Negotiating Prices Down

Claire2831

Hi Everyone, wondered if you may be able to offer me some advice. We have found a band that we are really keen to have play at our wedding reception. They have quoted us £1,350 for the four hours (they only play three hours though) and I wondered if this price could be negotiated down or if these costs are set and I would just be embarrassing myself by asking for a lower price? I hear a lot of times that wedding suppliers initially give a higher price for things expecting to be haggled down?
If anyone has managed to negotiate a cheaper price when booking their band then I would be really keen to hear.
Thanks for your help
PS: We have to book them through an agent rather than dealing direct with the band if that makes a difference.

crldnll

Hi there

We've managed to knock alot of things down by replying to the quote with something along the lines of "Thanks for your quote, however we originally budgeted (make up price)....." Works a treat:j Most people have come down in price, and some said they'd do it at the price we stated. So definitely worth a shot!

nat82

Worth a shot but to be honest I'm not sure you'll get much off especially if you are booking through an agent as they will have to factor those costs into their fees. Our band was £1025 and that wasn't involving agents.

Worth a shot though, even if they knock £100 off. If you don't ask ......

Let us know how you get on!

Claire2831

Thanks i'll give it a bash then. Do you think £1000 is a good price to say our budget is....?

nat82

How many is there in the band? Ours was a 4 piece. I suppose they have to think about how much each of them will make.

I'd say £1000 is a good starting point.

Claire2831

Thanks Nat. Yeah its for a 4 piece band in Edinburgh, they do a good mix of Ceilidh and contemporary music

nat82

Good luck! Hope they knock something off for you! Every little helps!

xxx

Horace

Negotiating is always good - I do it with adverts in wedding magazines having got a quarter page ad down from £250 + VAT to £95 + VAT then I was offered a further 3 ads in forthcoming issues for £87 + VAT each with a further 5% early payment discount:D

Always haggle - whether or a wedding item or not.

Claire2831

Wow Horace those are amazing savings! Can I ask what your approach is, do you just say here is what I am prepared to spend, what can you do for this amount or do you have some competitor quotes to hand ie – your main competition has given me this price, can you beat it?

Any hints or tips would be much appreciated

Claire2831

Hi Everyone, just wanted to thank you for the advice. I managed to knock the price down from £1350 to £900 - absolutely thrilled!

rinroo

Wow - what a saving! Well done.

I am rubbish at negotiating, i get embarrassed, the h2b on the other hand is definatly not - he managed to get £100 off our already lowest car quote.