“Across West Africa, if you want to purchase certain items, there’s often not a set price for these things and you’re gonna have to bargain for them. This does not apply to supermarkets or things like that, but it does apply to the informal markets and marketplaces. For example, if you wanted to go and buy some fabric to have a traditional outfit made, you would go to a market stall and you would pick out a piece of fabric that you like and you would ask for the price. The price that you’re going to be given the first time is probably five to ten times what the vendor is actually willing to sell it for. If you take that initial price of whatever they give you, and you pay it, you look like an absolute fool. Pretty much everyone assumes that you know that you have to bargain. So that would involve you giving a counter price and then negotiations happen, and depending on the person who’s selling and how good of a negotiator you are, you should be able to come to a price that’s around something that you should pay for that item. There are a couple techniques that you can use to try and get a better price. First of all, when you ask for the price they’ll often ask you first ‘Well, what you’re willing to pay?’ Never tell them what you’re willing to pay, always insist that they give you a price first.”