Haggling 101

Here is a brief, introductory guide for how to haggle for goods and services at a market in Cameroon. I have compiled and perfected the method after many months (years, even) of trial and error until eventually it’s more of a game than actually an exchange of goods. Take note, and enjoy.

Step one: Walking through the market and greeting people

While strolling through the market, you should first and foremost wander as close to the middle of the street as possible. (I use the word street because it’s easiest. Other interchangeable words could include: alley, passageway, aisle, or human parking lot.) If you see a friend of yours walking the other way, step off to the side, shake their hand, and exchange greetings. How is the family? The house? How are your kids? By asking these important questions, the vendors in the market will realize that you are not a foreigner here and know the community enough to at least ask an acquaintance how they are doing. This will help later on when the haggling for a price actually starts. After a minute or so of discussing, bid your friend a good day, step back into the middle of the street, and continue on your way. If you are friends with any boutique owners, do the same with them.

Step two: Concealing desire or need

After you’ve been walking through the market for a short time, and after having greeted several people, you can ease up and start looking around for whatever it is you came here for. Whether it be mangoes, soccer jerseys, powdered milk, or a new machete, it is very important to not seem over anxious. Maintain a relaxed countenance—wearing sunglasses helps. Once you spot something you are interested in, leisurely make your way over to the shop (or stand or ground space as the case may be). If the proprietor was not already calling you over and was possibly busy with somebody else, wait until he acknowledges you. If this is perhaps a market in the southern part of Cameroon, or in a bigger city in the north, chances are people were shouting at you from half a block away to come to their shop and buy soap, bouillon cube, or bicycle parts. Unless there are no other options, ignore these shop owners. They know you are a foreigner and will be difficult to argue with.
Back to the first type of shop owner. Greet this man. Shake his hand. Say at least a few words in his dialect and, if you are capable, go through all the greetings and then even ask him for what you want in the local language. Ideally, he will be grateful that you learned the local language, but he will also know that you know a bit about the culture and will not be duped so easily. This is also why it helps to be spotted greeting friends or acquaintances of yours in the market. If vendors see that you know people around they will also be less likely to try to milk a few extra pennies from you. Once you have told him what you wanted, the real test begins.

Step three: Make a game out of it

The owner of the boutique will likely start at a price that is far too high. How high the price is depends on several factors: how many foreigners come through the market (more=much higher), how well you followed the previous two steps, and how well you know the owner—or rather how well he knows you. If the original price the owner gives is the actual price (or something very close to it), try not to be surprised. This has happened roughly eight times in the last thirty years, so don’t count on it. If you are lucky enough to experience the ninth time, however, buy the good under question at once, thank the man a lot, and also offer to buy him a cup of tea or a mango if there is a kid walking around selling either of them. This way, the owner will always give you the correct price right off the bat, and that will save you money and time.
Most of the time, though, you will be given a price that is ridiculously high. The first thing you do is act like you didn’t quite understand the person. Repeat the price in either the dialect or in French, with a big question mark at the end. Act incredulous: start laughing, and looking around to see if other people are noticing. If they are, ask them if the man you are talking to is a comedian or if he is crazy. The owner will probably be asking you what you want to pay for it at that time and trying to shut down the outside conversation. He will try to regain control over the situation. Don’t let him, make him wait. Talk to other vendors and people walking by and joke around with them that you didn’t know a new comedian was around, and maybe you should take him to (insert closest big city) to perform his act and maybe even go on television.
After some time discrediting the original price, ask the man if he needs to go to the hospital. Sometimes they will not understand what you mean by this. Explain that because of the crazy price you know that he is either one of two things: a very funny man who should be using his talents across the country to make people laugh, or a crazy man who has escaped from a psychiatric clinic and you’d like to take him back. He may be starting to tire from the joking around so now it is your turn to offer a counter price.

Step four: The counter offer

If the man started you off with an incredibly high price, it is 100% okay to low ball him that way. If he’s insulting your cultural intelligence with a stupid price, insult his back. But don’t be mean or vengeful about it. Always have a smile on your face that says “Don’t treat me like that, I know what I’m doing.” If the price wasn’t too astronomically high, though, it is proper to give a counter offer in the same ball park. Make sure to keep it as a game. Nobody likes when tensions rise, and keep in mind that the person is usually not trying to insult you or take advantage of you being a foreigner, they’re just trying to make a living.
Sometimes they will shake their heads if you’re counter offer is pretty low. They will start to put the shirt or goat back. This is when you put your hand on their shoulder in a friendly way and say “what is this, we don’t argue in a market?” Maybe they’ll pout and say something like “not like that” or “it doesn’t leave the house like that.” Well, you tell them that it’s the market and they should then come down to their next price.

Step five: The negotiation

You will go back and forth several times with the prices. Sometimes the vendor will tell you that even he didn’t buy the goods for that price. 99% of the time, this is a lie. I know this because I have gotten good for far under what some people have said they bought it for.
If the person is jerking you around and not coming down enough, one thing you can do is to stick with your price and tell him you won’t go any higher. Maybe they’ll get angry. Keep your cool. If the person is really not going to change their shifty ways and won’t give you a good price on something, come up a little more (maybe 200-500 cfa) and then say that’s your last price. When you say it’s your last price they will either do one of two things: they’ll stare at you and then place the goods back on the shelf (sometimes a bluff), or they’ll start dropping their price immensely, though still trying to get you to dish out a little more money. Whatever you do, stick to your price after you state your final price. If you come up from that, they know you can come up some more.

Step six: The purchase, or walking away

Once you have come to an agreement, give the man your money while they put the dried fish or tupperware in a plastic bag, and many times double or even triple-bag it. Never try to tell somebody that you don’t want a plastic bag because you either have so many at the house or because they are wasteful and bad for the environment. This is poor judgment on your part because the vendor will think you are crazy for not wanting a plastic bag, thereby possibly raising the price they will charge you next time.
If you haven’t come to an agreement, though, reiterate your last price one more time and walk away. You have to be prepared to lose it, though, or to start the negotiation somewhere else with somebody else. Because if the vendor does not call you back (which sometimes they will do as you are halfway across the market) and you come back to buy the goods from him, he will charge you even more than he said he was before, because he knows you want and need it.