Ah the heady aromas of spices and barbecued meat in the air, the sound of snake charmers and the call to prayer – and the allure of the Medina. Yes, welcome to Marrakech, Morocco’s premier tourist city and a magnet for bargain hunters.

While the city was once a hippy hotspot, these days you’re more likely to find yourself stuck behind gaggles of French tourists and selfie snapping Chinese. And then of course, you find yourself snaking through the labyrinthine Medina – the old market that is the focal point of Marrakech. This is where bargains have been haggled over for centuries and where you can pick up some gorgeous trinkets for the folk back home, or for your own home.

But here’s the thing, if you ask me: You can’t. Not really.

While the medina in Marrakech is a fascinating place to spend a few hours, wandering the warrens and marvelling at the old way of life that is haggling – the truth is that it’s all just one big tourist trap.

Every stall sells a variation on the same thing. The leather guys, all sell the same leather goods. The metal guys, always the same goods, as do the argan oil sellers and the perfume sellers. The t-shirts, the knock off handbags, the shonky paintings and the spices – it’s all the same stuff. One stall sells the same as the next stall, and so on. Is it all made in Morocco? well, yeah, some of it. Maybe. Maybe most of it? I don’t really know, there are no labels on anything so it could be all made in China for all we know.

But the truth is that it is, for the most part, tat. By which I mean, it’s made for tourists and not really as good as what you find back home.

OK, I’m being down on the Marrakech shopping experience here. I know. And that’s because I spent a good few hours wandering the Medina, looking for some quality goods at bargain prices. And, spoiler alert, I was mostly pretty disappointed.

BUT… As the title of the blog suggests, I did suss out some clever ways to get a bargain. Some of which might come as a shock to you.

So with all that in mind, let me share my Marrakech bargain hunting tips.

Step one: Work out what you want in advance

Not as hard as it seems because, like I say, it’s all the same stuff. Take a wander through the Medina with the sole intention of browsing and don’t even bother haggling for ‘nice price for you my friend’. ‘Cos it won’t be.

Now you’ve seen that tagine you like, maybe some coasters, and perhaps one of those leather pouffes. Heres step two.

Step two: Work out how much it is back home

You do this anyway, right? Pop a search for ‘Moroccan leather pouffe’ or ‘Moroccan salad bowl’ into your favourite search engine (which is obviously Google) and see what the prices are. Try the same thing on Amazon, eBay, Etsy etc.

Work out an aggregate of what the thing(s) you want cost back home, including shipping.

Now, knock 50% off that price. And that’s probably slightly more than the base cost.

Step three: Set your price

These guys have to make a living, so remember that when you’re haggling over the equivalent of 50 cents. You’ve decided that you want to pay $150 for a rug, but the guy is pushing hard for $170? Honestly, what is that $20 to you?

Basically have some wiggle room – but have a price in mind that you can sort of stick to.

Step four: Find your guy

While wandering keep an eye out for a chill looking guy who might be open to some banter. These tend to be the best ones for haggling with. If they joke with you a bit, then you could have some haggling.

I also tend to say something along the lines of, “I don’t want to haggle, just give me your best price” and then wait for them to go lower. This can be quite fun and an interesting way to see if they will really give you the best price – especially if you have a price in mind.

Sometimes I’ll drop in a comment like, “Yeah, I can get this on Amazon back home for $50” or words to that effect (obviously lower the price you saw online a bit).

If your guy is getting pushy or annoying, simply…

Step five: Just walk away

There is always another guy, and if you’re not quite getting the price you want you will probably get it at the next place. But, with that being said, if you exit the shop and guy chases you down, he’s probably gonna try and match your lowball price.

Walking away is always an option.

Bonus tip six: Get it back home

Here is the tip that might come as a surprise. Don’t bother buying your souvenirs in the Marrakech market – do it when you get home. Chances are, for a little bit more than you’d pay in the medina, you’ll get exactly the same thing online. But, you won’t have to haggle or take up valuable luggage space.

Yes, but… It’s not a souvenir.

Well. Thats all well and good, but what is a souvenir anyway? It’s basically an item that you use to remember something – and hey. You might remember that time you didn’t bother haggling but instead went for a nice massage at the hammam instead. A much better way to spend your money…

And that is generally how to avoid getting ripped off when shopping in Marrakech souks. Its not a definitive guide, but it works for me.

Read our Marrakech guide.