Haggling in upper chain stores??????

nooksky

Beenie wrote: »

Can someone advise me?

I really want a Raymond Weil watch (the Parsifal) but unfortunately it's £900-1500 depending on the amount of gold in the bracelet.

I am quite timid and have no idea how to 'haggle.' Do you look sad and say I want it cheaper....do you leave long pauses...what the heck do you do?

We need a masterclass on this.

Beenie, if you get a chance to watch or record any off don't get done get dom, its on bbc2 at the moment each day about 2.15. If not there is always the bbc iplayer to watch it on.
This will give you a good insight into how they haggle.
I enjoy haggling and alway like to bag a good deal. I managed to haggle me and my partners wedding rings from £1500 down to a £1000!!
I'm always very friendly and a little cheeky, and as long as you are nice they always seem to happy and a lot of people find it fun.

Jockthearab

jai1998 wrote: »

Haggling drives me mad !!!!

I work in a Menswear store where people come in and ask for discount all the time and some go as far as to mention that they are asking as a result of having watched this programme. As a large retailer, my employer does not allow staff to discount on a whim. They believe that discounting would cheapen the brand image and previous experience has shown that once a customer has been discounted once, they expect something every time they visit. I usually find it is the people who can obviously afford to pay who ask rather than the people who would truely appreciate a discount of some kind. Nothing satisfies me more than watching the 'I'll leave it then' slow walk to the door expecting me to run after them. In most cases they come back 10 minutes later to buy it anyway, just buy the item if you want it.

There is also the habit of being greedy and asking for something unrealistic;

'I'm spending £400 on a suit so will you throw in the (£180) shoes for free?

I'm a good customer, I shop here all the time (Then why do I not recognise you as I am on first name terms with many of my regulars?).

What annoys me is that if you watch the programme, Dom uses independent local shops rather than well known 'High Street' stores, a fact which always seems to be missed.

So come on hagglers, show us what you are made of, fill a trolley with £50 of food at M&S and offer £40. Lets see how far your haggling gets you then ....

I assume that like myself, you use these forums for advice on how to save money? Haggling is one of the easiest ways to save money! Perhaps your customers have not mastered the finesse of haggling which drives you mad? It should almost be a game of wits, that leaves both parties satisfied, one for having secured a 'deal' or 'bargain' & the seller for having secured a sale. Can't you even offer a tie or belt instead of the expensive shoes? Surely it's better to sell a suit at say £10 below the advertised price & still make a profit rather than having it left on the hanger?

In the current economic climate, we're all having to become even more price conscious than before due to rising mortgage, utility, petrol and food prices. I take my custom to where I have heard of good service & prices, either through word of mouth from family & friends (& of course you lot on here! ) or my own past experience. I'd be far more likely to shop there again rather than in a store that engenders such an old fashioned, stuffy attitude towards the customer, thus the store benefits again from my repeat business.

V_tricky

When I was looking for a luxury timepiece (what a waste of money! a Swatch would have done - certainly it would have kept time a lot better - lots of people assume mine's a faker anyway) I went into Watches of Switzerland and Mappin & Webb and asked whether they did a staff discount for my company.

Now I KNOW they don't, but both agreed to give me one anyway!

Yvonne_S

Last week i went into a local furniture shop as i was looking for a nice and modern sideboard for my dining room ( somewhere to hide the clutter lol ).
There was a lovely one reduced , there was also a matching mirror, which was very nice too.
The salesman came over and told me what a bargain it was etc, etc. I told him i would go and have a think about it ( cutting a long story short ).
I thought i'd try my luck on haggling.
I rang the next day stating that i was very interested in purchasing the sideboard but could not afford the price they were asking so asked if they would consider £100.00 less.
The salesman stated that they would reduce it by £50.00.
Again i stated that i would think about it.
I was quite pleased with getting £50.00 off so rang back to say yes.
The said salesman asked me if i was interested in purchasing the matching mirror as it was end of line and they really wanted rid of the 2 items together.
i said no, not really ( but did like the mirror ).
He then offered me the £200.00 ( originally £300.00 ) mirror for £50.00.
so i ended up technically paying the stated price for the sideboard but getting the mirror free.
I was really quite pleased and it now looks lovely in my dining room lol.
So it does pay to haggle.

