Tips to Dissuade the Hoards of Small Item Vendors

Eyes down, head shaking no, hand signaling stay back, walk away. I don’t say anything or engage verbally because then that gives away my language and they want to further engage.

Wear sunglasses and/or don't make eye contact. A simple no thank you, non merci, or la shukran.

Don’t engage, and just keep walking. They’ll find someone else.

Use a local guide.

Mirrored sunglasses, and forget about being polite. This is also not the time to consider 'window shopping' or think about 'just looking'. One iota of interest and you are fair game for any sales pitch.

Not exactly the same, but i wanted to show my daughter some of my favorite places so I took her to Istanbul about a year ago.

When the carpet salesmen started following us down the road I did the usual ignore and walk but she wanted to window shop and looked at me like I was rude. Before i knew it she and a salesman were leading us into a shop. oh my ........ !!! Two cups of tea, many long conversations about life with the guy, his wife and his daughter, an hour or so, and one carpet later we left.

Okay not really a carpet, a huge, supposedly hand made (not) blanket that was heavy enogh to be a carpet. The last effort I made to stop my daughter was to say she could never fit that in her luggage. The man's daughter appeared with what is now my favorite day bag for local trips, and tossed it in for free.

One of our favorite memories of the trip.

Like most people say, avoid eye contact, seriously. Walk with determination and head slighly down.

Mr. E, my daughter came back from her honeymoon with a small Turkish rug too. I got away with a very small, though very expensive, mosaic piece from the factory in Jordan which only employed the disabled. At least the ones we saw. She loves her rug and I love my mosaic, memories are powerful aphrodisiacs.

Don't say "no thank you.". Either say nothing or only "no' firmly.

Thanks to all. I guess I know what to do, but it is counter-intuitive to my spirit and seems rude. I am pretty good at saying no, though there are a Kurdish rug, animal-shaped locks from India and a few other discarded bits like a prayer bracelet from Crete and a rose from Rome that belie my confidence.

As for being in over-touristy areas, I think most of Europe is getting over-touristy and my experience is that if you are in a market in a country where bargaining is the rule, you will approached by many sellers. One could stay in the hotel, but why travel there if you aren't going out? My goal is to establish the best methods for handling the situation.

Jeff, maybe just avoid the markets 😉.

Maria, that's not really an option. I mean, I COULD, but isn't the whole point of traveling, especially using the RS credo, to leave our western 1st world environment behind and explore how other folks in our world live? In many countries, the markets are the heart and soul of a community-it is where connections are made,socializing takes place and the products of the region are brought together. I most certainly don't want to skip the markets, I just want to be able to negotiate them better, Thanks.

Jeff, I can see it, but I prefer gardens and greenspaces to see how local life goes by. Or I hire a local bird guide or connect with locals with my hobbies for meeting locals with a common interest. Our discussions are then not based on tourism and no hassles. I shop at the food markets as I prefer apartments and stroll India flower markets, but merchandise market visits can be missed or reduced, in my travels.
But is markets are written in ink on your itinerary, then I still like the mirrored sunglasses. They don't allow eye contact, and can reduce approaches....not always, but enough.
Alternatively, if being rude is difficult, can you buy smaller items from the solo vendors, or those you know need the money? I watched an older gentleman on a Peru tour who would always spend a dollar or two when approached. So often they were in need and though he didn't need any of the stuff, he had the money, they got a sale and everyone saved face. When in India in October, I did that with the local older women....my age. Maybe it was to feel less uncomfortable knowing I could live out my end of life without worrying where my next meal came from, but even the small sale gave a connection of womanhood and age.

I've not been in that bad a situation (other than some places in the Caribbean) but looking at Egypt in the future. I've always wondered if in the situation as described, a hired local guide can offer some protection. Anybody have experience?

Stan, my experience in Egypt was at a unique time....2011 just when tourism was opening after the Arab Spring. The vendors were still in shell-shock and many had not opened stalls yet. I had a private guide for Alexandria, but it felt more like a business city. I hired her driver the next day for the Pyramids, and to accompany me...hoping he would be a bit of a body guard....that didn't work out as planned. The camel guy still picked me up and put me on the camel. The young guy still got me to pose for all the ridiculous photos (finder in tip of Pyramid...that sort of thing)...he was good. Subtle, and roped me in before I could extract myself....but he also made me laugh and wasn't aggressive.
But I found wandering the markets in India with a small group tour and guide was low key and no hassles. They were more low key than the Istanbul stall keepers and carpet sellers.
Learn 'no' in Arabic. It is 'la' but not pronounced like La la land. Almost 2 syllables. Listen on Google translate.

I also allowed myself to be escorted into a carpet seller's establishment in Istanbul. The gentleman was very clever. He helped us find the entrance to the cistern and then was waiting for us when we came out. In addition to great hospitality and tea, we also were served a nice lunch! I bought a beautiful kilim rug (only 2 feet x 3 feet). The internet tells me that I paid an appropriate amount for it. I am sure that the seller thought he was going to get more from me. It was a great experience. It also made it easier for me to tell the rest of the sellers that I had already purchased a rug and there was no more money. I found the Turkish touts to be persistent but mostly friendly and interesting to talk to.

The point of my story is that it is part of the experience of the trip. Leverge it for a good memory. Doesnt always work out that way, but give it a chance like my daughter did and it just might

We have traveled extensively in countries that are generally poor and always loaded with street vendors trying to sell you something.

Yes, just say no and ignore them.

We were in Egypt last Jan. and our tour guide, who was great, did her best to help us out maneuver the vendors. However, we had moment where we were surrounded by them. My wife almost tripped trying to get around one very aggressive one.

