Haggling,do you feel guilty?

[NoshowJones]

11 hours ago, sanemax said:

You can just state where he is from, no one will be bothered

What if it is Nigeria?

[Nice Boyd]

If I buy 2 items , we always ask for discount, usually given

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

11 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

When myself and Mrs Possum were in the markets in Bangkok, if I wanted to buy something, she would tell me to wait around the corner while she bought it for me. No prizes for guessing why.

Always. Thai friend was with her husband a trader said "Hey lady help me get some ngun off this Kwai"

Thai friend "That buffalo is my HUSBAND and it's my money too!"

[NoshowJones]

There is nothing wrong with a brothel in Pattaya or anyone else, and no one has the right to be nasty about them, I do not use them personally as I do not have to, but as long as no one is getting hurt and no underage sex is involved, what people do with their bodies is up to them.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, klauskunkel said:

if you feel guilty about haggling, hug a vendor. 

Not a guy surely. 

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, BTB1977 said:

Scotland is not a english speaking country.  I have friends from there and I only understand maybe one word in every sentance. And many are very cheap. That is a fact. 

What do you think some Scots may think when they hear these awful high pitched Scouse voices?

[spidermike007]

First of all, I do not do guilt. It is a useless emotion. Nothing but neurotic baggage. Second, most expect you to negotiate. They build in a cushion for that. Most will consider you a sucker if you do not negotiate. There is a time and a place for it. Haggling over 10 or 20 baht can be silly. Sometimes you can just tell they are offering you a very fair price, and you just pay it. But many other times, you just do not know what it is worth. Sometimes, they will quote me 800 for something. I will counter with 200. If they come back at 300, which often happens, it is apparent they know you saw right through their stunt, and are not a fool. 

[HHTel]

Haggling should be fun.  It's part of life.

You think the 'Captains of Industry' agree to proposals/estimates in their boardrooms.  Of course not.  Haggling is not limited to street traders.

[moontang]

If you dont like haggling good luck at the furniture stores...almost nothing is priced, and they start way high.  The extra respect they show people, who pay top price will last until you are out the door.  It was quite easy to get HomePro to lower their prices on TVs by 10% in about three minutes..still much better deals at Lazada....and if you have ever had to return things here, you will know you have even more of a reason to get a good price.  Agreed, be friendly, even a little businesslike..if you are a serious buyer, they will work with you.  As far as nightmarkets, etc..just too many variables like fakes, freshness, etc..or just pure junk...and notice it is almost always the lower class, undereducated that start with the keeniow crap...if not plain old prossies......it is business, not charity.

[ncmohr]

Often when i am quoted a price i know the Price is 3-5 times higher than a local. With this in mind i have no problem haggling. But make sure you keep a smile on your face and a friendly tone. Not haggling just confirms to the seller that they can sell their goods at a higher price. So when the next white guy comes along then they will ask for a price that is 10 times higher instead of the 5 times higher price that they asked of you. Basic market economic. Supply and demand. If you can sell it at a higher price it would be stupid not to and vice versa. But this is not only Thailand, this applies in most countries outside europe and USA. I remember once in Vietnam where i was haggling over 10 T-shirts and a whole bunch of other stuff, i was doing it with a smile on my face and the lady was having fun, i think i bought it at around 30% of the asking price. I was happy and she was happy too. Behind me was an American tourist and he had heard me haggling, so he tried to shortcut and get some of the prices i paid but that didnt work, it was back to square one and haggle again from the beginning. I believe it is fine to haggle just be polite and nice about it and you may even enjoy it, i know some of the traders do :)

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, ncmohr said:

Often when i am quoted a price i know the Price is 3-5 times higher than a local.

I generally know the price of things and what they should cost .

If I get quoted a much higher price , I just laugh and walk away .

If its a little bit more , I just pay it (and quite often they give me more change)

(159 Baht ? OK heres 200 Baht and get 50 Baht change)

[khunPer]

21 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

do u feel guilty about haggling?

Is there a polite way to do it?

