Rachel Hajar's Blog: My Life in Doha - Posts Tagged "souk"
A Great Game
Shopping is a fun activity. However, it is not always clear what is the right price for the goods we buy. In the Middle East such as in Qatar and the rest of the Gulf, there are two kinds of shopping: Western style and Eastern style. Western style shopping involves fixed pricing as in supermarket and Malls whereas in Eastern style, you are expected to bargain or haggle, usually in the souk, where it would be foolish not to negotiate a lower price.
I was exposed to souk shopping when I came to live in Qatar many years ago. I had been amazed how an expert bargainer could lower the price!
Shopping with fixed prices is not fun at all! It can be downright depressing. Shopping in the souk is so much more fun, interesting, and entertaining. The name of the game is b-a-r-g-a-i-n-i-n-g. It is a form of social interaction that requires grace, humor, and knowledge of psychology. Bargaining is an art, and like art people respond to it differently: You either like it or dislike it, just like a Picasso painting. My husband does not enjoy bargaining but I do.
Yesterday, my husband went to the Omani Souk to buy some plants. He invited me to go with him but I declined because I wanted to visit our grandchildren. The Omani Souk is on Haloul Street, parallel to Salwa Road. It is behind the vegetable market. I like the Omani Souk. It has charm and character. There, you can buy miscellaneous things like woven baskets, incense, handcrafted incense burners and pottery, spices, perfumes, nuts, hand-made camel equipment, honey in bottles, and garden plants and flowers. There are also food stalls!
This morning, my husband narrated to me his Omani Souk adventure. On getting out of the car he had entered the first shop and asked about the prices of various plants. After the price tour, he had told the shop owner: “Your prices are too expensive.” The shop owner had asked, “Well, how much do you want?” There had been a big pot with four bougainvilleas and the shop owner had told him it cost QR250 (US$68.50). Naturally, my husband had been shocked. So, he had walked out of the stall, looking at plants in the other stalls. But the first shop owner had followed him around, imploring him to buy his bougainvillea. Much irritated, my husband had told him that he will not buy from him because his price was too expensive and proceeded to ignore him. Still, the shop owner followed him everywhere entreating him to buy the bougainvillea for QR250. My husband was very annoyed; he had no patience. He had felt insulted, so he faced the shop owner and told him he will not pay more than QR50 for the bougainvillea. “If you agree, then you can put the plant in my car.” The shop owner had replied, “Sixty riyals?” My husband had nodded and the plant was put in his car!
“The guy thought you were rich”, I said much amused. My husband was wearing his usual Qatari attire: dishdasha and flowing headgear kept in place by a black aghal and he had gone to the souk with a driver!
“Yah, rich and dumb”, my husband replied.
My husband had broken all the rules of bargaining but I was much impressed! If it were me, I would have smiled and then try to negotiate down the price but I don’t think I would have succeeded in getting the price down by 75%! However, since my husband has no patience with haggling, he missed out on the rich theatrics involved.
Rachel Hajar, M.D.
Author of My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
Available at:
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
I was exposed to souk shopping when I came to live in Qatar many years ago. I had been amazed how an expert bargainer could lower the price!
Shopping with fixed prices is not fun at all! It can be downright depressing. Shopping in the souk is so much more fun, interesting, and entertaining. The name of the game is b-a-r-g-a-i-n-i-n-g. It is a form of social interaction that requires grace, humor, and knowledge of psychology. Bargaining is an art, and like art people respond to it differently: You either like it or dislike it, just like a Picasso painting. My husband does not enjoy bargaining but I do.
Yesterday, my husband went to the Omani Souk to buy some plants. He invited me to go with him but I declined because I wanted to visit our grandchildren. The Omani Souk is on Haloul Street, parallel to Salwa Road. It is behind the vegetable market. I like the Omani Souk. It has charm and character. There, you can buy miscellaneous things like woven baskets, incense, handcrafted incense burners and pottery, spices, perfumes, nuts, hand-made camel equipment, honey in bottles, and garden plants and flowers. There are also food stalls!
This morning, my husband narrated to me his Omani Souk adventure. On getting out of the car he had entered the first shop and asked about the prices of various plants. After the price tour, he had told the shop owner: “Your prices are too expensive.” The shop owner had asked, “Well, how much do you want?” There had been a big pot with four bougainvilleas and the shop owner had told him it cost QR250 (US$68.50). Naturally, my husband had been shocked. So, he had walked out of the stall, looking at plants in the other stalls. But the first shop owner had followed him around, imploring him to buy his bougainvillea. Much irritated, my husband had told him that he will not buy from him because his price was too expensive and proceeded to ignore him. Still, the shop owner followed him everywhere entreating him to buy the bougainvillea for QR250. My husband was very annoyed; he had no patience. He had felt insulted, so he faced the shop owner and told him he will not pay more than QR50 for the bougainvillea. “If you agree, then you can put the plant in my car.” The shop owner had replied, “Sixty riyals?” My husband had nodded and the plant was put in his car!
“The guy thought you were rich”, I said much amused. My husband was wearing his usual Qatari attire: dishdasha and flowing headgear kept in place by a black aghal and he had gone to the souk with a driver!
“Yah, rich and dumb”, my husband replied.
My husband had broken all the rules of bargaining but I was much impressed! If it were me, I would have smiled and then try to negotiate down the price but I don’t think I would have succeeded in getting the price down by 75%! However, since my husband has no patience with haggling, he missed out on the rich theatrics involved.
Rachel Hajar, M.D.
Author of My Life in Doha: Between Dream and Reality
Available at:
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
