Some cabbies will work with their meter; others will need a flat rate without using the meter. This could be the first time you are certain to get to use your bargaining abilities.
The taxi driver may look for 500 baht. You countertop with 300. He returns with 400 Baht. You agree providing this individual pays the tolls plus the 50 baht surcharge. If you don’t want to undergo this, insist he utilize meter. I prefer to bargain mainly because it gets me in the mood for the rest of the trip.
Some things can be bargained and others can't. You will just have to feel your way around. I will try to make available some pointers.
You just might bargain a bit for your hotel room for anyone who is planning on an extended stay. A meal in a restaurant cannot be fought.
If you plan to buy some goodies for oneself and your friends the best thing to do is spend a day or two walking around and making mental notes of prices on the streets.
Knowing ballpark prices is in order to to negotiate prices. You need to know the approximate prices on the streets. Otherwise you will likely be ripped of.
What you should do is select an merchandise, get the best value possible, and then go in for the kill. Tell the vendor to lower the price and you will buy 10 of these. The price should decline.
Another tactic is your "walk away". You could argue and argue, go forwards and backwards, and when you don’t get you price, just walk out. The price should drop or owner will hurl some cuss words and phrases at you. Either method, no big deal. There are many vendors with the identical items.
Being the first customer is always much. The Thai's believe that creating a sale to the first customer with the day is good fortune. Not making a sale is often a disaster. So, hit the vendors when they open and you ought to get some really very good prices.
One other way to get a good deal is to get a Thai girlfriend that you trust. Take her out with you if you are shopping for yourself. Identify items that you would like and then send her out a day or two later to buy them. She will get the Thai price as opposed to the foreigner, or farang, value.
Speaking the language helps lower the costs. You don’t have to undergo all of the forwards and backwards bartering. If you undoubtedly are a foreigner and can chat Thai, you will knock time and prices straight down quickly.
Last tip is to venture to the Thai markets. There are markets in every city in Thailand. Some are generally weekend markets, some are generally night markets, and several are daily. These are mainly aimed toward the local Thai's but we foreigners will get great deals there far too.
Have fun, smile a lot, and shop until you drop.