Bargaining secrets

Want to get the best deals at the markets? Time Out asked three shop assistants to tell us how the game works...

Do you always charge foreigners a slightly higher price?

Wallet shop boss: If a foreign and a Chinese shopper come to bargain with me, more often than not I actually give the foreigner the better price because they’re much less fussy. The majority of tourists know they’re buying cheap goods and if there’s a small fault with something or a wallet’s not perfect they’re happy to overlook it.

Usually they come over and within ten minutes they’ve bought what they want and leave with a smile on their face. Chinese customers expect everything to be faultless and perfect and think we’re giving them a bad deal. They’ll argue for a long time about something and even then say they want to change it – so no, foreigners don’t always get charged higher because they’re much more likely to buy several things at once and be happy with them.

 

Jeans shop girl: To be honest, almost everyone gets a good price these days so we’ve had to raise our prices overall in the last couple of years. Nevertheless, the bottom price is still the same for everyone.

Carpet seller: I give the same price for foreigners and Chinese people but I admit I’d probably charge more if I can tell the person is very wealthy, whatever their nationality. So I suppose it helps if you don’t come in looking like you’re rich!

What are your top tips for people when they’re haggling?

The wallet shop boss: Probably the biggest tip I’d give people when shopping is to learn to tell good quality goods from bad. We’re not all out to lie and rip you off. On a bus in Beijing there are good people and there may be one or two thieves, but you can’t assume everyone on the bus will be a thief. There are some real leather/good quality wallets here mingling with the not so worthy ones but most people just can’t tell the difference. So learn to tell what’s what.

 

The carpet seller: I would say there are a few simple things you should do when bargaining. The first is always be polite – Why should we be cooperative when you are being rude? It’s much better to be lighthearted and make jokes if you can. We’ll like you more and it suggests you don’t care either way if you buy or not. When it comes to technique, pretend you’ve been to another shop and seen what it is you have your eye on somewhere else cheaper because we’ll probably believe you!

I also think that, for foreigners living in Beijing, it’s a good idea to get advice from a local person about how much the item should cost before you go. Get an idea, a reference point before you start so that you have a price in mind when you set off. Another valuable trick that not many people think of doing is to go to an item you don’t like initially to get the price down on that first, rather then going straight to your favourite thing and letting on that you’d do almost anything to have it. That just gives us the upper hand!

 

What encourages you to give someone a good price? If they speak a little Chinese? Are a bit pushy?

The jeans stall girl: If someone’s polite, if they’re calm and not aggressive then I’m happy to give them a good price. If I’m at my bottom price and people keep pushing and being totally unrealistic it just gets annoying. And it really doesn’t matter if you speak Chinese or not because foreigners know the deal, they know that you’re supposed to haggle so we treat everyone the same.

If someone does speak Chinese it doesn’t make me more inclined to give them a better price either, it just means that the discussion flows better. I admit I sometimes tell people that their good Chinese means I want to give them a better price but it’s not really true.

Wallet shop boss: Foreigners should immediately push for one third of the price stated or thereabouts, but for me, patience is a virtue. And always be polite – as soon as you start getting frustrated and rude it’s over. Don’t get annoyed if we quote you a high price to begin with, that’s part of the process. Be gentle, not angry!

 

Do you enjoy your job? Are you paid a flat wage or get commission?

Jeans stall girl: No, I don’t really like my job because it’s very repetitive, so if someone comes along who’s a bit different and good at haggling it makes my job more interesting. We don’t get paid commission but a flat wage per day so it’s not really in my interest to give everyone a good deal; it’s really down to the individual. There’s obviously pressure from my boss to do well but I don’t get paid more the more I sell.

Wallet shop boss: I’m actually the boss here. I quite enjoy my job. You can’t earn very much from it but you have a lot of freedom and some days it can be fun.

 

Is there a bottom price your boss tells you that you cannot go below or does it depend on how well you’re selling that day?

Jeans stall girl: When I tell someone the price of a pair of jeans I’ll start about three times higher than the real price. I always have a bottom price that I’m not allowed to go below though yes, that’s true. For example, most of our jeans have been bought for about 80RMB. I therefore won’t sell them for less than 100RMB (usually about 20-30 per cent higher than the cost price) and to begin with I’d quote you 200-300RMB.

Wallet shop boss: Our lowest price will be about 20 per cent higher than the cost price and I’ll quote you at least twice that to start of with.

 

Is there a better time to come and get the best price? At the end of the day or at the beginning of the week?

Jeans stall girl: When we’ve just had a delivery the stock is at its most expensive. If there’s only a few of a certain style left we’ll want to get rid of them so we’re willing to sell them for a cheaper price.

Wallet shop boss: New stock is only ordered in when something runs out but that doesn’t mean the old stuff goes for cheap. Wallets are not seasonal goods and can be bought all year round so the price remains the same. Every stall is different. The time of the day you come doesn’t really matter either. The very first and last people may get a better price than those who come in the middle of the day because we might be just warming up or want to get a couple more deals before closing time but it doesn’t make a great deal of difference.

 

What if I want to return goods? Should I ask for a receipt? What are my rights?

Wallet shop boss: If there’s a problem with your goods and you don’t have a receipt you can exchange it but we won’t refund it. The best thing to do if you’re not happy with something is to go back straight away so that there’s a chance we remember you. If you ask for a receipt you will get one but they’re only really used if your company will be paying for whatever you bought. Receipts here are for them to refund you, not us.

 

What’s this stuff really worth?

Jeans stall girl: Well, when it comes to buying jeans, some are a lot better quality than others. Feel the material to start with – the softer it is the better. Also, the darker, more stretchy and dense the material the better too. In the summer if the jeans are thicker and hotter or made from worse material, then they would be cheaper but the basic rule is, the lighter the material the cheaper they should be.