The No-Nonsense Guide To Haggling The Prices Of Anything In Nigeria: For Tourists and Men Who Are Too Embarrassed to Haggle
In a diss track by Canadian rapper Dax against fellow rapper Tory Lanez, he started with this:
“You said you were the best, my nigga, what’s the criteria? All of that’s subjective like the prices in Nigeria…”
Nigeria is, in fact, well-known for subjective prices. Whether buying fabric in Balogun Market, negotiating a taxi fare, or picking up souvenirs in Abuja, one thing is certain—the first price is never the real price. But maybe you have yet to fully understand how much this concerns you. Let’s take a look at the story of one of my friends.
He’s always scared of bargaining, so much so that he doesn’t go to the market alone. But by an ill stroke of luck, he had to buy a book alone at the market once because his friend, who was good at bargaining, wasn’t available. He had ₦2,000 budget to purchase a textbook, and when he got to the bookshop, the seller said it was ₦2,000.
You know what he did? He told the seller he could only pay ₦1,800, and after the back and forth, the seller agreed. “Big win for me,” he thought. However, on getting home, he discovered from everyone else who had bought a copy of the same book that it was sold for ₦1,000. His dad mocked him so much, and he felt really, really bad!
The worst part is that he’s been cheated many times but still learned nothing about bargaining. Well, you might think ₦1,800 to ₦1,000 isn’t a lot; that’s just ₦800 difference. Yeah, you’re right. It isn’t much, especially with the state of the government and prices shooting through the roof, but the truth is, it can always be worse, and it’s also the same logic for things that are way more expensive.
Let me tell you another story. I have a street brother who was too embarrassed to haggle. He didn’t like it and always felt it would ruin his “steeze” or composed outlook. One day, he went to a boutique and bought a single shirt for ₦20,000. You should have seen the surprise on his face when a friend of his who liked the shirt purchased the same shirt for ₦5,000 at Balogun market.
Well, if ₦800 doesn’t matter, ₦15,000 definitely does. And that’s why you should listen to everything I say.
Haggling 101: What Not to Do When Haggling
So, if you’re going to get haggling, especially as a man who typically doesn’t price things or a tourist who is used to not pricing things where you come from, you must first change how you see pricing.
Contrary to what you probably believe, it’s not a show of shame; neither is it a show of poverty, nor a sign of being utterly cheap. It’s a game you’re meant to play and enjoy. When you walk away without haggling, the seller isn’t impressed by your generosity—rather, they’re probably amused by how easy the sale was. So, thinking that only people with insufficient funds or people who have no shame are meant to price or haggle things, is only going to make it impossible for you to learn how to.
The first thing is to deaden that belief! Many wealthy people haggle; multimillionaires and billionaires do a lot of haggling. Though it’s for quite different things, the principles that govern haggling work the same.
I will not just give you one example; I’ll give you four different examples to show you how
Sam Walton was known to negotiate the price of even the most mundane expenses. One of the most famous stories is about him haggling over the cost of a haircut. Even after Walmart became a retail giant, Walton bargained for lower prices. He once argued with a barber, questioning why the price of a haircut had gone up.
Despite being a billionaire, Richard Branson is known for haggling with taxi drivers when traveling, often trying to negotiate a better fare instead of accepting the standard rate.
Steve Jobs was known to be a tough negotiator in business, which extended to his personal life. He was once spotted bargaining over the price of apples at a farmers’ market. Despite his immense wealth, Jobs still enjoyed getting the best deal possible.
Trump, well-known for his aggressive deal-making, was once reported to haggle over the price of a rug for one of his properties. He insisted the seller lower the price, claiming it wasn’t worth the asking amount.
Now, you might say they are all Americans; they’re not Nigerians, but I think we can all relate to those rich uncles and aunts who still price and haggle over items. Sometimes, it gets so bad that you wonder, “Uncle, why na? You have this money.” Sometimes, you pity the sellers, but for the rich relative, their favorite response is always, “I worked for my money.”
