Downtown there is a stretch of stands that sell cheap clothes and knock off brand names (Begle Boy, Abidas, DKMY). It is called Fashion Street, and is long enough to be on my map of Bombay. There are hundreds of stalls lining the street here. And I really do mean hundreds. I bought a shirt there once. When I went in, the guy selling said 350. I don’t know how to bargain, but I knew that price was way too high. So I stood looking sad at how expensive the shirt was for a minute and said “Ok, thanks anyway.” and started slowly turning away. The guy stopped me, No, no, wait. What do you think you should pay? Sad silence. (Because I would say too much, and then I would be stuck paying that. That’s how they trick you.) I just stood regretfully looking at a few of the shirts, poking them and sighing, frowning and not making eye contact, until he said 150. Then I said ok. I figured 150 was within reason. I asked the women at the office what I should have paid, they said 100. But I didn’t feel too bad about that, my self respect can handle a 50% mark up. Just not a 250% mark up.
I wasn’t sure going in what a good price was for the shirt; a mistake I try not to make too often. I usually ask around for prices before trying to buy something at a stall. I like to walk up knowing what I should pay. At a stall near my house, a guy told me the price for some shoes was 50 rupees. That sounded about right, but most people tell me over double what the price actually is. I couldn’t believe that he really told me the real price, but I also couldn’t believe that he exaggerated the price that much and that they were actually supposed to be 20 rupees. So I polled my students. Turns out 50 was fair. It was weird- the guy actually quoted me the real price. He must have seen me walking by over the months and knew I lived around there and therefore probably had access to information from real Indians. Or he was super nice, or honest, in which case I am glad I found him before he went of business.
In one of my early forays into the stalls I bought a couple of purses. One guy said 500 for a purse, which I just found insulting so I didn’t bother to bargain with him. Down the street a woman quoted me 250 for the same purse and 150 for another. I said 300 for both. She agreed immediately, so I knew I had gone too high. Probably should have been 50 each. So I guess you could look at it this way, I paid 50 for each purse, plus 200 rupees for the lesson in bargaining. She was funny too- as I was sifting through the purses, she kept telling me that they were made my local artisans. I was like, oh, uh huh, wow. These must be some really busy “local artisans” because these purses are everywhere. So, local. . . as in made by an Indian factory worker? She must have been asked about the local artisan thing by some white lady so she adopted it into her patter. It was funny.
I went to Aurangabad for a few days to check out some sights there. At one of the sights this shopkeeper was really persistent, followed me up to the touristy stuff and kept telling me how great his stuff was and how nice he is and how he’s going to leave me alone, not like all the other shopkeepers, so I should come to his shop- not to buy, just looking just looking. I kept telling him he should go work one someone else because I wasn’t going to buy anything. I think he had a few people he was following anyway though- I saw him tagging along with a few women, (as I snuck around behind them to escape) trying to get them to buy a stone elephant for 800 rupees. The next day I saw that same elephant for sale in a shop for 50 rupees. Quite a markup.
I wasn’t sure going in what a good price was for the shirt; a mistake I try not to make too often. I usually ask around for prices before trying to buy something at a stall. I like to walk up knowing what I should pay. At a stall near my house, a guy told me the price for some shoes was 50 rupees. That sounded about right, but most people tell me over double what the price actually is. I couldn’t believe that he really told me the real price, but I also couldn’t believe that he exaggerated the price that much and that they were actually supposed to be 20 rupees. So I polled my students. Turns out 50 was fair. It was weird- the guy actually quoted me the real price. He must have seen me walking by over the months and knew I lived around there and therefore probably had access to information from real Indians. Or he was super nice, or honest, in which case I am glad I found him before he went of business.
In one of my early forays into the stalls I bought a couple of purses. One guy said 500 for a purse, which I just found insulting so I didn’t bother to bargain with him. Down the street a woman quoted me 250 for the same purse and 150 for another. I said 300 for both. She agreed immediately, so I knew I had gone too high. Probably should have been 50 each. So I guess you could look at it this way, I paid 50 for each purse, plus 200 rupees for the lesson in bargaining. She was funny too- as I was sifting through the purses, she kept telling me that they were made my local artisans. I was like, oh, uh huh, wow. These must be some really busy “local artisans” because these purses are everywhere. So, local. . . as in made by an Indian factory worker? She must have been asked about the local artisan thing by some white lady so she adopted it into her patter. It was funny.
I went to Aurangabad for a few days to check out some sights there. At one of the sights this shopkeeper was really persistent, followed me up to the touristy stuff and kept telling me how great his stuff was and how nice he is and how he’s going to leave me alone, not like all the other shopkeepers, so I should come to his shop- not to buy, just looking just looking. I kept telling him he should go work one someone else because I wasn’t going to buy anything. I think he had a few people he was following anyway though- I saw him tagging along with a few women, (as I snuck around behind them to escape) trying to get them to buy a stone elephant for 800 rupees. The next day I saw that same elephant for sale in a shop for 50 rupees. Quite a markup.
4 comments:
Love your posts. I was delighted to find this new one.
How come those guys aren't wearing their own t-shirts? What are the poles for? I hope you bought me the orange one with all the words on it! Mom
You probably can't get good at bargaining unless you have lived with very little money. Being American you (by definition) have always had a lot of money. People with bunches of money don't even bother to bargain and the merchants don't expect it (a la our local malls). I'm sure it's a little strange when some Indians come over here and realize there is no art to shopping other than to drive from store to store comparing prices. No skill involved, just a lot of driving. In fact, most Americans are just out buying crap they really don't need anyway. I bet in most of the places you've been shopping in Mumbai you're bargaining with the owner and they weren't going home to a mansion at night. Getting an extra 100 rs makes a difference to them.
The way I get around the feeling of being taken advantage of is to just assume I'm always going to be paying retail plus 10%. That way I never have to worry about whether or not I'm getting a great deal. It is interesting how the price paid can be as important to the feeling of the shopping experience as the actual aquisition of the material goods.
We are interesting creatures.
p.
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