8 Tips Help You to Bargain When Shopping In China

Except for some large supermarkets and shopping malls, most stores in China accept bargaining. When receiving tourists, especially foreign tourists who do not understand Chinese, sellers are accustomed to raising the price of goods to gain more profits. If you don't want your wallet to be emptied by those shrewd "Chinese merchants", try to bargain when shopping is a good option.

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Here is how you can try to learn bargain

Step 1: Visit different stores and markets, compare the prices and quality of the goods, and get a reasonable price for what you want.

Step 2: Be patient and polite (especially those "stubborn" sellers)

Step 3: Practice

The following are eight tips for you to bargin while shopping in China

1. Significantly lower the asking price.

Generally speaking, try to reduce the price to half of the asking price. Even if most sellers cannot agree to your "low price", you will get a chance for further negotiation.

2. Never express how much you like what you want to buy

The best way is to pretend to be hanging out.

3. Try to find defects in the product

Sellers will describe all products as "perfect", "without flaws", and "the best". But everything has flaws. Even if you only find one defect in the product you want, the seller may lower the price.

4. Spend more time choosing and comparing products.

5. Pretend to walk away.

If the asking price exceeds your budget, try to pretend to go away. The shopkeeper will usually call you back, lower the price or accept the price you offer.

6. Don't make yourself look rich

Try to wear casual clothes and avoid wearing expensive jewelry.

7. Learn to speak some Chinese

Speaking some Chinese to the shopkeepers will make them think you are an "experienced foreigner" and won't ask for a high price since “you know it”, like

“Hello” = "ni hao"

"How much?" = "duo shao qian?"

"Can it be cheaper?" = "ke yi pian yi dian ma?"

8. Pretend that you have bought the same product before.

Tell the store owner how much you spent to buy the same product before, and try to ask him/her to sell it to you at the same price.