Haggle Like a Pro: Insider Tips for Outsmarting Marrakech’s Souvenir Sellers

In her video, Alba, a young content creator, gives tips on how to negotiate prices of items in Morocco to avoid being scammed. "If you go to Marrakech and you want to bring back a souvenir, they’re going to scam you, or at least they’re going to try. But I’m here to prevent that. I’m going to teach you how to negotiate in five easy steps to avoid paying $30 for an ugly t-shirt. They were asking 40€ for these babouches, and I got them for well under half of that," explains the young woman in her video.

The young tourist provides the keys in 5 steps. First, "you ask the price. Dude, how much does this bag cost? And they’ll tell you: 450 dirhams for those, but only 420 dirhams for you. You’re cool, my friend."

Next, you act "shocked. What? Too expensive, my friend. Too expensive. And you’re going to make them a pathetic offer, less than a third of what they’re asking. For example, 100 dirhams maximum." She adds in the third step: "You have to stand firm. You’re going to tell them that you’ve been here several times before, even if it’s a lie, that you already know how it works. And if you negotiate for a while and don’t get an offer that suits you, we’ll play the trump card."

The fourth step comes: "You leave. You bluff and tell them no, it’s too expensive and you’re going elsewhere. This will encourage them to offer you a much more enticing offer. And if they refuse, we’ll leave with dignity and start again in another store. Sometimes the bluff doesn’t work," warns the tourist, before revealing that she managed to buy a souvenir that was supposed to cost her 40 euros, but only ended up costing her 14. "There you go, my friends. I could spend the whole morning negotiating."