7.9: Asking “Why so expensive?”

This 11th episode brings together everything you have learned about negotiating for souvenirs in Latin American markets. By now, you should have the terms and sentence structure down to go to a market and come away with the things you want to buy.

Here is your chance to practice. We're going to put you into a (hypothetical) situation in this exercise. The seller is going to give you a price for an item that you would like to buy. It costs too much -- and you should ask for a price 100 pesos less than the one offered.

Now we're going to actually give you the skills (and the terms behind those skills) to negotiate like an experienced market shopper in Latin America. If an item is more expensive than it should be, this episode will teach you how to talk it down to a more appropriate price.

The third part of our "negotiating" series will make you a master negotiator at Latin American markets (after a bit of practice, of course). The final thing we need to add, building on the last two 8th episodes, is asking for multiple items, or items that are plural by nature (like shoes or earrings).

Here we are going to build on what you learned in the past 7th episode to boost your negotiating skills even further. In the previous episode you learned how to ask “How much for this?” Now, we are going to learn how to ask for an item that is farther away from you by asking “How much for that?”

Like all things in Spanish, the gender used when negotiating is very important. After listening to this 6th episode. You will know how to ask how much something costs, while referring to it in the correct gender so as to show proper respect and knowledge of your subject.

When you are interested in buying something, you may also be interested in what the product is made of. The most commonplace situation where this can apply is with jewelry. This 5th episode will teach you how to ask what something is made of, and how to understand the answer.

This 4th episode is all about vocabulary. You'll learn the Spanish words for many common items that you'd shop for at a market, like souvenirs, plates, dolls, and more. In the accompanying blog post, there are matching exercises to help you memorize each of the items.

This 3rd episode is an overview of cultural notes to be aware of before going to a market in Latin American countries. It also covers things to be aware of, how to avoid paying more than you should, and common words and phrases that you'll hear along the way.

This 2nd episode is a conversation between Mr. Jacobs and a seller in a souvenir shop. You will hear the basics of a negotiation in Spanish. Mrs. Jacobs asks about the cost and material used in some of the souvenirs and tries to negotiate a lower price.