One of my more embarrassing moments as a student of Chinese came not here in China but back in Maine in the fall of 1998, when I returned from a year in Beijing to the University of Maine at Farmington along with a teacher from the Chinese department of Beijing University of Technology. As I’d known this professor prior to her year as a visiting scholar, I’d taken it upon myself to act as her guide, driver, and concierge while in the US, at least when I had the time and wasn’t otherwise involved in my studies. It was a good arrangement for us both, as I was able to keep my Chinese skills up to snuff and she was able to get out and do some shopping in a country where car ownership is pretty much essential. I was unprepared, however, for just how much of her Chinese heritage she’d brought with her. I had dropped of Wang laoshi in a box clothing store while I went to do some groceries, returning 10 or 15 minutes later. To my everlasting horror, when I walked up to her, I found her engrossed in a conversation with the clerk, not talking about sizes or fits or styles; no, she was bargaining!

Bargaining in China is one of those skills that’s essential for survival here. The Chinese bargain at vegetable stands, grocery stores, restaurants… pretty much everywhere. In some places, bargaining isn’t just recommended, it’s expected. Places sometimes have signs in English reading “No Bargaining! All Prices are Final!” although such signs are more often than not simply another tactic at getting the highest possible price. And while the China of 1998 certainly is much different from the China of 2008, bargaining is still very much part of the accepted practice and being lihai at bargaining is a skill which will never let you down. Let’s take a look at a couple different examples.

Of the commercial enterprises that somehow manage to make the tourist’s guide to Beijing, at the top of the list are Silk Street (which used to be an actual street near the American embassy but is now in a building) and the hongqiao pearl market. With the disproportionate number of tourists who visit these places, looking for knockoff goods from Prada purses to iPods, come disproportionate prices. What goes through the storekeepers mind the moment they lay eyes on you is what will determine the opening price on that knockoff Columbia jacket you’ve got your eyes on. If you are a local, you’ll get their cheapest opening offer. If you’re a Chinese but from another part of China (speak with an accent), you’ll get their second lowest offer. If you’re a foreigner with semi-fluent to fluent Chinese who has obviously lived or spent a lot of time in China (and consequently should know about what these things ought to cost), you’ll get their third lowest opening price. Lastly, if you are a bumbling foreigner who uses lots of hand signs and the calculator (omnipresent) to bargain, you’re going to get the hose, as whatever is being offered will already be offered at a price somewhat cheaper than you can have it – the authentic deal, keep in mind – in the U.S. It’s just the way it is. Keeping a few things in mind, however, will keep you from getting soaked.

First, if you are the Olympic tourist straight off the plane and negotiate in broken English because it sounds more Chinese-y, and you’re shopping at the Silk Market, your opening price is going to be about 8 – 10 times more than the shopkeeper would be willing to accept. This, actually, can even pertain to standard foreigners even if they speak Chinese. The Silk Market just operates this way.

For example:

Ryan: How much for this jacket?

Shopkeeper: This jacket? It’s of the highest quality, a really nice jacket.

Ryan: Yes, but how much?

Shopkeeper: If you want it, because you speak such amazing Chinese, I’m going to give it to you for a very low price. It’s 1200 RMB.

Ryan, laughing: You must be joking. I’ll give you 50 RMB.

Shopkeeper: You are trying to insult me? I could never accept such a price. But since you are such an old hand at this, I will let you take it for 700RMB.

Ryan: I like the jacket, and I like you, but I could not live with myself if I gave more than 100 RMB for this jacket. It’s obviously a fake.

Shopkeeper: Fake? No, it’s the real thing. Never mind that the tag says Ralph Lauren and the logo is North Face. But listen, you know about these clothes, so for you, I’m going to give you the special price of 450 RMB.

Ryan: No, no, no. I could not possibly go higher than 150 RMB, and only then because you are such a friendly person.

This could go on and on until a price is reached, usually about 75% off the original starting price. And granted, this is an extreme example as it is using xiushui and hongqiao, two of the most overpriced haggle-marts in Beijing, home to some of the more aggressive sales tactics seen outside of timeshare sales. It sounds ridiculous in English, but it is all part of the game, and in Chinese can even be fun. For the unaccustomed Westerner, it just takes some time to get used to, especially when trying to shave a few jiao off the price of market tomatoes. In the end, you will inevitably come away thinking that you could have gotten it down a little bit. A rule of thumb is that if the shopkeeper seems somewhat irritated with you after arriving at a price the both of you could accept, then you got a good deal. And even if you didn’t, remember, the price agreed to was acceptable to the both of you, even if both consumer and seller seem a little peeved.

Returning to Wang laoshi in the clothing store back in Maine, as I stood there completely mortified watching the manager come out from the back office to undoubtedly explain the way things operated here in the United States, I began to contemplate intervention. You could imagine my shock when instead of booting the both of us from the premises with a command to never return, the manager actually agreed to knocking a few dollars off the prices printed on the price tag there in the store. While I don’t think I could bring myself to going bargain hunting in a U.S. department store, my already high respect for Chinese fortitude and bargaining skills shot up considerably.

Here’s an interesting article for some further reading on what negotiating in China is all about.
http://www.jazzviolin.com/china/2007/09/29/buying-things-how-to-negotiate-bargaining-in-china/

Useful Words and Phrases:

厉害 This is one of those words that can be interpreted in many different ways and really has no direct translation into English except in the context you’re working with. Here’s the definition direct from www.nciku.com, one of the better Chinese/English/Chinese dictionaries on the Net.
1. (of a wild animal or of one’s temper , words , etc .) fierce ; terrible
2. (of a person ) strict ; stern ; harsh
3. (of illness , heat , cold , etc .) intense ; severe ; terrible
4. heavily

秀水市场 Silk Street Market
红桥市场 The Pearl Market
太贵了! It’s too expensive!
这是假的 This is fake
给我便宜一点儿 Can you make it any cheaper?
买不买？ Will you buy it?