Although this may seem obvious, in China buy almost nothing without to negotiate beforehand.
Categories
You must to negotiate :
- For clothing and accessories.
- For all that is trinket, souvenir ...
- For computer hardware, in large markets.
- And basically for anything that is not priced, like furniture for example.
You can to negotiate :
- For food in the markets
- In supermarkets with relatively independent shops.
- Wherever you are a regular and noticed customer.
You should avoid to negotiate:
- When prices are displayed.
- In brand name stores.
Negotiation vocabulary
To negotiate properly and efficiently, you will need to know your numbers, how to combine them, understand them and show them with your hands. If you refuse the calculator that will often be handed to you, that will be a good point.
| 零; O | ling | 0 | ling | As in France, hand making a well | |
| 一 | yi | 1 | i | raised index finger |  |
| 二 | er | 2 | "Are" English | Index and middle fingers raised |  |
| 三 | san | 3 | san | index and thumb joined three other extended fingers |  |
| 四 | if | 4 | seu | outstretched fingers folded thumb |  |
| 五 | wu | 5 | wou | five outstretched fingers |  |
| 六 | liu | 6 | liou | thumb and little finger tense others folded |  |
| 七 | qi | 7 | tchi | thumb, index and middle fingers stretched and tucked together, others bent |  |
| 八 | ba | 8 | pa | index and thumb extended, others bent. "2" in France |  |
| 九 | jiu | 9 | tjio | Index and thumb curved, like zero but without touching. |  |
| 十 | shi | 10 | che | Cross your two index fingers outstretched, the other fingers folded |  |
| 百 | bay | 100 | yawns | We do not say "bay" alone, see then. | |
| 千 | qian | 1 000 | chian | ||
| 万 | wan | 10 000 | wouan | ||
| 一百 | yi bai | 100 | |||
| 一百 零 一 | yi bai ling yi | 101 | |||
| 一百 一 十 | yi bai yi shi | 110 | |||
| Etc. | |||||
How much does it cost ? : Duo shao qian? / Dou-oh cha-oh tchienne
How much do you say? : Ni shuo. / no cabbage-oh
Too expensive : Tai gui le! / Waist up
Give me less : Gei wo pianyi / Geuille wouo piani
I am not american : Bu shi meiguoren / Pou che meille gou-o jen
I am French : Wo shi faguoren / Wouo che fa gou-o jen
I am a student : Wo shi xuesheng / Wouo che chué cheungue
'You are my friend : Ni shi wode pengyou / Ni che wouo dé peung yo
This may sound like a childish vocabulary to you, but it works. Sorry for the Americans, but they are recognized as rich and never negotiating, and knowing how to say that you are French (or any other country for that matter) is a good point. If you put in a few short sentences like that, you will end up favoring the seller which always helps.
How to negotiate
Feeling like you will see when to negotiate as you go. However, not everything is traded the same, and if you make a mistake in your entry, the seller may turn upside down and you will never get what you want. Many parameters come into play, in particular you will not negotiate in the same way depending on the product.
Behaviour
- Cast out your finest theatrical grumpy grumpy role, always keeping a smile ready for any little joke or visual play from your salesperson. Discussing quality, tracking down even small flaws, leaving and then coming back, constantly changing negotiating objects to better get back to what you want next, are classics of the genre but still effective.
- Negotiating with the most senior person, hierarchy is essential.
- Aiming for late hours, being the last customer leads to impressive discounts.
- Raise your bid very slowly to gauge your seller. Study his way of lowering the price, guess the final compromise.
- If you have a limit, don't go over it.
- Often you will be in large spaces with stalls as far as the eye can see, warm up on a few stands before getting down to business. Usually you will find the same products at many merchants. If, on the other hand, you “crack” in the first stands, the rumor will go faster than you and it will be hard to catch up with you afterwards. Give up as a winner when the price doesn't come down, it will make competitors see you as a difficult buyer.
- Remember that the seller may cry and justify himself in any way possible, he will not sell at a loss, far from it ... Only he too plays his role !!!
Clothing, accessories, trinket, souvenir
Here you can indulge yourself and go all out, saying anything is okay. If we laugh in your face, laugh also criticizing the quality, everything is good to earn a little, and the salespeople play the game. At worst, go on to the next one.
Hardware
More sensitive, be aware of practical prices on the internet and in other stores, for two reasons:
- If you advertise a price that is too low, the store is now to be forgotten, the seller will not deal with you.
- Be sure to get a real deal
Also check the quality, it is possible to find fakes everywhere, even in shops that have everything official ...
Finally, if you are a little good at mini conjuring tricks, do not hesitate, the Chinese loves to play and is very curious, he will sometimes (rarely however!) Hesitate to sell you the object at its real price. comes back, or even to give it to you for a low-value object, all in a good laugh, if only to know your "thing" and use it in turn with his friends, it works I l 've often used and moreover we have a good time !, laughter is universal!
Food in the markets
Here you negotiate almost directly with the producer. The prices may seem low to you, but make sure you pay like everyone else. Play for quality, and watch the booth to see how much people are paying. The level of Chinese for this negotiation is higher. Much more tactical also because on a price of 5kuai / kilo, you do not have the same margin of error!
Supermarkets with relatively independent shops
Here you will not be able to negotiate much, try it by asking for a slightly lower price ... And at the very last moment specify that you do not want the "fapiao", an invoice that includes a tax. Often you will be able to pay the salesperson directly at a much better price than the first advertised.
