High Street Haggling Discussion

SamDude

I'm sure that Comet will have 'at our discretion' in their T&Cs, so taking them to court would be pointless.

Is the item available to buy from the Richer Sound website?
Why don't you return the item to Comet and order from RS?

mandragora_2

Haggling worked in Carpetright - we needed a room-sized remnant, and went in last week to find one. It was already 'reduced by 50%', but of course, by the time you add in the grippers/underlay/fitters etc, the whole deal worked out to £330. I simply smiled and said that if they could do me the package for £300 I'd buy. So he did. And I did.:j

My OH was embarrassed and walked away, but asking costs nothing, and the difference in the price isn't to be sneezed at!

matj16

Haggling is great fun. I like a challenge and i love gambling (in moderation of course).

My last desperate visit to comet shaved £10 off a hard drive. It was cheaper elsewhere but unfortunately i needed it asap and didn't have time to go anywhere else. All i did was ask for a discount; sometimes its nice and easy. I didn't argue as the store was packed, i'm surprised i got one at all.

The best tactic possible is to smile and make them feel like their enjoying the conversation too. If they smile then your quids in, simple as normally.

My visit before last was for a £240 led tv which i managed to get down to 195, its always worth a shot.

I agree on smaller chains though. Don't avoid them just because they won't discount items; their already competing with the giants and don't need a hard time. My family runs a wedding catering company which already offers the most competitive prices possible; many other places do exactly the same.

galaxysurfer

Nomad25 wrote: »

I want to know how the hagglers overcome their embarrassment - I certainly would like to do this, but even now can feel my toes curling at the thought of it.

Guess I'm just a wus!

Probably everyone is to some degree...until you do it for the very first time!

My experience;

I was shopping for the first time in Glasgow in 2010 with my then Girlfriend and her 17 year old son. He was earning good money for his age and wanted to buy two pairs of boots from River Island.
Originally he was going to just go and pay full price for both items but I told him to take one pair up to the till (the pair he liked the most and would definitely buy) and keep the other pair in his hand, and when he got to the till, ask them if they would give him a discount if he bought both pairs there and then.
In the end, he was the same as you and decided not to try it.
So I took them and his cash off him, approached the nearest sales assistant with a smile (very important!) and tried the same technique I'd told him about (something I'd not actually tried myself before, I might add haha).
I figured that since Glasgow was a 90 mile round trip for us from our home and that we wouldn't be back there anytime soon, (least of all at River Island for a while) then no one would probably know us, or remember us in the future and therefore I had nothing to lose. So I thought ''What the heck...if Dom can do it on 'Don't Get Done Get Dom', then why not I?''
I found the nearest (and friendliest looking) sales assistant and asked him.
The sales assistant told us he could give us 15% off the price off both pairs but only as long as we didn't try to take them back for a refund.
We thought that was fair under the circumstances (the cost of the fuel there and back would have made the 'discount' valueless anyway), so we agreed and got our first haggling-in-the-UK bargain!
The feeling outside after getting a bargain (even though it wasn't for myself) was great. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more than my girlfriends son. A victory is a victory after all. AND...I'd definitely go back to River Island, (discount or not), because they seemed a reasonable and very courteous, so they themselves technically benefited from future sales from us!
As Mrs Doyle says in Father Ted; ''Go on, go on, go on, go on!'', and try it, you never know, it might just make your day..it did with me!
:j

blueflip3000

We set up a John Lewis gift-list for our wedding - obviously a big money-spinner for JLP. Half way through the process the assistant told us we were entitled to a voucher for a free hot drink and cake each from their coffee shop - great!
This came from a big pile of vouchers with no expiry. My wife caught the assistant off guard and cheekily asked if we could have a few more - so we have now enjoyed 4 free lattes and cakes each!

aremdee

regarding embarrassment, it gets easier once you've done it a few times, believe me. The mark up on some of these (especially electrical) items is huge and the retailers see no shame in ripping us off, so why should we feel shame in redressing the balance?
Just before Christmas I went looking for a specific electric shaver for my dad. RRP was £108. Currys had them on a sale price of £45! I clocked this, then went to Comet. They had two remaining at a discount price of £56. I grabbed a youngish sales assistant, picked up the razor with the box with a slight dent or crease to one of the corners and told him that Currys had this very razor for £45, and as this one had a tiny damage to the packaging, could he beat that price, say £40.
Immediately, and without question the reply was, "Yep, no problem mate."
Same with hotels, always ask for at least an upgrade and a discount. I've got upgraded rooms for a cheaper price than the cheaper room! How does that work? Try a line like "Last time I stayed with you, the manager was good enough to upgrade the room I was booked into. I wonder whether you could be fantastic enough to do the same?"
I once got a £550 per night room in London for £350 for two nights!
Rip-off Britain is only a rip off if we let them rip us off. Only need to get them to allow us to haggle for petrol now! ha ha

Dan2910

Went into Comet for new Range cooker and Integrated Dishwasher.
First salesman I spoke to offered a token £20 off but no more and nothing on installation. Pushed it further and got hold of sales manager. Sparked up idle chit chat, mentioned about curry's being next door, asked what the best deal he could do including installation + a 22 inch LED TV and 5 year Warranty on all items?
Original price
Cooker £750 (reduced from £999 already in sale)
Dishwasher £209
TV £149 (reduced from £189 in sale)
Plus £85 Installation x 2
Total book price £1278 plus Warranty

Final Haggled price £999 + Warranty (which I will cancel for all my money back the day after installation!)
Thats £278 of original price and no price matching even mentioned, just bear faced cheek!

