How to haggle

A couple of people mentioned haggling in the teenager thread but rather than going off topic I thought I'd start a new thread.

The British hardly ever try it and are hopeless when they do. So here are my top 10 tips on how to go about it. Feel free to add more.

1. Haggle with the right person. Don't waste your breath on a shop assistant with no authority to negotiate. Ask to speak to somebody who can. Ignore any comments from low ranking shop assistants who say the prices are fixed.

2. Always haggle on high value items. Low value, fast moving items such as food have little room for negotiation as the market is already competitive and margins small, it will only work if you are buying in large quantities. However slow moving goods, e.g. fridges, have much more potential as margins are high, often 100%. That is not to say they are ripping you off - slow moving goods mean poor cash flow and lots of expensive store space, but it does mean they have room to maneuver to secure the sale.

3. Be prepared. You should have checked on the internet what prices you can get there before walking in to a shop so you know where to start. Printouts can help. I'd conveniently forget about the delivery costs though.

4. Don't lie. OK, sometimes it can work but more often you will come unstuck. I've heard people saying "somebody else said they will give it to me for £50 less" but then get unconvincingly evasive when pressed on who. If they think you are talking bull any hope of an offer will vanish.

5. Consider non-cash alternatives. To give you a discount on an item you want means a straight loss of profit for the seller. However they may be much more willing to give a discount in the form of a freebie, such as throwing in a kettle or free insurance. That kettle probably only cost them half the advertised price. Only do this if there is an additional item you really want. Also I'd suggest this later in the negotiation to further lower the price rather than straight off.

6. Ask for an offer. A good starting point is to ask them to make the first move. "I'd like that but it's too expensive, how much of a discount can you offer me?". They won't give their best price but it will give you a feel for their willingness. Follow it up with "Hmmm, I was hoping more for X".

7. Be prepared to walk away and try elsewhere.

8. Be prepared NOT to walk away. I was once offered a 5% discount. I said I'd look around other shops and see if I could improve on it - I might come back or I might not depending on what their competitors offered, but then said if they offered me 10% I would buy it there and then. After token resistance they caved in as soon as I said I was leaving. They just can't risk you going and not coming back.

9. Don't empathize. Don't feel sorry for them or buy because they were friendly. I still sometimes hear people say they bought something because the salesman was "such a nice young man". Amazing. Treat them with respect but they are not your friend. To them you are a business opportunity, and that is how you should view them too.

10. UNDERSTAND THE SALEMAN'S POSITION. This is perhaps the most important and comes into all the above points. They are keen to make a sale but not at a loss. You must strike them as a serious rational customer who has already made the decision to buy, you just haven't decided who to buy FROM. Do that and they will do whatever they can to get the sale. If you don't they have failed as a salesman. Making ludicrous offers or messing them around will just weaken your position.