Well, today DH told me he needed a screen protector for his phone. So being the dutiful wife that I am, I went out and got it.
This is how it happened.
First, I went to the mall and asked, at one store they wanted Rs. 395!! What?! I had paid Rs 90 at a road-side stall last time, so I gave it back and wandered out to the street. I got on a bus next, and went to Gariahat.
Here I went to the same stall I had purchased it from last time (remember I paid only Rs 90 then!) and asked the guy if they had the appropriate item. He didn't have it in stock at the moment, but once the other customer had completed their transaction he went into the main store and brought the requested item. Here is how the conversation went.
Me: Koto? (How much?)
SK: 160
Me: Dada, aami age 90-ta taka diyechhi. (Dada, I have given 90 rupees before)
SK: 90?
Me: Haa, 90. (Yes, 90)
SK: 120
Me: Kintu Dada, aami *ekhon* theke age kinechhilam, aar aami 90 diyechhi. (But Dada, I have purchased one for 90 rupees from here before)
SK: 120
Me: Fine
and I started to walk away
SK: thik achhe didi, ayk sho (ok didi, 100)
Me: ok
So I gave him the 100 rupees and walked away.
I felt relieved, I had seen that he was trying to rip me off, and I didn't let it happen. I bargained (and successfully I might add, saving 60 rupees!) for the first time. :-)
Good job! 'Bargaining' is an art, science, psychological warfare, all rolled into one.
ReplyDelete@JJ
ReplyDeletethanks, i'm getting the hang of it. my mother in law says, say half of whatever they tell you =P
Congratulations! That's impressive.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! You must be one among the smallest minority of Westerners in India that can actually bargain in a local language. That is no mean achievement!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Cheers to you for winning that small battle. I am no great fan of bargaining just yet, but maybe with time I will get better at it.
ReplyDeleteThanks all!! :-) I hate bargaining too, but this time I knew the price was higher than before, and if he didn't come down, DH would have had to go buy it himself later =P
ReplyDeleteI hate bargaining and only do it if the price quoted is insanely too high :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat I generally do when I bargain is what your Mother in law told you to do, slash the asking price by half, or even lower in some case so that by the end of the bargain I'm at the half price mark :)
I travelled in North Africa a couple of times in the past, Indians are far easier at bargains than Moroccans or Tunisian though :)
That's impressive!
ReplyDeleteI do not like bargaining, so I either end up not purchasing an item or I just pay and go, trying not to feel too bad about it. Or I tell my husband to buy something, and being the dutiful husband that he is, he always gets it. For cheap, too. ;-)
I don't like to dishearten you, but, the fact remains that we (all my friends) buy the mobile screen guard for mere Rs 20 to Rs 30 from the street vendor/Hawker in Shyambazar area (Just outside of the shyambazar Metro Station)... Never mind...
ReplyDelete:-P
@Invincible Dreams
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you pay rs 20-30...I've no problem with that, except you probably don't have a geek phone...DH has one of those phones, I've only seen before at a conference full of geeks :P