In an agrarian society such as Thailand largely still is, the daily routine of the farmer starts early and ends at dusk. There is little time for socializing beyond the temple fair and other festivals. Bargaining is little more than socializing as the following anecdote illustrates:
The farmer went to the market with his 5 kgs of mangoes to strike a deal with the chicken vendor for 1 or 2 chickens. Both parties know very well the value of each others’ produce, but bargaining is consucted as a form of conversational exchange. The farmer will start, for example, by praising the accomplishments of the vendor’s children at school.
The vendor, knowing that he will be expected to respond to the compliment by pricing his chickens fairly low, will compliment the farmer on the quality of his mangoes, and explain that fortunate as he may be with the scholastic ability of his children, he has mounting medical bills for his ailing mother-in-law.
If the farmer is a poor bargainer, he will concede, accepting two ‘scrawny chickens’ for his mangoes. If he is shrewd, he will already know of the mother-in-law’s ailments, and would have brought along some suitable local herbs as a ‘gift’, denying the vendor his escape route, and placing the onus or burden on the vendor to respond in kind.
The exchange becomes a forum for discussion on all things going on in the village as each party skilfully uses his knowledge to his best advantage. He also learns more of what is going on in the village than he would otherwise know.
Consider how impersonal the Western system is: ‘One chicken in a plastic packet please’. ‘Okay, sir, that’ll be two dollars.’ - end of exchange.
Enjoy your bargaining when in Thailand. Establish what price you want to pay for something, and accept that the vendor will probably quote from 40-60% higher than the sales price. Keep a certain amount of money in one pocket so that you may draw out ‘just enough’ to bring to the bargaining table. Exclaim how beautiful the craftsmanship of his handicrafts are, that you would dearly love to buy this or that particular item but...you have 9 children needing milk (& shoes!), a sick mother, and so on. Remember, it is an exchange of pleasantries whilst making a purchase, not an argument about pricing.
