You can bargain the price anywhere that is not a major store. The one exception are the large electronics stores where you can save a good bit of money by bargaining, especially for the higher ticket items like televisions and air conditioners.

The easiest way to bargain is ask them how much, then offer them 60-70% of whatever they tell you. If they don't come back with a price you are satisfied with, as a last resort offer them 90% of whatever amount they told you, if they say no, walk out. A lot of times they simply will not say yes until you are leaving as a way of showing they are a good bargainer. 

If they don't call you back and agree to the price, then look elsewhere, and if you don't find what you are looking for at a lower price somewhere else, then go back and pay the full price. You can do this because there are usually a lot of the same stores in the same area, especially when you are in lao Haikou. 

For example, if you go to buy a bike or an electric scooter there are dozens of stores in the same area, maybe 50-70 different stores. If you are buying sporting equipment there are at least a dozen stores. If you are buying plants, there are over 30 vendors in a row on the street mentioned below. So you can go from one to the next until you find what you want for the price you want. It is also good to ask a few stores to get a good idea of what they are asking, then you know you can usually get anything you want for about 80% of the regular asking price.

For something like large electronics at the stores in lao Haikou mentioned below, the same thing goes. If you are going to buy a TV for 6,000y, offer them 5,000y, if they balk, start to walk away and look at the other vendors, if the first vendor you asked is able to sell you the TV for 5,000y he will tell you before you get too far away.

Where to buy items in Haikou.

Food

Unless you are really adventurous, stick to the larger stores like Carrefour or Nanguo. There is a Nanguo supermarket on sandonglu, Haidiando. There is a Carrefour in Haikou not far from Mingzhu. If you are at Mingzhu there is a super market on the first floor called Wanfulong. 

In terms of rating the stores it would be:
Nanguo - Haidiandao - nice, clean, inexpensive.
Wanfulong - Mingzhu - same as Nanguo but not as convenient.
Carrefour - (Haikou & Guomao) extremely clean, a little more expensive.
Dayunfau - (Guomao) very clean, a little more expensive.

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Nanguo	Carrefour Haikou	Carrefour Haikou
Carrefour Haikou	Carrefour Haikou	Carrefour Guomao
Carrefour Guomao	Carrefour Guomao	Carrefour Guomao
Dayunfa Guomao	Dayunfa Guomao	Dayunfa Guomao

Wines and Spirits

You can find good wine in stores all over Haikou, but the best buys are at the smaller supermarkets like Nanguo and another store over at Heping Dadao and 2 Haikou behid Yin gu yuan. You can find most of the popular western liquours like Johnny Walker, Chivas Regal, Jose Cuervo, Bacardi, etc. at Carrefour, they have a very large liquor and wine selection. You can pick up some really good wine at the local supermarkets for 15-80y per bottle. 

Plants

If you are going to stay in Haikou long term you may want a couple of inexpensive plants for your apartment. There is an entire street in lao Haikou lined with over 40 plant vendors. (See map) You can get to the street by taking bus 36. You can purchase your plants, and depending on the size, return home via taxi or bus.

Referring to the pictures below, if you are looking at the gate to Haikou park and turn to your right you will look down the street that is pic2, the plants are for sale on the left side and the sporting goods is your first street on the right.

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Sporting Equipment

If you need to pick up anything from badminton rackets, birdies, swimming goggles, shorts, shirts, even free weights or universal gyms, there is a street in lao Haikou with many vendors, which allows you to comparison shop and then return to the store with the best price. You can get within a half block of the street by taking bus 36. (See map) You can purchase your items, and depending on the size, return home via taxi or bus.

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Electronics

Gome is a little more expensive than some of the other electronics stores, but it is conveniently located on Renming Dadao and 4 Haikou Lu. They are very good with warranties and assisting you if there is any trouble with items you purchased. There are at least two different employees who speak English.

If you buy a large ticket item you can bargain for the price. I bought an air conditioner, television and digital camera where I talked them down on the price. The one item I did not buy from Gome was a laptop because other electronics stores had a larger selection.

If you want to purchase western name brands the electronics are very expensive, but if you buy Chinese brands you can get a large screen TV for 3500y, a new laptop for around 3000y, and a used laptop at DC market for around 1300-1500y. To get the best price on computer items in Haikou go to DC Market, located beside Mingzhu market.

If you are going to buy electronics and you are not concerned with the convenience of Gome, a good place to go is a corner in lao Haikou with several large department type stores. The televisions are sold by independent contractors for each make and model. If you do not find a good price at one vendor, go to the next and comparison shop, you can easily save over 1000y when buying a TV, so it is worth the time to ask.

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Gome	Gome	DC Market Entrance at Mingzhu
Lao Haikou Electronics Store 1	Lao Haikou Electronics Store 2	.

Clothing

Western name brands like Nike, Esprit, Levis are still expensive in Haikou. If you do not require name brands there are plenty of clothing options like 361, Anta, or Peak that are extremely affordable from shirts, to shorts to shoes. If you like shopping you will love Haikou, there are over a dozen large malls in Haikou.

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Nanya Guang Chang	Nanya Guang Chang	Nanya Guang Chang
Mingzhu Mall	Mingzhu Mall	Mingzhu Mall
Dayunfa Guomao	Dayunfa Guomao	Dayunfa Guomao
Jiefang/Datong Lu Mall	Jiefang/Datong Lu Mall	Jiefang/Datong Lu Mall
Pearl River Plaza	Pearl River Plaza	Pearl River Plaza
Haixiu Lu Mall	Datong Lu Mall Near Jiefang Lu	Datong Lu Mall Near Haikou Park

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Map
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