Unlisted prices at traditional markets deter customers

A lot of people nowadays like going to supermarkets instead of traditional markets, simply because they like to see prices quoted clearly, while prices are not quoted at traditional markets.

Buying fresh food at traditional markets has always been the choice of housewives. They believe the food is always fresher than at supermarkets. Yet these days customers say they are not sure about the prices at traditional markets.

At Tan Dinh Market in HCM City, Tuoi Tre reporters witnessed a woman purchasing sweet potato buds and cabbage at 5000 dong. Just a few minutes later, a young man had to purchase the same kinds of vegetable and at the same volume at 10,000 dong.

At the market, goods are not sold in accordance with quoted prices, but in accordance with the buyers “face”. If buyers look wealthy, sellers will ask for higher prices, and vice versa.

Many consumers say that now they prefer buying goods at supermarkets because they know the prices and are not afraid of being overcharged. At traditional markets, they sometimes have to pay higher than the actual value.

70 percent of vegetable kiosks at Tan Dinh Market have price boards, but these prices are not real. For example, the actual price of a bundle of rau muong is 5000 dong, but on the board it was listed as only 3000. At seafood kiosks, sellers require 60,000 dong per kilo for loc (a kind of fresh water fish), or 5000 dong more than the listed price. Similarly, ro fish (anabas) sells at 50,000 dong per kilo instead of 47,000 as quoted.

Small Tan Dinh merchants admitted that the price boards are just a formality and do not indicate the actual prices.

At Nguyen Van Troi Market, there are no price boards hanging at vegetable and fruit kiosks. When asked why the prices were not quoted, sellers responded that fresh food prices always fluctuate, so sometimes the morning price is different from the afternoon price. Therefore it is of no use to quote prices.

“Requiring us to quote prices means difficulties for us,” a small merchant claimed. She explained that different price levels are applied to various kinds of clients. Loyal clients can buy at lower rates, while unfamiliar clients must purchase goods at prices that are always higher.

The cosmetics kiosks at Ben Thanh Market and An Dong Market in HCM City all have small boards with the words “fixed price”. Yet no one knows what the prices are, since know are cited. When asked about this, a seller explained that “fixed price” means that buyers must pay what sellers ask with no bargaining.

Le, the owner of a clothes kiosk at An Dong Market, also asserted that she has hundreds of products and that no sign could list all the figures. Besides, Le observed, pricing is part of the “business know-how”, and no merchant wants to let others know about their prices.

Small merchants cited hundreds of reasons not to display prices. With such unclear rate, however, consumers now tend to abandon traditional markets in favor of supermarkets.

Tran Hoang Ngan, a member of the National Advisory Council for Monetary Policy, proposed that listing prices at traditional markets is one of the most important ways to curb inflation. Still, he also understands that it is not easy to change a long-time habit overnight.

VietNamNet/Tuoi tre

Tags: Vietnam markets, Vietnam traditional markets