The art of haggling (Whoever haggles the most wins?)

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In many countries it is customary to haggle when shopping, especially in markets and other simple shopping centres. Are you one of those who take up haggling as a sport, haggle hard and do everything to win the battle? Or are you a bit Swedishly cautious, haggling too little and crying afterwards? Is there perhaps also a risk of haggling? for hard sometimes?

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Haggling - the opposite of tipping?

Last week we wrote about this with tipping on the journeyi.e. giving a little extra on top of the price in return for good service. In a sense, haggling could be described as the opposite, i.e. trying to pay less than the price initially quoted.

The interesting thing about these two phenomena is that, according to custom, they are often done in completely different contexts. In restaurants, hotels, taxis and guides, tips are often given. In shops and markets, on the other hand, haggling may be the order of the day.

When should you haggle?

One thing that is common to both tipping and haggling is that the culture differs from country to country, so you may need to do some research to find out what the rules are in the country you plan to visit. In some countries, such as Sweden, haggling is very rare.

In some other countries it is almost necessary to haggle to get a reasonable price. It is also common to haggle in certain places, such as small shops and markets, while prices may be fixed in department stores and other large shops.

Haggling as a sport - whoever haggles the most wins?

Of course, there is no answer to how much you should haggle. Our rule of thumb is that we should be satisfied with the price we pay for a particular product. It can therefore be useful to first think about what you are prepared to give. Then you can make an offer slightly below that price, debate it for a while, and finally settle on a reasonable price.

Some people engage in haggling as if it were a sport, and that can be a good thing sometimes. Some sellers start at SEK 400 for an item that may be worth a maximum of SEK 40, and it is part of the game to stand and mumble for a while. If you not If you haggle, there is a high risk that you will leave feeling cheated because you have paid a much higher price for a small item that has no real value.

At other times, we may feel that the vendor really needs to sell something, and that haggling too much will leave the family with hardly any income that day. If the price of a bracelet seems reasonable to us, we can sometimes choose to pay it, without haggling, to also support the local vendor. Sometimes it can be good (and perhaps absolutely necessary!) to haggle hard, but other times we don't necessarily feel that the haggler wins.

How do you feel about haggling?

How do you feel about haggling? Are you good at haggling? Do you find it fun or difficult? Have you ever felt cheated, or perhaps, on the contrary, felt that you haggled unnecessarily hard? Do you usually think that the one who haggles the most wins?

You might also like:

Do we worry too much when travelling? (Or sometimes too little?) Why are we so bad at appreciating what is good in Sweden? Tipping while travelling - why is it so tricky? The body doesn't need all these skincare products - why do we buy? Go Swedish holidays! (But Swedish destinations focus on foreign tourists...!?) Is it ok to ask others to shop for you when they are travelling?