Sorry this was a bit long winded .

jai1998

Jockthearab wrote: »

I assume that like myself, you use these forums for advice on how to save money? Haggling is one of the easiest ways to save money! Perhaps your customers have not mastered the finesse of haggling which drives you mad? It should almost be a game of wits, that leaves both parties satisfied, one for having secured a 'deal' or 'bargain' & the seller for having secured a sale. Can't you even offer a tie or belt instead of the expensive shoes? Surely it's better to sell a suit at say £10 below the advertised price & still make a profit rather than having it left on the hanger?

In the current economic climate, we're all having to become even more price conscious than before due to rising mortgage, utility, petrol and food prices. I take my custom to where I have heard of good service & prices, either through word of mouth from family & friends (& of course you lot on here! ) or my own past experience. I'd be far more likely to shop there again rather than in a store that engenders such an old fashioned, stuffy attitude towards the customer, thus the store benefits again from my repeat business.

Thanks for responding to my 'rant'. I agree with you that the 'finesse of haggling' is probably not there and it is probably a mix of both that and the fact that my company will not budge on prices, so going on and on and becoming abusive or walking away does not and will not change anything. I would honestly say that 99% of the customers who ask, just go ahead and pay anyway having been refused.

I am in absolute agreement about the customer service aspect you mentioned. This really is important in my store and I am delighted to say that this is a reason so many regulars come back and send in friends and family.

I would, however, reiterate what I quoted in my first posting that I would imagine that customers are more likely to be able to haggle in an independant store, where the owner might be the person behind the counter. There is no use trying in a High Street store where prices are set (such as the person who works in Debenhams and is never asked).

Jockthearab

Jai1998, it's a shame that your employers don't allow you to budge on prices. I can understand why, from a security point of view, that shops only allow some staff the authority to discount e.g the Store Manager/Supervisor. This policy should NOT mean that the customer feels that it's OK to abuse staff whose hands are tied by their employers rules.

I try & treat staff as I'd expect to be treated myself. I find treating them with respect, courtesy and sometimes some friendly banter has helped when I've had a go at haggling. Ok, I've not always succeeded, either biting the bullet & paying full price or saying 'thanks, I'll leave it' & doing the walk of shame! If I don't ask I certainly won't get!

Just to satisfy my curiosity, you say you cannot 'discount on a whim' but IF a customer was nice/pleasant/perhaps looking to buy a few expensive suits could you/would you get the authority for even a small discount? e.g even staff discount level, not "Buy one get one free levels"

PS I tried haggling in Debenhams at the perfume counter before. (Pressie buying for wife, lol) ..she didn't reduce the price but threw in quite a few wee perfume samples for free! I don't know if it was my haggling skills that worked or if they felt sorry for my embarrassed daughter standing next to me....

JtA

MrsE_2

Jockthearab wrote: »

PS I tried haggling in Debenhams at the perfume counter before. (Pressie buying for wife, lol) ..she didn't reduce the price but threw in quite a few wee perfume samples for free! I don't know if it was my haggling skills that worked or if they felt sorry for my embarrassed daughter standing next to me....

JtA

Yep, I've got sweetners in Debenhams at the Lancome counter.:D

newmommyjen

Next clearance do take further discounts off there already sale stock.
Had a woman buying 8 candle stands for centre pieces for tables.
Full price was £16 down to £7 , as she was buying so many the manager took them down to £5 each.
another lady wanted a further discount as a sterling silver necklace had a small dent on the corner. Full price was £25, down to £12. Then down to £6 for the dent.
So if you never ask u never get. If u get knocked back hey at least you tried.

[Deleted User]

I'm usually one of those customers who 'haggles for satisfaction' and not necessarily because i can't afford the item. If I was spending 450 quid on suits, i would expect a 'win' at the end of it with something thrown in (shoes would be excessive), like some cufflinks, a tie or maybe even a shirt.

On 'high mark up' items such as watches, jewelery and designer clothes - it's worth keeping in mind you are often 'paying for the brand' and thus there's a fair chance you can negotiate the price down.

As my dad says - if you don't ask, you don't get.