Bargaining Simulator

Not vocabulary — register and nerve. The four phrases here are easy to learn in a minute. What takes practice is knowing that 太贵了！ with a smile opens a negotiation rather than insulting anyone, and that 我再看看 followed by actually walking is worth more than any amount of arguing.

Two rules the simulator enforces because real stalls do. The stallholder never goes below the local price — there is a floor, and hammering past it just wastes the afternoon. And once you accept a number, you have bought the thing: backing out after your own offer is agreed is the one move that genuinely causes offence.

Where is it actually OK to bargain in China?

Tourist markets, clothing and souvenir stalls, antiques streets and electronics arcades — anywhere without a printed price. In supermarkets, chain stores, malls, restaurants and taxis the price is fixed and haggling is simply out of place. The full rules are on shopping and bargaining.

How much should I actually offer?

Counter at about a third of the opening price and expect to settle near half. Visitors are routinely quoted three to five times the local price, so a counter that feels rude is usually still a good deal for the seller.

Are the prices in the game realistic?

The “local price” figures are realistic order-of-magnitude prices for market goods in a Chinese city, and the opening multipliers match what a visibly foreign buyer is typically quoted. They are there to teach the shape of the negotiation, not as a price list.