Negotiating the price of an item

Shopping in Hispanic countries can be an exciting experience for foreigners. This is due not only to the fact that there are interesting handicrafts and exotic foods and goods to buy, but also to the experience of shopping in a market where prices are not fixed and one must haggle. Of course, there are also modern shopping malls with large chain stores which do have fixed prices.

In order to be able to make purchases you will need to know how to use the following expressions. Notice that there are different expressions for market shopping and store shopping.

Store shopping/fixed prices
¿Cuánto cuesta esta falda? How much does this skirt cost?
¿En cuánto está esta camisa? How much does this shirt cost?
¿Cuánto valen estos pantalones? How much are these pants?

When shopping in a store the most common phrases to ask the price of an item begin with "Cuánto vale/valen" or "Cuánto cuesta/cuestan." If the item you are inquiring about is singular, use the singular verb form (e.g. vale/cuesta). If the item is plural (i.e. grapes, apples etc.), use the plural form of the verb (e.g. valen/cuestan).

Market shopping/haggling
¿En cuánto me deja usted este tapete? How much do you want for this rug?
Le doy cien pesos. I'll give you ten pesos.
¿Me lo deja en cincuenta pesos? Will you give it to me for fifty pesos?

item - artículo (m)
discount - descuento (m)
to be on sale - estar en oferta
flea market - mercado de pulgas (m)
price - precio (m)
budget - presupuesto (m)
product - producto (m)
discount - rebaja (f)
credit card - tarjeta de crédito (f)
debit card - tarjeta de débito (f)
sale - venta (f)