Vietnam TravelThe Travel TipsBartering and Bargaining

Bartering and Bargaining

Most people from developed counties find these issues very difficult. There are no set rules, but the following information and advice may be helpful.

The prices for goods in supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, hotels, official transport, basic commodity shops and so on, are usually fixed. Those for fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers from street sellers, motorcycle taxis ('xe oms'), bicycle taxis ('cyclos'), souvenirs, clothes (especially in tourist areas), and goods bought from peddlers are usually variable. To barter effectively, laughter and good humour is an essential prerequisite. When an initial price is quoted, throw up your hands in exaggerated horror and offer between a third and a half. You can then negotiate towards a fair price. Walking away will usually determine whether the last offer really is the last. Please remember that many of the people you deal with will be poor, so driving them down to an unreasonably low price is unfair. On the other hand, paying an unrealistically high price will encourage the recipient to regard foreigners as easy targets and inflate prices even further. Postcards from postcard sellers are almost invariably overpriced - buy yours from a shop!

Taxi fares are nearly always metered, (although the accuracy is sometimes questionable), but it pays to negotiate a fixed price for long journeys. For xe oms and cyclos, always agree a price in advance. If you want one of the many young boys who tour the streets with a box of brushes and polish to clean your shoes, fix the price in advance, make sure that they stay within eyesight and don't pay for any 'repairs' without agreeing the cost beforehand.

You may come across some remnants of an earlier dual-pricing system that is gradually being phased out. If so, it isn't local people trying to make a fast buck, but simply an official recognition of the considerable income gap between you and the average Vietnamese citizen.

Here are the perfect bargaining experiences from Hitchhiking Vietnam:

WHEN you bargain

Almost anytime. You can bargain for rooms, bus fare, cyclo fare, motorcycle rental, anything you buy on the street or in the market, guides and tours... In general you don't bargain in a restaurant if the price is listed on the menu. A lot of tourist shops also have price tags but it is often still acceptable to make an offer. If you don't negotiate a price before the service is rendered (i.e., a meal or a cyclo ride) then you are generally responsible for paying whatever is asked.

WHY you bargain

You bargain to develop social relationships and to have fun. Saving yourself some money should be a secondary consideration.

HOW you bargain

Rule 1: SMILE. It's like the monster ride at the amusement park. If you're not having fun, get off.

Rule 2: Don't bargain with the first person who approaches you (i.e., when looking for a taxi at the airport.) In general the further you go from the center of action, the cheaper the price.

Rule 3: Don't be afraid to use walking away as a bargaining tool. You can always come back.

Rule 4: Don't let pride get in the way of coming back (or Rule #3 is useless).

Rule 5: If you really want something and the price isn't coming down, give in gracefully. (It's that pride thing again.)

Rule 6: Don't always assume you're getting ripped off just because you're in a third-world country. Sometimes the price they're asking is the real one.

Rule 7: Bargaining is a time/money tradeoff. If you're in a hurry, be prepared to pay for it.

Rule 8: Ask (Vietnamese) fellow shoppers the price of an item before you begin bargaining.

Rule 9: Always carry small bills. Otherwise all that work is likely to be for nothing.

Rule 10: Always bargain in native currency. Conventional wisdom says anyone who has dollars can afford to spend them.

Rule 11: If possible, keep going back to the same person until you've gotten to know him/her. Most third world countries have a name for this kind of relationship. The deal is that you offer your business on a regular basis and the seller responds by saving you their best tomatoes (fattest chickens, etc.).

Caveat to Rule #11 Trust but verify.

Rule 12: No matter what your parents told you, when you're bargaining it's perfectly okay to lie.

You can read whole story here.

To give you an idea of where to start, we suggest the following prices:

Transport:

Xe Om (motorbilke taxi): VND 3,000/km.

Public bus: VND 3,000/ride.

Grooming:

Shoeshine: VND 3,000/pair

Hairwash: VND 10,000

Haircut on the side of the street: VND 6,000-10,000.

Street-side laundry: VND 3,000/item.

Food:

Pho (breef noodle soup): VND 6,000-10,000.

Plain baguette: VND 1,000/loaf

Bananas: VND 500/each.

Raingear:

Plastic rain poncho: VND3,000 (thin) / VND 20,000 (thick).