Travelling recently trough the north of thailand with my girlfriend, we were browsing around the bazars and the multiple street stands around Chiang Mai.
I saw as normally the travelers bargaining to death everywhere, tour travelers, independant ones, alternative ones, main-stream backpackers, etc. I had later a look at the"Shopping section" of my Lonely planet and I found some phrases like:
Buy with the non-profit even when they have big prices because a higuer percent of your money goes straight to the tribe artisans, but in many other paragraphs full of phrases like "bargain hard", "bargain patiently but mercilessly". And I understood that in part the tourist is uninformed and in the other part the guide books promote unfair attitudes.
Backpackers tourist seems to be a funny kind economizing on food, accomodation, bargaining and saving money like if they win their money in the local currency and really pushing the local people down when shopping, just to later on the same night, go and drink at least a couple of beers that will be at least the equivalent of (for example in thailand) 4-8 meals each beer.
Other kind of tourist spend plenty of money in everything during shorter stays but funnily enough they are as hard and as undiscerning as the other ones when buying from local artisans.
I'm not promoting here spending money and overpaying for products and services just because they are cheaper than in your country -like many americans use to do-, you have to spend according to the local economy because otherwise you also damage the country.
So try to be fair and pay enough for the artisan to survive, so how much is fair to pay or to bargain? How to do it or know it?
Well as always some logic will guide you trough, according to the place you are buying and who is selling. But here are some recommendations.
1) Try to figure out the aproximate price of the products you are buying, by asking in at least a couple of places.
2) Don't start bargaining if you don't plan to buy, that just make it harder.
3) If you already know the average price or have an idea of how much you want to pay -think of a fair price, not a cheap one, anyway for you will be cheap- then make an offer.
Remember there is no rule of thumb like some people claim, 50% of the price is by no means fair it can still be too much or too little.
4) Consider who you are shopping from, i.e.
- Tribe or ethnic local people who make the products by themselves from a real tradition and not as a tourist service
- Merchants who buy the products from the original producers.
- Goverment or private organizations with "non profit" programs
Funnily enough people don't seem to care about the last one being more expensive, and its supposed the quality of the handcrafts are better, I personally find out that most of the time, they lack proper management, have ambitious facilities and the prices are really out of the market without any special benefit in the products, also weirdly enough I have never find any province, tribe or person that seems to benefit for real from this ONG organizations, for sure someone does but I just have never found them and I live in a country where they should be easy to find.
Merchants are your target if you like bargaining, they understand very well cost and profit, they have an exact cost, and they didn't loose any time or effort on the goods you want to get, they will not sell you to be able to eat at loss and will very well do everything in their hands to get a good profit. This doesn't mean of course that they are always abusive, but most of the time, they will start with very high prices on every item, industrial or hand made. However don't forget! be polite! and make reasonable offers.
Finally the last group the artisans.. Here for the purpose of this blogg I would divide them in 3:
1) Real ethnic people with traditions and art
2) Real ethnic or local people that learn handcrafts to make a living
3) Settlements of "alternative" people trying to get some money not to have to get a real job.
Out of this 3, the first group is normally the most affected and the one that has the worse living conditions.
I had witness a tourist offering a Mayan woman the 10th part of the price she was asking for, something like a dolar. This is offensive! This people many times have to sell even cheaper than the cost of making if urgently needing money, and the problem is.. they are always urgently needing money, the price a tourist pay for handcrafts will never pay even half of the real value of an item, even if payed expensive. Many items like baskets, hamocks, textiles, hats, wood carvings, etc.. will take up to one month to make, even the most simple ones.
So in the wave of being a good traveler be fair with this people, if you pay what they ask even if they ask more than what's normal, you will just be helping them to be able to buy more raw materials and maybe to eat properly a couple of days; Why people don't care buying from silly ONG and they mind giving an extra dolar to the real makers? Travelers in thailand are fighting for 10 baht, this is around 20 cents of a euro, 25 of a US dolar, who you think is going to miss this money more, you or the artisan?
The second group, the local people that learn an easy to commercialize technique, is also sensitive but somehow their work is less interesting and they normally don't come from the most sensitive ethnic groups as this ones will normally have their own art.
The third group, well whatever you consider art or special this handcrafts is up to you, as for me if you see something you like, get it, otherwise you are not loosing any big opportunity, rules for bargainning? offer whatever you want, this people has education and oportunities and are normally there, out of choice. This happens frequently in surfers spots, beach paradises, hippie places, etc.. They of course deserve my respect as any other person, and their choice is not for me to accept or reject, but well how to put this.. I don't consider their work in any way in the same level of authenticity, value or interest than the real traditional handcrafts, and I don't consider them a sensitive group.
Well, too much talking, the conclusion is, be fair! specially with local cultures, pay that extra dolar! or 5 or 10 , pay even a little bit more than normal if you like the product. You will go feeling better than if you get a bargain knowing you abused your position.
Or well be a good traveler or a good backpacker! go home smiling, thinking you got a deal!, you got it cheaper, and spend that money in the first sip of beer you will take in the night! congratulate yourself you are walking the world, you are learning about cultures, you are opening your mind and no one cheats on you! You are nothing but a cheap bastard!
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