"To bargain, or not to bargain? Haggling etiquette and expectations in Jordan" by Charlie Perricelli
Banner image: The colorful view of a spice store near my homestay in Sport City. Photo credit: Perricelli, 2024.
While learning Arabic in the U.S., one of the first cultural lessons my class had was about the bargaining culture in the Arab world. I was always curious about this, and I was excited to learn Jordan’s shopping culture when I came to Amman.
After being here for more than two months, what I have found is that in many situations, haggling is expected, while in others, it is not, and you will be remarkably unsuccessful in your attempts to receive a better price. The expected situations usually revolve around outdoor markets. Souk Jara is the primary example of this that I experienced, as it is an open-air market with many vendors selling the same or similar items. Because of this, they will be willing to negotiate with you. If you do not get a price that you like, you can always walk away and attempt to find a better price from a similar vendor.
Keep in mind though, that it is not appropriate to haggle over food. I have never even tried this, because there really is not an opportunity to do so. The price you are given is the price you pay. In Jordan, however, the price of food is usually less than half the price of how much the same food would be in the U.S., so it is not necessary to haggle anyways.
I came across one situation where it was appropriate to haggle, but I should have negotiated earlier. Kareem and Uber are recommended for students, and I commonly used these services to travel around Amman. Once, returning from a museum, we dropped off a fellow student at her host house. Since we were already in the Kareem, my roommate and I just asked the driver to keep going to our host house. We should have negotiated a price there. However, because the driver asked for a total that was elevated from what it should have been. It wasn’t too severe of a hike, but I still learned to negotiate for prices before accepting service from someone else next time.
Overall, I have enjoyed using my haggling skills where it is appropriate and expected of me to do so. Everyone I have met doing so has been respectful and proper in the interaction. If you are someone who enjoys interpersonal relations and negotiation, coming to Amman will be a fun test of your skills.
Charlie Perricelli is a student at Villanova University and studied abroad on Amideast’s Intensive Arabic Program in Jordan in the Summer, 2024.
