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[MSE Martin]

We Brits often think haggling’s reserved for bustling markets in exotic holiday destinations. Yet haggles like, "can you throw the batteries in?" and "give me 20% off and I'll take it now" work on the high street too - I've recently done it myself in John Lewis.

A year ago I asked you which stores you've successfully haggled in and there were scores of great tips, so I thought it time to revisit it. See the previous Great Best Places To Haggle Hunt thread

Please report your best negotiation, including the retailer name, the item(s) haggled for and how much you saved.

For a full guide to haggling, read the High Street Haggle article.

[chinneybigchops]

Gave me 10% off of a bike after I haggled!

[reehsetin]

depending on the manager/staff/area you can get money off bluetooths and accessorites in orange shops

[PeteHerts]

Tottenham Court Road in London is a great place to haggle for electrical goods.

[Gettin me own back]

MFI is always worth a try, should come out with at least free delivery and 5% off. This has been tried and tested by many a MSE user.

[Jarlawuk]

Phones 4 U - they will give you up to £85 cashback without much fuss. If they are particularly desperate they will go all the way to £100 but thats only if they are insanely desperate as the sales person will lose money if they discount more than £85. So only the duty manager will do that much if they really need the business.

[ramellous1]

I got £5 off a £99 Vax at currys. I asked for it it one store and the female asst said they did not discount but I went to another store and had a bit banter with a salesman and got a "managers discretion" discount at the till. I am male by the way before you ask.

[FloFlo]

Comet, I had £30 put on a gift card - managers discretion as they don't match internet prices. I was buying a sony digital camera.

[hibees1875]

BHS - in home electricals in e mids my wife saw a £40 kettle she really liked. she was told the display model was the last in stock, i told her to ask for £10 off as it had a very slight barely noticable dent in side, but she bottled and only asked for £5 - and got it! Great boost for her ego and she got the kettle she wanted (aren't women strange fantasising over kettles.)

also curry's/ dixons, i always get 10% off - but dont catch the eye of older sales staff as they are harder to persuade. younger ones are keener to impress and if you let them give you their top tips then you get the rapport even if you don't like what you say.

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haggling is like chatting up the opposite sex. Daunting at first, but once you get a few knock backs you stop caring and don't let anything put you off.

[mojy]

When moving home around 18 months ago we needed a lot of new furniture and electricals. We regularly asked for discount and were most successful in Vogue Furnishings were we got 20% off and free delivery and Reid Furniture when we were buying a leather suite, already discounted to almost half price in the sale when we got almost £250 extra off and free delivery. Also Curry's/Comet will usually match each others prices or even the internet price, so do your research first.

[DKLS]

Halfords - Got £80 and a bunch of accessories worth another £50 thrown in.
Barker & Stonehouse - Will usually match their sales price when sale is over.
Independent stores - Can usually blag a discount
Wickes - Got £75 off a new bath
Always worth a cheeky "whats your best price on that" followed by a "you can do better than that"
Car Showrooms - I haggle like its an Olympic Sport and am happy to screw the salesman to the floor, and often do the negotiations for friends and family.

[redalfa147]

Don't buy your Dell via their website as you can't haggle. Always ring them up. I knew the spec of the laptop I wanted and it cost £1060. The sales staff representative in India was very friendly and we laughed about a few things (a good tip when haggling is to get the sales staff happy and they are usually more likely to be nice to you!). I got him down to £1000.99p I said that was a real shame as I wanted to break the pschological £1000 barrier. He said he would look into it more. After a few minutes he came back and said the system would not allow him to bring the price down anymore so I said again that was a real shame. Eventually, he gave me a laptop bag, worth £40. So, in the end I saved almost 10%. If I had simply bought it from their website I wouldn't have saved any money and I wouldn't have had a laptop bag to keep it in!

[artcab]

When looking for a better price try logging on to Haggle 4 me. This web site allows you to be a shopper or a haggler.

Want an item got what you think is the best price then put it up on Haggle 4 me and see if the hagglers can get it cheaperr for you. You pay a small percentage of what they save you.
Those of us who enjoy the challenge of finding everything cheaper this gives you a chance to get paid for looking for others.
Fancy the item yourself click on it pay the % at the end and find where it is cheapest.

Have a go at http://www.haggle4me.com/
Not much in there at the moment but dead simple to earn as much as you can haggle

[Cylindus]

I worked in Ernest Jones/ Leslie Davis (jewellers) and we could discount anything over £300 by up to 10%. If you don't ask you don't get.

[patcat]

Tried at Currys. They promise to Pricematch. Found what I wanted at £25 dearer than the best I found. They wouldn't even take a pound off. They said that they can only pricematch their own internet site or Dixons. So of course they lost a sale.

[paddyrg]

Originally Posted by patcat

Tried at Currys. They promise to Pricematch. Found what I wanted at £25 dearer than the best I found. They wouldn't even take a pound off. They said that they can only pricematch their own internet site or Dixons. So of course they lost a sale.

Hogwash! How can they pricematch only against their own company? That's not pricematching, more a cartel :-$

If the magic words 'Oh, I saw that for £x in Comet' don't work, just go to Comet ;-)

[reddeb]

Wanted new bed so phoned my local furniture store (Suite Dreams) and they quoted me £170 plus £10 delivery so I said "oh I've only got £160 until next months pay day, if you could do it for £160 and free delivery I could have it today", Needless to say 2 days later bed is in place, if you don't ask you don't get, even though my Husband cringes when I do it.

[goon]

I haggle loads, especially on big stuff for the house, and the magic phrase is "Is there any flexibility on the price?"

This works like a gem for several reasons:
1) Nobody wants to admit to being inflexible, so it encourages a positive answer!
2) It isn't as confrontational or personal as "Can you give me 20% off?"
3) Because it isn't confrontational, nobody is embarassed if they say no there's nothing they can do.
4) It leaves the amount in their hands - every sales person knows how much discount they can give. In the past I've got more than I would've asked for, and you don't put their back up by asking for an amount that's way beyond what they can give.

Past successes include £110 off my engagement ring (I asked so my finance didn't look tight - ha!), 10% off both mattresses for our new house, half price kitchen sink (when we asked for a discount they found an ex display one we could have).... etc etc

[n3phi1im]

Originally Posted by Gettin me own back

MFI is always worth a try, should come out with at least free delivery and 5% off. This has been tried and tested by many a MSE user.

Is this even off their sale prices?

[KnowRedPortLeft]

Originally Posted by Cylindus

I worked in Ernest Jones/ Leslie Davis (jewellers) and we could discount anything over £300 by up to 10%. If you don't ask you don't get.

I asked for 20%, when I bought 2 items in E-J, and got a "manager's discount" which was 15% (which was ~£200)