Bargaining
We all know not to try to bargain in the supermarket, but you’d
be surprised how many people think that everything else in Cancun is negotiable.
Some things are sometimes, but not always. To avoid embarrassment, think
this way: Does this place look like the bank or the flea market? Most
stores in established malls and shopping centers and on main thoroughfares
have fixed prices, but it is not considered boorish to politely ask if
there might not be a discount available on the ticket price. This will
often produce a 10 percent reduction. Sometimes, if you are dealing with
the owner of the establishment, you can push a little harder.
Mandatory
Bargaining is mandatory, however, in the following situations:
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Long trips with taxi drivers.
You can probably get them to go down 25 percent to 40 percent off
the first asking price.
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In open air markets such as Plaza Garibaldi, Pancho
Villa and Ki-Huic.
Bargaining in Cancun descends from two main roots, the native Mayan (mixed
with other styles), and the Latin (which is decidedly Middle Eastern).
Both the Mayan and Latin resemble each other more than they differ. The
best treatise on bargaining in markets and bazaars was written by State
Department anthropologist Dr. Edward T. Hall, who said that Americans
generally ask, “What percentage of the asking price shall I give
as my first answer?” This is naive, he seems to feel. An experienced
bazaar merchant has as many prices as an Eskimo has words for snow.
Basically, the market price is determined by some set of circumstances
known to both parties, he wrote in The Silent Language. If they
are not known, it is assumed they could be. More than that, bargaining
is a celebration of communication, in which each step has a meaning.
Getting Serious
As Dr. Hall pointed out in Horizon magazine, it’s not so
much the purchase that counts, but the process of buying and selling.
According to this analysis, it’s more like a game of chess than a
slot machine. He analyzed traditional marketplace activity and came up
with what might be called a bargain meter, in which the negotiations pivot
on the market price, and each degree of declination on either side of
the pivot has a specific meaning.
Technique
Let's look at trying to get the best price on a blanket:
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Seller
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Buyer
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Asks $12
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Offer $3
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Comes down to
$8
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Leave and go
to another stand and check prices.
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Asks $7 when
you return.
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Point out defects
in blanket such as pulled thread.
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Comes down to
$6.
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Start to walk
away, accept price if he lets you leave.
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If this seems a little complicated for bargain seekers who have little
knowledge of the Spanish language, you can get a good idea of the market
price of the blanket by snooping around in the fixed-price stores that
have their wares boldly marked.
It’s fun, but don’t expect to outwit Cancun’s wily vendors,
descendants of the fabled Maya traders.
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