Haggling in Udon?

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Ian
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Haggling in Udon?

Post by Ian » July 12, 2006, 8:40 pm

I've read in several books that haggling over the price with vendors is common practice in Thailand. I've haggled over a few bits in Bangkok and Ko Samui but never in Udon.

The GF likes clothes shopping (no surprise!), i'm sure the night market vendors and robinson clothes stalls over charge us. However I feel like if i try a bit of bartering this will cause lost of face to her for having a penny pinching "rich" farang boyfriend

There's also the ingredients market we visit most days when I'm in town but they seem pretty fair, or am I just being naive?

So do most people join in this Thai custom or just pay up whatever the GF tells you it costs? (or has she already got your wallet and you watch your money disappear) :lol:



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Post by Bump » July 12, 2006, 9:22 pm

That is really kind of a difficult one to answer, you don't see double pricing here as much as you do in tourist areas yet. Over the years with most everyday things we buy we don't have to haggle we get the Thai price anyway. Others such as the night market for example, you haggle bargaining is built into the price. Even more so for farrangs. Will your girlfriend be embarrassed yep she wants to show off her new found wealth. On the other hand the vendor is just going to think your stupid :oops: So it's one of those up to you's.

Me I would work on the girlfriend first and this is a tough one getting her to understand the real value of your money, trust me she understands her money and will not spend it foolishly. :wink:

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beer monkey
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Post by beer monkey » July 12, 2006, 9:54 pm

If i do go shopping in The night market stalls and The complex stalls, i do barter a bit but you never seem to get more than a few baht off a pair of jeans for instance.
a vcd stall in the market i would haggle if i was buying 3+ vcd's, but again i would'nt expect a lot off. if any. as most things to me are priced reasonably to start with.

food markets i would'nt even mention it .
For me its a bit of fun sometimes ,and other times i just pay the price if its reasonable.or just can't be bothered with the drawn out haggling over a few baht.


Above all its usually the wife thats doing the buying so mainly leave it to her.And what could be better than leaving her to the shopping and you sipping a cold beer some where.
remember the street stalls in bangkok/samui/pattaya are expecting you to haggle and is the way of life there,but the stalls in udon probably work differently.... Happy shopping. :D
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Post by aj » July 13, 2006, 10:12 am

this is an interesting one ,my Thai g/f haggles a lot .expecially if buying clothes or shoes, she never seems to get a lot off but she always tries. Im a born haggler . did it in shops in he uk ,again indifferent results in thailand . Udon I think is cheap anyway so unless buying a lot of one thing dont bother a lot bit in chiang Mai and Hui Hin depending on what I was after could get up to about 60 percent of original price of. I think you have to be good natured about it ,for me its a bit of fun especially when you think the mark up is a bit steep and that there is room for a barter. There are a couple of shops I go to in Udon where it has become the expected thing , I barter , they say no no non sir, I have it anyway and then at end of day they surprise me by giving discount that quite often comes to more than I was battering for anyway. I suppose I should add that in the begginging g/f got ready to run when I started to barter. Now i think its all part of the fun. G/f will now actuley ask shop if they operated double pricing for faring if she suspects they might do.

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Post by lee » July 13, 2006, 10:47 am

The GF likes clothes shopping (no surprise!), i'm sure the night market vendors and robinson clothes stalls over charge us. However I feel like if i try a bit of bartering this will cause lost of face to her for having a penny pinching "rich" farang boyfriend
If the price is displayed then it's not normal to barter, however it

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Re: Haggling in Udon?

Post by AznBigG » July 13, 2006, 3:04 pm

Ian wrote:I've read in several books that haggling over the price with vendors is common practice in Thailand. I've haggled over a few bits in Bangkok and Ko Samui but never in Udon.
Seems like Bangkok and Ko Samui are "tourist" towns, so bartering would be acceptable. However, Udon Thani is not a tourist town. Compared to where I come from from, Udon Thani is very affordable.

I don't think bartering over a few bahts would be to your best interest anyway. Unless you want to hear your name mentioned as you walk away ... :lol: <-roflmao :wink:

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Re: Haggling in Udon?

Post by lee » July 13, 2006, 5:49 pm

AznBigG wrote: Seems like Bangkok and Ko Samui are "tourist" towns, so bartering would be acceptable. However, Udon Thani is not a tourist town. Compared to where I come from from, Udon Thani is very affordable.
That's correct, Udon's not a tourist town but bartering is still common practice here just as it is anywhere else in Thailand. Bartering is part of the fun when shopping at markets anywhere in Thailand, and is expected when they don't list the price.

Have you ever noticed the mobile phone shops in the complex; sometimes they display the price 12, XXX. This is done because they want you to ask the price or give your price and do a little bartering.

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Post by Roy » July 13, 2006, 10:08 pm

The TW will haggle over 1 baht, i say "Go girl" while i spend the 1/60 she save on a lovely ice cold chang :D

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Re: Haggling in Udon?

Post by AznBigG » July 13, 2006, 10:12 pm

lee wrote: Have you ever noticed the mobile phone shops in the complex; sometimes they display the price 12, XXX. This is done because they want you to ask the price or give your price and do a little bartering.
:-k OOps.. gee, I forgot ... when I picked up a new cell phone for my son, we "DID" barter a price. Thanks for reminding me. :wink:

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Post by Alagrl » July 13, 2006, 10:14 pm

I found it to be different between the open markets and the established shops. This really is no different than most other places with open markets, including the U.S. "flea markets."

