Afdingen op een koopje op de markt

What does Dutch “afdingen” mean?

Afdingen (“haggling”) is a Dutch tradition at vrijmarkten, kringloopwinkels, weekly markten, and especially on Koningsdag. Dutch sellers expect buyers to afdingen: a stated price is usually a starting point, and walking away is a normal negotiation move. The cultural rule of thumb is to start at half the asking price and meet somewhere in between. Bluntheid makes the practice efficient: where Mediterranean haggling often comes with theatrical sighing, Dutch afdingen is matter-of-fact (“twee euro”, “vijf”, “vier en je hebt 'm”). Dutch flea-market apps like Marktplaats digitised the same logic for online resale.

In this clip, a Koningsdag-vrijmarkt sketch: “Hé, ik geef jou twee euro voor dat ding. Ja, als één eurootje.”