The one and only fixed price market in Saigon

By Thanh Nguyen   November 19, 2016 | 12:44 am PT
Food is not sold by weight, it’s sold by the basket or plate.

A market on National Highway 1 in Binh Tan District has been popular among manual workers as well as poor people in Saigon for more than a year now.

The unique feature of the market is that items are displayed on single plastic plates or baskets so traders don’t need to use weighing scales and customers don’t need to bargain.

According to traders, they have an unwritten rule that a plate of fruit and vegetables is fixed at VND5,000 ($0.2), while baskets of shrimp or fish are fixed at VND20,000 ($0.9) and VND30,000 ($1.3) respectively.

"Nobody sells food at lower or higher prices. At this market, we all charge the same prices,” said a vegetable trader.

This unique selling style benefits both buyers and sellers.

Construction worker Nguyen Huu Hanh told VnExpress that every day, after picking up his child from school, he drops by the market to buy food.

“We’re just low-paid workers. Thanks to the market, we can easily buy food to live on,” said Hanh.

Kieu, a fishmonger, also said that she has been doing a brisk trade as consumers seem to prefer this quick-trading style.

The market, with no official name, is open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.

the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-1
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-2
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-3
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-4
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-5
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-6
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-7
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-8
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-9
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-10
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-11
the-one-and-only-fixed-price-market-in-saigon-12

Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

Related news:

Where Hanoi blossoms at night

7 things to try for newcomers in Saigon

6 coffee shops with the best view of Saigon’s walking street

 
 
go to top