In Reply to: I reckon the exact opposite posted by sherbert on Sunday, 6. December 2009 at 09:43 Bali Time:
I like to get an idea as to the going rate ( eg. I had a few touts tell me 250,000r for a t shirt which I knew was too far too high)
By listening in, and asking around, I got to know what others were paying and then had a rough idea of going rate.
I dont mind donating to the balinese economy by being liberal but I dont want to be totally ripped off either on basics like sarongs t shirts etc.
When in lombok I paid 400,000R for a piece of ikat- to this day I have no idea of whether that was a good rate BUT its unusual, I could see how much work went into it and at end of day , I have it on my wall and I dont care if it wasnt a good price or not, so agree with eavesdrop there.