Price Gouging in Delhi

Kathaknikki

Hi there, anyone have any advice about the price gouging i hear about? Did you experience it? Did you haggle and get the items down to the regular "indian" price? Are some places more known for it than others?

livin-in-india

so, you've never been here it seems.

india doesn't have price gouging, it has free roaming prices. meaning, if you can afford to pay more, you will. and if you can't, no one will try to make you.

it as if the markets of india are a perfectly executed software program that takes thousands of factors into place before it tells you the price you will pay for something. this is indian style.

how to get around it? the best way is to simply ask a local what something costs. ask: "how much is a a bus from the railway station to XYZ?" and you'll get an exact answer that is likely decently accurate.

ask: "how much is a wooden statue of an elephant with inlaid mother of pearl and painted with golden touches?" and you'll get blank stares.

thus, "the basics" of food, shelter, and clothing, can be had reasonably if you simply ask the locals for prices. so when you go to buy bananas from the push cart seller, don't ask him how much they are, instead ask the local who is there buying it. the locals will almost always want you to get a fair price (until you step into their shop).

if you don't know the local price (which is often a local price range, as even they pay different amounts at different times for different things), then you have no grounds on which to haggle.

haggling requires some knowledge of local prices. otherwise they say 10 rupees for a banana, you haggle without confidence, and get a price of 7 rupees. the locals then walk up, pay 1.5 rupees per banana (or whatever the current rate is), and you feel duped.

and if anyone ever tries to negotiate with you by asking "how much is this in your home country?", that is a great cue to walk out of the door.

shop around, walk out of many doors, and you'll begin to feel the power shift towards you.

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India is the great Yin-Yang. Amazing lightness, equally amazing darkness. Wrapped up to make one complete whole.

crvlvr

Also, a lot of goods/services in India are fixed price and one will only embarrass themselves if they attempt to haggle.

lotus blossom

keep in mind that foreigners will be charged more, for everything. It's just the way it works in India. Even my Kashmiri b/f gets charged more when he is in Delhi. I sometimes haggle, other times I don't. Depends on my mood, the item, the shop, etc. In the end it all depends on how much I want/need the item. With food, I never haggle. With other goods, I generally do, unless it already seems ridiculously cheap. Afterall, I want to support the economy.

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Not all who wander are lost

thirdreel

livin-in-india makes a good point. In India, supply and demand works on an individual level rather than a systematic level. If you're happy with what you paid, and the seller is happy with what they received, then it was successful, so don't worry whether you're getting the exact same price as anyone else. Some travelers go crazy over pennies, on the principle of the matter--don't worry about the principle. If you're happy with what you pay and what you get, then be satisfied with it.

You do want to watch out for taxi and autorickshaw prices. Always try to ask a local what price a taxi ride should be. If you know you're getting gouged, tell the driver to stop and let you out. Also, you can take the license number and go to the police--if you let the driver know you plan to do this, the price may go down.

You always have a choice; you can always choose to cancel any transaction before it happens. Use those choices to get prices you're happy with, and don't worry about what better prices you could have gotten if you'd lived in Delhi your whole life.