India Blog!

I am learning a thing or two about bargaining here in in India. This has never been my forte, and at first I found it pretty annoying, but then my associate here told me that the locals actually bargain more for the fun of it than anything else. Sure, there is some gouging going on, he says, but some folks actually take it as an insult if you don't try and work down the price. It's a social interaction, particularly for small businesses and rickshaw drivers, and it's all part of the game. He also told me that you know you are doing a good job and that you are going to get your goal price if the vendor offers you tea or coffee twenty minutes into the negotiation. Can you imagine?? Americans would never make time for this!!

But things are getting a little more western in that sense in the cities here as well. Wal-Mart has already begun construction all over India. They are breaking into the market here to survive essentially. Apparently over 50% of the country's population is under the age of 20. The commercial pressures to survive against similar style businesses in Asia are overwhelming. Stores like this (and even many clothing and grocery stores) are now fixed price stores, where bargaining is not acceptable. I tried my hand at bargaining at one of these places the other day, to which I was rebuffed with "No, fixed price. This is nice store."