Here’s a familiar scene: it’s market day in Cusco, Chichicastenango, Otavalo and hundreds of other cities across Latin America. You start making your way past stalls and it’s all there: jewelry, ponchos, T-shirts, pottery and even those little alpaca dolls you love so much. But remember, you’re there to shop for friends, so you find some handmade earrings (For your girlfriend? No, just a friend. Ahh, okay amigo. Whatever you say.) and pay what seems a modest price. You feel good about your day at the market, until you get back to your host family’s house and find out from the mother that you’ve been ripped off. “Why didn’t you bargain them down?” she’ll ask with a mixture of disbelief and pity. “Nobody here pays full-price.”
The business of haggling is a sticky subject. On the one hand, you’re probably going to get a better price than anything you’d find in your home country. I often ask myself, do I really need to save that extra two bucks? But then there is also the desire to adapt to the local culture, and the immense pressure to get a fair price. How does one negotiate in these circumstances without seeming like a total jerk?
Having sought advice from friends here in Ecuador, I’ve found that following some basic rules can make the experience of visiting any local outdoor market much more pleasant and civil.
1) Try to begin the conversation with anything other than, “Cuánto cuesta?” A short pleasantry should suffice.
2) As a general rule, going lower than about 20-25% of the asking price is going to seem rude.
3) Your local dealer will not be offended if you ask for a discount in exchange for buying in bulk. Try purchasing a few extra alpaca hats to get a better price. They make great stocking-stuffers anyways.
4) It’s acceptable to haggle more aggressively over obviously mass-produced items. I think that T-shirts (especially the same ones you see everywhere) are fair game.
5) If you visit the market later in the afternoon, most vendors will already have mentally lowered their prices if business has been slow, making bargaining much easier.
6) Finally, and this is my opinion, I like to buy from vendors who are friendly, who readily explain how their goods were made and who don’t try to drag you into their shop.
If you can’t remember these suggestions when the time comes, just try to follow the golden rule: be nice. Smile, say please and above all else, don’t shout prices at people.
You can read all about the other cultural mistakes I’ve made in Ecuador on my blog at http://danmalin.wordpress.com/
