There are times when individuals or families are without work and face hard times and need any money they can get. Some landlords and small store owners are understanding and give reduced prices, or allow people to run up quite a debt with the knowledge that they may never actually get paid off. There are likewise situations where people give reduced prices due to a family or friend relationship. This fluid system of pricing seems unfair and unorganized when compared to the more fixed system in the developed world. But when understood from the local perspective, it starts to make sense and seems necessary in a society with large amounts of unemployment, low education, poverty, and no real efficient and organized government or NGO aid.

I have spent a total of 3 ½ years in this country. I have had lots of experiences facing gringo pricing and have observed many of Project Esperanza’s volunteers and their experiences. I’ve realized that there are two ways that us gringos view prices we are charged with depending on our interactions with locals: we are either in solidarity or competition.

Photo of street vendor from Flickr user colros via Creative Commons

If we are competing, we will try to get the lowest price possible and feel insulted or victimized when we find out that others are paying lower prices than us. We will also feel superior and proud (in an arrogant sense) by having more money than locals who have less, which in turn causes them to feel inferior and humiliated. On the other hand, if we are living in solidarity with locals, we will honestly consider and compare our personal economic situation with those that would benefit from the higher gringo pricing. We will realize that many times costs are low here because locals cannot afford to pay any higher.

I’ll use public transportation as an example. A driver of a public vehicle may make his rounds all day and when the day is done and expenses such as gas have been paid, he has next to nothing left over in his pocket. He has no security in a minimum wage. People often take a ride and then have no money to pay or have just part of the fee. What, then, can the driver do at this point? Of course a more organized system with advanced technology such as change collector at the entrance would help to solve this problem. However, making that a reality for all means of public transportation in this country is not something that will happen any time soon. Therefore, in this situation, if I know that this driver has a harder life financially than me, I’d prefer to live in solidarity with him and give him a nice gringo tip.

In the past, I spent a lot of time not doing this in order to protect myself from falling into a gringo stereotype and to prevent the stereotype from growing, but now I feel ready to let down my guard a bit, especially after observing some volunteers or visitors who come for a week or two at a time. In my opinion, living in competition and being adamant about receiving low and local prices while visiting this country is really making a statement that you are excited to take advantage of the situation and think that people in this country have less value. Conversely, volunteers who live in solidarity and take the opportunity to show some generosity while asking for no special treatment in return make the statement that people here have value.

I invite anyone living in or traveling to developing countries to keep this in mind when being confronted with gringo pricing. For me, I prefer to let down my guard, show some generosity, and live in solidarity. If this puts me in a pinch financially down the road, I know I will likely survive. I’ve learned that if I feel I am getting ripped off or taken advantage of, it helps to think that the other party likely feels that way about life in general.

Caitlin McHale is currently living in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic as the co-founder and executive director of Project Esperanza. For more about her experiences, check out her blog. For more on being a gringo in Latin America, check out Dan Malin’s “Let’s Talk About the “G-Word:” Gringo” and “Day in the Life: To Haggle or Not to Haggle?“

Photo from Flickr user Julia Smith

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/