How to Avoid Being Gringo'd in Ecuador

Expat entrepreneur and blogger Dom Buonamici almost got victimized by Gringo pricing in a recent real-estate transaction.

Dom found a farming lot to buy last week with some help along the way.

Now it was time to compensate his Ecuadorian scout.

Here is his report....

I was thinking a decent finder's fee in the States would be at least a few hundred if not a few thousand dollars, so I was going to offer him a few hundred. ("Just pay me what you will," the scout had suggested.)

Then I caught myself !

Don't think like that when you are in a foreign country, I told myself.

Always always always pay the minimum amount acceptable to the other person or "best price" even if you think it's too embarrassingly low.

Why?

Because if you don't you're setting yourself up for that person in the future to overcharge you because he'll think, "Well, I'm going to milk it, he can pay it."

That's how a lot of people down here think.  Rich Ecuadorians know it....

Never overpay.

To avoid being Gringo'd insist on them giving you the price.

Especially when you don't know how much the service or property should cost. And often, being in a new land, you won't know....

Get them to give you their best price even if they insist you give your price first.  Then you can negotiate from there to get the best price possible.

He said, give me $100.  Shocked at the low price, I reached into my pocket.


source:  Dom Buonamici in an e-letter to his subscribers of www.ecuadorrealestate.org