In most industrialized countries, bargaining is limited to big purchases like cars, houses, or jewelry. In developing countries like Vietnam, however, bargaining is a part of everyday life. Aside from Western-style supermarkets and department stores, paying the sticker price in Saigon would make a fool out of you despite what longtime resident, expat, and local streetfood blogger Pieman thinks:

In Saigon, and especially where 99.9% of backpackers hang out, the price is the price is the price. Period. Stop squabbling over pence, shilling, cents and dong and annoying the phuc out of the vendor. Just buy whatever third rate, illegal, counterfeit crap it is you’re so eager to hustle endlessly over or just bugger off.

Pieman is right that the price difference is often minuscule. When I first moved to Vietnam, I quibbled over only a few thousand Dong, which is only about 30 cents USD (15,800 VND = $1 USD). Seems stupid discussed in terms of cents, but it can be easy to get carried away when talking about thousands or tens of thousands of Dong.

On one of my first outings to the fruit market near Ben Thanh most frequented by tourists, Stephen and I crossed the street several times going from shop to shop and street vendor to street vendor trying to figure out the best price for mangosteen. I had mistakenly thought that it was the way to do things. What a waste of time and energy. I had clearly not studied my Lonely Planet guide to Vietnam carefully enough:

Many visitors just assume that every Vietnamese is out to rip them off. That just isn’t true - you needn’t bargain for everything. But there are times when bargaining is essential. In touristy areas, postcard vendors have a reputation for charging about five times the going rate. Most cyclo and motobike drivers also try to grossly overcharge foreigners - find out the correct rate in advance and then bargain accordingly.

Remember that in Asia, “saving face” is important, so bargaining should be good-natured. Smile and don’t get angry or argue. Many Westerners seem to take bargaining too seriously and get offended if they don’t get the goods for less than half the original asking price. In some cases you will be able to get 50% discount or more, at other times this may only be 10%, but by no means should you get angry during the bargaining process. And once th emoney is accepted, the deal is done - if you harbour hard feelings because you later find out that someone else got it cheaper, the only one you are hurting is yourself.

After a year of living here, I’ve finally settled on my own bargaining strategy.

When I see something I like, I decide in my head how much I’m willing to pay based on previous shopping experiences. If the vendor tells me a price that is near or less (happens more often than you’d think! maybe I’m a spendthrift….) than my pre-determined budget, I do not bother to bargain. Maybe I’ll joke with them and ask if it’s the “best price” especially if I’m buying more than one, but I usually just pull out my wallet and pay.

If the price is much more than what I expected, I’ll make a face and ask if they can lower the price to whatever I was willing to pay (I actually go even lower than this just for the heck of it). Sometimes they say “no” but I’ve been surprised a few times.

For example, vendors selling embroidered handbags have tried to rip off my friends many times. Luckily, they’re pro-shoppers and knew the approximate going rate. One friend was told that a beaded evening bag was $40 USD. My friend protested and said she’d gotten a similar bag for just $18 USD at another shop. The vendor quickly agreed to sell for $18. Another friend is usually able to get 50% off the sticker price at another handbag stall she frequents. I’ve been lucky enough to coast on their shopping co
attails and get sizeable discounts on my purchases too.

I’m sure some people think I don’t bargain aggressively enough, but I’m only willing to do so much before getting totally stressed out. It happens often that one shop in one area will sell the same thing cheaper than another. After factoring in taxi fare, time, and other commodities that you can’t put a price on, everything usually comes out even anyway.

Shopping isn’t exactly relaxing here unless you’re the type who likes to haggle. Shopping is still fun, though, because of all the pretty bargains to be had.

What has been your experience with bargaining or haggling?

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