Shopping Tips in Hanoi 1-Expect to do some bargaining but dont expect to receive major discounts. Many shops will discount 5 to 10 percent if you ask. Some art galleries may discount up to 30 percent if you ask and if they can get the artist to agree to a price change. 2-Dont be intimidated by the street urchins who try to sell you things you neither need nor want. The kids may be cute, but they can be a real pest and are very persistent in their attempts to get you to buy. Avoid eye contact and keep walking. 3 -Plan to use English when shopping in most major shops. 4-Expect to pay for everything in cash. Few shops take credit cards or travelers checks, but they readily accept U.S. dollars. 5- Be a very picky and pesky packer. Few shops know how to pack well. Dont be afraid to supervise the packing process by telling the packer how to pack according to your expectations. 6- Shipping is problematic for most shops and many galleries. Unless an item is very awkward to hand-carry, you may be better off taking your purchases with you. 7- Ask to have items delivered to your hotel room. If you purchase something that is inconvenient to carry around, ask the shop to pack and deliver it to your hotel room. Be sure to get a copy of the receipt so you have proof of purchase. 8- Be sure to get official receipts for all of your purchases - store name, address, phone number, description of item, and price paid. You may be asked to show this receipt when you leave Vietnam, and it may come in handy when going through Customs in your own country. 9- Pick up business cards with a mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and email address. If youre interested in what a shop has to offer but dont want to buy yet, be sure to ask for a card and jot down exactly what the shop has to offer. You can thus contact them later if you want to purchase from them. 10- Take pictures of everything you purchase as well as any items you may be interested in purchasing later. We strongly recommend making a visual record of all purchases. 11 - Do comparative shopping before deciding on where to buy and what to pay. Theres a great deal of redundancy in Hanois shopping scene. 12 -However illegal, pirated CDs and software, as well as knock-off designer-label leather goods, are a good buy in Hanoi. While you may occasionally get a bad CD or defective software, in general these items are great buys. 13 - Ask shops to hold things for you if you are uncertain about purchasing an item or need to do some comparative shopping. Most shops will hold items for at least 24 hours. 14- Be very careful when crossing the major shopping streets. Remember, you have no rights as a pedestrian. You must engage in defensive walking - or running! 15 - Buying at the production source, such as at the factory shops in the prosperous ceramic village of Bat Trang, does not make good economic sense. The prices here are invariably higher than in Hanoi. 16- Art is an exceptional buy in Hanoi. While prices can vary considerably from one gallery to another and from one artist to another, the paintings in oil, watercolor, lacquer, and other mediums are often stunning. If you buy art, purchase only the canvas. While framing is very cheap in Hanoi, it also looks very cheap, and air freighting the painting with frame will be expensive as well. 17 - If you plan to shop outside the Old Quarter and the French Quarter, consider hiring a car and driver to accompany you on your shopping adventure. 18 - Look for a few interesting shops near the museums and major historical sites. 19 - Expect a very fluid shopping scene in Hanoi in the next few years. The city is undergoing numerous changes attendant with increased foreign investment and tourism. 20 - Beware of possible misrepresentation, scams, and misleading information. Anyone who tries to sell you furniture or antiques and tells you its okay to ship them abroad is engaged in deceptive practices. Since 1997, wood furniture has been prohibited from leaving the country. Antiques are illegal to export, except in rare cases where special permits must be acquired. 21- Bargaining Rules in Vietnam 22 - Do comparative shopping before deciding on what you are willing to pay for an item. 23 - Dont get emotional about items in front of salespeople. Try to look dis interested. You want the salesperson to think you need a discount in order to decide to buy an item. 24 - When asking How much is this item?, dont show any emotion when you hear the answer. The stated price should be considered the first asking price. Maintain an air of uncertainty about whether you want to purchase the item. 25 - Take your time. Once you learn the price, count to 20, then respond with Oh, its that much? Start looking around at other items in the shop. 26- Ask your first bargaining question about the possibility of a discount. When the vendor responds with a lower price, take your time and reply with Is it possible to do any better on the price? Anything is possible in Vietnam and Cambodia! 27- Make a counter offer that is 40 percent of the initial asking price and then keep moving toward an acceptable 20-percent discount. This offer will most likely be rejected, with a 5-percent discount being offered instead. But keep going back and forth until you achieve that 20-percent discount. 28 - Slowly leave the shop if youre not getting the discount you want. This may induce the shopkeeper to yield. 29- Return to the shop either at the very end of the day or the first of the next day. Timing is important in the final negotiation. The last customer of the day, or the first customer of the day, often has a price advantage. 30- Buy the item regardless of the final outcome of your negotiations. If its something you really want, but youre not making progress in bargaining, go ahead and buy it anyway. If you dont, you may regret having passed it up. 31- Bargain for needs, not greed. Make sure you really want the item before you start bargaining for it. Avoid bargaining just for the sake of getting a bargain.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 15:40:14 +0000
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