Bargaining or 谈判 (tán pàn), while not very common-place in western society, is a staple of Chinese shopping. While super markets, malls and mega-shopping stores are becoming more common-place in China, street markets, bazaars, expos and old fashion mom and pop stores are still the places to shop when looking for a discounted price or just a way to pass the time. The reason for this is simple: you spend hours walking around, searching a smorgasbord of miss spelled clothing, and slightly used knick knacks for that thing you just have to have–only to spend 5-10 minutes bargaining over a mere 5 kuai (about 65 cents) before it can be yours. Sure, time is money (时间就是金钱), and that’s why you need to hone your bargain skills.
Most foreigner’s I’ve met in China take a while to come around to bargaining, but usually fall in love with it after their Chinese begins to improve. Some, on the other hand, still absolutely hate it and see it as a waste of time…go figure. To be honest, it’s really dependent upon your personality (个性) and your willingness to endure and stay patient（耐心）。You probably will be yelled at (but fear not that’s the way sales works there), likely you’ll have you arm grabbed or your walkway blocked by a excited sales person，and possibly be insulted or threatened…don’t worry all this means you’re doing well.
When I first started street bargaining, I was exhausted within 20 minutes and completely terrified by the hordes of people fervently trying to get my attention. However, I soon realized that with the right skills, vocabulary and patience, I could get anything I wanted for dirt cheap.
Here’s some tricks I found very helpful in the process:
First, never ever show money or have your wallet out until you’re about to pay. This isn’t just to avoid being pick-pocketed, but also shows that you aren’t that interested and maybe are less wealthy than your foreign looks would entail (Often I would tell them “我是大学生，我真的没有那么多钱 [I don’t have much money because I’m a college student] or the simpler我是穷人 ［I’m poor]. However, be careful with the last one, making sure your tones and pronunciation are correct, as 穷人 （poor person) sounds similar to 凶人 (monster) when a learning foreigner utters it (This I know from experience and led to many jokes and smiles on my first few trips out on the street markets).
Second, always have a fixed price in your head of what you are willing to spend. This helps for the later bargaining process, because odds are you’re willing to spend more than you can get it for. I’ve heard this as ‘the rule of three’ from other foreigners, meaning, a vendor will often sell you the good three (and sometimes up to six) times what a everyday citizen (人民) would pay for it. Usually I ask for a price, laugh upon hearing it and then either pretend to walk away or say “太贵了，不宰我，给我便宜一下” or “That is too expensive, don’t rip me off, give me a cheaper price”. This will usually lead to a bargaining war which may or may not involve the use of calculators. Stick with the rule of three price, pretend to walk away, or tell them “我会看一看别的东西，可能回来” or “I will take a look at other goods and maybe I’ll return”. This is a devastatingly effective trick （厉害）because a) it will instantly show whether or not the vendor was cheating you out of a price and b) it will tell you if other vendors on the street have the same goods for sale.
Third, if possible bring a “bargain buddy” “谈判朋友” to help you tag team the vendors. The trick is to use vendors against each other, often yelling back and forth to one another in Chinese about who’s offering a better price. If a vendor is refusing to give you a fair price, signal your buddy to come over and in Chinese have them tell you the quality seems bad （质量很底）or that someone else down the street gave him a better deal. It’s not fool proof, but it often works and really helps you practice your Chinese. You can also get group discounts when bargaining, so having one or more buddies around gives you more leverage (影响 yǐngxiǎng) if you’re willing to buy in quantity.
(My 谈判朋友 being assaulted by a 服务员 at Yashow Market. She was much more flexible on price cuts after he agreed to let her touch his foreign hair.)
