Shopping
I decided to write a post about shopping culture in Turkey, since it is extremely different from that os US. Firstly, except for large international chains such as Starbucks, prices can be largely negotiable. Many stores, especially clothing, will not specify the prices of the items and will tell someone a price based on whether they are natives or tourists or based on whether they look well off or poor. Especially when someone sells rugs, souvenirs or fruit in the streets, prices can be extremely negotiable. It's important to tell the seller that you have already seen the same item somewhere else with a lower price in order for them to decrease the prices. It is also easier to bargain if one is buying several units of the same item. For instance, if something costs 15 Turkish liras and one ways 5 of those, the price can be negotiated to 60 liras. This being said, tourists can often be deceived with more expensive prices compared to what locals usually give, however the prices in Turkey are generally lower compared to the US, related to lower wages and salaries. Therefore, the tourist might not even realize that they are paying twice the actual price of the souvenir or the rug. Nevertheless, why pay more if you can pay less?
I also learnt a few vocabulary words related to shopping stores.
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