February 2, 2005
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The lovely art of bargaining (and why I hate it)
Very few prices are fixed here in Uzbekistan. This can be a blessing or a curse. It's a curse for people like me who HATE to bargain. Riding a taxi is relatively cheap here but sometimes, I don't want to deal with the hassle, especially if I'm not quite sure where I'm going. I pay 500 soum each way ($.50) from home to work, so I gauge other trips based on that. But the worst feeling is when you pay a taxi driver what you think it should be and then he complains about it. I hate that. I hate it because I feel cheap but at the same time, I'm annoyed that they sometimes try to rip me off, but instead of standing my ground, I usually give in, because I don't like feeling cheap (and do I really need to argue about $.10?)
In places where foreigners or "richer" people tend to shop (grocery stores; the airport), taxi drivers try to rip you off as if it's their obligation. If they approach me as I'm coming out and they quote me a ridiculous price, I AM able to walk away from them, at least and give them a look of "are you kidding me?" It's *fun* when they think you're a tourist and they try to rip you off and then you can bust out with "I LIVE HERE" in Russian (my friend did that once and the guy meekly lowered his price).
My Korean friends are so good at bargaining. They have no shame. If someone quotes them 100 soum ($.10), they have no problem saying 50 soum ($.05). FIGHTING!!!
Comments (8)
does that mean you are good at bargaining only if you have no shame?
I agree that haggling for $0.10 makes you feel pretty lame when you know that the $0.10 means much more to them than you. But after spending some time in Thailand and S.Africa where nothing is fixed, I decided it was the principle of them trying to cheat me that bugged me. That definitely thickened my skin! I think the worst part of bargaining though is you never really know if you got the best deal--you walk away thinking "maybe I should have kept trying!" Overall, I prefer the fixed prices in the States--no brainer! However, for those who like a bit of a challenge, you CAN bargain in major stores. I got the guy at Lowe's to take 15% off my Weber grill in exchange for me taking it off their shelves (it was end of season)--ha!
P.S. I miss the disco lights.
You are not cheap at all, you are expensive.
i hate haggling too. maybe if i knew what the real value ought to be it'd be easier, but there's always the fear of appearing foolish if i try to bargain for something that is either already at a reasonable price or that is lowered just enough that i THINK i'm getting a good deal but the seller is secretly laughing because he is still ripping me off.
you gotta haggle. i mean if they're trying to get the most out of you, shouldn't you try to beat that inflated price down? (as long as you are not ripping the person off but at least to make things fair.) you can do it!
besides, you convinced me that you didn't 'cut the cheese' that one time at the library...
yes, the overall theme of bargaining seems to be: "if you wanna play the game, you gotta have no shame".
you see, you're bargaining already...
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