Shopping · Varanasi
Varanasi is famous for Banarasi sarees and silk — and for markups that can run 5-10x when a driver or guide is quietly paid to bring you to a particular shop. Our partnered stores agree to fixed, tagged prices in advance, and we take zero commission from any of them, ever.
The problem
A well-worn pattern in tourist cities: a driver or guide is paid a commission to bring you to a specific shop, and the prices there are marked up to cover it — sometimes far beyond what the item is actually worth.
How we're different
Every store we work with agrees to this arrangement before we send anyone their way:
Pricing
₹699 per visit, covering your Sāthi's time — the goods themselves are priced separately by each store, at the fixed rate shown to you before you buy anything.
The most common way visitors overpay is being taken to a shop by a driver or guide who's paid commission — the markup covers that commission. Shopping with a Sāthi who takes zero commission removes that incentive entirely.
Genuine handwoven Banarasi silk exists alongside power-loom imitations sold as handmade. Our partnered weavers and stores are vetted in advance, and your Sāthi can point out the difference on the spot.
Every price you're quoted while shopping with us is given to you in writing before you agree to it. Find a lower honest price for the same item within 48 hours and we refund double the difference.
Of course. The value here is having someone who knows which stores don't inflate prices for tourists, and who negotiates fairly on your behalf without taking a cut.
Brassware, wooden toys, musical instruments, and the local markets around Vishwanath Gali and Thatheri Bazaar for general souvenirs.
Fixed prices, zero commission, and a Sāthi who tells you if something isn't genuine.
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