On that note, whenever you feel inconvenienced by the idea of pricing, remember Donald Trump and your rich uncle, who still price and haggle nonetheless. Now that we’ve dealt with your wrong belief let’s get down to work:
Stop Being Embarrassed
Sellers only look out for themselves; in fact, they’re counting on you to be embarrassed to make unbelievable profits. The open market isn’t favorable to guys in the first place; add embarrassment or shyness to the mix, and you’re setting yourself up for some big-time exploitation. You’ll be surprised at how much sellers inflate things when they see you’re a guy or know you’re a tourist.
Aside from sellers hiking the price of things, you still don’t ever get the best stuff from them for that price. Let me give you an example. A friend complained about how when he went to the market, he was always given inflated prices for stuff he wanted to buy and not enough quantity for that inflated price. He once cited an example of meat sellers; he said
“I’ll go to buy meat, and right before me, the meat seller will give more pieces to any woman buying the same amount of meat. E.g.: 8 pieces for ₦1000 but would give me 5 or 6 pieces. Right before me.”
But he didn’t quite end at that,
“I also noticed they’d give the women better meat i.e. whatever portion they wanted, and usually from the fresh and clean meat. But, again, once it was my turn, all my requests for clean meat fell on deaf ears, and even while I was looking, they cut from the old, frozen meat which was a lot less fresh and obviously less tasty.”
As my friend rightly experienced, these sellers count on your feelings of embarrassment to keep exploit you. How do you know you’re pricing rightly? It’s when these sellers tell you something like, “Ah! Bros, you come dey price like a woman.“ Yes, it means you’re doing it right.
Don’t Dress Flashily
When I say don’t dress flashily, leave your jewelry, designer bags, clothes, shoes, or anything else like that at home. In other words, dress down! I’m not saying you should wear rags or dress like a pauper, but your dress shouldn’t make you look rich when you’re looking to haggle effectively. Because if you do look rich, the sellers are counting on that to exploit you. You’ll be surprised at how much the prices of things change simply because of how you look.
There is the general sellers’ assumption that rich people barely haggle or even know how to in the first place, so whatever prices they get, they’ll think they’re getting a good deal. On the other hand, if you appear simple, you give yourself better chances at getting a much better deal without needing to haggle too much. Because the starting price you’ll get will be way less than if you looked rich.
Can we blame the sellers? If “money obviously doesn’t matter to the rich,” why can’t they make a little extra from them? Even if this were true, it shouldn’t be for you. Therefore, you should avoid appearing overly expensive if you intend to get the best deal possible when haggling.
Avoid Desperation and Anger
These two emotional states stem from your perceived value of the items you’re bargaining on. And the truth is, you should avoid them like the plague. They do you no favors except increase sellers’ resistance to lowering prices in your favor and turn sellers off so they don’t feel like selling to you at all. Anger is what happens when you’re not confident. Since sellers generally expect that you’ll haggle, their basic instinct is to make their asking prices 2–3 times higher than normal.
Sometimes, you’ll be tempted to scream, “Ahhh!” and get angry, but don’t. Instead, learn to appear confident. Notice that I didn’t say to be confident; it’s really not a one-time thing, so you’ll build confidence the more you haggle and price things in your favor. But initially, you might have to fake the confidence till you eventually have it. When you hear sellers ask outrageous prices of you, chill, smile, throw in a joke, then counter with a significantly lower offer, though not insulting. No need to get angry, the seller will most likely be willing to reduce the price when you don’t get offended and just bargain instead.
What about desperation? Is it quite different? Desperation is like the ugly twin sister of anger; it shows that you want the item because you find it valuable. Even if you do (really want the item), you should maintain a look of disgust and not show any excitement! When sellers see that you don’t want to lose an item, they can stay on one price longer. This stance eventually breaks your will to negotiate, and you give in to them. I’ll hand over the reins to Mo Isu to explain how your disgusted composure should be,
“When in the store, you must maintain a constant look of disgust, everything disgusts you. A helpful way of doing this is to picture a cockroach strolling about a perfectly good plate of jollof rice. You must remember that nothing in this store is good enough for you, not even the things you like are good enough for you.”
Now that we’ve gotten our list of not-to-dos when bargaining out of the way. I’ll throw in a quick bonus tip.
