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Great ‘salespeople, tell us the best time to haggle’ Hunt
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patchwork_cat wrote: »Zipman33 - do you have sky+ if not then you could use this to get sky+ for free. You may have to keep movies for an extra month, but hey. Check out this thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=601898
Yeah I already have Sky+ but thanks for the tip anywayEnglish by birth. GEORDIE by the grace of God.0 -
All the previous advice about researching and haggling are great. Remember also to haggle on overall finance. A year ago I bought a second hand car where the difference between 'discounted purchase price' and 'maximum part exchange' left a gap of £5275. I advised the salesman that "as a mathemetician I hated odd amounts so would prefer to see the gap at a nice round £5000". After 'consulting his boss' he agreed the extra discount then asked how this was to be funded. I asked what the garage's own finance arrangement would cost and was quoted a repayment figure over 4 years at quite a hefty interest rate. After much discussion over alternative funding (outright cash, personal bank loan, credit card, borrow from parents etc) we eventually agreed an interest free deal over the same 4 years. :T0
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Hi, I am in the process of having my kitchen extended and need new units.We need it done as soon as possible as I am having to cook on a little camping stove at present in my dining room! I have looked around a lot and have settled on the Clevedon kitchen at B&Q. They are coming out on Monday morning to design it for us. Pennies are tight and I am after a good deal. I would be so grateful to hear if anyone has had any luck haggling the price down with them and what the best tatic would be.
We had Wickes out and I am waiting for a price from them but because of the terrible service we had we will not be going to them. The designer was here for 2 hours and then said he would do the plans back at the shop and let us know when they were ready. That was Monday and we still havent heard. I intend on collecting the quote from them when it is ready as this may be good to try and barter with B&Q on their price promise.
Any help gratefully recieved.
I had my kitchen extended and refitted last Christmas, and although I never got my kitchen at B&Q in the end (I have a trade account for Howdens, got a solid oak kitchen for the same price as a tacky one at B&Q) I DID get my appliances at B&Q.
I went in late on a Sunday afternoon at 1st and checked out their "packages" - they always do washing machine / dishwasher / dishwasher / cooker etc packages. Took the literature away and then rang the next day to make an appointment with the kitchen designer.
Asked for the appointment to be late on a Friday afternoon (when he'll be itching to get to the pub / home!)
Let him design the kitchen and then said - no, decided to go with A.N Other kitchen, but would like to see what you can offer by way of appliances...
At 1st he said - here they are in the brochure... I started by best haggle then......
OK - how much for cash? What if I took this cooker, but the more expensive hood? etc etc... kept it going - I then asked about taps and sinks etc, really let know I was going to spend a pretty penny...
Then, once I had my final decisions made on what I wanted, I blatently asked - Last week you offrered 15% off these, can I have it now?
By this time, of course, he can smell his dinner cooking, and taste that 1st pint! I managed to get 20% off the package price, plus I had a better spec dishwasher in for that price, and I was even cheekier and asked if they would throw in some paint for the kitchen. I never got the paint (I never expected to) but it made him feel like he;d won, when all along I was clearly the winner!
:jLightbulb Moment - May 2008HSBC overdraft - [strike]£1200[/strike] GONE!!!
HSBC Credit card - [strike]£7700[/strike] £3870
HSBC Loan - [strike]£6084[/strike] £1,991
Paying off debt is like eating food.....Little and Often...0 -
If you're getting a mobile from 3 the best time to go is definitely the last day of the month, the later in the day the better (or the last Saturday if you can catch the part-time staff)...
If you get a sales person who has already hit their target they'll be earning an accelerated payout for each handset (as much as £30 a time) so even though it's nearly impossible to get a reduced line rental as the system automatically applies it, you can often walk out with a host of accessories. Also, every staff member has a phone with pretty much unlimited allowance so get them to agree to put some games and ringtones etc on your new phone - some people have walked out with £50 of content and 50 odd quid's worth of accessories...
The same applies to their Mobile Broadband - they'll probably be earning more for selling one of those than a handset. If you want both you should get some great extras like unlimited texts or 3-3 calls, and as standard, HALF PRICE line rental on the broadband... 1gig for a fiver a month, 3gig for £7.50 - i've ditched my home broadband provider and use their 7gig package for just £12.50 per month! If you live in a '3G' area the speeds are fantastic - i stream videos (youtube, iplayer etc) without any bother and I live an hour away from the nearest city! You can use it on a home pc or a laptop (no landline needed) and if you can't get signal they'll cancel the contract within 3 days of purchase without any fuss so it's certainly worth trying (or simply get it if they agree to chuck in some good extras on your phone deal and then just take the modem back, cheeky but it works!)
