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The Art of Negotiation: Remembering the Little Things

By Amo Tango

Today’s post is brought to you by Amo Tango, our new guest writer at Invest It Wisely. She will be stopping in every now and then with her personal life experiences and wise advice. We welcome her to the site and look forward to reading more about her adventures!

Port Vila marketplace. Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirrilyrobert/1582734791/I think most people in this world (and especially in North America) do not question the price of an item, or even the price of rent. The vendor or landlord sets a price, and that’s what you pay. However, in a lot of cases, negotiating can be done. The important thing to remember is that negotiation is an art which requires skill, and it is important to not come across as arrogant, which just angers the other person.

Let me give you some of my adventurous encounters of bargaining!

I have travelled to many places in this world where negotiating is actually part of the culture. In Senegal, the locals play the negotiating game with foreigners for most things, such as taxi rides or little trinkets and homemade gifts being sold in a market. Of course when you do negotiate, you have to be friendly about it and also pay up if you do get them to lower the price. I have learned a lot about this.

The first week I was there, I bought fruit and some souvenirs at an ignorant tourist price; it may not seem like a lot to us, but for a country where 900$ a year is the average salary, 10$ for a sale is a LOT! As much as I am helping these local vendors out, I also do not like the feeling of getting massively ripped off! When I told my friends that were there with me how much I had bought these things for, they warned me that I should have gotten my items for at least half the price that I paid! Lesson learned.

The next time I went to the market, my starting counter-offer was about 3 times less than what the vendor quoted me (as opposed to just half, as I did the first time); then the game begins. The vendor offers a little less and I offer a little more until we reach a mutual agreement. Usually, you will pay something closer to what you offer. Know that in these types of countries, even a few dollars is a lot to them and they will be happy if they sell something.

Negotiating is not being cheap, it’s part of the culture. If you don’t do it, they will actually be suspicious of you. This was told to me by a local himself.

I have improved at this art since then. I practiced it throughout my entire southeast Asian/Taiwan trip, including Vietnam (even bargaining the daily tours), Cambodia and Thailand. Even in large department stores, you can get away with some discounts too; this all depends on where and with who. I am not saying you can go to your neighborhood grocery store and just start negotiating, it is just not as acceptable in some countries as it is in others.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, the rent increase you receive every year does not always have to be the one you pay for. If you have been a good tenant and have not caused any problems, you will most likely be able to talk to your landlord nicely and stabilize your rent, or at least lower the increase amount. This is what I did for 2 years when I received notice to renew my lease. I live in a very large apartment complex owned by a very big company. In this case, it’s even more crucial that you negotiate! They are already making so much money, what’s a few dollars to them!

I talked to the manager and was able to lower the increase by 40%. It’s not that much, but it is still significant once you add up all of the months. Since nothing has changed, why should you pay so much more? It only took a few minutes of my time and I was able to save money this way. We also have to pay for our keys and scanners to access our apartment. This is more like a deposit, so at the end of your lease, you can always give back your keys and receipts and get your money back. This is also a good way to save money: organization!

Keep all these receipts together, somewhere safe where you can retrieve them all at the end. All my receipts amount to more than 100$! Why would I just throw that away! However, if you do not take the initiative and get your credits, they will never come to you and refund you. That’s just how it works. The little people have to work for their money! I had to ask the manager to check my account to see if I had any credits, I didn’t know I had any, but I just thought I’d ask. It turned out I had overpaid at one point and I had almost 100$ of credit in my account. If I never went to ask, I would have never known and I would have overpaid. It would be my loss.

Negotiating should ultimately mutually satisfy both parties; if one is really upset, then the exchange has not been fully successful. In the case of a landlord, if they satisfy you, you, the tenant will be less likely to cause trouble and will be more loyal in re-signing the lease. In the case of a vendor, they would have made more money than if they had not sold the item at all. Everyone wins.

Good luck!

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Opinion, Saving Your Money Tagged With: bargaining, Cambodia, negotiation, organization, rent, Senegal, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

About Amo Tango

Anne is currently working at a small firm as an IT consultant. She loves to travel around the world and experience new things. She is very financially-conscious and does not like to spend more than is necessary.

Comments

  1. Car Negotiation Coach says

    July 9, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    This makes me want to move to Asia. I wish we could negotiate groceries at the store!

    • Anne says

      July 16, 2010 at 5:18 pm

      Yes I love negotiating in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia. Cambodia I find was the easiest to do, just because they are so poor there, you can really get a good deal on decorative household items, such as nice rugs and placemats. They are almost always willing to give in to the price you quote them.

  2. benjamin bankruptcy says

    July 12, 2010 at 12:00 am

    I must say I was relieved when I came back to Australia after holidaying in Asia and I didn’t have negotiate. Negotiating can get tiring. That said everything is generally negotiable.

    • Anne says

      July 16, 2010 at 5:20 pm

      Well, it’s a different culture when you go back home. A vacation is one thing, but nothing is better than home sweet home.

  3. Belmont Thornton says

    July 14, 2010 at 10:00 am

    Hey, even I believe negotiation is an art! Good negotiation skills can make you a great sales person.

    • Anne says

      July 16, 2010 at 5:20 pm

      Absolutely! Negotiating is a skill learnt for both sides, the vendor and the buyer!

  4. Andrew Hallam says

    July 15, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    Well done Anne,

    I used to negotiate a lot (for practically everything) but I find myself slipping into complacency about prices—even overseas.

    Of course, I do negotiate somewhat overseas, but not as much as I should. I used to always find that no matter how experienced I am (or was!) I would always get ripped off at least once in a new foreign country before figuring things out. Every culture (and its prices) have their limits.

    By not negotiating in foreign countries, we can do more harm than good. Exploitation can occur, and then tourists avoid those places. Morocco comes to mind for me. I loved the country, but I haven’t been there for such a long time because the merchants are “crazy” and will stab their brothers in the back (metaphorically speaking) for an extra buck. We look like naive dollar signs to them, and the sooner tourists get tough in Morocco, perhaps, the better it will be. When we don’t negotiate there, we REALLY get taken. And we need to negotiate HARD in Morocco.

    Anyone else experienced something similar in their travels?

    And Anne, if you feel like guest posting on my blog, please feel free anytime. I’m on vacation for the next couple of weeks, so I would love to get fresh material on my site!

    Cheers,

    Andrew

    • Anne says

      July 16, 2010 at 5:32 pm

      Thank you for the compliment! I agree with you, exploiting tourists too much will turn them off from ever going back! Merchants should not be too hard on us poor tourists, after all we are in their country and spending loads improving their economy.

      And Andrew, I just might take you up on guest posting on your blog! I’ll let you know!

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