Eshin Direct

Avoid Being Sold at Newton Market

Trader Eyal has a very good post on how to avoid being sold something. In some ways I’ve seen him in action already in the computer marts of Hong Kong and Singapore, so I already know he knows his stuff. I think Rule Number 2 is his trademark where he cracks a joke which sends the poor sales folks laughing nervously back to their corner of the shop.

The post is influenced by another post on how to avoid buying a rug in Turkey. Trader Eyal then offers his own ruleset based on experiences in Asia. I, in turn and in the spirit of National Day weekend, offer that these rules apply equally to that most famous of tourist trap places, Newton Market, in our very own Singapore.

Rule number 1: Never, ever, respond to a conversation or any kind of interaction with those shills or sellers unless you’re already well educated in the area you’re considering a purchase in and are ready to buy right now. Preferably, I try to even avoid any eye contact as this minimizes those “where are you from?” questions.

This definitely applies to Newton Market. Avoid eye contact with the hawkers at Newton Market as this is a sign of weakness. You are indicating that you are unsure of what to eat and leave a nice big opening for them to influence you. Likewise, aimless wandering around “browsing” should be done to a minimum as this also indicates the weakness of uncertainty that can be exploited. Look like a local and this diminishes somewhat – one trick of mine is to carry my motorcycle helmet with me so that I definitely don’t look like a tourist.

Rule number 2: refer to rule number 1, can’t be reiterated enough. If you do nothing else then just observing the above will get you out of most trouble. For “advanced” users, I’m already quite immune to those shills so sometimes I do crack a joke with them, often in such a way that makes them realize I’m not going to buy anything from them and gets (some of) them off my back.

No, don’t joke with them. No conversation until you are ready to makan, as the locals say using the Malay word for eat. Seriously, if you are inexperienced, your initiating into dialogue will have them follow you around Newton Market while you decide what to eat.

Rule number 3: Never, ever, buy in the first shop you get into. If by design or by breaking rule number 1 (tsk tsk) you do get into a shop and start discussing an item, even if you like something and the price seems right, do not buy yet. Why? You can almost always come back later, it’s very rare that only one seller has this item, stepping away puts you in control and the shop owner is more likely to reveal their lowest selling price.

In this case, the first is not always the best or the best value for money. Plenty of tourists give the hawker stalls closest to the entrance their money through not having followed these simple rules. I’m not saying that they are bad but it is in your interests to shop around. Of course, tourists don’t have the luxury of experience to tell them which place is better, but still don’t be rushed into making a decision until you’ve browsed around. Yes, the hawkers are not unique but doing expect them to reveal their lowest selling price. Some leeway might be given when you ask for add-ons to the meal. For example, if ordering something like satay and you want ketupat (the rice cake type thing that works nicely with satay they might charge you for this. Ask for it for free if you are buying plenty of satay.

Rule number 4: Plan in advance for any pruchase worth more than just pocket money. Do your research, start with online shops – almost anything is sold online too these days, with friends who’ve been to the place, travel forums, hotel stafff (depending no what kind of hotel you’re in this is sometimes not a great idea) and multiple shops in the destination. When checking prices it’s best to check in different kinds of shops including those that seem expensive like in shopping malls, main street, and then markets. Will give you some good reference points.

Tough to do here. Do your research for food at Hungry Go Where or ask any local friends which place is good at Newton. Inevitably, you will be told that Newton is probably not the best place for anything. Particularly seafood since it is overpriced and it seems that tourists are inevitably lured by relatively cheap (for them) and fresh lobster. Ironically, someone is paying for the seafood since it seems the predominant fare at Newton and not all consuming our clawed crustacean friends are non-locals at Newton.

Rule number 5: Coordinate with travel partner(s). Discuss in advance with your travel partner(s) on what stage you’re in: checking things out or ready to buy and what items and prices you’re aiming for. It also helps if no one goes into a shop saying: “yes I really love it, it’s the best item I’ve ever seen and we’ll surely never find anything better and cheaper anywhere else”

Good advice. Plan a strategy at least five minutes before stepping foot within the Newton Market compound with more than one person. Discuss what type of foods you both are looking for. Remember, you are the prey and the hawkers are the hunters – even if you don’t show any weakness, they will inevitably zero in on the weaker member of the group. This poor soul can invariably be recognized as the naive and enthusiastic person that spots something they actually like and shouts out “oh, I feel like a fish porridge” in front of aforementioned fish porridge stall.

Rule number 6: Negotiate. It’s impossible to teach negotiation in a blog post. Nevertheless knowing how to neogtiate helps tremendously of course. If you’ve done your homework in steps 4 and 5 you should know what sort of prices to expect and everyone should be on the same page with regards to how to approach the seller. When I don’t feel comfortable in my research of step 4 then if the item is expensive I won’t buy yet but negotiate to find out prices, if it isn’t expensive and/or worth the time then I go for rule of thumb of cutting the price in half and seeing how that goes.

Negotiation at Newton is a fine art and you have several choices in approach. You can either go for Trader Eyal’s rule of thumb and cut the price in half. Chances are you probably won’t eat. Alternatively, you can pummel your way though like an ang mo and try and get something for free like a couple of beers (he’s overcharging you for the lobster anyway). Likewise, you can score moral victory points and get the condiments for free like the previously referred to ketupat. Alternatively, if you’re really feeling cheap for a typical meal that costs $5-6 dollars sing, then overload yourself on the free sambal, chili, soy sauce or take some extra chopsticks.

So there you have it – your handy guide to handling hawkers at Newton Market.