As I headed back towards my hotel after a day of roaming the Hanoi streets, I found myself stopping in at the few touristy shops that were open. One shop was a DVD, CD, books shop. There were two other girls in the shop and a girl manning the counter. As the two girls made their selection and went to pay, one of them said that she wanted a good deal because she was buying three. The girl at the counter said 110,000 dong. They countered with 50,000 d. Then a loud male voice came booming over a speaker. In very good English he said 100,000 dong.
It seems there was a camera set up in the corner, attached to a computer that was online, allowing the shop owner to bargain with the tourists from a different shop entirely. I wonder how many shops he watched at once.
The two girls really got into the bargaining with someone they couldn’t see, but could not get the man down below 90,000 dong.
After they left, I thought it might be fun just to see if I could get the same deal. So I took my three items to the counter. The girl said 105,000 dong. I looked up, smiled at the camera, and said they paid only 90,000. There was then some conversation in Vietnamese before the male voice said, “ok 90,000 dong”. He then asked if I was part of the same group, I replied no, but I’d overheard the negotiations. I then paid, smiled and waved goodbye.