Victoria Falls - Bartering at craft market
 

I wanted to find out more about bartering with the crafts vendors at Victoria Falls. I've seen bartering suggestions that run the gamut - baseball hats, shoes, t-shirts, pens, batteries, lipstick, jeans. Obviously space and weight constraints play a factor, but what have you had the greatest success with in bartering?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I remember they like pens and caps! But more as leverage for discounts, rather than straight trades. Either way, it's worth it. The market was really great...if I am thinking of the same one (walking distance from the Royal Livingstone?). I bought a lot of lovely items there. Good luck!

My tip would be to check what you get, or even better to stay away completely.

Check what you get;
We came home with a hippo that, quite magically, had lost a foot. I assume the salseman switched items when wrapping it in an old newspaper.

Stay away;
In retrospect, it's all made of trees that I'd rather see alive. We don't buy stuff like that anymore. After a year it's just gathering dust on the window sill. Yes, I know what you're going to say. "Poor people" and all that. Well I'd rather teach them the right way then. A comparison between Haiti and Dominican Republic comes to mind.

Ciao,

J.

I preferred the shops on the other side of the railroad tracks, much more civilized and genuinely friendly. I bought a ton of one-of-a-kind handcrafted items of higher quality that I still love today, and I was able to browse in peace.

The guys at the market were far too aggressive for my taste. Being hassled so much (competition is fierce) was a complete turn off.

We were met with good humour and civility in the market, we've had more hassle at tourist spots in Europe than Vic Falls. A market is a market, I wouldn't necessarily expect to find high quality stuff, but we were glad to spend a bit of money there, they're only trying to make a living. To answer the question, we didn't barter but many people asked for shoes and t-shirts.