Dubai Duty Free (jewellry/gold): can you haggle?

[JonnoGenie]

I was wondering if anyone who is familiar with buying jewellery at this airport can tell me if you can haggle, or are they strictly fixed price?

[vehelpfulguy]

Do you mean JUST at the airport, or in the town.

There is a huge gold market in Dubai town.

http://www.thatsdubai.com/dubai-gold-market.ht ml

[KARL]

The airport shops are fixed price, the town less so. The town is cheaper than the airport but haggling as such is not likely to be practiced because generally all gold jewellery is simply weighed and "Bob's your uncle" - you might get a rounding down to some extent. The way to compare shops is to ask how much they charge per gramme - the gold is most likely to be 18 carats (and quite reliably so). You are likely to find that they all charge pretty well the same, and in the end it will be a case of asking yourself if you like the piece or not.

[Dee Sa]

Airport is strictly fixed prices and the Dubai gold souk is slightly different, gold prices for that particular day are agreed on by all the gold traders, I dont know exactly where they get their prices from, but its fixed for that day in the market and sold by weight doesnt matter what the design is, they weigh your chosen item in front of you and tell you what the price of gold is on that day, you can bargain a little but they are not daft and it also depends on the amount you are buying, for one bracelet you wont get much off but if u are buying several items then you would expect a little discount, bargaining takes time, it cant be rushed and you are expected to take mint tea or cold drink and sit and discuss with them to get the best bargain
I lived there for 14 years and was treated fairly in the gold souk no one tries to cheat you and of course the gold is much purer than the 9ct we get here which incidentally they wont touch with a barge pole and call it " s **t gold" and laugh at our poor taste.

[JonnoGenie]

Thanks, your answers are most helpful. I am passing through later this week. I tried to get a few days off en route (in Dubai City) but can't on this flight, another time.

p.s. My main reason for asking was because I have been offered to 'name your price', after erring, on good jewellry at Heathrow!