Smile – and be polite – but you can be sure, the sellers won't sell it to you, if you get under their minimum price, so always worth a try to get a good deal. Tourist products and souvenirs you can in some cases bargain down up to 50% and even 66%, and the seller will still make a reasonable profit. Also in fixed price shops like HomePro and Home Mart you can bargain, especially if you buy a lot. The manager might need to call head office, but normally they agree. My lovely Thai girlfriend is very good at that – believe I taught her, but she's better than me now – and she learned from European TV that she always shall ask to "speak to someone important"...?

[smotherb]

21 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

If the traders relented they still are profiting. Just not the huge fleecing they expect. The sell stuff like t-shirts at 10x markup from normal markets just cause they see a white man. Clearly it is racism, nothing less.


u,

It is not racism; it is gouging the uninformed. Watch and see. I see Malaysians and Singaporeans getting the same top-end price quote as farangs. My wife is Filipina, she speaks a little Thai, but will often refrain from speaking just to get the Thai price. Some vendors have even complained and wanted more money when they find out she isn't Thai. However, we have lived in the same town for almost eleven years and most vendors know her, so she regularly gets the Thai price. By the by, we live in Hatyai near the Malaysian border, when Thais find out she is Filipina and not Malaysian; their entire attitude improves. Apparently, the Malays have sort of worn out their welcome here.

[smotherb]

21 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

If the traders relented they still are profiting. Just not the huge fleecing they expect. The sell stuff like t-shirts at 10x markup from normal markets just cause they see a white man. Clearly it is racism, nothing less.


 

Not necessarily so. Like all businesses, vendors may sell surplus, unsellable or unpopular items for less than cost; better something than nothing.

[Gecko123]

2 hours ago, moontang said:

It was quite easy to get HomePro to lower their prices on TVs by 10% in about three minutes..

I'm calling BS on this claim. Was there maybe a 10% reduction available to anyone which you weren't aware of and they brought it to your attention? Are you claiming that they cut the price especially for you because you haggled??? I don't even think their computer system has the capacity to do impromptu discounts. Mark me down in the extremely dubious column. I speak Thai well, have shopped there a lot, and tried innumberable times to wheedle discounts on major purchases, never with success. Would be extremely interested in knowing if anybody else can report that they have successfully haggled a discount at HomePro.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Gecko123

[moontang]

4 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

I'm calling BS on this claim. Was there maybe a 10% reduction available to anyone which you weren't aware of and they brought it to your attention? Are you claiming that they cut the price especially for you because you haggled??? I don't even think their computer system has the capacity to do impromptu discounts. Mark me down in the extremely dubious column. I speak Thai well, have shopped there a lot, and tried innumberable times to wheedle discounts on major purchases, never with success. Would be extremely interested in knowing if anybody else can report that they have successfully haggled a discount at HomePro.

another self proclaimed Thai speaker, who can't accomplish ordinary tasks.  I simply stated the price at Lazada, and asked what their best price was...

[smotherb]

3 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

Always. Thai friend was with her husband a trader said "Hey lady help me get some ngun off this Kwai"

Thai friend "That buffalo is my HUSBAND and it's my money too!"

You are fortunate. That attitude is common among bar staff, vendors, drivers, etc.; those who often interact with farangs with local women. They assume the girl is working the farang too. Unfortunately, I have seen wives who will go along with it--I guess they are still working their husbands too, like long-term customers.

[Gecko123]

1 minute ago, moontang said:

another self proclaimed Thai speaker, who can't accomplish ordinary tasks.  I simply stated the price at Lazada, and asked what their best price was...

Let's just wait and see how many other people confirm your outsized claims, kind sir.

[smotherb]

8 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

I'm calling BS on this claim. Was there maybe a 10% reduction available to anyone which you weren't aware of and they brought it to your attention? Are you claiming that they cut the price especially for you because you haggled??? I don't even think their computer system has the capacity to do impromptu discounts. Mark me down in the extremely dubious column. I speak Thai well, have shopped there a lot, and tried innumberable times to wheedle discounts on major purchases, never with success. Would be extremely interested in knowing if anybody else can report that they have successfully haggled a discount at HomePro.

Well, one long-legged cashier cutie  . . . .

[HHTel]

9 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

I'm calling BS on this claim. Was there maybe a 10% reduction available to anyone which you weren't aware of and they brought it to your attention? Are you claiming that they cut the price especially for you because you haggled??? I don't even think their computer system has the capacity to do impromptu discounts. Mark me down in the extremely dubious column. I speak Thai well, have shopped there a lot, and tried innumberable times to wheedle discounts on major purchases, never with success. Would be extremely interested in knowing if anybody else can report that they have successfully haggled a discount at HomePro.