Store was Comet Birstal Park Leeds

Cheers Martin!!

Lollytrolly

The only store you have ever known to match a lower price is John Lewis?

Not anymore, The High street giant John Lewis is changing its 82-year-old promise to beat every other shop in the country on price.

I recently visited John Lewis in Westfield, Stratford City, to purchase a Samsung Tv for the sum of £649.00 I was told they were sold
out of the model and were expecting a new order in two days time.

Two days later I re-entered John Lewis, asked them if the new order had arrived in the store, they said no, but they do have a new batch
at their ware house, but the price will no longer be £649.00 as it has risen to
£699.

I frowned and asked why, as it was £50 less just two days ago! The sales person replied, that the Samsung Store at the entrance of Westfield,
were out of stock, but when they regain their new stock the price will rise and so will John Lewis, to match them.

I was then told after revisiting, that Samsung stated that they were still out of stock, but they can reveal that their new price will be £749.00,
£50 more than John Lewis.

I became interested in this frequent price change, for the worse, that while passing by I decided to pay John Lewis a visit in the electrical section,
only to find yet another price change, it has now risen once again to match The Samsung Store to the value of £749.00

I spoke to several members of staff and they claim they will match any competition in the area, but not under cut.

I guess they are confident in gaining customers, as they are one of the only stores to give 5 years gaurantee with their electrical goods.

So within 4 days, they've in fact added £100.00 more!

Please check the link below!

They are not willing t haggle at all!

As I'm not allowed to attach the link, I have attached the article instead: Apologies!

The department store group is running a trial under which it will only match prices of all of its competitors
within an eight mile radius of its stores.

Increasing competition from independent discount stores and out-of-town retail outlets means it is now “unviable”
for John Lewis to guarantee lower prices than every single shop in the country, the firm said.

Instead the retailer has split its competitors into two types: independent stores and national chains.

While it will continue to beat all national chains on price, it will only match prices at independent stores if those stores are located
within eight miles of one of a John Lewis outlet.
The eight-mile radius is being tried out in a pilot scheme in stores in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

If successful the trial could be rolled out across all 26 John Lewis branches in the future.

Although the chain insisted it has always imposed geographical limits on its price guarantee, the eight-mile boundary is likely to be
news to the millions of shoppers who have assumed that if they bought something from John Lewis and then saw it cheaper anywhere
else, John Lewis would refund the difference.

John Lewis described it as a “positive move” which would eliminate any confusion over the terms of its policy.

The Never Knowingly Undersold motto, which dates back to 1925, will remain in use throughout the country.

At the same time the firm is increasing the number of staff it employs to check the prices of competitors to ensure its prices are the lowest.

Helen Dickinson, a spokesman for John Lewis, said: “A lot of independent competitors have price offers and promotions which might be loss
leaders and are nothing to do with national sales... the plethora of independent stores means it would be unviable for us to match every one
in the country. Our business life would be untenable if we tried to do that.”

Miss Dickinson said the price pledge would apply to national chain stores operating outside the eight-mile radius, but not independent stores.

As well as each store employing its own price-checkers to compare prices locally, the company had now recruited a centralised team which
will check prices at national chains such as Argos, Debenhams and House of Fraser, giving the local teams more time to check independent stores.

“This is a positive move, not a negative one,” added Miss Dickinson.

“The whole thing is designed to make the policy of Never Knowingly Undersold, which in the past has been less than clear to a lot of customers,
much more clear. It is a real plank of our commitment to our customers.
“Various branches have a variety of miles radius within which the price guarantee applies, so we are making this universally eight miles. In Scotland,
where the trial is running, we have actually given more refunds to customers than before because we are able to be much more rigorous.”

Jez Frampton, global chief executive of brand consultancy Interbrand, said the eight-mile rule would not affect the strength of the John Lewis brand.
“What people are looking for in John Lewis is more than just price, they are looking for a combination of price, quality and service,” he said.

“I think people would only begin to question the brand if they underdelivered on all of those.

“This won’t affect the positioning of John Lewis, and I do think it makes things more clear for people.”

John Lewis was established in 1864, when its owner opened a small drapery shop in Oxford Street, London.

By 1905 he had become so successful that he bought rival store Peter Jones, and when Mr Lewis died in 1928 his son John Spedan Lewis inherited both
stores and founded the John Lewis Partnership, in which all staff, known as partners, share in the firm’s profits.

Queenie-Louise

Got my automatic renewal notice from AA a couple of weeks ago. Joint membership with just the standard breakdown, no homestart, no relay. Priced at £92! Phoned to cancel and was immediately offered it at £60, pushed a little harder and got it for £42! Didn't have to do much and saved over 50%. Don't be embarrased and don't be rude, do a bit of research of competitors online first and it's easy. I ALWAYS ask "is that your best price?" you'd be amazed how quickly you'll be offered a discount. It encourages me to go back as it proves that certain sellers understand the financial pressures we are all under and are prepared to meet in the middle somewhere - they still make a profit and I get a reduction, everyone's happy!

Freddowasher

Never automatically renew your McAfee subscription. I did for the second year of the licence and it was twice the price I had paid originally. I rang them to ask why it was cheaper to take out a new licence than to renew but didn't get a sensible answer & they couldn't refund the difference so I cancelled the subscription and bought a new licence. Now I just buy a new cheap subscription every year. It's generally half the price and no haggling involved.

Currently the offer is £29.99 for McAfee Total Protection instead of £64.99.