unsuccessful haggling..

wheresmydoshat

....and they say we're are on the brink of a recession !

Curry's obviously aren't feeling the pinch.

I went to our local store yesterday with every intention of buying a dishwasher. I knew the model I wanted, and how much I could get it for online.

Curry's had this model for £320 (down from £350), but I knew I could get it for £285. So I tried to haggle the member of staff down to £300 so as to meet me half way.

I'd barely finished offering £300 before he shook his head and said no. I went to walk off and asked one last time whether he was sure and if he'd like to check with his manager before losing a sale for the sake of £20.

The response was (to my surprise as he seemed more the trolley collecting type) "i am the boss". I politely pointed out he may want to brush up on his training, and walked out of the door.

Anyone else experiencing no room for haggling even in the current climates ??

Tozer

wheresmydoshat wrote: »

....and they say we're are on the brink of a recession !

Curry's obviously aren't feeling the pinch.

I went to our local store yesterday with every intention of buying a dishwasher. I knew the model I wanted, and how much I could get it for online.

Curry's had this model for £320 (down from £350), but I knew I could get it for £285. So I tried to haggle the member of staff down to £300 so as to meet me half way.

I'd barely finished offering £300 before he shook his head and said no. I went to walk off and asked one last time whether he was sure and if he'd like to check with his manager before losing a sale for the sake of £20.

The response was (to my surprise as he seemed more the trolley collecting type) "i am the boss". I politely pointed out he may want to brush up on his training, and walked out of the door.

Anyone else experiencing no room for haggling even in the current climates ??

When you say that you could get it for £285, do you mean elsewhere?

If so, why not simply buy it there?

In my experience big retailers are not great at reducing prices in circumstances like this.

wheresmydoshat

yes, £285 was the cheapest i could find it when i did a quick search online.

i would still always prefer to buy this sort of thing from a retailer tho if i can.

i was quite happy to walk out without it, just surprised there was not even a moment where the "boss" considered it !

uktyler

wheresmydoshat wrote: »

i would still always prefer to buy this sort of thing from a retailer tho if i can.

i was quite happy to walk out without it, just surprised there was not even a moment where the "boss" considered it !

The "boss" can only do so much, he is limited by the head office.

If you want to buy from a retailer you will end up paying more than internet prices.

MichH

John Lewis are always worth a try as they price match, plus their customer service has always been excellent in my experience.

Lip_Stick

My parents wanted a new fridge freezer, and the one they wanted was cheaper online than in Currys. They wanted to order it from some place where they could have face to face contact I guess, so went to Currys to ask them if they'd do it for the price they'd seen online, which was through Pixmania. They wouldn't budge an inch, so in the end they went to Pixmania. The fridge freezer arrived, and it was actually from... you guessed it.. Currys.

marleyboy

I remember similar happening to me at Currys, I wasnt after any deals on the item as such, I ordered a Dishwasher. But they couldn't offer me a discount on a washing machine, and the store next door had it for cheaper (matched with Dishwasher), I was told there was nothing they could do, I said it was ok I will get the Dishwasher from here and ill just nip next door for the washer.

No sooner had i left, the manager came running out to me, saying "Yes Yes we can match it PLUS throw in extra cover at no extra cost." I think the sales rep got a grilling for it.

PopeSock

uktyler wrote: »

The "boss" can only do so much, he is limited by the head office.

If you want to buy from a retailer you will end up paying more than internet prices.

True. Currys stores apparently had a memo from head office a while back saying that discount has to come right down.

The actual profit margin on electronics varies a lot. It often depends on what the product is, whether it's a dishwasher, PC, TV, vaccum cleaner or whatever. A large piece of electronics might seem like a lot of money to a customer, but sometimes it's only considered a good deal for the store if they get all the extra high profit attachments with it.

This tends to be why companies have special offers like 'Buy Attachment X with Machine Y and get it for 1/3 off', rather than discounting products directly. It can depend which manager you speak to, and what kind of day they're having whether they do any more discount, but again it will also depend upon how much profit's being made on the item itself.

wheresmydoshat

for certain items i like buying from somewhere close enough to home that i can speak to them face to face if something goes wrong !

or in the case of my new TV, i got it from a store in town for £60 more than it was online simply because a. i know the staff very well and they will do all they can for me, and b. it came with a 5 year guarantee which i couldn't get with the cheaper price online.

bestpud

My bil went to buy a PC from PCWorld and had the same problem; they wouldn't budge an inch so they left without one! Couldn't even get something thrown in free!

wheresmydoshat

NEVER buy a PC from PC World, trust me on this one !!