The Souks of Marrakech in Morocco are a market that will test and sharpen your skills at negotiating. The market, which is a disorienting maze of shops that winds through part of the old town adjacent to the Jemaa Al-Fna square, is full of textiles, ceramics, spices, ailments and cheap knock off goods. Shopkeepers have mastered the art of persuasion and use every trick in the book to convince you to part with your money. Bargaining is a big part of the game here and you need to be willing to play. You can expect a discounted price of over 80% here, but it will take some skill to avoid being taken full advantage of by these intrepid salesmen. This is as good a place as any to master the art of negotiation – or at least to get some invaluable firsthand experience in the art of selling.

Some of the many tricks you will encounter here include the following:

Personalization – I was wearing a North Face jacket when negotiating for a Tajine pot. The salesman looked at me, then at my jacket, and then proceeded to tell me that he owns a ski lift in the Atlas Mountains where the skiing is unbelievable. When I pressed him about the altitude of the lift, he answered carefully, 3,179m. Now, even if you don’t fall for this trick, he already achieved his goal by establishing a personal connection.

Oppression – One salesman insisted I would not be a good husband if I did not provide for my wife by buying her a scarf. He tried to make me feel guilty that I was haggling over a couple of Dirhams rather than focusing on making her happy. This is a dirty trick but it can work. Just remember, these are just tricks and you can get the same scarf in the next stall.

Guilt – Because the Souks are so fascinating, it is easy to get caught looking at a particular product, wondering what it is or what it does. This is where the salesman pulls you in. When I lingered at a spice stand, the shopkeeper patiently explained to me what each spice is, what it is used for, and what health benefits it has. At the end of this short education session, I felt more or less obligated to buy some of these spices. I even felt bad bargaining with him, seeing that he invested so much of his time.

Regain the upper hand

Ok, you will never have the upper hand, but you can take some steps to lessen the leverage of the merchant.

1. Start small

Hone your bargaining skills with some small items. Spend some time getting used to the process of bargaining back and forth and getting creative with your counter offers. The few Dirhams you spend here will probably be too much but practice makes perfect! As you get comfortable bargaining, move up to the items you actually want.

2. Start low

Learn the lower end of the merchant’s tolerance by testing with some absurdly low offers. If they laugh and turn away, you made such a silly offer that they didn’t take you seriously. Good. Now try again at another merchant with a slightly higher offer. If you get a counter-offer, increase your offer by a small increment, especially if the merchant slashed the original offer by a large amount. The goal here is not to get a deal, rather it is to get a feel for the true price. Being informed is the best way to level the playing field.

3. Walk away

There is nothing wrong with walking away from an offer. No matter how much time and effort you and the salesman have invested in the process, walking away is a perfectly acceptable decision. Sometimes it isn’t easy because you are tricked to feel emotionally invested, but stay calm and rational. The same product can be found elsewhere and the insights from this negotiation will make the next negotiation even smoother. Often, when walking away, you will find that your lowball offer is acceptable after all!

In the end though, no matter how well you think you did, remember, nobody in any market sells you something at below cost. A profit was definitely made. But enjoy the experience as you will be rewarded with not only some souvenirs from the famous Souks but also with some tools to becoming a master negotiator!