实战口语情景对话 第543期:Bairgain Shopping 讨价还价

Joel: Hey, Tom, when you were in Thailand, did you, were you good at bargaining? You know how you have to haggle to get the price lower.
乔尔：嘿，汤姆，你在泰国生活时擅长砍价吗？就是讨价还价，把价格降低。

Tom: Once I got started it was OK, but, oh, getting started was so difficult.
汤姆：只要开始就容易些，不过很难开始。

Joel: What do you mean?
乔尔：你是什么意思？

Tom: I just knew that when I walked up to a market stall, that I'd pick up something, and if it was something that I wanted, to get it, I'd have to start fighting. I'd have to get through his argument it felt like, and I was really uncomfortable about doing that.
汤姆：我会去小摊买东西，如果我看到一个我需要的东西，我想买下来，那我就会开始砍价。我要和摊主争论价格，可是这么做我总觉得不舒服。

Joel: That's the problem with me, too. I was always too nice. It's like, you know, I'd give them one price and then, they would never go for the price that I ask for so I, if the price was a 100, and I said, "OK, 50", then they would say, "Well, OK, 95", and I usually wouldn't take it much further than that.
乔尔：我也有同样的问题。我一直都很友好。一般我会告诉他们我的理想价格，不过一般他们不会同意我的价格，举例来说，如果某样东西要价100元，我会说：“50吧”，然后他们会说：“不行，给95吧”，那我就不会再继续砍了。

Tom: Oh, no, that's completely, I'm completely different. If I started it was because it was something that I really wanted, and I'd already have an idea of the price, so once I started that whole deal, oh it could take quite a long time. I'd, we'd chat, you know, it's a very friendly way of doing it in Thailand. We'd talk about the price. I'd do a lot of smiling. I'd pick up some other things that were similar and I'd really go for it and take a long time.
汤姆：不是，那跟我完全不同。如果这样东西是我特别想买的，我就会开始砍价，而且我会想好我能接受的价格，所以一旦我决定砍价，那就会花好长时间。我们会聊天，这是在泰国砍价的一种友好方式。我们会谈价格，我会一直保持微笑。我会拿一些其他类似的东西，然后继续砍价，所以会花好长时间。

Joel: I heard that the trick to it is you really need to tell them a whole story, like you can't just say, " Oh, I want the price lower", you have to say like, "Oh, well, you know, I don't have any money and I really need to get this for my family and this is the last time I'm going to be here, you know, I've run out of money, can you give me a deal on it. You can't just tell them you want a lower price. You have to give them a good reason and you have to have a dramatic story to go along with it.
乔尔：我听说砍价的技巧是你要给他们讲故事，你不能只是说：“便宜点吧”，你要说：“你知道，我没什么钱了，可是我家真的很需要这个，这是我最后一次来这里了，我的钱用光了，你便宜点卖我吧。”你不能只是告诉他们你希望能便宜点，你要给他们一个好的理由，而且你还要说一个充满戏剧性的故事。

Tom: I've done that in the past. I've emptied out my wallet, and I've said, this is for my lunch. This is for the taxi. This is all I've got left for you. Right, and then you take a bus home. A bus is a lot cheaper than a taxi.
汤姆：我以前这么做过。我把钱包里的钱都掏出来，然后跟卖东西的人说，这是吃午饭的钱，这是做出租车的钱。这些就是我现在能给你的钱。你可以坐公交车回家，因为公交车比出租车便宜的多。

Joel: I've also heard, like you can get, usually if, as I've said before, if the price is, the quoted price is 100, then you should shoot for, not a third of that but, even like, half of that. You can get it for 50, not 75.
乔尔：我听说……比如说一个东西的价格是100元，你不应该只砍下三分之一的价格，你可以对半砍。你能用50元钱买到这个东西，而不是75元。

Tom: Yeah, I think the first price is always, you can always get a big reduction on that, but I remember the last time I went shopping in Thailand I was buying stuff for my mum and I'd left it really late and it was pouring down with rain and my mom wanted something, it was very specific, some silk trousers and she wanted 10 pairs to give them away to her friends, and I trolled around this big bazaar with hundred of shops looking for this very specific product and eventually I found it and the shopkeeper only had half a dozen; I wanted more, and she said her price and I just gave her the money. I wanted to get home as quickly as possible, so I got half a dozen ties on top of the trousers because I hadn't bargained. She gave me something extra just for not trying.
汤姆：对，通常第一次可以得到很大的优惠，我记得上次我在泰国购物是为我妈妈买东西，我去的时候已经很晚了，而且还下着大雨，我妈妈要的是那种非常特别的真丝长裤，她想买10条送给她的朋友们，我去的那个市集很大，有数百家商铺，我就在那里到处找我妈妈要的那种长裤，最后我终于在一家店里找到了，可是店主说只有6条；我想买更多，她说了价格以后我就直接付钱了。因为我想尽快回家，除了长裤以外店主还送了我6条领带，因为我没有砍价，所以她送了我一些东西。

Joel: Are you going to Thailand over this break?
乔尔：你休假时会去泰国吗？

Tom: I'm going at Christmas, yeah.
汤姆：我圣诞节时会去泰国。

Joel: I'm wondering if, I got really big feet, and I'm having a hard time getting shoes here. Do you know, I know you have big feet too, I'm wondering, is it possible to get big shoes?
乔尔：我的脚很大，很难在这里的商店买到合适的鞋。我知道你的脚也很大，我在想，泰国能买到大号的鞋吗？

Tom: Yeah, they definitely have them. They make them there and they're all these outlets.
汤姆：当然，泰国绝对可以买到。他们那里制作鞋，有很多批发商店。

Joel: And. they're cheap too, right?
乔尔：那也很便宜，对吧？

Tom: That's right.
汤姆：没错。

Joel: I'm wondering if you can pick me up some when you're out there, like any kind of business shoes.
乔尔：我在想你去泰国的时候能不能帮我带双鞋回来，我需要正装鞋。

Tom: You want business shoes?
汤姆：你要买正装鞋？

Joel: Yeah.
乔尔：对。

Tom: OK.
汤姆：好的。

Joel: Just black business shoes, any kind you find is fine.
乔尔：黑色的正装鞋就可以，样式你决定就行。

Tom: Lace-ups?
汤姆：要系带鞋吗？

Joel: Yeah, lace-ups are fine. And like a size 12, American.
乔尔：对，系带鞋。美国鞋号是12号。

Tom: You want one pair, or two pairs?
汤姆：你要买一双还是两双？

Joel: Yeah, maybe two pairs, that's even better.
乔尔：两双吧，两双更好些。

Tom: Sure, I'll see what I can find.
汤姆：好的，到时候我看看。