Phuket

ajgrant63 · #1 01-09-2004, 09:05

Hi guys,
Just curious about bartering in shops. During my last visit I had fun bartering at the shops for clothes and things. I was wondering if bartering is done in other shops in patong...like pharmacies and department stores....
or do I just ask for a good price?
Thanks

stevem · #2 01-09-2004, 09:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajgrant63

I was wondering if bartering is done in other shops in patong...like pharmacies and department stores....or do I just ask for a good price?

No these places are just marked prices

r3aps · #3 01-09-2004, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevem

No these places are just marked prices

i have always managed to haggle prices in pharmacies if i buy in bulk,eg. viagra,valium etc.
steve

stevem · #4 01-09-2004, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by r3aps

i have always managed to haggle prices in pharmacies if i buy in bulk,eg. viagra,valium etc.
steve

Yea bulk purchases would be different. Same as back home you could probably haggle for a bulk discount from just about anywhere.

stevem · #5 01-09-2004, 10:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussiebutterfly

Hiya All,

I heard that when shopping at the market if your a newbie and they scam you they give you different coloured bags so the next seller knows if your easy target.. TRUE OR FALSE?

First I've heard of that one, but then again nothing would surprise me

ashley · #6 01-09-2004, 12:39

That is likely why they always ask you if this is your first time to Thailand.
Best advice is to say this is your 5th or ?? time in Thailand.
When bartering you must always have a smile on your face, do not show that you are upset at their price just joke with them. If you think that their price is ridiculously high that counter back with a crazy low price. This adds some humor to the negotiations.
I have found that their first price is usually at least double what they would actually sell it for. So if they say something is 1000baht I would offer 200-300 first and go from there. Remember paying a few baht extra is not going to hurt your wallet but it certainly will help theirs.

Cheers and happy shopping!

Ashley.

ajgrant63 · #7 01-09-2004, 13:59

I agree Ashely, I think haggling to save 50 bht is an insult. The stuff I buy is very cheap anyway and an extra $1 isn't going to kill me but does mean a bit for them. However, I think the bartering is half the fun as long as you don't take it too seriously. I think if we all started not to barter then as a result all the prices would increase.....

Shagrath · #8 01-09-2004, 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussiebutterfly

Hiya All,

I heard that when shopping at the market if your a newbie and they scam you they give you different coloured bags so the next seller knows if your easy target.. TRUE OR FALSE?

Well, I`ve heard about it, but when I put it to the test on Phuket I couldn`t make any sense of the code. I knew I pretty much paid the "right" price; not too much and not too little, but still ended up with a wide variety of different coloured bags...

Jaws · #9 01-09-2004, 16:31

Yeah I have heard of that coloured bag thing but it was only in Bali. White meant easy target and Black meant hard bargainer if I remember right . It was along time ago before I found LOS.