Comments on: Day in the Life: To Haggle or Not to Haggle? http://lavidaidealist.org/2010/02/08/day-in-the-life-to-haggle-or-not-to-haggle/ Stories and Resources from Idealists in Latin America Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:31:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Inevitable Stereotypes | La Vida Idealist http://lavidaidealist.org/2010/02/08/day-in-the-life-to-haggle-or-not-to-haggle/comment-page-1/#comment-433 Inevitable Stereotypes | La Vida Idealist Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:46:54 +0000 http://lavidaidealist.org/?p=4070#comment-433 [...] more about gringoes in Latin America, check out “Day in the Life: To Haggle or Not to Haggle?” and “Let’s Talk About the ‘G-Word’: Gringo” by fellow La Vida [...] [...] more about gringoes in Latin America, check out “Day in the Life: To Haggle or Not to Haggle?” and “Let’s Talk About the ‘G-Word’: Gringo” by fellow La Vida [...]

]]> By: Dan http://lavidaidealist.org/2010/02/08/day-in-the-life-to-haggle-or-not-to-haggle/comment-page-1/#comment-352 Dan Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:19:11 +0000 http://lavidaidealist.org/?p=4070#comment-352 cellyham - That's amazing. robpacker - That's a really interesting idea and one that I've never considered. I suppose it's possible that our mere presence contributes to local inflation, although I also tend to believe that most of what they sell (say in Otavalo's artisan market) is marketed almost exclusively to foreigners. I find it hard to believe that a local price exists for a lot of that stuff. I imagine it would be like finding out there was a local price for those styrofoam statue of liberty crowns in New York. cellyham – That’s amazing.

robpacker – That’s a really interesting idea and one that I’ve never considered. I suppose it’s possible that our mere presence contributes to local inflation, although I also tend to believe that most of what they sell (say in Otavalo’s artisan market) is marketed almost exclusively to foreigners. I find it hard to believe that a local price exists for a lot of that stuff. I imagine it would be like finding out there was a local price for those styrofoam statue of liberty crowns in New York.

]]> By: robpacker http://lavidaidealist.org/2010/02/08/day-in-the-life-to-haggle-or-not-to-haggle/comment-page-1/#comment-347 robpacker Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:30:17 +0000 http://lavidaidealist.org/?p=4070#comment-347 Good tips. Here's an untested hypothesis: does paying full price for goods in the market contribute to local inflation? If tourists are paying x times more than locals and a stall holder knows that he can just wait for a tourist to come along who'll pay more than the local price, it means they'll be less likely to let anyone have the "local price". I like to think of haggling as trying to find a mutually acceptable price, not necessarily the lowest one you can get away with. I'm not sure how much this applies to artesanías, but tourist areas are always more expensive than non-tourist areas: here in Colombia, the differences in prices between Cartagena (touristy) and Barranquilla (not touristy) is mind-blowing. Good tips.
Here’s an untested hypothesis: does paying full price for goods in the market contribute to local inflation? If tourists are paying x times more than locals and a stall holder knows that he can just wait for a tourist to come along who’ll pay more than the local price, it means they’ll be less likely to let anyone have the “local price”. I like to think of haggling as trying to find a mutually acceptable price, not necessarily the lowest one you can get away with. I’m not sure how much this applies to artesanías, but tourist areas are always more expensive than non-tourist areas: here in Colombia, the differences in prices between Cartagena (touristy) and Barranquilla (not touristy) is mind-blowing.

]]> By: cellyham http://lavidaidealist.org/2010/02/08/day-in-the-life-to-haggle-or-not-to-haggle/comment-page-1/#comment-345 cellyham Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:07:47 +0000 http://lavidaidealist.org/?p=4070#comment-345 I always feel like such a jerk at the market because I know I can more than afford the item they are selling, so why haggle? But then sometimes I also get annoyed when I know they are selling me the gringo price. (I once saw a sign that said "Jugo de Naranja - 1.50 pesos : Orange Juice - 2 pesos.") But these are great tips-thanks! I always feel like such a jerk at the market because I know I can more than afford the item they are selling, so why haggle? But then sometimes I also get annoyed when I know they are selling me the gringo price. (I once saw a sign that said “Jugo de Naranja – 1.50 pesos : Orange Juice – 2 pesos.”) But these are great tips-thanks!

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