Don't Get Ripped Off!
Written: Jul 13 '00 (Updated Nov 18 '02)
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Pros: It's a lot of fun to shop and things can be cheap
Cons: You have to be careful about paying way to much for being an American
The Bottom Line: I loved Cairo, the city and the people. There is of course a natural battle for your wallet, so be careful, informed, and enjoy the city.
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| kgray00's Full Review: Cairo |
This may sound simple, but trust me it isn't. I lived in Cairo for a couple of months and visited other places in Egypt. There are people trying to rip you off everywhere...especially if they know you're an American.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Virtually EVERYTHING is negotiable in price. Certain shops and some (and I mean only “some”) government institutions have fixed prices. I would venture to say that there isn’t a single taxi in Cairo with a working meter, but I’ll address that later. Many big time tourist places will have a published “Egyptian Price” and a “Tourist Price”. These prices are drastically different, and unless you can pass for an Egyptian you’re stuck with the tourist price. Hotels and most restaurants also have non-negotiable prices. Other than that, bargain away!
GENERAL TIPS
Learn the Egyptian Arabic numbers both in writing and speech before you go. This will allow you to read price tags when they’re available and understand some of what shopkeepers say to each other. If your fast enough, you can understand how much they tell each other they usually charge for things. Exchange money as soon as possible, but I would advise against exchanging too much at the airport (they require a rather hefty fee). There are Thomas Cook branches all over the place and they do it for free. Don’t discuss prices in Dollars, do it in L.E. (Egyptian Pounds). The reason for this is that you will inevitably pay more for something in $. You might pay $5 (18 L.E.) for something you could get for 5 L.E. The exchange rate is about 3.4 L.E. per 1$. Many people will keep trying to get you to pay $, but just tell them you don’t have any and will pay in L.E.
When you are arguing over price, ask how much (“bikam di” in Arabic). Make them tell you a price first and go from there. (Note: this does not apply to taxi drivers) If they repeatedly refuse to give you a price, then tell them you’ll pay some outrageously low price for it like 1 or 5 L.E. This should spark some laughter and a bid from him. Don’t pay more than about a third of the price they ask, but you can usually get it for ¼ if you try hard. Be patient. To really get a good price on something may take some time. It took me several days of going back to merchants to buy some things for a low price.
Always remember that the money is more to them than it is to you. If you find yourself arguing over a pound (or ½ pound as I once did out of stupidity) or even two pounds, just pay it. It’s about 30 cents to you, but a lot more to them.
FROM THE MOMENT YOU GET OFF THE PLANE
BE READY! At the airport you can lose quite a bit of money in tips and cab fare. There will be people there that will want to help you with luggage, customs, a taxi, etc. These people are completely unnecessary, but they will be extremely pushy. They will probably speak pretty good English as well. They will want a hefty tip for their services, and will expect a lot from Americans because you think in Dollars while they think in Egyptian Pounds. If you do use one of these people, 5 – 8 L.E. (Egyptian Pounds) is more than enough. If they continue to argue, just walk away…AFTER you are out of the airport. These people are tight with the airport staff and can really give you a hard time if you make them upset. If you are going to use them and tip them, do it after all your things are loaded into a cab and you are about to leave. Don’t count it out either. Just hand him a wad you already counted out and go. The taxi drivers at the airport will drastically overcharge you for your ride. You really don’t have much of a choice though, so expect to overpay a little. 20 L.E. is the absolute most you should ever pay for this ride. You should be able to get it for 15 L.E…NOT DOLLARS!
DON’T LET THE TAXI DRIVER TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE
Ok, so that was a bad pun, so what. This will be your most common form of travel unless you rent a car. If you do rent a car, then good luck and I pray for your safety. On the roads of Cairo you will see more police and less law enforcement than virtually anywhere else in the world. Back to cab rides though. Not a single taxi meter in all of Cairo works. Isn’t that amazing? If one does, then it will be turned off just before you step into the car. You will have to bargain for taxi prices, but here are a few rules to follow. In two months of staying in Cairo, I never paid more than 10 L.E. for a taxi. This included the times that I shared a cab with two or three people. If you are with a large group that fills up a taxi with 5 or 6 people consider giving the driver a bit more, maybe 2 or 3 pounds per person. A taxi ride from the middle of the city to the Pyramids will also cost a bit more. You can rent vans for the day if you are going to be going a lot of places with a lot of people. I would highly recommend this. It’s a lot more comfortable and handy and only costs about 60 pounds or so. Egyptian taxi drivers’ favorite number appears to be 20, but don’t fall for it. For most places you go, it should only be 5 – 10 pounds per ride.