Speaking good English and appearing soft-spoken as a man also gets prices hiked against you. An American or British accent also, unfortunately, does the same. Try to haggle in your local language, it makes you more relatable and makes the seller more likely to sell at a good price to you. Speaking a bit of Nigerian pidgin can also help you get a better deal as a tourist.
But even if you don’t, applying all the principles discussed in this post will help you haggle better.
Why not Have Pity on the Sellers When Haggling Prices?
There’s a cold, hard truth we all seem to forget whenever we think of sellers and haggling:
No seller will ever sell at a loss.
Sometimes, I see some people—men, women, tourists, etc, saying they pity sellers. I always just laugh in Japanese because it’s so funny. Their reasons for feeling that way are almost as ridiculous as the act. Buyers who feel guilty are falling for an illusion, which is a psychological trick they play on themselves. They assume that because they haggled hard, the seller must be struggling. They say, “I hope I didn’t cheat you?” or “They’ve been in the sun all day, so I shouldn’t haggle with them.” You might not say this out loud, but you likely do it in your mind and fold up at haggling. Let me give you a couple of ridiculous reasons why buyers feel pity for sellers:
The Empathy Guilt Trap – “I don’t want to stress this poor seller too much.”
Many buyers, especially foreigners, feel guilty after negotiating a price down. They think, “What if I just forced them to sell at a loss?”
Reality Check: No seller in Nigeria will ever sell at a loss unless they choose to. The price they give you is already padded for negotiation. If they agree to your price, trust me—they are still making a profit.
The ‘I Won Too Much’ Fallacy – “I bargained too well… Maybe I should have paid more?”
This happens when a seller quickly accepts your offer, making you second-guess yourself. You might start thinking: “If they agreed that fast, maybe I was too aggressive?”
Reality Check: You didn’t “win too much.” The seller planned for this. If you got a discount easily, it means they inflated the original price far beyond their cost price.
The ‘Last Price’ Illusion – “This is my final price. I can’t go lower.”
Ah, the classic move. A seller dramatically declares, “Ah, Oga, I swear, I no fit go lower o! Na my last price be this.”
Reality Check: The last price is rarely the real last price. It’s just a way to make you feel like you’ve reached the limit when, in reality, there’s still room to negotiate. Sellers use this trick to make you accept their price without pushing further. Instead of backing down immediately, stay firm, repeat your offer, or hesitate a little—more often than not, they’ll suddenly find a way to “adjust” the price just for you.
The Fear of Being Unfair – “I don’t want to cheat them.”
Some people worry that negotiating too hard is unethical or even outright wicked. They want to be “fair” to the seller.
Reality Check: The seller knows their cost price and profit margin. If they agree to a price, they are comfortable with the profit they’re still making. Your job isn’t to worry about fairness—it’s to get the best deal possible.
When haggling, you’re playing a game of psychology and psychological tricks based on body language, calculated concessions, and emotions. And the seller always wins. All you can do is get a good deal and not overspend yourself. So stop the pity; it won’t do you any good if you want to master this game.
The Seller’s Perspective
As I mentioned, haggling is a game in which the seller always wins. The seller who sells in a haggling market has mastered the psychology of pricing and the game because they have played it for far longer than the buyer. The best you can do as a buyer is to see things differently to start haggling better.
Traders in an open, traditional market like the ones you’ll see in Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria and all over the world understand that no one in the market pays the first price they hear, so their pricing strategy is designed to accommodate haggling. It’s not only accommodating; it’s their whole strategy if they hope to make any profits. Buyers sometimes feel like they’re outsmarting sellers, but that’s impossible because these traders can never sell at a loss, and their entire business is built around haggling. Every price they quote to you is strategically inflated to ensure they remain profitable.
Since many buyers aren’t just looking for the cheapest prices, all they really want is to get a good deal; these traders know how to make sure you feel victorious by the time you leave while they silently count their profits. A seller will typically increase prices by 2–3 times, and that’s because you’re expected to negotiate. Most Nigerians always reduce the price by half, so sellers increase it by at least 2–3 times.
