Bargaining 101

Hello from Istanbul!

Yep. I’ve finally made it. I’ve only been here a day…but so far so GREAT! I love this place! Walking down the street, it's normal to see a woman completely covered from head to toe in full Muslim garb standing next to a girl in shorts and a tank top. They weren't joking when they said this place was where east meets west.

It took a little while longer than normal to clear customs than it usually does in other ports, but I got off the ship at about noon and headed straight on a trip for my Econ class. We headed to the Grand Bazaar to learn how to bargain. For those of you who don’t know, the Grand Bazaar is basically like shopping Heaven. It’s this HUGE shopping district in Istanbul that has over 4000 shops! I saw scarves, rugs, jewelry, leather, knock-off bags, lamps, etc. You name it, they have it.

Anyways, my professor, Dr. D, is this cute, little Indian man who’s traveled a ton and knows like 5 languages. For our class, he wanted to teach us how to bargain and help us get some good deals along the way. When we first got there, it was so overwhelming! Not only are there 4000 shops, but there are also 4000 shop-owners who are using whatever tricks they have up their sleeves to get you to come into THEIR shop and not the shop two doors down that’s selling the same thing.
Before we started looking for stuff to buy, Dr. D gave us some rules on how to bargain. Basically, if you find something you like, you ask how much it is. The shop-owner will then tell you some price that’s really inflated. At that point, even if you’re willing to pay that much, you have to pretend that that’s an outrageous price and not something that you could even think of affording. Like clockwork, the shop-owner will then offer you a new, lower price and tell you that since you’re a ‘special customer,’ they’ll make you a great deal.

Here’s where you actually have to think about how much you’re willing to spend. You, then, offer your own price, even if it’s much less than you think they’ll accept. The shop-owner will either accept it or offer you a new price that was lower than the one before it, but still not as low as your offer. A little confusing, but a pretty simple process once you get into it. Also, number one rule—NEVER start bargaining unless you’re actually serious about buying whatever it is you’re looking at. The process, depending on what you’re looking at, can take like 15 or 20 minutes…so it’d just be a waste of time if you weren’t actually gonna buy it.

After his explanation, Dr. D decided to show us how it was done. One of the kids in my class wanted to buy a lamp…one of those antique-looking, Aladdin-style lamps (you know, the genie pops out kinda lamps). The price that the owner first quoted was 45 lira (or $30). The student Dr. D was bargaining for told him that he didn’t wanna pay more than 30 lira ($20) for it. So Dr. D went to work…

Dr. D: ‘Is 45 the best you can do for my wonderful nephew, here, who’s just a poor, poor student?’
Owner: ‘Yes, I’m sorry, but that’s the lowest I can go…’
Dr. D: after a longgggg pause…. ‘Well, does it at least come with a genie?’
Owner: ‘Oh, yes! It definitely comes with a genie! But you only get to see the genie AFTER you buy it!’
Dr. D: ‘Hmm…Are you sure you can’t do ANY lower than 45 lira for my poor nephew?’
Owner: ‘Okay…for you, I make a deal. I’ll give you the lamp..PLUS the genie for 40 lira!’
Dr. D: after another longggggg pause…. ‘How many wishes will the genie grant him?’
Owner: ‘As many wishes as you want! A million wishes…after you buy it, of course!’
Dr. D: ‘Wow! A million wishes!? That’s wonderful! A lamp, a genie, AND a million wishes for only 40 lira!?’
Owner: ‘Yes! For just 40 lira!’
Dr. D: ‘Well, that’s just great!...but, you see, my nephew, here, doesn’t want the genie or the wishes. He just wants the lamp. So what is the price WITHOUT the genie and the wishes?’
Owner: ‘…Okay…without it…I give it to you for 35!’

….Eventually Dr. D managed to get him down to 30 lira…which is exactly how much the kid wanted to spend! Also, the kid wasn’t related to Dr. D in any way haha. He was just kinda dark-skinned. So, you can imagine the look on the kid’s face when Dr. D kept going on about his wonderful nephew.

I didn’t end up buying anything today…which is a BIG deal considering the fact that I have little self control when it comes to shopping. I was too overwhelmed by everything to figure out what I wanted. I’ll definitely be heading back there, though! I'll keep ya posted!