Do you buy in a roadside martketplace where vendors are always haggling? Or do you prefer to buy in the shopping mall where you don't have to deal with haggling vendors? When you shop at the marketplace where there are haggling vendors around, you can buy really cheap, furthermore, you can also bargain. Since there are more sellers than the buyers, you can also bargain.
Yes, sometimes these haggling vendors may offer similar merchandise to what is in the store at a lower cost. Because of the stiff competition which prevails in their vicinity, many of them are willing to work with you and that may enable to come away with the stuff at a very reasonable price as opposed to in store where there may be one final price take it or leave it.
Yes, I do buy. I can negotiate on the price which is otherwise not possible in the upmarket stores. Due to the establishment cost, sometimes the price of a same product remains higher in malls or upscale supermarkets. Whereas, roadside vendors can afford to sell it in a lesser price as they have less or no establishment cost. As a customer, I'll go to the place where the price is less.
I go to the Sunday flea market regularly, about twice a month. That’s where I buy fresh farm produce particularly fruits and vegetables. I understand the style of the vendors that’s why I did my assignment by first roaming around to survey the prices of the same items. It’s usually uniform but it depends on the vendor. One example is the fern that we make into salad, one bundle is 40 bucks but there’s a vendor that sells 3 bundles for 100 bucks. Another is the fruit stall where I always get a 10% discount on standard fruits in season (not imported). My trick is to make myself known to the vendor so when I come back, I will automatically get a discount.
I regularly visit a flea market every Saturday night and that's where I buy vegetables and fruits. The place is noisy, but yes, there are so many vendors and they're competing for buyers because they're basically selling the same merchandise. The prices are incredibly low and overall, I can save about 50% by going to this flea market. I'd usually walk around to see who's selling at the cheapest prices and make most of my purchases from that vendor so I can get a few extras for free.
I like to buy from the vendors. It always saves me a lot. However, one has to be very careful when buying from the vendors. Some sell inferior goods which may cost you later. I always check the stuff from the vendors to see if they are of good quality before purchasing. We all know that some of them are con artists who once they sell you something they disappear.
I don't really go to the market, but I do buy pirated discs at times and I haggle. The vendor agrees to lower the price when I do. Everyone wants to get a disccount whenever they purchase something, right?
In the tourist section of Itaewon in South Korea, you get pressured to buy a suit. However, though, if you're in that neighborhood all the time, then the situation can become annoying. Also, if your on the same side of the street where they are (and you're a westerner) - and you ignore them, then you could get some insults. Anyway, though, I wouldn't doubt they are giving good deals on suits - but even as an ESL teacher there was little need for a suit as schools prefer a casual look. Also, churches tend to also allow a dressy casual look, not a suit - which is deemed overboard.