Finally - if you are signing up for either then find out anyone you know who's already on 3 and if you're armed with their phone number you can each get £30 refer a friend credit (£15 for Mobile Broadband) which can mean 2 months free line rental!!
The only downer is if you get someone who is way off target then they don't care whether you buy or not - i know of someone who once had a target of 65 odd phones for the month, managed to sell 55 but didn't earn a penny commision so by the afternoon, he simply tried to get people to come back the next day to notch up some sales on the next month's figures.
I think that's all I can remember, hope it helps!0 -
We were once told by a double glazing salesman that January is the best time to buy as they don't get many orders in December and then have a factory full of people getting paid for doing nothing. Plus your windows arrive pretty quickly!MSE Parent Club Member #1Yummy slummy mummy club member50% slummy, 50% mummy, 100% proudImogen born Boxing Day 2006Alex born 13 July 20090
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Anyone know the best time to haggle with Virgin Multimedia? I have their cable, broadband and phone already but know that there are better deals out there so I want to try to get their V+ and maybe faster broadband and preferably cut my montly bills (having done a bit of research, Sky should be cheaper, but I've got Virgin all installed and set up now, plus sky use a BT line and I detest BT... of course, Virgin don't need to know all this
)
I've been with Virgin for some time and i have rung each time there has been a change or a very competative alternative.
eg. Loss of Sky One / Sports news - Free upgrade to XL TV package.
Talk Talk offer - reduction of £7 per month.
Sky broadband/ tv/ phone package - deal beaten
Recent increase in price by £15 per month - negotiated price back down
by £15.
The trick is to know what other companies are offering, tell Virgin you're not happy and are seriously considering leaving. Don't accept their waffle on competitors deals (if you've done your research its easy to spot) and have a deal in mind that you want.
Best of luck. By the way - their faster broadband - are you sure?!!0 -
saadia_haq wrote: »If you google freecycle you can join up to your area. This is a website where people give things away rather than throw or sell it. It often has household things. These are free, you just need to be able to collect.:T
thanks for suggestion, but there in lays my problem I have no transport.0 -
I've bought a number of cars - new and second hand - and thankfully I've never been able to get a lower price or heard of a lower price once I've parted with my cash. In my opinion, the key point is preparation - a couple of steps I follow are below, with a couple of tips I know have worked well for me in the past.
- Know what you want. Don't leave it at knowing just what car you want - know what specification and optional extras you want/need and you can use this to your advantage. You don't want to be surprised when you're in front of the sales person. It makes it easier to be assertive and can give you a bargaining chip.
:T- Research the car you're buying inside out. Know everything there is to know about your car - read reviews, comments and common complaints. Remember, dealers have to learn about a whole suite of cars - not just the one you're interested in. If you know more about the car you want than the dealer, it gives you a position of leverage.
The number of times I've caught dealers fudging the facts to help a sale is staggering. One even resorted to out-right lying. If you catch a salesperson in the act and point it out then I've noticed them seem to feel like they're losing the deal and tend to act accordingly to get things back on track. This can mean a better price/thrown in extras.:T- Timing is everything. As mentioned in previous posts, car sales is traditionally commission based. Get your quotes in towards the end of the month/quarter (explained below), and make the purchase in the last couple of days. You'll be staggered how effective walking away from a dealer at this time will be - the majority are desperate for the sale.
:T- Price research. Start with the obvious online retailers - Car Giant, Drive the Deal etc. - to get a feel for the prices they offer. Then look on the manufacturer's website for a price list. Many car types have dedicated communities that can really help you out with pricing. MX-5 (my current car) has a number of sites, everyone is there to help each other out with things such a purchasing. If someone got a good deal somewhere, you can be sure the information will be posted.
