It’s well established that haggling is ridiculous. There’s nothing new on that front (and it still doesn’t make sense to me), but I am proud to announce that I’ve learned a new tactic: ask them for their “last price” RIGHT AFTER you ask them how much the thing costs.
“Bei ya mwisho?” has revolutionized the way I understand haggling. If the dude says the wooden table costs 3,000 Kenyan shillings (~ 40 US dollars), this tactic gets it immediately down to 2,500. It seems nonsensical but it works; I watched a buddy employ this technique over and over again when we were shopping the other day. We had gone to the Nairobi Ikea (read: dudes in tin shacks on the side of Ngong road making furniture with their hands) in search of a desk for my office (read: living room). In the ened, we knocked off enough money on the table that I decided to throw in a nightstand too!
Funny story: this is the same place I bought my bed frame and my coffee table. After successive visits I now realize I over paid on the coffee table, which explains why he was so excited when I gave him 200 shillings for delivering it. But then again, hiring a pickup truck for delivery costs at least 1,000 shillings, and the coffee table jamaa (dude) actually rode it like 10 km on his bicycle…
No related posts.
Lover of Linux, death metal and Indian food, blogs about living and working in Nairobi, Kenya.
I’ve developed a similar bargaining technique. After the seller first names his price, I ask if he has a discount. It doesn’t matter what the discount is for. Just ask for one. Then have a couple of back and forths of bargaining followed by your ultimatum of asking for “best price”. The seller at this points knocks off a few shillingi and you have a deal.
That sounds good, but it’s the “couple of back and forths” which are the hard part! I will sometimes ask if “transport ni bure” (free)… hehe.
i used this technique at the library. it worked!
transport ni bure for life