Mastering Thailand’s market etiquette is easy when you know how….

1. Enjoy! The priority of any potential customer should be the Thai custom attitude of “sanook” or fun.  Service with smiles on both sides means a transaction is on the route to success.

2. Make like a local.  Many vendors will be happy to try out their English language skills on a newcomer to the city but picking up a few simple but polite phrases in Thai such as: “how much?”, “a little discount?” and “expensive!” all help towards making the purchasing process more pleasurable.  Figures are often tapped out on an oversized calculator so you don’t have to be bogged down by numerics, but don’t be afraid to tap in the price you see fit and offer it back with a smile.  A happy medium is often best reached in this way. 

3. Bargain hard.  Remember to stick to your guns, especially in more touristy hotspots when polite perseverance is likely to pay off.  Sometimes even walking away can magically reveal the real price, but don’t be too disheartened if it doesn’t.

4. Buy in bulk.  More generous discounts are quite the norm if buying more than one item, but otherwise, outside of tourist areas a discount of more than 30 percent is fairly optimistic.  Cooked foods are never bargained for.

5. Know your budget.  To help with pricing ideas try pre-emptively checking out shop prices or other vendors to make sure you get a good street price, and for bigger purchases, it also helps to decide on your top price before you dive in, much like you would at an auction.

Our 24/7 live help customer support center
is always available.