Please consider the idea of haggling: a buyer negotiating with a seller to get a lower price. It sounds like a great way to save money. Why am I not doing it?
I believe that like other consumers, haggling just isn’t on my radar:
- I pay what I see on the price tag without question.
- My first notion of haggling reminds me of buying a vehicle. Yuck!
- I am uncomfortable asking for a discount.
- Finally, it simply hasn’t occurred to me to apply haggling to non-big ticket items.
I love the idea of haggling, but I am way out of my comfort zone. My reluctance to ruffle feathers is one of the reasons – according to some financial experts – that many women often pay more for goods and services than men do.
In addition, I don’t have a lot of experience with haggling. My experiences are limited to negotiating for goods in a street market in Mexico and bargaining for a futon at a garage sale. That’s it. I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, the present financial climate seems like a perfect time to start. There’s plenty of inventory that sellers need to move, so why not ask for a bargain?
Bowing to experience, I asked friends and family about their haggling encounters.
Research: One friend needed a good office chair. She sits for long hours editing manuscripts and needs something with lots of support. After researching on the Internet, she had created a list of several chairs she wanted to try. She took her research to the field, visited stores and sat in many chairs.
Finally, she found the chair she wanted at a big office supply store. She had an ace in her pocket because she knew the online price was cheaper than the store’s price. So she offered to pay the online price, which was 20% less. After a bit of hemming and hawing, the salesperson agreed to let the chair go for the online price. My friend was amazed. “I thought,
Comments