Nigerian sellers are also good at judging people by their looks; they adjust prices depending on the type of customer (tourist vs. local, rich vs. average buyer), so it’s better to look unassuming to get the best prices. And finally, since customers are expected to haggle, sellers rely on high sales volume instead of just high prices. So, even if they make small profits per item, bulk sales compensate for lower margins. That’s basically how haggling works on the seller’s side.
How to Haggle Like a Pro
Haggling is made up of little, uncomplicated steps you can easily master. If you have been following closely from the beginning of this blog post, you now know why you shouldn’t pity the sellers when haggling, and you know the haggling don’ts you need to avoid. You now also understand how sellers make their profits from haggling. All that’s left for you is knowing exactly how to negotiate or haggle, and we’ll go into that immediately.
Have a General Idea of Prices of Items
Going to the market blind with no prior knowledge of the prices of stuff you want to buy leaves you at a disadvantage when haggling because any price you get will probably be what you can afford, even if it isn’t convenient. Thankfully, I’ll explain how to get around this.
You can begin by asking your friends who have bought similar items the prices they got theirs and use that as a base price in your mind. You can also check online marketplaces like Jumia, but I don’t always recommend it because sometimes the price is way above or below what the item gets sold for in the market. If any of the two I’ve suggested above doesn’t work, you can just walk around the market for a survey, ask different sellers, and compare prices, and then you can have a general sense of how much things should cost. The most important thing is not to rush into buying from the first store you see so you can have the upper hand when bargaining.
Go With a Shopping List and a Budget and Stick With it
Traditional markets like those in Lagos, Aba, or elsewhere in Nigeria are designed to distract you from what you originally intended to buy and tempt you into spending on things you never planned for. So ensure you go with a shopping list—a written list of what you need and the expected prices. Don’t just keep the list in your head (trust me on this one); once you’re in the market, the distractions will make you forget your plans. Write it on paper or in your phone’s notes app and discipline yourself to stick to it—otherwise, writing it down is pointless.
Ignore the endless “How far, my customer?” calls, the traders trying to pull you into their stalls, and the tempting sight of items you never planned to buy. Your shopping list will keep you focused and help you resist distractions peculiar to Nigerian markets. Don’t go to the market planning to buy clothes and shoes only to come out with belts, sunglasses, and no clothes or shoes in your bag. Also, keep your list out of sight—if a trader glimpses it, they’ll adjust their prices to match your budget, making it harder to negotiate a better deal.
Don’t Peer into Any Store Closely
I said earlier that you shouldn’t rush to buy your stuff at the first store you see; you should walk around the market to get an idea of the prices. Don’t make direct eye contact with traders, their goods, or their stores, or they’ll call you to come and check out their “quality” products.
How do you know the seller has the goods you want to buy?
You can sight the goods from a safe distance, preferably before you get to the store, and ensure you don’t get caught staring at goods/the store by the store owner or other competitors around the store who’ll want to sway you with “I have what you want, I get am, come follow me buy.” Staring equals interest. When walking past these stores, you must maintain a “not-interested” and straight look and seem to ignore every store if you want to successfully get to where you have in mind.
Go to Where You Have Options
If you want to buy a pair of shoes and there’s only one shoe store in the entire lane where you want to get them, your ability to haggle is limited because the seller knows you don’t have alternatives. You can’t push too hard or drive a tough bargain because, at the end of the day, you’ll have to come back if you want the shoes.
On the other hand, if there are like 7 or 8 stores selling the same kind of shoes within the area. the power shifts. You can compare prices, test different sellers’ willingness to negotiate, and even mention that you’ve seen better deals elsewhere. Why? The competition among sellers works in your favor because none of them want to lose a sale to the store next door, as opposed to the first scenario where you’re the one who is desperate not to lose the deal the seller gives you because honestly, it’s the only one you can get. To maximize your bargaining power, always shop where multiple sellers offer the same product. The more options you have, the more leverage you gain in negotiating the price on your terms.
