Bargaining: Chinese Style

Everyone loves a bargain. No one, it seems, drives a bargain like the Chinese. Their bargaining is insane. In many countries, most bargaining starts out with the seller and the buyer in the same general price bracket. It’s just a matter of each person adjusting a little to come to an agreement. For example, the seller says "$100” and you counteroffer “$80.” Then, the two of you meet at $90. Here, this is not the case. In China, the seller says “¥100” and you counteroffer with something like “¥5.” Then, the two of you meet around ¥30.

In addition to bargaining starting at radically different prices, customers here drastically change their personalities to bargain. When I went to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, my sunglasses broke. So, I went to a little stall to buy a new pair. A co-worker’s Chinese wife kindly offered to come with me to bargain. For the entire two hour car ride, she had been a polite, slightly shy lady. Well, when she started bargaining, her entire demeanor changed. Gone was her shy and reserved nature. Out came her inner demonic, haggler. This woman (I forgot her name…) told me to pick out the pair I wanted. Once that happened, she took them from me and shoved them into the clerk’s face and asked how much. When the clerk answered ¥45, she laughed sarcastically and said something like “Are you kidding? You want ¥45 for this trash?” She then offered ¥10. The seller acted insulted and lowered the price a little. My lady then made derogatory comments about the quality of the sunglasses and raised her offer slightly. After a few more rounds of this, she finally looked at me and whispered, in English, “Don’t smile! Now, I got her down to ¥25. I think this is a good price. Are you willing to take it?” When I said yes, she told the seller something like “Ok, we’ll take it but, we are still paying far too much.”

From what I've observed, when bargaining in China, it’s important to remember a few things:

1. Never seem excited. This will raise the starting price.

2. Always be prepared to walk away and not buy anything. Remember, it’s a big country. Someone else will be selling the same thing later.

3. Don’t name the first price. Wait for the seller to name a price and then counteroffer.

4. Offer something like 10% of the initial price.

5. Look for the item’s flaws to help your bargaining position.

6. Always have the seller show you the price on a calculator. This way, there will be no language barrier and everyone is sure of the amount.

If you follow these tips, you will be ready to bargain like the Chinese.

You'll be as happy as Scrooge McDuck when you score a bargain.