Bargaining 101

1. Get to the store before the busy rush so the sales associate can feel easy spending a lot of time with you.
2. Show your hesitance or confusion over the "new trends", but willing to take her suggestions.
3. Indicate that you need to buy something that day (if not from her store, but from elsewhere.)
4. Strike up the concept of a common bond, be it coming from the same country or being "like two Bengali sisters."
5. Talk about how you just "can't" pay any more money: bills to pay, kids attending fine universities, etc.
6. If you have two daughters, and the sales associate expects two sales from you, but is stubborn about the price: get one of the daughters to walk out of the store because she doesn't want her mommy to pay too much for her dress.
7. Throw in more items in the package, like bangles or earrings.
8. Once the associate says a figure, and has packed up your dresses and accessories, give her less money, and run out the store so that you can escape the glaring pout of the sales associate who just made a sale that was half of the asking price for the store.

Follow these rules in Jackson Heights for the Eid sales and you too can also end up with new salwar kameez.