Buying and Bargaining in Africa

Haggling is a time-honored tradition throughout the world. But despite its prevalence in flea markets and garage sales all over the United States, many Americans have trouble learning the skills to do a good deal when they travel. They have special difficulty in places like Cameroon, West Africa, where language and cultural barriers make it difficult to avoid getting ripped off, let alone drive a hard bargain. But it's not impossible.

The first thing to remember is that not all prices are open to negotiation, not even in Africa. In Cameroon, you will find fixed prices in bars and stores where people sell imported and manufactured goods. Transportation prices on planes, trains and bush taxis, as well as in city taxis and on mototaxis, are technically fixed. This means that Cameroonian sellers of public transportation always charge the same for the same services and that most taxi drivers will charge the same rate across town. But it's good to know what the rates are when you travel, since there is always that odd opportunist who will try to charge you three times the going rate.

Surprisingly, a lot of street food in Cameroon is also fixed in price. Mainly women entrepreneurs prepare it and sell it daily-usually after sunset when the air has cooled down and people are roaming around, looking for something to eat. A Cameroonian street food seller will have her specific spot on the street and will charge the same price every time. She may charge a foreigner three times the price that she would charge a local Cameroonian, but that doesn't make the price negotiable. Either you buy at the price she states or she won't sell to you.

Children also go up and down the streets near the central marché of a Cameroonian town or village with platters of peanuts and other items, usually during the day. It's possible to bully or cajole them into lowering the price. However, since your shortchanging them will earn them a beating once they get home, it's not recommended. The best way to call a child seller in francophone Cameroon is to hook your fingers and hiss, saying, "Petit! Viens ici!" Hooking your fingers and hissing is also a standard way of calling a taxi.

The marché is where things get tricky for a traveller. This is the open-air market that every town has in Cameroon. Basic products like meat, dried and smoked fish from Lake Chad, rice, corn and other bulk goods are usually fixed in price. Everything else is usually negotiable. However, you should avoid negotiating too hard for essentials when you travel, since if you lose, you will be out something you really need. Negotiating for essentials can also anger some Cameroonians who are not in the mood for haggling over what they think is already a fair price.

Larger towns in Cameroon and other areas of West Africa will have a daily marché. Smaller towns and villages will have a marché only one day a week. Keep this in mind when you travel through since very little may be available in town the rest of the week. Since the same Muslim Fulani merchants go around the country supplying the various marchés, each village in an area has its marché on a different day.

Last is the Artisanat. You will only find an Artisanat in Cameroon in very large towns or cities like Bertoua, Bafoussam, Maroua, Yaoundé and Douala. This is where artisans sell their goods. Artisans can come from any Cameroonian tribe and are usually men. But the middlemen are almost always Fulani or Hausa Muslims, the merchants of West Africa. Here is where a traveler can most likely get in a good haggle.

It is highly useful in Cameroon, especially when bargaining in the Artisanat, to know some Fulfulde beyond the usual French. This impresses Fulani and Hausa tradesmen enormously, since few travelers in Cameroon make the effort to learn any "patois"-local languages. Never, never start with the price that you are actually willing to pay. The seller will usually start at about twice what he is willing to sell for, so you should start at about half of your final price. The two of you will go back and forth until you agree on a price that both of you can live with. The reason why you should only haggle over non-essentials is because this is a game. The object of African bargaining is to draw things out as much as possible for the entertainment of the two participants and their audience. Once you learn this, you can have a lot of fun.

Women should keep in mind that there will be some items in Cameroon (like Muslim rosaries) that it is taboo for them to touch or buy. Other than that, however, a woman who is culturally sensitive and low-key should have no difficulty bargaining for various items.

Travelers in general should take care not to buy anything that is made from an illegal material (ivory, hippo bone, crocodile hide and some types of wood, for example) or that could be classified as an artifact (i.e. old or culturally important). This could get you arrested. You also need a certificate that lists all of the items that you bought in the country. This costs a standard bribe, usually about 1000 CFA (the local currency), even though it's supposed to be free. This is one of those bribes, however, that are not negotiable, so don't bother arguing about it.

As always when it comes to traveling through Africa, and especially a culturally mixed country like Cameroon, make sure that you pack your patience and sense of humor. With these two things in hand, you should have a good adventure in bargaining.