Overcharging - I have had it!

Happens a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr72INVkd0M&t=363s

I was overcharged at the market the other day. Kept asking how they arrived at the figure. In the end, the vendor just took the stuff back and handed back the money.

Its definately common practice here. 😡

Waiting for the justifiers to come on board and defend it. 😂

Hey you're rich white people you can afford it

I always think I'm been ribbed off.. usually i try to find price in advance.. then ask the price.. and if they are not same or close then I take my business elsewhere 😆😂

The government makes the problem worse by having differential pricing at parks and similar attractions.  If the government does it, why should the citizens see themselves obligated to be any different?

Ask what you are expected to pay for the goods and/or services you are expecting to receive. Have enough small bills to pay for that good or service. Do due diligence and patronize the shops and vendors that give you the service you like. Your complaint is ubiquitous worldwide.

I'll second that sound advice       

If you present yourself as an (obvious)  'jelly belly',  a.k.a.  another expat
with equally fat wallet, you deserve the consequences.

(try to?) Empathise with the culture: the 500,000 dong note is a sure sign
you have more money than sense.   ALL the locals work with 50's & 20's.

Common sense also applies.   Note the long queues at food 'outlets', then
return at quiet times.   Still long queue?   You've found a winner...

Smile.   And return if you enjoy.   They will remember, and (often) you'll
find a reduced price, even tho we all know the low prices are ridiculous
when compared to 'back home'.  NEVER brag about it.   They know.

Loss of face is a big thing here.    But like the lack of common sense...

..that too, seems to be ubiquitous worldwide...       

Bazza139 wrote:

I'll second that sound advice       

If you present yourself as an (obvious)  'jelly belly',  a.k.a.  another expat
with equally fat wallet, you deserve the consequences.

(try to?) Empathise with the culture: the 500,000 dong note is a sure sign
you have more money than sense.   ALL the locals work with 50's & 20's.

Common sense also applies.   Note the long queues at food 'outlets', then
return at quiet times.   Still long queue?   You've found a winner...

Smile.   And return if you enjoy.   They will remember, and (often) you'll
find a reduced price, even tho we all know the low prices are ridiculous
when compared to 'back home'.  NEVER brag about it.   They know.

Loss of face is a big thing here.    But like the lack of common sense...

..that too, seems to be ubiquitous worldwide...       

Queues...now that's something unknown in Vietnam.

Oops!   ..corrected...     

..queues of expats, (obviously...)     

You are unique, and remember to be unique in your respect and understanding of the Viet people and culture.
Never forget the value of FACE.
God knows the Viet people have endured a world of crap over the last century.
A foreign friend is of value and status and worth to a Viet family.
Show your respect and devotion to their friends and keep that knowledge to yourself.
Be that and more - you will be paid back hundreds of times in return.

..precisely...       

colinoscapee wrote:

Queues...now that's something unknown in Vietnam.

Queues also exist in vietnam.

There are several one-person queues beside to each other. The first ones in the queues are next. 

Bazza139 wrote:

the 500,000 dong note is a sure sign
you have more money than sense.   ALL the locals work with 50's & 20's.

And what do you do personally with the 500'000 Dong banknotes that the ATM spits out?

I certainly don't try to spend in a market
Considering most small shops and market vendors make and live on very little, we have no problem in letting them keep the change
What does 20,000d matter to us foreigners...
Mike

*** And what do you do personally with the 500'000 Dong banknotes that the ATM spits out? ***

How about pay rent, or the doctor, or something not ostentatious?

I took my SO to a tiny village southeast of Hanoi in 1999 Co Ry gave her aunt a 50,000 Dong note which was about $5 at that time. Her aunt was so happy she cried. It was a very humbling experience.

Jim-Minh wrote:

*** And what do you do personally with the 500'000 Dong banknotes that the ATM spits out? ***

How about rent, or the doctor, or something not ostentatious?

Hay mot Pho Buoi Vien street vendor??? - LMAO - buy an impression

I pay the rent by bank transfer and the doctor by credit card.

It's really not that easy to get rid of the 500'000 notes.

But not worth further discussion.

Cam on ong, toi hieu. Xin loi.

I am still living in Dallas and it is a different world.

I hope you understand.

We've never, ever, had any problem paying with the 500K note anywhere: at one-woman eateries, in mom-and-pop general stores, at wet/openmarkets, on the taxis and buses, in the North, Central, South, and the islands.

