Though its part of
business,overcharging and bargaining in Uganda have become so common
and if its your first time in the country,you may pay much for
less.So its advisable that you take note of the prices of the
prevailing charges before you set off for a gorilla Safari to Uganda.Many tourists come
with a lot of money but due to ignorance about bargaining norms in
Uganda,they end up over spending and run short of money.
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| Ugandan shilling notes |
Therefore tourists in
Uganda will sometimes need to bargain over prices at some instances for example when buying curios.However,it should be understood that
the fact that a curio seller is open to negotiations does not mean
that you were initially overcharged or ripped off.Curio sellers will
generally quote a price knowing well that you are going to bargain
it down and it is not necessary to respond in an accusatory manner.It
is impossible to say by how much you should bargain the initial price
down unless you are used to it.What some people do, is to mention a
price half that the seller has suggested so that he doesn't keep so
far away from the real price.The best way to prepare for bargaining
is to make a survey in the shops to see how much different shops
charge for what you want to buy and then get an average of the
total.Other instances where bargaining and overcharging is common
are;chartering a private taxi, organizing a guide,and when buying some
market produce.
When it comes to
tourists,sellers in Uganda seem to charge relatively higher prices
because they think that they are ignorant of the prevailing
prices.This explains why tourists in Uganda are always seen moving
with guides and deal with travel companies mostly to avoid any form
of cheating.Minibus-conductors often try to overcharge tourists.The
best way to counter this is to check the correct ticket price in
advance with an impartial party,and to book your ticket the day
before you travel.If you fail to do that,you will have to haggle with
these conductors in order to reach at an agreed transport charge.
Something you should know
about overcharging and bargaining is that it is the fact of being
overcharged that annoys,the amount itself is generally of little
consequence in the wider context of a trip to to Uganda.But this
overcharging among Ugandan traders is due to the economic conditions
in the country given the fact that generally Ugandans are much poorer
than they will ever be.So when they see tourists from developed
countries,they always struggle hard to get as much money from them as
possible where needs be.
However,not everything in
Uganda is hiked because there is a bargaining and overcharging norm
.Some goods and services are out of this bracket and once a trader or
service provider tells you the price,it is the last price.For
instance prices in hotels,restaurants and shops are generally
fixed,and overcharging in such places is too unusual for it to be
worth challenging a price unless it is blatantly ridiculous.
