Travel China – Shopping and Bargaining Tips

It is not overly stated that bargaining is part of China shopping culture. To learn some bargaining tricks will save you a significant amount of money if you plan to shop a lot during your China travel. Very often I come across with somebody telling me that they are just back from a China trip and what wonderful souvenirs they got at amazingly low prices. The truth is, as soon as they show me the amazingly low prices items, I know they very much overpaid.

If you look obviously a foreigner and sound obviously a foreigner, the chance of getting a good bargain is very low. You can identify your target and then let a local guide buying for you. Stay away from the deal to pretend that the bargaining has nothing to do with you.

Bargaining is normally acceptable in most of the shops, especially the tourist place. Sometimes, bargaining is more enjoyable than the purchase itself.

If you are new to bargaining and If you want to practice your bargaining skills when you are in China, you sure have nothing to lose. Follow tips below.

Prior Preparation
When you prepare to buy an article, you'd better check the price in different shops to get a general idea about the price.

Bargaining Practice
Now remember to relax and enjoy the process, but keep some skills in mind:
-Offer half of the asking price and work from there
-Try to find some flaws on the article as a excuse of depreciation
-Be stubborn and persistent when bargaining, but keep smiling
-Walk away if you find the price unacceptable, you can always come back later.
-If the shop person detains you, it may mean he is close to accepting your offer, and with a little more discussion will accept.
-Once the shopkeeper accepts your price, do not try to beat him down again since it would be unfair. After all, the shopkeeper has agreed to the price you have proposed.

End Bargain
It is really enjoyable to buy at a price you are satisfied with, but make sure that the article you take is the one you want since there are some dishonest shop keepers who will replace the purchased products with shoddy ones.