The only time I wouldn't pay with a large note is early in the morning, not because the vendor may not have enough change, but because if I were the first footer, I wouldn't want my transaction to be complicate and prolonged -- all vendors hate that.  That's all. 

I don't know of anyone (I mean the locals, as they are the great majority of my friends, families, and acquaintances) who thinks carrying 500K notes is the sign of being rich anymore.

Foreigner pay with their 500k, Vietnamese with the envelope

Bazza139 wrote:

ALL the locals work with 50's & 20's.

My VN GF is always after me to keep the small bills.  I generally like to get rid of them as fast as possible so I'm not carrying around a huge wad of small money.  Maybe this is why she does this.  She almost always has exact change or close to it.

My first "Thread Drift" topic:

I likely need to upgrade my "money carrying system". 

I still live in the US but come to VN for two weeks every two months.  Moving to HCMC in February and then I will be reversing that ratio and come to the US 2 weeks every two months for work.  As it is now pretty much everything in the US is credit or debit card with a little cash so I have a small front pocket card holder/magnetic money clip.  The magnet starts to not hold well past 6-8 bills.

What is the best way for a man to carry a wad of money with credit cards, ID, etc., front pocket only?  I don't like sitting on rear pocket wallets.

I can only tell you of my experience while in Ha Noi, which is
as y'all know, the far North...   ..some of us are a little eccentric...

   Maybe people are poorer here..?    Dunno, but I do notice very
few 'big noters', whether street vendors or supermarkets...

  The Circle K convenience stores ALWAYS ask for the small notes,
even down to 2 & 1,000 dong.   Might it be my B.O..?

   Ok, I admit to carrying the big notes in my ****, but I also have
steel snap-clips on rear pockets.   No pickpockets so far, altho my
GF had her purse taken while distracted.  Yes, at the night markets...

   To sum up?   Don't flash the cash.   Ever.     There are plenty of
ways to carry the big stuff.   Go Ogle.

(doesn't) work for me.   I have my own system.  Get yours.   

I remember my ex Vietnamese wife always telling me to hide somewhere when she was going to buy stuff at a market. As soon as they'd see I'm with her, prices would suddenly rise. So you just get used to hiding somewhere or pretending not knowing her.

My SO and I rented a car and driver to take us from Hanoi to Vinh Ha Long. It got late and we stopped in Hai Phong thinking we would stay the night and continue the next day. My SO told me to stay in the car and she would get the room. She came out to get me and as soon as the manager saw me the price doubled.

WillyBaldy wrote:

I remember my ex Vietnamese wife always telling me to hide somewhere when she was going to buy stuff at a market. As soon as they'd see I'm with her, prices would suddenly rise. So you just get used to hiding somewhere or pretending not knowing her.

This seems very familiar to me. Now that my wife is advanced in pregnancy I have to go shopping alone and experience it every day. But there are also few street vendors who charge me the same prices as the local ones. Of course I shop there again and again.

We also avoid shopping at street vendors or eating at street restaurants when we are travelling by car, because the prices then also rise.

There are people here in the forum who say that the rich from the west don't get poor from it. But I don't like people who want to rip others off just because they think they are rich, because i don't think they are very intelligent. Because in the long run a good customer brings more than one who doesn't come a second time.

Bazza139 wrote:

I can only tell you of my experience while in Ha Noi, which is
as y'all know, the far North...   ..some of us are a little eccentric...

   Maybe people are poorer here..?    Dunno, but I do notice very
few 'big noters', whether street vendors or supermarkets...

The Circle K convenience stores ALWAYS ask for the small notes,
even down to 2 & 1,000 dong.   Might it be my B.O..?

   Ok, I admit to carrying the big notes in my ****, but I also have
steel snap-clips on rear pockets.   No pickpockets so far, altho my
GF had her purse taken while distracted.  Yes, at the night markets...

   To sum up?   Don't flash the cash.   Ever.     There are plenty of
ways to carry the big stuff.   Go Ogle.

(doesn't) work for me.   I have my own system.  Get yours.   

I've found that that's normally to do with the change they can give you more than anything else.

michaellieptourists wrote:

I certainly don't try to spend in a market
Considering most small shops and market vendors make and live on very little, we have no problem in letting them keep the change
What does 20,000d matter to us foreigners...
Mike

I'm sorry? Thank you (not) for sending a message like that. 

Kruchris...

Was there something in my post that touched a nerve?
We would not be going into a market for small goods and expect them to change a 500k note, common sense...
If you find it a problem to give them the change, or let them take it, perhaps Vn is not the place for you...

