In this article I want to talk about several different methods and techniques and tips that you can use when it comes to haggling to get the best price on just about anything you wish to buy.
Most people think that you can't haggle anymore.
Malls, big box chains, supercenters...
it all seems so fancy and corporate that many people think you can't walk into one of these stores and haggle like in the old days.
After all, these aren't mom-and-pop stores that are desperate for business! Haggling has gone on for thousands of years since the very first marketplace was ever created and I'm happy to report that haggling is alive and well in our modern day shopping environment.
You just have to know the best way to do it and that's what I'm going to talk about today right here.
The first thing to realize is that you should always talk to the department manager or if it's a smaller store talk to the store manager.
You're going to be tempted to bargain with a salesperson but in almost every case a salesperson doesn't have any sort of authority to give you what you want when it comes to prices.
Heck, often times these salespeople are just high school kids or college kids; do you really think a major corporation is going to allow them to offer discounts whenever they want? They'd give all the merchandise away to their friends! No, you really have to go right to the department manager right off the bat and you can't be shy about it.
If you did talk to a salesperson to begin with be sure to let the manager know so that the salesperson gets their rightful commission.
My next tip is to never haggle during peak hours.
Managers get distracted when the stores are busy and they just may not have time to deal with you and since they probably don't really care anyway - it's best not to bother them when they're busy.
This is often difficult because sometimes the only time you have to shop is during the weekend when you're not at work and those can be the busiest times for the stores.
Whenever you haggle be sure to have a good reason in your mind and express that reason why you should get a discounted price.
There are hundreds if not thousands of reasons why you should get a good deal.
Maybe you're buying in bulk, maybe you're paying cash, maybe the item is slightly dented or otherwise bruised, maybe the only item left is the floor model.
Whatever the reason, be sure to know in your mind why you feel you should get a discount and use that as your basis for negotiation.
Start right out with it.
At the end of the day it all comes down to power and in this certain circumstance you have all the power because you can walk away.
Sometimes you have to use that power and simply walk away.
Remember, haggling won't always work and sometimes you just have to try a different store or come back when a different manager is on duty and try again.
So there you have several different techniques that you can use to haggle and get the price you deserve on the items you want.
I hope it was helpful and I hope you are successful in all of your haggling adventures.