While all of this judging and staring is going on, you are also beginning to learn the ancient art of bartering; an art lost to most of America, except for car salesmen and those few who dabble in antiquing. It takes a while to get the hang of, but once you fail enough times, you start to win a few and you begin to realize that it all comes down to leverage. The more leverage you have, the better a price you can get. That is all it is.
For example, if you get off a bus in a bus station 4km outside of town with no choice but to approach one of the smiling taxi drivers for a ride, you have no leverage. You will be ripped off. But if you can walk 20 feet and hail a passing cab on the road, you have a bit of leverage and can often haggle a bit. Or if you see something you really like in a shop and keep telling the shopkeeper how much you love it and must have it, you have no leverage. You will be ripped off. But if you see something you like, but ignore it, or comment audibly on its defects, or even start to walk out of the shop, you can often get it for under a third of the asking price (at which point the shopkeeper will always remind you that you are getting it for the “Indian price.”)
But leverage is not just situational and good bartering skills, it’s also a whole host of other things. Confidence is of course first and foremost. If you are confident, you have leverage. And also near the top of this list is the way you are looked at and judged. Locals are constantly sizing you up and trying to put you in a box. The less you look like a tourist, and the more you remain neutral about where you are from and your class, the more curious they will be (thus often the more likely to talk to you, which is always fun) and the more leverage you will have with bartering, both for taxis and in shops. The less they know about you, the more leverage you have, it’s the basic rule of bartering.
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