining impossible. The seller might also question why you want such a mediocre item and why you are so persistent in knocking down its price.

Go-to-the-end

When you know for sure that the product you like is not available in other stores, and this seller has a quality product, fight with him to lower the price to the last, only then make the purchase. If you do not bring the matter to the end and go in search of the desired item again, on your return, do not expect the seller to bargain again. He’ll remember you and won’t want to make any more concessions.

Research prices

Know in advance what you can buy cheap in Thailand. Often foreign buyers are far from the reality of Thai prices and they tell the sellers such a cost that they won’t give the goods even to locals. To get acquainted with the approximate prices you can either read on the Internet, or already on vacation in Thailand, wandering in the first days after arrival at the markets and stores.

Don’t rush

Don’t go shopping for everything and more immediately upon arrival vacation in Thailand. While you have pale skin, devoid of a specific tan, the seller will think of you this way: if the person has just arrived in the country, his money remains unspent. And that means you can try to sell him the goods at a high price. By the way, do you know how not to get sunburned in Thailand?

Reverse-alternative-development-events

Described in paragraph 9. Shortly before you leave for home, when your skin tells of you as a person who has spent enough time on vacation, you can present yourself to the seller as a person who agrees to spend the last of your money on the goods that catch your eye. Carefully take out of your pocket the amount you wish to part with, and count it in front of the seller, showing that it is the rest of your finances. If that price doesn’t embarrass the seller, it’s more likely that he’ll agree to let you keep it.

Now you know how to bargain in Thailand without hurting the salesperson or yourself.

Now you know how to haggle in Thailand without hurting yourself.