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About this tool
Check a quoted souvenir price against the local prices you recorded, with markup, counter-offer and walk-away figures.
This checker measures a souvenir quote against the median of the prices you recorded yourself for the same item, and reports the markup as (quoted ÷ median − 1) × 100. The median is used rather than the average because in a sample of five or six market prices a single inflated quote pulls the average up but leaves the middle value untouched. It is for travellers standing in a market who want a number before answering the seller, and it returns an opening counter-offer, a target and a walk-away price alongside the verdict.
Open Souvenir Price Fairness Checker on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Every figure comes from prices you actually observed, so it stays accurate for that town on that day.
The median ignores a single outlier that would drag a simple average off course.
An opening counter, a realistic target and the point where walking away is the better move.
Compare it with prices for the identical item at three or more other sellers and use the middle value as your reference; anything within roughly 15% of that median is ordinary stall-to-stall variation. Beyond about double the median you are being quoted a tourist price rather than a local one.
Counter at the lowest genuine price you have seen for the same item, which anchors the negotiation at a number you can defend, and expect to settle near the middle of your recorded range. Naming an arbitrary fraction of the asking price only works if the asking price happens to be inflated by that same fraction.
With five or six observations one very high quote can move the average by 20% or more while leaving the median unchanged, and tourist price samples are skewed high by exactly that kind of outlier. The median is the standard robust measure of centre for small, skewed samples.
No. It is normal in open-air markets and craft bazaars across South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and much of Southeast Asia, but fixed-price shops, government emporiums and most of Europe, Japan and North America expect the marked price to be paid. Where haggling is customary it is a friendly exchange, not a confrontation — if the seller will not move, thank them and move on.