Shopping can be fun, especially when it comes to bargaining the price with non-native language or newly acquired language, though you can use a calculator.
To negotiate effectively, you can start off the counteroffer 50 percent from the price offered by the seller, though it seems too low to start with, if you are lucky, you will close the deal 30 percent less than the original price.
Sometimes, you will get a faster bargain when you walk away in the middle of negotiation to show that you are not interested in continuing the negotiation. Don’t be surprised if the seller calls you and drops the price significantly. This trick works most of the time.
Be thoughtful, that the sellers are small businesses who have only small capital invested in their business.
Here are phrases you can use when you are shopping.
Buyer/customer
| How to say it in Indonesian |
How to say it in English |
|
|
| 1. Bisa lihat yang ini? |
1. Can I see this one? |
| 2. Berapa harganya? |
2. How much is it? |
| 3. Apa bisa tawar? |
3. Can I bargain? |
| 4. Apa bisa kurang? |
4. Can you lower the price? |
| 5. Semuanya berapa? |
5. How much is the price for all of them? |
| 6. Wah, masih terlalu mahal! |
6. Well, it is still too expensive! |
| 7. Kurang ya? Kan saya belinya banyak. |
7. Please lower the price. You know I buy a lot from you |
| 8. Berapa harga pasnya? |
8. How much is your best and final offer? |
| 9. Bisa bayar pakai kartu debit? |
9. Can I pay with a debit card? |
| 10. Bisa bayar dengan kartu kredit? |
10. Can I pay with a credit card? |
| 11. Tolong kembaliannya lima ribuan, ya. |
11. Please give me changes in the denomination of 5000. |
| 12. Bisa tukar uang kecil? |
12. Can I exchange small bills for larger denomination? |
| 13. Saya tidak punya uang kecil. |
13. I don’t have small changes. |
Note:
You can use “nggak”, a colloquial for “tidak” “no”, which is used mostly in daily conversations.
image by Pedro Ribeiro Simoes via Flickr creative commons.
Seller
| What to say in Indonesian |
What to say in English |
| 1. Ini harganya tiga ribu. |
1. This is three thousand, |
| 2. Wa, masih terlalu rendah. Saya tidak dapat untung kalau segitu. |
2. Well, the counteroffer is too low. I won’t get any profit with your counteroffer. |
| 3. Tambah lagi, Bu. |
3. Please, ask me higher than that, Ma’am. |
| 4. Uangnya terlalu besar. Punya yang kecilan? |
4. It is a very large denomination. Do you have a smaller one to pay for your purchase? |
| 5. Maaf, Bu. Saya hanya terima uang kontan. (formal “tunai”) |
5. I am sorry, Ma’am. I only accept cash. |
Image by epSos.de via Flickr creative commons
Dialogue
At a clothing store
| How to say it in Indonesian |
How to say it in English |
| Pramuniaga (Shopkeeper): kaos yang mana, Bu? |
Shopkeeper: which t-shirt, Ma’am? |
| Pembeli (Buyer): Saya mau kaos yang ini tapi ukuran kecil, ‘S’ (es). |
Buyer: I want this t-shirt but I want one size smaller, size ‘S” |
| Pramuniaga: Saya cari dulu ya. Ini, Bu. |
Shopkeeper: let me find the size for you. |
| (A while after the customer try the t-shirt) |
| Pembeli: Ukurannya pas. Saya mau beli tiga. Berapa semuanya? |
Buyer: It fits me. I want to buy three. How much do they cost? |
| Pramuniaga: Satu, dua puluh ribu; tiga jadinya enam puluh ribu, Bu. |
Shopkeeper: One t-shirt is twenty thousand; all three are sixty thousand, Ma’am. |
| Pembeli: Wah, mahal. Saya kan beli tiga. Tiga puluh ribu, ya. |
Buyer: Well, it is expensive. Thirty thousand for all three of them, please. |
| Pramuniaga: Tidak bisa, Bu. Lima puluh lima, boleh. |
Shopkeeper: I cannot give you that price, Ma’am. How about fifty thousand? |
| Pembeli: Empat puluh ribu. Saya tidak mau lebih. |
Buyer: Forty, I don’t want to pay you more than that. |
| Penjual: Ya sudah, buat penglaris, empat puluh lima ribu. ya. Tidak bisa kurang lagi. |
Shopkeeper: Okay, as it is my “penglaris”, I give you my final offer, forty five thousand.Note
Penglaris: 1 the first item sold in a work day, through to stimulate later sales. 2 something that sells well, best seller. |
| Pembeli: Iya boleh. Ini uangnya. |
Buyer: Okay. This is the money. |
| Pramuniaga: ini kembaliannya. Terima kasih, Bu. Mampir lagi, ya. |
Shopkeeper: This is the change. Thank you, Ma’am. Please come again. |