We haggled on higher priced items. Thanks to already having bought some hand-woven silk lengths from Paul's wife (from her village), I had a better idea on pricing when buying some more silk (also some batik) in Nong Khai -- their opening price to a blonde falang woman was out of sight. They also tried to pass machine-woven silk off as handmade, but anyone who's sewn should be able to spot the difference.

We also bargained at the Buddha Emulate market for several items for my son -- this was amusing, since it was hard to keep a straight face when told an item was 150 years old. Hmmmm, might be, might not be -- the price came down considerably, and none of it was unacceptable pricing in the end -- everyone happy.

My husband's Thai ex-wife is a negotiator like you've never seen. She brings cash each trip to pay for upgrades to her family houses, and she changes it to baht at the gold sellers. They like crisp $100 and $50 bills with the U.S. bank stamp on the band.

Then she goes to the village market and haggles over veggies. Fortunately, we stay on good terms most of the time, so she was quite helpful on my shopping trips. Poor Stephen -- caught between the once and future Mrs. Andersons, both of them spending the cash right out of his wallet!!

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Post by beer monkey » July 13, 2006, 10:15 pm

Roy wrote:The TW will haggle over 1 baht, i say "Go girl" while i spend the 1/60 she save on a lovely ice cold chang :D
Nice one Roy. ,she's happy she's saved a few baht,the shop keepers happy they sold the goods,the bars happy you brought the beer,your happy your the one drinking it. Life is good. Image
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Post by ctm » July 16, 2006, 1:08 am

aj wrote:this is an interesting one ,my Thai g/f haggles a lot .expecially if buying clothes or shoes, she never seems to get a lot off but she always tries. Im a born haggler . did it in shops in he uk ,again indifferent results in thailand . Udon I think is cheap anyway so unless buying a lot of one thing dont bother a lot bit in chiang Mai and Hui Hin depending on what I was after could get up to about 60 percent of original price of. I think you have to be good natured about it ,for me its a bit of fun especially when you think the mark up is a bit steep and that there is room for a barter. There are a couple of shops I go to in Udon where it has become the expected thing , I barter , they say no no non sir, I have it anyway and then at end of day they surprise me by giving discount that quite often comes to more than I was battering for anyway. I suppose I should add that in the begginging g/f got ready to run when I started to barter. Now i think its all part of the fun. G/f will now actuley ask shop if they operated double pricing for faring if she suspects they might do.
My experiences have been similar.

I haggle anywhere it is not a fixed price like Robinson/Tesco/Big-C or eating places.

Just smile, play nice, and ask. It helps to chit chat with them first.

Hell, I got 20% off my medical bill for some tests at the hospital just for asking nicely.

It helps to have a sense of what is a fair price to begin with. Alot of the clothing stalls in Udon have prices on signs like B199 for a pair of jeans. I would expect little or no discount on a single pair at that price.

In tourist heavy places I've found it to be VERY different. For example, I bought a backpack in Hua Hin. Looked in lots of shops. Typical tag prices were maybe B700-900 for name brand copies. I was with the wife and prices would automatically drop to say B550-650. Some haggling and maybe it would go down to B500 - 600. I ended up paying B300 at the last shop for an identical item. I've had similar shopping experiences many times in tourist areas.

I will sometimes haggle on food. I bought some pomelos from a guy last week for B15 each. Yesterday, he wanted B20 each. I reminded him last time they were only B15. He says these are a little bigger than last week but I can have 3 for B50. I said OK. Never hurts to ask.

laphanphon

Post by laphanphon » July 17, 2006, 10:47 am

always best to know your prices before shopping, lol. obviously the stores with priced items, no haggling, but ma and pop shops, maybe 10-20 % more if you know it's overpriced. solicitors, people driving or walking by the house selling wares, haggle hard, unless it's the rare occasion that a realistic price is offerd. recently bought dining table and chairs from pick up driving by, also had two porch benchs in truck. asked how much and 12500 was quoted. i told him i didn't want everything, just the table/chairs. he didn't laugh, thought i was dumb enough to pay 12500 just for table/chairs, so i offered 8000, his attempt to haggle higher failed, and strangely, he said if i pay today, 7800, go figure, sold. only the second time someone agreed to lower price than i offered, hmm, time for new batteries in the calculator.

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Post by Dakoda » July 17, 2006, 1:40 pm

LA wrote: so i offered 8000, his attempt to haggle higher failed, and strangely, he said if i pay today, 7800, go figure
:lol: :lol: You started to high and he felt guilty :!: Bet I got the same (6 chairs) for a total of 6,250 baht, go figure :!: :wink:

laphanphon

Post by laphanphon » July 17, 2006, 4:38 pm

Bet I got the same
did you have to trim the chair legs, so they sit level now, lol. i don't think a plum or a level are used much here.

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Post by Dakoda » July 17, 2006, 6:41 pm

No, I set each one on the tile drive, also the table, hey don't seem to have match books here! Legs all are same length! :D

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Post by rickfarang » July 17, 2006, 9:07 pm

" i don't think a plum or a level are used much here."

Haven't you noticed: The laws of physics are different here!

Often, I am too lazy to haggle, and many times, both here and when I was living in Bangkok, the shop owners would volunteer a discount after the first purchase, as if to say "Ok, you are a regular customer now."

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Post by Bump » July 17, 2006, 9:59 pm

It's funny I used to do wood work as a hobby the hardest thing for me to do was to get the chair legs just perfect. No matter how many times I measured I ended up with a belt sander tinkering and tinkering till I got them right. But in the other hand I wasn't a professional had I been I would have sit up jigs and left no room for error.

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