Lowballing
When pricing, don’t try to be reasonable with it. Like I’ve said several times in this post, sellers inflate their prices by 2–3 times, which is normal because they expect you’ll price or haggle. It takes you being unreasonable to slash prices at least by half and stand with it. To do this effectively, let sellers name their prices first. Don’t be overly nervous and make the mistake of mentioning a price first because sellers will use that price as a starting point for you and won’t budge or go lower, and you’ll end up overpaying for the goods. Ask for a last or final price from the seller; this is usually where bargaining starts.
Cross-check this with your budget. If it’s higher than your budget, push for a lower price. And what if it’s lower? Also, go for a lower price. Truth is, sellers expect you to slash prices by half; they might 3X the prices for you. You should slash prices to a little below half, give that to the seller, and wait for his response. Have a personal price threshold that’s above the midpoint you slashed. When the seller wants you to pay more than that threshold you already have in mind, you should be ready to walk away.
The final thing is to be the more reluctant of the two parties to increase prices from what you initially stated to the highest point you have in mind.
Let’s say the seller says the last price is ₦2000; slash it to a little below half and tell them ₦700. The seller says ₦1500, you can maintain the ₦700. If they go further to ₦1200, you raise your prices by ₦100 when you see they are a bit reluctant to reduce it further, that’s ₦800. You might have a higher threshold of ₦900 in mind, and that’s the price you will probably eventually pay.
The most important thing is to increase prices at a lower rate than the seller cuts theirs down. If they cut down by ₦3000, you raise yours by like ₦300. That way, you can get a better deal.
Buy in Bulk for Bigger Discounts
Buying in bulk can save you a lot of money, so always ask for discounts when buying in bulk. Here’s how you can do this:
If you want to buy an item that costs ₦200, tell the seller you’ll pick two for ₦300 or three for ₦500. This will establish a common ground, and you can ask for a price reduction because you’re buying more than one item. The more sellers think they can sell, the more flexible they may become about the prices.
Pretend You Have a Lower Offer Elsewhere
If you want to quickly reduce a seller’s price, act like you’ve already found a better deal elsewhere. This is exactly why you should visit markets that have vendor clusters. Sellers hate losing customers to competition, so they’ll try to match or beat the price. Here’s how to do it:
Ask for their last price, then shake your head like it’s too high. Say something like, “I just saw this exact thing for ₦5,000 at the next shop. If you can’t do better, I’ll go back there.” Then, stay quiet. If the seller believes you, they’ll likely drop the price. If not, hold your ground and take your time—sometimes, just showing hesitation is enough to make them reconsider their offer.
The Classic “Fake” Walkaway
This here is the crux of all the steps we’ve been discussing. At this point, you find out just how low the seller is willing to go on his price. Sellers hate to lose a sale (especially to competitors). By now, you should already have your threshold in mind, the highest you’re willing to pay. Similarly, the seller has a bottom line, the lowest they’re willing to sell for. Once the seller reaches that point, they’ll likely claim that they’ve hit their cost price and can’t go any lower without making a loss. You’ll usually know you’re at this stage when they start frowning, hesitating, or looking visibly frustrated.
You should show some disapproval, act like the price isn’t good enough, and then threaten to walk away. Even if you want the item, at this point, you should be willing to let go and start to walk away, hoping the trader calls you back. You’ll probably find a better price somewhere else if they don’t. If they do call you back, they’ll slash down their prices in a desperate attempt to keep you. This price is often the best you’ll get from the seller. Sometimes, the seller may not slash their price but tell you to go and check other places and come back if you see that his price is the lowest. Anyway, if that price is right for you, go back and make the purchase.
This is in no way a hard and fast rule, but sometimes you can get really good prices when the seller is desperate to make his first sale of the day or when he’s about to pack up for the day.
Go and Buy it Elsewhere if You Don’t Like the Deal
If the price is too much, leave; don’t worry about having taken too much of the seller’s time. These sellers are experienced business owners who know they won’t close every sale, so you shouldn’t worry about offending them so much that you’ll “guilt-buy” the item at prices you don’t like. That is exactly what will give you a good dose of regret when you hear how cheap a friend got theirs. Don’t be afraid to walk away if the price is not right for you or feels too expensive! If you search enough, you can always get an unbelievable deal that will make you glad you didn’t settle for less.
