How to haggle like a pro.

The key to getting a good deal in China is never paying the price on the tag. You usually can't haggle in a department store, but that's not where you will get the best price anyway. As a naive tourist, I assumed that local merchants were charging double of the actual price. This is not true, because they are probably charging quadruple the price. My basic rule of thumb is that if you can get something for half the price, then you're only getting a little ripped off. If you can get something for a third the price, then you're doing okay.

Some haggling tips:

• Don't look like a tourist. This is hard if you are actually a tourist.
• Speak their language.... or get someone who knows the language to haggle for you.
• Never let them know that you really want to buy the goods. Pretend it's only a passing interest, or an item that you find mildly amusing, but could do without.
  
• Insult the quality of the goods. Claim that it is junk and hardly worth buying.
• Very late in the haggling process, offer to buy 2 or more if the merchant will give you a lower price. This should not be done early in negotiations, as it will only result in you getting ripped off on several items, instead of just one.
• Squeeze the rock. Keep the pressure on, so the merchant has invested a lot of time in haggling and this may tire him/her out to the point where they just want to finish the sale and move onto another customer. Do not let them switch their attention to another customer.
• With all this time invested in haggling, refuse to make the purchase, then walk away. Make it look geniune. With luck, the merchant will call you back with a final offer.
• If the merchant does not call you back, you can return later and accept his previous offer.
• Always comparision shop. Quote the prices that other merchants have offered you, if it is lower than what the current merchant is offering.

I have to say that many of these techniques were perfected too late in my vacation. It's normal for tourists to get ripped off on their first day. By the second day, you're a bit wisier, but still getting ripped off. On the third and fourth day, you should be able to hold your own. As the saying goes: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

If you do get ripped off, remember that a yuan is only around 20 cents, so you're really not getting ripped off by very much. It's just pocket change in the end.