It is a conversation with rules, not a confrontation. Learn the rules and it stops being uncomfortable.
Bargaining is normal in markets, for taxis and for anything without a printed price. It is not normal in supermarkets, restaurants or pharmacies, where trying it is simply confusing.

The structure is consistent. The seller opens high — typically three to four times the target. You counter low, around a third. You each move in decreasing steps and settle somewhere near half the opening price. The whole thing takes two or three minutes and is meant to be enjoyable.
The one rule that matters: do not ask a price for something you have no intention of buying. Asking is treated as intent, and backing out afterwards is what produces the pressure and irritation visitors complain about. Browse freely; ask deliberately.


And once you have agreed a number, pay it without further negotiation — reopening a settled price is the one genuinely rude move.
Walking away is not a trick, it is the price-discovery mechanism. If you are called back, the price was inflated; if you are not, it was near the floor. And once you have agreed a number, pay it without further negotiation — reopening a settled price is the one genuinely rude move.

