Bargaining

There are tons of shops in Saigon, and nothing has a price tag. The Ben Tanh market was a really fun place to go at night. They sell tons of knock-off designer stuff. Everything can be bargained, and we learned to bargain pretty well.

The first thing to do is when you get a price, through your hands up and repeatedly say how expensive that is. Then say something like “I’m offended that you would try to rip me off like that”. Then you make an offer that is about a quarter of that price. It is really fun going back and forth. A pair of $20 dollar jeans was bargained down to two pairs for $22. The ladies in the markets were all really nice, and laughed and had a good time while we were bargaining. Taylor offered 2 bucks for a 5 dollar shirt, and one lady pretended to faint and fell on a pile of pants. It was hilarious.

One item that wasn’t up for bargain was DVD’s. They were set at a dollar a piece, and I bought 25 for myself, including a few titles that are still in theatres.