Winning the game inside Ben Thanh Market

What is the magic of Ben Thanh Market that induces travel literature to list it as one of the main attractions of Ho Chi Minh City? Is it the lovely smell of dried sea animals that hits you once you step foot near the stalls selling food? The one-foot-wide aisles for walking that force you to redefine “right of way”? The dim lighting that sets the mood for an amazing shopping experience? Or could it be the one-stop shopping itself? The dirt cheap prices for souvenirs and other essentials?
Whatever it is, Ben Thanh Market has become a destination. Everyone who walks into this playing field is aware of the game that they sign up for. It is a mix of Go Fish and The Price is Right while trying to get through a corn maze, except it is isn’t corn, but rows and rows of clothing, luggage, backpacks, jewelry, household items, sunglasses, watches and souvenirs. Claustrophobics beware. There should be a note of caution outside each entrance like roller coasters have for pregnant women: “claustrophobics: proceed at your own risk.”
There is really only room for one person to walk down the narrow aisles between stalls. If you see another person coming your way, be prepared to do an awkward side turn to allow them to pass. The one-foot circumference most people would presumably want for themselves, in which strangers should not cross without permission, is virtually absent in the market. Be prepared to leave the market with no less than three physical contact points on your body from the light hair brush across your arm to the sandal mark of someone who has stepped on your foot.
The exchange between you and a stall keeper is your chance to play Go Fish the Right Price. The key, from my personal experience here and in Chinatown, New York, is being able to walk away. Girls, this may be hard for you to do, but trust me, there is an exact copy of those multi-strapped stilettos in the next stall over. Products are not strategically positioned with stalls selling shoes on opposing corners of the market in the name of competition, but they are right next to each other. So if you want to buy shoes, there is one area with many sellers for shoes.
A safe starting point is to cut the seller price in half. The answer you receive will be the equivalent of “go fish.” Give yourself an upper limit of how much you would be willing to spend and do not go over that limit. If you’re not happy with the price, then the purchase is not worth it and you should just walk away.
A good percentage of the time, the seller will come running after you if it’s not busy, granting you victory. That’s how I got both my Coach wallet and bag for thirty-five dollars in Chinatown. If you walk away without buying what you wanted, you’ll find some other product to displace that unhappiness. Ben Thanh Market is the land of unlimited commodity, some girls’ version of heaven, just without the flashing lights and marble floors. It is all based on what value you place on the desired product. Even in places where there is a “fixed price” sign, prices are negotiable.
From the non-stop bargaining to Ben Thanh Market’s version of a food court where you are guaranteed a value if you could not find it while shopping, you will find all the culture you need in this microcosm of HCM City.