Negotiate in Vietnam The Ultimate Guide
Oh… Oh… Oh! Here comes the big stuff! How do we negotiate in Vietnam, Huh! Any idea? Why does people doesn’t want to sell me things cheap 
First of all… Welcome to South East Asia!
So there are not many ways to negotiate here actually… But! There are ways to influence the guy you are negotiating with, because if you had experience of negotiation with vietnamese in the past you realized that he got you and your money even you think he is poor and you will never buy to him anymore, the man got you.
So if you have honor and if you believe in yourself, this guide is for you, and how to reverse the method they do to us… to them!
Forget about Being Human
- You don’t need feelings when you go shopping, they don’t have feelings for you so don’t have any for them.
- Don’t treat them like crap but don’t show that you’re happy or angry, they don’t show what they feel to you so don’t show what you feel, because that is where they will attack you (your feelings).
- Barely look at the Shop Guy, that is a technique that vietnamese uses against each other to low the guy they are talking with and it works.
- They know that we are sensitive, so don’t be sensitive, don’t be afraid to go away within just a few seconds without saying bye bye, this is shopping, this is your pleasure, not their pleasure.
A Good Negotiation Takes just a few Minutes
- Always ask for the prices of each clothes before you choose the clothes you want to buy (if you buy clothes in mass). Because, if you arrive with all your clothes that you took 20 minutes to choose and you figure out that the owner of the shop is a moron that will never low down the price, you wasted 20 minutes + the time you got angry negotiating with the guy.
- Never negotiate if you’re not sure to buy…
- Always ask for prices and smile at them when they tell you that a Ralph Lauren Fake Shirt costs 130,000VND (it costs 50,000) or something like that. Smile at them like they smile at you.
- Always have the big money in one pocket and the small money in another pocket. Remember to always keep the small bills! Give the big bills so that you always have small money, because most of the time during a negotiation, the vietnamese are short of money (if you give them big bills of course), so you can always say oh wait a second… i have money!
- Low down the price by half or even by 2/3. For instance if they tell you that the price for a trouser is 210,000 then you know it costs 100,000. It’s the same for everything, but sometimes you do meet honest vietnamese that tells you the real price, don’t bother with that kind of people they are rare.
- Remember they will try to get your money and sell you their worst products so they keep the best ones for themselves or for foreigners that got more money, so when you see that the quality of a product is really not good, you just tell them, and if they don’t like it you can go away, there are dozens of other shops around and the owners of those shops are not all close friends.
- Never waste your time on Negotiation. Hunt for the best shop for whatever you’re looking for and become friend with the owner even if he is a big asshole (like most of the people here), and you’ll get foreigner ’s discounts after shopping 2 years with them. It’s good to go to the same shops because you don’t have to restart the negotiation process (that is so childish and useless, just a waste of time).
Example on How to Negotiate (Fake Conversation):
Let’s say that my name is John and the shop girl name is Hoa.
John: Hello
Hoa: Hello sir, want to buy shirt?
John: No i’m just looking
Hoa: *She will show you many things that she wants you to buy*
John: *You found what you wanted to buy and hand it over the girl*
John: How much is that shirt?
Hoa: *Takes the calculator out to show you that it costs 130,000VND*
John: *Don’t say a thing, take the calculator, and show her that you want to buy it for 50,000VND*
Hoa: Noooooooo! *Big Smile, thinking fuck i’ll make no money with him* It’s from China, Good Quality! (Not from China at all, and even if it was i wouldn’t want to buy stuff from China)
Hoa: *She takes the calculator showing you that it costs now 125,000VND*
John: *Realize that it’s gonna take half an hour before you buy the shirt the price you want*
John: No. I want to buy it 50,000VND and not 130,000VND.
Hoa: No i’m sorry i can’t.
John: *Go away and you will see that Hoa will call you to come back*
Hoa: Ok,Ok, now 100,000VND, you see good good quality my boss, i can’t!
John: *Go away again and she will call you back again*
Hoa: 80,000VND *Smiling with her friends, talking vietnamese using the word Tay more than once (means foreigner)*
John: No i will buy it 50,000VND
Hoa: Ok 75,000VND
John: *Shakes his head, it’s been 10 minutes already* No i will buy it 50,000VND
Hoa: 70,000 VND ok? *Not Happy (But you don’t care, it even makes you feel good)*
John: No. 50k VND
Hoa: Ok 60,000VND, this is very cheappppp….
John: (Ok so you either say ok it’s fine with me, or you keep lowing the price down like i always do) No i said i want to buy it 50,000VND and i will buy it 50,000VND, it’s been 10 years that i live in Vietnam (talk some vietnamese and make her laugh, show her that she is an idiot)
Hoa: Ok 55,000VND (Looks like she doesn’t understand english. So you figure out that whatever you say she doesn’t understands it, so no pity at all)
John: No, 50,000VND.
Then you get your stuff for 50,000VND, you get the card of the shop, and each time you go back there you will get your shirts for 50,000VND! W00t!
It Works for everything! Except… the Xe Um!
Xe Um Strategy, How to get cheap pricings with Xe Um
Xe Um is the same as a Taxi but with a motorbike. It’s obviously cheaper than a Taxi just because of that…
- Always negotiates how much you give him before you go with him
- Never negotiate when you arrived
- 1 mile should be 4,000VND
- Even if he shows unhappiness about it just don’t care
- You will have to know about the streets of Saigon before you start to really negotiate…
- Experience will tell you how to be with those Xe Um guys… i can’t really explain it…
Hope that helps