Hailing a taxi is easy; just stick your hand out when you see one coming your direction. Don’t act in a hurry, and act nonchalant. Tell the driver where you want to go, but don’t expect him to speak English. Some do, but it’s rare. He will most likely say “Fein?” This means where in Arabic. Just say the name of the place you want to go and don’t confuse him with a big long English sentence. If he says OK and lets you in the car, then say nothing at all about price. When you get where you are going step out of the cab, close the door, and pay him through the window (passenger side is fine). Walk away and don’t argue with him further about price if you know you’ve paid him enough. They might get out and yell, they may even follow you a bit, but don’t give him any more than 1 more pound. That’s only if he follows you. (Note: if this happens EVERY time you get out of a cab, you may not be paying enough). They won’t get violent with you, but remember that they have a lot less personal space than we do. They may get very close to you or even grab your arm, but don’t let it bother you. If you have given a driver enough money and he continues to follow you, tell him that the two of you can go to the police with the problem, but be ready to do so. If he agrees, then maybe you have underpaid him. Usually though he will forget about it. If the driver asks how much you will pay before getting in the cab, tell him a price a couple pounds less than what you will pay and then argue your way up to your price. Many times the nice ones will agree to whatever price you set to begin with. (note: even paying 5 – 10 pounds, you are still paying way more than the Egyptians pay for these rides, so don’t feel too guilty) Try to enjoy your ride and if he speaks any English at all, talk to him. Tell him how good his English is. When you go to pay for the ride, he will be a lot friendlier about price if you’ve done this. (I got a few free ride offers just for talking to drivers in broken Arabic and letting them talk to me in broken English). The reason I wrote so much here is that this is the area where you will be ripped off most often if you’re not careful. Taking taxis can actually be rather enjoyable and is a good way to get around once you’ve learned the pricing game.
SHOPPING
There are two places that you will probably do most of your shopping. The Khan-Al-Khalili (the famous bazaar) and a part of town called Ma’adi (where most of the foreigners live and several ambassadors’ homes are located). In Ma’adi, things are usually more expensive. There are also a lot more stores with fixed prices, but you can usually get them to come down anyway. These are the rich merchants and make quite a nice living. It’s more relaxed and less pushy than the Khan. It is filled with malls and places to eat. There’s a little shop downstairs in the alley next to Pizza Hut in the main part of Ma’adi run by a man named Mahmoud. He’s got some great Egyptian glass stuff and will sell it to you cheap if you promise to come back and tell your friends. He’s a really nice guy and will help you find other things if you need it. (Note: don’t fully trust any shopkeeper even if you’ve done a lot of business, Mahmoud still tried to take me for a few pounds the last day I was there.)
At the Khan-Al-Khalili the merchants are a lot pushier and a lot slicker. The hardest thing to do sometimes is not buy things you don’t want. This may not make sense now, but it will. You should act somewhat disinterested in most things when you walk in the store. If you are looking for something in particular, DON’T TELL THEM! They will consume an hour dragging you all over the bazaar to other shops that they either co-own or have deals with. If you see something you really like, try this little trick. Pick up something that is bigger or nicer, yet rather similar. Ask them how much it is and argue with them for a little bit. Then set that item down and ask, “Well then, how much is this little/smaller/cheaper one?” This should force their opening price lower than what it originally would be. It also helps to point out a few flaws in a product, but be careful. Some shop owners will take offense if you criticize too much. It helps to browse through lots of stores before deciding what you want to buy. Try to remember where things are and go back to them later. Tell merchants how much others were willing to let you pay for it and keep going down. You can go back and forth between opposing merchants until one refuses to sell it for that price. Most things that you want can be found in other stores. The best souvenirs are the ones that are original though. I have included a list of some of the items I and others with me bought and the price paid. If you have purchased these items for less, then let me know and I will update it. Try to buy several things from the same store and you can get a bulk price that’s a little lower. Merchants at the Khan-Al-Khalili will usually speak 8 or 10 languages with some degree of fluency. Almost all will speak English, French and Italian well. One thing they all speak is the international language. That’s right…lying. Here are a few phrases that you might hear and their true English translation.
