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- Understanding the Gringo Price in Colombia
In Latin America, you will sometimes hear about other foreigners complaining about the so called gringo price in Colombia or elsewhere down here.
What is the gringo price in Colombia?
Basically the gringo price is when someone in Latin America is going to overcharge you for a certain product or service
The basic idea is that they believe a few things about you:
- You have lots of money beyond anyone’s imagination
- You speak very little Spanish and can’t negotiate well
- You must be a tourist and not have any idea what things cost in their country because you are there only for a short time period.
Now, in my experience, this is one of the most frustrating things about living in Latin America
You see other foreigners complain about it all the time
I hate it myself personally
In large part because I feel so often that the local population here only views foreigners as “walking ATMs”
And other times, you will get a sense that some people here feel entitled to your money
For a quick story…
One time I was walking with my current girlfriend in the Plaza de Bolivar area of Bogota during the last Valentines Day
When a random person dressed up as a clown spotted us and yelled “hello! How are you! Where are you from?”
At first, I thought the guy must have spoken good English
But actually, I learned very quickly that was the only English he seemed to know
He asked if we spoke Spanish and I said yes and he said he didn’t speak English too well
Anyway, he wants to offer us a balloon. He’s trying to be nice the whole time calling me “friend, friend.”
Friend? I don’t know you. We aren’t friends I thought.
Which is another thing….
Sometimes people selling stuff to tourists on the street here in Colombia will always call you “friend” repeatedly
I guess I’m too cold of a person because I didn’t consider him a friend
Just a guy who saw another walking ATM
Anyway….
He asks how much money I got and “how much am I going to pay him for the balloon?”
Well listen here, I didn’t say I wanted to buy your balloon Mr. Clown
So right off the bat, the guy seemed a little bit entitled to my money
Like here’s a balloon. Now give me your money gringo!
Right after asking me how much for the balloon…
He right away starts saying in a higher voice “Dollars! Dollars! How much dollars do you have?” in Spanish
And naturally, I’m thinking to myself…Why dollars? Don’t Colombians pay in Colombian pesos in their economy?
Well, I knew why he wanted dollars. He assumed that’s all I had for being a gringo and also the dollar is stronger than thepeso
So to a foreigner, 10 bucks may not seem like much money but in Colombian pesos that’s pretty decent money for just a balloon
And way too much. I literally saw a balloon being sold in Bogota for around 2 bucks before we showed up here
But the guy was just quoting out random dollar amounts. Saying 10, maybe 20 bucks?
No way am I buying a balloon for 20 bucks.
At any rate, I wasn’t interested. The guy lost any hope of getting me to buy something because of our interaction
And also because he was trying to charge me 20 bucks for a balloon when I could get one for 2 bucks, maybe even less if I negotiated with someone else
And the thing is….
You see this everywhere in Colombia — how the Gringo Price in Colombia is always trying to steal money from you
Fortunately, I wasn’t dumb enough to know that a balloon doesn’t cost 20 bucks in Colombia
People trying to overcharge you for being a gringo and thinking you got lots of money to spend for basic stuff like aballoon.
In another incident on that same day, I was looking for a taxi to take us back to my apartment as the day was ending
After waiting a while, we found a taxi and I approached the guy myself to negotiate in Spanish
He tried charging us almost double the rate for what it would normally cost for a taxi back to my place
Of course, in Colombia, taxis always try to overcharge you when you negotiate
But this guy wasn’t moving from his price
He understood me perfectly even when I said that I live here and I know what the prices are and I can find someone else for much cheaper
But he wouldn’t change his price
Because in Colombia, a lot of taxi drivers would rather lose out on a good deal and earn some fair money than to miss out on a chance to screw over a foreigner they think they can get double the rate from
Therefore, I walked and we found another taxi.
This time, I had my girlfriend talk to the guy first. Being she is Colombian
And she got a fair price right away.
However, like always, you negotiate
Why not see if the price can drop a little more?
So even though she doesn’t negotiate naturally, I give out a different price and we settle on something more than fair
And it was almost a third of what the other taxi driver wanted to charge us
Enough of stories though….
What are some overall lessons you can learn from this article?
That way you can avoid being overcharged and get a fairer price.
Main Lessons for Dealing with the Gringo Price in Colombia
When they ask for dollars, you know you are being ripped off. How about a 100 dollar balloon instead? Good deal?
- When entering into any negotiation, always have your lowest and ideal price in mind.
- If the other person will not settle on even your lowest price, walk away. Anything lower than your lowest price should not be better than your alternatives.
- Look up the prices ahead of time and do your basic research for what things cost.
- Have a Colombian person negotiate. They will be less likely to be given a “gringo price” since they are not gringo. Ideally this person knows how to negotiate also and is not afraid to.
- Know your Spanish well beyond a conversational level to negotiate well.
- Another thing to keep in mind is that Colombians tend to treat women worse in negotiations from what I have seen. They tend to assume they can rip them off more and that they won’t negotiate as much. Sexist you can argue but that’s how a lot of people selling stuff here operate from what I have observed. So ideally your negotiator is a Colombian guy.
- Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Always stand up for yourself.
More Tips….
- I prefer to only do business with people or stores that have written prices on them already when I show up. That takes out a lot of the negotiations and it’s not likely they are ripping you off for being a gringo. The prices still may not be fair but it’s not for being a gringo. If you think the prices are still too much, you can always find someone else. However, places with prices written on them tend to offer better deals and are less stress in my opinion.
- If the person is trying to charge you in USD or some foreign currency that is not the Colombian peso, walk away. Every time they are always trying to overcharge you in my opinion no matter what from what I have seen.
- Mention how you know the local prices and you know others who can offer the service or product for a cheaper price. To show that you know that the offer being thrown at you is too much and to help you negotiate.
- If the person opens at you with English, they are more likely someone who is targeting only foreign tourists for money. That’s not always the case with people like this but it’s more common.
- If they have an entitled attitude to your money or seem rude, just walk away. No point in doing business. You can find someone better.
Overall
Therefore, those are just some of the main tips for how to handle the gringo price in Colombia and possibly elsewhere in Latin America.
Before you travel to Colombia, make sure to prepare for your trip not just with this knowledge about gringo prices but also with the knowledge in travel guides that provide plenty of useful information also.
And if you have any experience with the gringo price in Colombia, give more tips in the comment section and let me know what you think.
Finally, check out my other article on this website for how to stay safe in Colombia in general and how to support yourself while here
Thanks.
Hasta luego parceros,
Seth
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