Bangkok Bargaining/Haggling Tips

I have attempted some techniques for bargaining in Bangkok. They unfortunately work differently depending on the vendor. My need for bargaining is twofold. It's both a challenge to get a professional merchant to lower his price, and also I'm not that rich :)

The strategy which I found worked better than anyone else is to talk to the vendor for a long time. Ask them many questions, get them to show you lots of items (colors/designs if it's for clothes). Try to use up lots of their time by asking questions such as if the item was made in Thailand or China etc. In short try to make up ways to use up a lot of their time. A vendor who has invested time in a customer will be reluctant to just let them walk away since that would be a waste of time. I found that this strategy works better than most. i.e. if they don't agree to lower the price then I pretend to walk away.

The truth is that as a customer you'll definitely find the same item a few stalls/shops down the road where you can try again whereas the vendor will have wasted their time so you have nothing to lose by walking away.

Other things to watch out for:

• Don't show enthusiasm for the item
• Tell them that the other shop down the road was cheaper (even if it wasn't)
• Try to engage in witty conversation (i.e. The employee at a shop was playing with an iPad. So I went "You have an iPad? Damn I don't have enough money to buy an ipad!!... " etc.

Enjoy the fine art of bargaining and try to hone your skills.