My advise is the move fast, ignore them, watch you valuables (pickpockets are there) and say NO.

Successfully fending off third-world vendors will prepare you for Paris. Remember that the rudeness originates with the touts. You owe them no respect. And that includes youngsters. If anyone touches you, it's the cue to snap and glare.

Generally though the first
problem is being in those types of places to begin with. It really is
a clue that the place is overly-touristy.

I have a bit of a different take than nearly all so far. I go to Mexico pretty regularly, and to not necessarily touristy places to surf. Touts aren't a sign that you're in an overly-touristy place as much as a place with a lot of poor people and weak social safety net. In a little town I was surfing near last month, the same 10 year old girl selling trinkets on the beach on a school day during school time was digging in the garbage that evening.

These people can be annoying, but they are hustling to scrape out a living in a way I've never had to. Which is not to say I'm not a worker. Started at 12yo washing dishes, digging ditches, lots of hard boring labor. Then grinded through college working full time in hotel restaurants, etc. These people touting trinkets though are poor, so while I won't be unduly manipulated by them, I also try to keep my attitude toward them from being too sour.

There's a balance between not being unduly brusk or mean and not inviting a long pestering. Be clear and confident that you aren't buying anything if you aren't. Most of the time you can do this in a friendly way and not send mixed messages. The touts have seen "you" before, and if you send clear signals nearly all will let it go.

Hank, we sort of agree. Read tge reports above and you wonder how or why people would go to these places? Sounds like he'll. Until you accept it and work with it. It's a culture. And it's not our culture.

My experience has been that saying no is almost as bad as showing interest in terms of inadvertently inviting more back-and-forth.

After a bad experience, I watched other people getting through a crowd and vendors without constantly apologizing and sidestepping. No saying "no", no putting a hand up, no making eye contact... you stare through the crowd as though it does not exist. Eyes on the horizon.

It's not perfect, but it works better than anything I've tried so far.

ETA: I do not consider it rude or I wouldn't do it. I feel it's ethical to avoid wasting their time and energy by engaging if they've got no chance with me.

It's complicated to me. I actually have a different policy in an environment where I'm not in a crowd full of potential customers or even aid. I don't want to be dehumanized but I don't want to dehumanize either. In a very crowded and competitive environment, staring straight ahead is not dehumanizing in my humble opinion. When I am one of a few people that has passed on the street and someone close to me is engaging, whether to sell me something, ask for something, etc... If they are not being disrespectful, I personally prefer to acknowledge them as I acknowledge many strangers in the grocery store or parking lot or whatever. The world is dehumanizing enough.

If anyone touches you, it's the cue to snap and glare.

In Rome in 2014 a guy crossed the line and grabbed my 5'0" wife's wrist and tried to push flowers into her hand. Big mistake. They were really aggressive again last week as we sat on a patio restaurant with another couple, and there seems to be more of them.

But it's in the US as well, it must be about 15 years ago when my son was about 12. We were in the sewer previously known as Hollywood and a guy shoved a CD into my son's hand and then spun him around and demanded money for it. At least in Rome I didn't worry if the guy was going to pull a gun on me when I got in his face.

There's certainly are different types of people operating out there Allan.

On the other end of the spectrum, the last time I was in Costa Rica a cute friendly 9-year-old boy came up to our table while we were dining outside. He had picked palm fronds and broken them down into strips. From each strip he wove a pretty cool looking grasshopper. A daddy grasshopper for me, a mom for my wife, and the little kid grasshopper for my 8-year-old girl. He put the grasshoppers on our table. We had a nice chat in my broken Spanish. The grasshoppers were really cool so I gave him $20. Other people gave him less, or change, and about half waved him off like he was an annoyance.

The next day my wife was speaking to an American expat who ran a shop near the beach. She told her about the little boy. This woman explained that that boy had walked alone 160 miles from his village in Nicaragua where his parents had died and grandparents could no longer afford to feed him. They told him there were tourists in Tamarindo and to follow the coast south. In Tamarindo slept on the beach with a little pack of other lost boys.
When the wet season came they would have to try to work something else out. The shopkeeper said that she held the boys' (not much) money for them so they didn't get robbed in the night.

My wife related this to me, I looked at our girl happy at the iPad, and I felt like I was going to have a mental breakdown. 160 mi alone with nothing. This bright beautiful little kid.

Wide range to be sure. I'm 100% with you in my dislike of the sketchy dirtbags out there who prey on tourists.

Tips to Dissuade the Hoards of Small Item Vendors

wear a Cone of Silence. Added benefit, transparent, so you can see them coming.

Electric pink pants, a tight fitting yellow t-shirt, very dark sunglasses, gold chains on the neck, and extremely expensive athletic shoes. Trust me..... they will not bother you.

Morocco 2019, we didn’t have bothersome small-token vendors, except at one mountain pass, where one guy (not very bothersome) outside of a rest stop we stopped at walked up to showed me some geodes. I hadn’t known, but apparently the area was a source for them, and the shop at the rest stop had some for sale on the shelves. The vendor outside had some with glitter glued inside the obviously fake geodes, and after a “no” from me, he immediately went away. Souks in Marrakech and Fes had stalls with lots of small items, but zero touts, and no one followed us trying to pester us to look at or buy anything. Stop at a stall and you might get a sales pitch, but walk past it and there’s no interaction.

Big cities in Europe, yes, but in Morocco, I didn’t experience aggressive or pesky small-item vendors, except for the one, momentary, non-persistent fake geode guy.