In Reply to: Bartering is the exchange of goods..... posted by dadvet on Tuesday, 18. August 2009 at 02:00 Bali Time:
I admit I am a pedant but it just drives me crazy when I see "bartering" used instead of "bargaining" or "haggling". Totally different, as you point out. Not at all interchangeable. The more people use the incorrect word the more prevalent it becomes, as we see here.
Definite looks like becoming definAte (even though spell check underscores it).
But, to the point, if a shop doesn't have price tags on clothes/items then I know bargaining is OK. Even if there are tags then bargaining is worth a try, especially if you buy more than one item. If they say Harga Pas (or there is a sign) then it is fixed price & no haggling.
Always worth trying to bargain, especially for "morning price". But not at restaurants.