Bargaining, in small ways, varies from country to country and learning how has been a complicated task for me here. I reckon Indonesians love to bargain. After I hesitate on a price, they ask, berapa? So, I try to give a fair price and we sometimes meet in the middle. I'm often confronted with this dilemma when I'm at the pasar.

I understand certain locals need the money, but I'm also on a budget and not rolling in cash. I learned not to ask how much when I first select an item. Since my Bahasa Indonesia is limited, I simply give the amount I think it should cost and often times they take it and even give me change. Other times they'll ask for a bit more and in my view, isn't a whole lot. There are times when they ask for WAY more and I say mahal, walk away, and then they agree to the last price.

Occasionally, the above methods don't always work and the merchants get upset, which makes me feel bad, but like I said, I'm a poor foreigner trying to make a living too. If I could, I'd pay what they want, since it is cheaper if you convert it to any other currency that's worth more.

So, does anyone have any suggestions, in Bahasa Indonesia, on tactics/phrases that I can use when I negotiate in the future? Keeping in mind that I have a remedial, sedikit, understanding of the bargaining culture here.

jackaustin631:
Bargaining, in small ways, varies from country to country and learning how has been a complicated task for me here. I reckon Indonesians love to bargain. After I hesitate on a price, they ask, berapa? So, I try to give a fair price and we sometimes meet in the middle. I'm often confronted with this dilemma when I'm at the pasar.

I understand certain locals need the money, but I'm also on a budget and not rolling in cash. I learned not to ask how much when I first select an item. Since my Bahasa Indonesia is limited, I simply give the amount I think it should cost and often times they take it and even give me change. Other times they'll ask for a bit more and in my view, isn't a whole lot. There are times when they ask for WAY more and I say mahal, walk away, and then they agree to the last price.

Occasionally, the above methods don't always work and the merchants get upset, which makes me feel bad, but like I said, I'm a poor foreigner trying to make a living too. If I could, I'd pay what they want Learning bargains, since it is cheaper if you convert it to any other currency that's worth more.

So, does anyone have any suggestions, in Bahasa Indonesia, on tactics/phrases that I can use when I negotiate in the future? Keeping in mind that I have a remedial, sedikit, understanding of the bargaining culture here.

thanks in advance for any help