What to say when haggling?

Ticklemouse

A few years ago, I was buying a new washing machine. I had decided on the one I wanted (Miele) and for various reasons, had to resort to the high street. John Lewis had it at about £90ish below rrp but needed 4 days to deliver. I wandered down to Comet who had it at full price, asked them to price match which they did, then asked about delivery. They could deliver in 2 days so I agreed then asked for free delivery. They said no, I started to walk, upshot was I got it delivered free Surprisingly, I think that a lot of their customers didn't bother with the price match from what the assistant said All it takes is a bit of research and I saved £100, and this was before I had the internet.

I've also never paid list price on a car - either new or second hand. In fact, many years ago I bought a second hand Montego (I know ), got a discount than asked for new front wheel bearings. Salesman did his 'what does the little woman know' act and said there was nothing wrong with them but he'd give me 3 months warranty on the car. At the time each bearing would have cost over £100 to replace (main dealer prices) and as this was attached to the main dealership, I took it. Funnily enough, had both front bearings done within that time

idiot_3

bloody hell, someone gave you a warranty on a montego!

LittleJo

Hi,
Montego is fine, for real fun you mean the Allegro.
Jo

Big_Nige

I buy high priced items on the last day of the month, sales targets need to be hit & the assistants are more likely to discount then. Also when possible don't go on a Saturday or Sunday as there are plenty of customers who won't haggle & take up the assistants' sales time. Last but not least as the asistant "are you on commission" a yes will more than likely mean a discount.

gallygirl

OK folks - am going to buy a new carpet tomorrow - hall, stairs, landing & living room.

Looking for new underlay, fitting, gripper bars, coir mat at entrance. Any tips?

Prob is only 1 I've seen I like so far is in Carpetright......

BTW, got 10% off 2 lamps in BHS sale as there was a small mark on 1 shade - but then they noticed the shades didn't match so they changed one.... the marked one but forgot to cancel discount!

Poppy9

Forget the multiples find yourself a local carpet supplier. Look in Yellowpages. I save £350 on bedroom carpet for same quality and better service than HOF

Eagle_1

ali007 wrote:

OK folks - am going to buy a new carpet tomorrow - hall, stairs, landing & living room.

Looking for new underlay, fitting, gripper bars, coir mat at entrance. Any tips?

Prob is only 1 I've seen I like so far is in Carpetright......

BTW, got 10% off 2 lamps in BHS sale as there was a small mark on 1 shade - but then they noticed the shades didn't match so they changed one.... the marked one but forgot to cancel discount!

Be blunt to be honest.
Walk in there looking at the carpets. When a salesperson comes up to you just say " Im looking at buying hall, stairs and landing etc etc, what discount would I be looking at on that capet there..for cash ?
Its easy, thats all you do. I always try and make it light hearted, give a smile and maybe a little giggle as I ask.
They can only say sorry none, so try anyhow because you could save yourself money.

My Dad haggled on his motobility car once and they were gonna give him a discounted price, but in the end he went for a different make. But it just shows you, haggle and sometimes you will get a discount.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I tried to get free delivery on a washing machine for cash upfront, but they wouldn't do it. Maybe I need more practice.
Most of the haggling I do is at car boot sales, where most sellers are willing to haggle. Bizarrely, there's a pair of dealers in my town who routinely do car boot sales and don't haggle at all. I know if I'm selling at a boot sale, I never give my rock-bottom price straight away. I always allow a bit of haggling room when pricing. Most car dealers operate on the same basis - they price in expectation of haggling.
I've had small discounts on imperfect goods in shops when I've pointed out the mark/flaw, but I'm afraid I've yet to make any big savings by haggling in shops.
Haggling is usually possible at charity sales, but some sellers will look at you with disgust if you dare to ask, believeing "It's for a good cause" is all the excuse they need to charge more than an identical item would cost brand new in the shops.
My usual technique at boot sales etc. is to smile and and ask "would you give me it for £x?", sometimes even opening my purse, examining the contents and screwing my face up. Suggesting that the original price is excessive sometimes works, but often antagonises sellers.

IvanOpinion

I pulled a fast one last night. I was selling an item, we are talking £20 here, the chap offered me £15, so I suggested £25, he looked at me strangely and offered £17, so I said why don't we meet in the middle at £20 to which he agreed and then after a couple of seconds thinking he added '... hold on a second, how the hell did that happen'. Fortunately he had a sense of humour.

In the end we agreed a price (properly).

Ivan

Tony_H_3

Our last shopping trip to Asda entertained us with a £1.00 "Happy 2 Help" discount because they were using the checkout to train. The wife nearly died when I asked for this discount because of the time it took the trainee. Got the discount though