Only a month ago I negotiated a deal with Homepro resulting in an 8k reduction on the listed price.

[Elkski]

Haggeling is an art.  The op and those posting here paying asking price or more are why the price isn't marked.  Your either stupid or have an extra zero or two in your bankbook.  I don't think it's possible to be to rude.  Each person has a style . I think op should learn from his friend.   I think people underestimate how much stall vendors can make in a day. Even coffee cart vendors  You spend 3 minutes at a stall.  They work 300 minutes in a day.   

[smotherb]

4 hours ago, BTB1977 said:

Scotland is not a english speaking country.  I have friends from there and I only understand maybe one word in every sentance. And many are very cheap. That is a fact. 

Apparently, you are not from an English speaking country either.

[smotherb]

3 hours ago, possum1931 said:

There is nothing wrong with a brothel in Pattaya or anyone else, and no one has the right to be nasty about them, I do not use them personally as I do not have to, but as long as no one is getting hurt and no underage sex is involved, what people do with their bodies is up to them.

In all fairness, no one has to use a brothel; most people who do use them because they want to have sex and its a sure thing. However, there are some who simply do not like pay-for-play sex and the environment into which it often evolves. I have lived in and visited sexpat towns all over SEA and I can understand why some people would not want to live in one or take their families to visit one. I purposely chose a non-sexpat town for my retirement--because of the added cost and undesirable characters such a town acquires rather than some puritanical reason. However, I still visit the sex traps because I have friends there and that is where most of the good bars and Western restaurants exist. 

[NoshowJones]

7 minutes ago, smotherb said:

In all fairness, no one has to use a brothel; most people who do use them because they want to have sex and its a sure thing. However, there are some who simply do not like pay-for-play sex and the environment into which it often evolves. I have lived in and visited sexpat towns all over SEA and I can understand why some people would not want to live in one or take their families to visit one. I purposely chose a non-sexpat town for my retirement--because of the added cost and undesirable characters such a town acquires rather than some puritanical reason. However, I still visit the sex traps because I have friends there and that is where most of the good bars and Western restaurants exist. 

Yes, I can certainly understand where you are coming from.

[Fairynuff]

7 hours ago, WhiteTrash said:

I always give them the price they ask for, sometimes a bit extra, they need it more than me

Wanna buy my condo?

[BritManToo]

18 minutes ago, smotherb said:

there are some who simply do not like pay-for-play sex and the environment into which it often evolves.

Doesn't matter, we're all fishing from the same pool, whether you know it or not.

[smotherb]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Doesn't matter, we're all fishing from the same pool, whether you know it or not.

Not sure what you mean. So, I guess I do not know that. I do not think we all have to use the same pool in which the pay-for-play ladies swim.

[BritManToo]

8 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Not sure what you mean. So, I guess I do not know that. I do not think we all have to use the same pool in which the pay-for-play ladies swim.

What I mean is the number of guys I've met claiming "my wife is a respectable educated woman", with a wife that I had previously paid for sex in CM has entered double figures recently. Not that I'd ever tell them, shhhhhhhhh.

Edited July 31, 2018 by BritManToo

[Fairynuff]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

I'm calling BS on this claim. Was there maybe a 10% reduction available to anyone which you weren't aware of and they brought it to your attention? Are you claiming that they cut the price especially for you because you haggled??? I don't even think their computer system has the capacity to do impromptu discounts. Mark me down in the extremely dubious column. I speak Thai well, have shopped there a lot, and tried innumberable times to wheedle discounts on major purchases, never with success. Would be extremely interested in knowing if anybody else can report that they have successfully haggled a discount at HomePro.

I’ve bought quite a few TVs  from HomePro mostly. There are often extra discounts not even advertised that the sales guys will offer if they see you’re genuine. I can’t remember ever actually haggling there.

[Fairynuff]

59 minutes ago, HHTel said:

Only a month ago I negotiated a deal with Homepro resulting in an 8k reduction on the listed price.

That’s a huge discount off a rice cooker..... well done