I want to avoid falling in the "love it or leave it" camp but there is some truth to what michaellieptouristshas said.  At some point you have to say, this is not right but I am not letting it take over my life.   The title of this thread says "I have had it" so we have to assume or else what?  People can leave the markets to Vietnamese spouses, if linguistically talented they can discuss the matter with merchants, or they can pointedly patronize places that do not double charge.  You seem to have few alternatives other than boiling over, which will not be good for your blood pressure. 

michaellieptourists wrote:

Kruchris...

Was there something in my post that touched a nerve?
We would not be going into a market for small goods and expect them to change a 500k note, common sense...
If you find it a problem to give them the change, or let them take it, perhaps Vn is not the place for you...

Do you do the same thing in your home country?

So you really want to compare the standard of living in Australia with Vietnam....

michaellieptourists wrote:

So you really want to compare the standard of living in Australia with Vietnam....

Never asked about the standard of living, just asking if you do the same thing. Many people in Australia struggle too.Not a difficult question.

I don't know if the price is really raised up when a foreigner go buying something by him/herself but I never had any of my foreign coworkers complain about this, in any city I have been working at. And it surely never happened when I was with them. No ridiculous thing like they have to hide when we go buy something, even at street vendors. There are other Vietnamese people buying, they can't sell to others with one price and raise it up for me just because a foreigner is standing beside me. As for the bus ticket, there is price of the ticket on it, so I don't understand how it can be doubled, if they sold you two tickets, they don't pocket the money for the second one. Maybe it was a miscommunication, can't tell cuz I wasn't there but honestly the thought foreigners are all rich and can afford to pay higher was 20 years ago, many if not most Vietnamese realize it is definitely not true now.

Heretolearn wrote:

I don't know if the price is really raised up when a foreigner go buying something by him/herself but I never had any of my foreign coworkers complain about this, in any city I have been working at. And it surely never happened when I was with them. No ridiculous thing like they have to hide when we go buy something, even at street vendors. There are other Vietnamese people buying, they can't sell to others with one price and raise it up for me just because a foreigner is standing beside me. As for the bus ticket, there is price of the ticket on it, so I don't understand how it can be doubled, if they sold you two tickets, they don't pocket the money for the second one. Maybe it was a miscommunication, can't tell cuz I wasn't there but honestly the thought foreigners are all rich and can afford to pay higher was 20 years ago, many if not most Vietnamese realize it is definitely not true now.

My wife always asks me not to be seen when buying things. Its obvious you have no idea how things work for foreigners.

I have been working with foreigners for 10 years, no I have no idea.

Been there, done that, have the ball cap. The foreign factor is real, I am here to tell you.

Are you a foreigner?
Even the local news knows about it, and you dont.

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel-lif … 57519.html

Yeah, it never happens. Its a fact of life in Vn.

http://mytigertour.com/blog/why-are-you … n-viet-namhttps://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/trave … arged.html

I don't say I do. I just said it never neccessary for me to tell a foreigner to hide when I m going out and buy something that I pay by my money for them because the price is the same.

Heretolearn Today 02:49:42 Report #32
28 posts Tây Ninh, Tây Ninh
"I don't know if the price is really raised up when a foreigner go buying something by him/herself but I never had any of my foreign coworkers complain about this, in any city I have been working at. And it surely never happened when I was with them. No ridiculous thing like they have to hide when we go buy something, even at street vendors. There are other Vietnamese people buying, they can't sell to others with one price and raise it up for me just because a foreigner is standing beside me. As for the bus ticket, there is price of the ticket on it, so I don't understand how it can be doubled, if they sold you two tickets, they don't pocket the money for the second one. Maybe it was a miscommunication, can't tell cuz I wasn't there but honestly the thought foreigners are all rich and can afford to pay higher was 20 years ago, many if not most Vietnamese realize it is definitely not true now."

I find the (total?) opposite, admittedly in the old quarter of Ha Noi, but (us locals) know
full well we are in a 'tourist trap'.   But (most of us) adapt very quickly...

I have already listed what I consider to be the best options: a smile, an open mind,
choosing other venues..?   Works for me.

          I have never been happier living here, but yes, I like being weird...     

It is on the news because it happens sometimes, not because it is a norm. And really, I don't bother taking change for some small bills from sellers that seem to have life hard as it is. Be nice to people and they will be nice to you, overthinking every minor things and your life will always be a headache.