WHAT THEY WILL SAY……………………WHAT YOU SHOULD HEAR
“Do you like this?”……………………………”Shall I begin lying?
“We are friends, yes?”……………………”I have you hopelessly believing me, right?”
“I never lie”……RED ALERT!…………...”I always lie, and I am blatantly lying to you right now.”
“It costs _____.”……………………………....”I am lying.”
“I can’t sell it for less than ____.”……......”I am lying.”
“I paid ____ for this.”……………………….....”I am lying.”
And now for the most common and my personal favorite:
“Special price, just for you.”………...”This is way more than I usually charge people, and I believe that this lame attempt to get you to trust me will work. Furthermore, I am lying.”
Just keep telling yourself “He’s Lying!” and you should be fine. I will mention that there are some honest merchants out there who won’t lie to you. By “some” I mean “two” and good luck finding them because I never did.
OVERALL
Most importantly…DON’T BE A TOURIST! Don’t walk around in shorts and a flowery shirt with your gut hanging out, a 50 lb. camera around your neck, socks pulled up, and a neon hat that says “Acme Tours”. Believe it or not I saw a whole group of people like that and I can’t imagine how bad they got ripped off. Egyptian merchants and taxi drivers tend to think of Americans as rich (probably because most who visit there are). They EXPECT you to pay more than just about anyone else. So don’t be some big American tourist. Many people can hide behind their roots and claim to be from elsewhere, but if you’re like me (6Ç”, blue eyes, light hair) it’s darn near impossible. I was able to give them the poor college student there on my own money routine, but found out that only the upper class in Egypt goes to college and they won’t believe the poor bit. Dress conservatively and wear pants, especially you ladies. This will help you to fit in a bit and you won’t attract so much attention. (Note: This is a good rule for most all your time in Cairo. You'll actually feel cooler in a pair of loose fitting khakis and a t-shirt or buttoned shirt. Egyptians are usually very conservative and the general populous will stare if you wear shorts or tank tops…also note that it you have blue eyes, you will be stared at and you will stand out. People will have no qualms with just sitting there staring at your eyes.) All in all, just act comfortable and have fun. Shopping in Cairo can be a lot of fun and things are really cheap compared to what you’re used to. If you do get ripped off at some point (everyone does whether they realize it or not), don’t worry about it. Have a good laugh about it and move on. It was probably only a couple dollars anyway.
THE PRICE LIST
Statues of Ancient Gods ( 9” black or white)………Ի-12LE
Alabaster vase (sm, med, lg)………………………...…..10, 12, 15LE
Shisha pipe(sm, med, lg, xlg, quality varies)...10, 15, 30, 50-300LE
Perfume bottles (xsm, sm, med, lg)…………....……Ե, 4, 10㪧, 20LE
Glass candlesticks (set of three)……………....………㐈-25LE
Metal Pyramids (1”, 2” in height, set of three)...Ե, 5LE
Stone Pyramids (1”, 2” in height, set of three)...Է, 7LE
Decorated wood jewelry box (sm, med, lg)…...…㐀, 15, 25LE
These are just some of the most common items that people buy. I purchased a few of these, but the best gifts are the original ones. You can get some pretty nice Bedouin Jewelry or swords, but that gets expensive. Also, some of it is manufactured and not really Bedouin so be careful. I tried to buy the nicer quality of the common items I listed and those are the prices either I paid or was offered. The favorites that I brought back for people were the candlesticks (you can get some really beautiful ones if you look hard), the alabaster vase. If you are looking at the ancient god statues check out Bes. He’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, but funny to bring home. There are lots of decorated wood things like plates, jewelry boxes, chess sets, etc., but these things have vast ranges of quality and beauty. When buying products with mother of pearl in them, a lot of merchants will try to pass off fakes. The only way to learn what is and isn’t m.o.p. is to do a lot of shopping and learn to tell the difference. They will do all kinds of tests with lighters and whatever else they think will convince you, but I’m not sure if any of them hold water. Once again just have fun and buy lots of stuff, because it should be cheap.
I think I covered everything, but if there’s anything else you want to know just leave a comment or email me.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kgray00
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Member: Kyle Gray
Location: Dallas, TX
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 6 members
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