Important Haggling Points

I managed to do some haggling in Hong Kong for my Waterproof Case and Battery. I don't remember If I ever did that here, but I'm pretty sure, it wasn't for something as expensive. I don't claim to be of any authority on haggling, but then it's part of being Asian to bargain (or so the rest of the world thinks).

Anyway, rule number one is: Do your homework. Find out about the retail prices so that you can gauge how much more expensive they're charging you. For the Waterproof Case, I had it pegged at a retail price of HK$ 1430.00, and the battery at $400 from Canon HK website. The guy at the Wan Chai Computer Centre ("Sam") is selling it for HK$ 1450.00, but is selling the battery for only about HK$350. I told him about the website price of the Waterproof case, and we brought down the price to HK$1400 for the case, and $350 for the battery. I saved about HK$ 80 total, which wasn't so bad. I didn't really know if I could bring it down even lower, but I thought I should close the deal since I already had saved some money right then.

Rule number two: Take the time to have a look around first. Barring some sort of cartel in the area (much like what they do with Mazda parts along Banawe Ave.), the prices you are looking for should fall in some range (see rule #1). The 512MB iPod Shuffle went from the suggested retail price of HK$550 to as high as HK$ 780 in some stores in the same area. Never discount the fact, though, being in some foreign country, that there could be miscommunication (like giving the wrong price for that product). For brand name products like the iPod, it's almost impossible to get it lower than the suggested price unless you're buying bulk or the store is having some promo. The same also holds true for already discounted items. Anyway, the point was to not pay more than you should.

Other than these two, is the fact that the product you are buying is the product that you want to buy. Check for product defects, incompatibilities, non-international warranties, return policies, and such.