Haggling: Give Yourself A Raise
by: David Wilding
Haggling was a way of life for Mr. B. I knew Mr. B because his son was one of my friends. His haggling greatly embarrassed my friend, but it didn't bother Mr. B. He was saving money.
Mr. B was a wonder. His distaste for paying retail was so ingrained he would bargain at the local fast food restaurant. Not attached to this man by blood, I felt no embarrassment, so I would watch with interest as he worked his magic with a retail price.
If you were there, this is what Mr. B would have taught you:
Be in command. Feel comfortable in the negotiation process. This will take practice. Start in an arena where haggling is a common and accepted practice. Go to a flea market or swap meet. Have some fun learning to haggle with the people you find there. After you have honed your skill you can have confidence as you move to haggling where the practice is less common.
Never be satisfied with the price marked. You are looking for a compromise. Any compromise leaves money in your pocket. A decent haggler can increase his purchasing power by 10-20%. That is like getting a 15-25% raise in your pay.
Always negotiate up. This may seem obvious but many a negotiator has paid too much. Choose a low price to begin with. You do not start at the price you are willing to pay. If you do, once you mention a price you are done. Start with a low, even ridiculous, amount. (This can be the most difficult part, but forget the embarrassment. Your goal and only goal is to get them engaged.)
As you haggle make your increases in price small. You never know when he or she will accept. There is no sense in placing money on the table you could have left in your pocket.
Never give up. Keep at it. Be sure to go into the negotiation fresh. Don’t fool yourself by thinking you are the first person to match wits with this seller and so he has no experience. You must not even give a hint you are weakening. A good seller can smell reticence and fatigue.
Dress the part. There are clothes to wear to work, to wear to church, and then there are clothes to wear when you shop. You want to be comfortable and you do not want to appear to have money. You can be far more effective if you look like the price you offer is truly all you can afford.
Never downplay the quality or desirability of the item you want. If the item is no good why do you want it? You need to downplay the price of the item. You want the item, just not at the price they are asking. It can be a good idea to mention you have seen it elsewhere for less. However, this can backfire if the item is truly one of a kind. Be careful, only a totally uninformed seller will not be aware of the scarcity of his item.
Make the haggling a two way negotiation only. You don’t want to enter a bidding war with a third individual. This can only cause the final price to be higher.
Select a point to stop. Since you had a price in mind before you began, you should never pay more for an item than the price you have set for yourself. You must be prepared to walk away if the negotiation cannot get you the price you want. Almost nothing is more effective than walking away from a protracted negotiation in which the seller has so much time invested. You will be surprised how often you will be called back for another round of haggling.
Now go make Mr. B proud. Get to work saving yourself some money and use it to pay down your debt.
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1 comment:
I wrote that article a while ago. The priciples outlined in the article still hold true and can be of great benefit to all if we practice them. But I heard a new twist the other day and within minutes put it into use.
Here's the story(all true):
I was listening to the radio while out running some errands. A
fellow, by the name of Richard Paul Evans was on discussing his
newest book (he wrote "The Christmas Box Story if you have heard of
it) entitled "The Five Things I Learned From A Millionaire".
As part of the discussion they were covering saving money, and then taking the money saved and adding it to your savings account. He said the phrase he uses is "Is that the best you can do?" when given a price or upon enquiring of a price. He mentioned he has used the phrase everywhere from a fine furniture store to Wal-Mart, and even in Costco (who knew?).
The phrase is so effective because it is so disarming. Who doesn't
want to do their best? You are inviting them to do it. As a tactic
it is far more simple than the process I wrote about. I wanted to
know if it was as effective.
It so happened I had my other car in the shop for some repairs. When
I returned from my errands, my wife told me the shop had called with
an estimate for the repairs and needed my approval before
proceeding. Less than 3 minutes after I had heard the phrase on the
radio I used it! The repair was quoted at $665. I calmly asked, word
for word, "Is that the best you can do?" and then said nothing else.
I waited for an answer.
The fellow I was talking to was taken aback. I could tell, as he
stammered, I'll...I'll see what I can do. The short end of the story
is he knocked off $60 from the total of the bill. That $60 went
right into my savings account. I would have spent it anyway...I
needed the car fixed. Since I didn't pay it to the repair bill, I
paid it to myself.
I can't wait to use it again. I am going to keep a diary of the
money this little phrase saves me in the coming year. I need to go
and rewrite the article on haggling to include this tip. I wouldn't want someone reading it and saying to me..."Is that the best you can
do"?
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