How to Bargain

Shopping is a necessary part for people while touring. Tourists tend to take some local specialties in the tourist areas, such as local food and local characteristic souvenirs. The prices in some shopping areas are fixed, such as supermarkets, department stores and exclusive shops whose commodities have price tags with them. In those areas tourists needn’t bargain. Otherwise, in other shopping areas, such as food markets, small shops and flea markets, it’s necessary for people to bargain while shopping in order to get a reasonable price because sometimes the prices of the commodities are too extortionate. People should regard bargaining as a kind of game to get the most out of it, thus being angry or aggressive will be no good to cut the price down.

Keep your head: If you have fancy for something, you’d better not show your eagerness of buying it. Once the shopkeeper knows your liking towards the commodity, it does no good to the reduction of the price. First of all, you should examine the commodity as careful as possible, showing that you are not a pushover. Never assume that the commodity has very good quality.

Bargain in Chinese: In China, it’s useful and necessary for foreigners to bargain in Chinese with shopkeepers. The following are some very short and simple phrases which may contribute to price reduction.

Tai gui le (Tai gway luh) - too expensive.
Pian yi dian - Could you reduce the price?
Bu yao (boo yow) - I don't want it.
Zui hou (zway ho) - Last. Use this to signal this is your final offer for the item.
Zai kan kan ( zai can can) - Have a look at other shops. (Use it to show that you are still not satisfied with the price and decide to go to other shops to buy).

Go away: If your bargaining was deadlocked and it seems that either you or the shopkeeper will give in, it’s necessary for you to walk away, saying sorry to the shopkeeper. In most cases, the shopkeeper will ask you back to the shop and sell the goods with a cheaper price. However, you should pretend reluctant to go back and try to negotiate for a reasonable price. If the shopkeeper is impatient of your bargaining and becomes a little bit sulky, you can stop bargaining because the price can’t be lower and you’ve got a reasonable price. On the other hand, if the shopkeeper doesn’t stop you when you walk away, it probably means the price is too low to accept. And if you have great fancy for that commodity, you can go back to buy it.