Where not to Haggle
Now that you know how to haggle, mastering it is the next step. And the only way to do that is through practice—over and over until it becomes second nature. But no matter how skilled you get at bargaining, there are certain places and items where haggling isn’t done. Trying to negotiate in the wrong situation can make you look odd or embarrass you. I’ve made a comprehensive guide on where not to haggle in Nigeria.
There are some things you just can’t negotiate:
Fuel/Petrol: The price is set. No petrol attendant will lower the pump price, so don’t even try.
Supermarkets and malls: If there’s a price tag, that’s the price. No one is adjusting it for you. If it’s too expensive, go somewhere else.
Pharmacies and chain stores: Prices here are fixed. The most you can do is ask if there’s a promo or discount, but not back-and-forth negotiation.
Packaged snacks and drinks (Sausage rolls like gala, biscuits, sachet water, and bottled beverages): These have standard prices, but some sellers overprice them in certain places. The most you can do is ask for a small discount—not full-on bargaining.
Eateries and restaurants: Haggling is not a thing here. You pay the listed price, whether a fast-food joint or a proper restaurant. However, you might get a discount in a cafeteria if you buy in bulk, but that’s rare.
Public transport (Danfo, Keke, Molue): These fares are usually fixed. But you can negotiate Keke fares for longer distances or chartered rides. Molue and Danfo? Forget it. If you try to argue the fare with a conductor, they’ll either ignore you or tell you to get down. Your best bet is knowing the cost before you arrive at the park for your trip.
Ride-hailing services (Bolt, Uber): These have fixed prices displayed on the app, so you can’t haggle. You may hail an Uber or Bolt ride, and after accepting the displayed price on the app, the driver will call to tell you something else. In this case, deploy your premium haggling skills based on the original price listed. However, Indrive takes a different approach—it allows you to set your price, and drivers either accept or counter it, making it the only ride-hailing service where negotiation is built-in.
If you want to negotiate, stick to open markets, roadside stalls, traditional markets, “bend-down-select” or “second hand” markets, car boot sales, and informal roadside services like Okada and taxis.
Okada (commercial motorcycles) are highly negotiable, and you should always bargain before hopping on.
Taxis (non-app-based) also allow haggling. However, no taxi driver expects you to accept their first price unless the distance is known and the prices are fixed.
Keke (tricycles) might be negotiable sometimes, especially for longer trips or when you’re chartering one.
If you’re unsure whether haggling is appropriate, just observe how others around you are paying. If nobody else is bargaining, chances are, you shouldn’t either.
Guide to Haggling the Prices of Anything in Nigeria: Final Thoughts
Haggling is great. It saves you money. It gives you that sweet feeling of getting a deal. But if there’s one downside to it, it’s that it can get tiring.
Imagine entering a store, pricing an item, and the seller won’t budge past a certain amount. Fine. You leave, hoping to get a better deal somewhere else. You check the next stall; the price is the same. You check another, it’s even more expensive. You go to four more places, and you’re exhausted at this point. Your legs are screaming from all the walking, your throat is dry from all the pricing, and to make things worse, you start thinking of going back to the first place because, as it turns out, that was the best deal all along.
And it’s not just the physical stress. Haggling takes mental energy, too. The back-and-forth, calculating, and fake walkaways all add up. If you’re just buying one or two things, it’s not a big deal. But when you have a long shopping list? That’s where things get real.
And if you bring someone along? Oh, good luck. Because while you’re hopping from stall to stall, comparing prices, they’re standing there—bored out of their mind and waiting, probably regretting why they agreed to follow you in the first place. So, while haggling is great for saving money, be prepared because it can take a lot out of you.
Did you enjoy reading this guide? In the comments below, share your favorite or most useful tip! If you’ve used a strategy that worked well for you, share it with us, and we might include it in an updated version.
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Really interesting read, now I’m ready to hit the market! 😁
My flaw in haggling is anger and desperation. I easily get angry and I don’t hide my desperation but thanks to u I now realize that it’s a flaw and I will definitely work on controlling it.
I really enjoyed this article. I also like d fact that u stated the downside of haggling.. kudos🙌