With this information in hand, I go to dealers directly by phone. I've always begun with "What's the best price you can offer me on a (for example) Mazda MX-5 2.0 Option Pack?". Take the persons name and note down the price. Need be quote any deals you know that dealer has done in the past, and ask if they can at least match it. You're not trying to get a discount off of the asking price, almost anyone could do that, you're trying to get a discount off of the discounted price.Once you have a number of prices, pick some of the highest, quote to them the lowest minus 5% and ask them to match it - after all, you really want to buy the car from *their* dealership - not somewhere else! You'll get a number of rejections, but hopefully you'll end up with a few dealers playing ball.It's all about playing the dealer's off of each other - but you don't want to go too far so they tell you to sod off. When you feel you're getting to that point, back off and thank them. That's your best phone price.At this point I take my top two dealers in terms of price and thank them for their time. I tell the more expensive that unfortunately I've found a better deal and won't be following up my enquiry. This is their last chance to beat it - and if they do - repeat the process with the other dealer.Key point - never limit yourself to local dealers - phone all over the country. It was cheaper for me to fly from London to Blackpool and drive a new car back than it was to get one from Essex (where I live). Southport has an excellent Mazda dealer by the way!:T- Final price negotiation is done face to face. You've done a lot of price negotiation already, so the dealer will be less inclined to shave more off - but it can be done! Starting with extras:
It's very uncomfortable for the salesperson to say no to this - especially at month/quarter end. They have done in the past mind, stating that the price is so good that they just couldn't."I'm spending £15,000 on a car and you won't throw in a tank of petrol and some tax?"Dealer still being stubborn? Remember those optional extras you decided you wanted at the start of the process? Now's the time to bring them up."If I take the leather seats/extended warranty, will you throw in the mats, tax and fuel?"Sounds reasonable - as if you were giving up something to get something back - obviously you know you're not as you were going to get those optional extras anyway, but the dealer didn't know that.Once you've got all the extras you want, the dealer will want to talk about finance deals. This may or may not be something you need - obviously it may be cheaper to take a loan out somewhere else, and pay the dealership in cash.If you have the cash, I always play along as if I were going to get the finance, get a final price, and then right at the end take that price and state I'm going to pay in cash instead. Finance funded purchases often have a lower capital price for the car as the salesperson makes money from flogging you the loan. I've never been told that a price is only relevant if I take the finance - that's something that always surprises me.Remember, if you're not happy you can always walk away or make the motions as if you're about to walk away.:TJust a quick note - something that can save you THOUSANDS at the correct time of year (month/quarter end) is purchasing a pre-sold car. To meet targets, dealerships often buy their own cars to make their figures look good. It's always worth asking if they have any of these floating about as they are sooooo much cheaper than buying normally. Why so cheap? Well, technically the car is second hand - but it will have 0 miles on the clock and come with all normal warranties. With research and negotiating on a pre-sold car I purchased a £18,500 Mazda for £14,500 - oh, and with the extras!:T
Something completely different - more for mainstream retail purchases. Let's use the example of buying a new Playstation 3. You're going to find it tough to get a discount buying just one, but if you know your mates are looking for one too, go alone and try the following:
"How much for one?"
ok...
"How much for two?"
...
"How much for three?"
Take a calculator and be dividing the price right in front of their nose - you expect a discount! Salespeople feel obligated to lower the price every time you add a new unit on this way - to a limit, of course. Works wonders.:T0 -
The best time to have this done (money wise) is straight after the New Year. Some sixteen years ago I needed new windows, patio doors, French doors, front door, back door and a large Victorian conservatory fitted to our new farmhouse. I went to our local trading estate where the windows and doors were actually manufactured and spoke to the owner about our order. If I was willing to wait till the New Year (it was now about September) then when the workforce came back after the Christmas break if they could work on my order and fit it themselves, he would do the job at cost price just to secure the jobs during the slack period and keep everyone ticking over.So to recap .....1. timing is everything - choose a slack time 2. Go and deal directly with a manufacturer 3. Be specific about your specification - cheap price doesn't mean you have to settle for cheap or inferior products. Anyway - here's hoping this tale helps someone else have as big a saving as i did.
The prices I had been quoted from other places were around the £28,000 - £30,000 at the time ....... the price the manufacturer quoted me for EXACTLY the specification I wanted was ... drum roll please ..... £8,000 :eek: ...... Yes, I had saved over £20,000:j brilliant eh !
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Pump - In PC World you'll get nothing off a "flat" laptop/PC (i.e. just the machine), but if you take stuff like PC Performance, they will often throw the first month in for free and give you a bit of a discount - and you can always cancel it the next day.
Don't use the phrase "can i have a deal on that?" because I hear it every day. All the time. And whenever they say it I know immediately they've read some bargaining guide and will be nervous doing it!
PC World's weeks start on Sunday's, so on Saturday they'll know how far away they are from Norton/Office/PC Performance targets and how much discount they have to play with...Nothing I say represents any past, present or future employer.0
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