Haggling: How to Get What You Want for Lower than the List Price

Posted on March 25th, 2011 by Paulina Aguilera

Trying to negotiate your way into a home for less than the list price? Do you want to save on furniture to help you decorate that new home you’re moving into? Haggling is the ticket. Practiced around the world, haggling can be as simple as asking for a discount or as complex as working with a partner to effectively lower a price as a team. Whether you are visiting a busy street market halfway around the world or simply want a better deal on a house for sale, haggling is the best way to get what you want for less. If you want to improve the success rate of your haggling strategy, MovingCost.com offers what you need to know:

Determine if the Situation Is Right for Haggling
You can’t haggle everywhere, so the first thing you have to think about is whether or not the situation allows for a little haggling wiggle room. How do you know when you should haggle? Generally, places where the staff make commission are ideal. Haggling works in flea markets, small family-owned shops, and of course, at garage sales. Places where you don’t want to haggle: Big box retailers and large department store chains.

Do Research on What You Want
To be a successful haggler, you have to know what it is you want. Hop online and do some basic research on this must-have “thing” that you really want to get on the cheap. Get to know the specific features, compare prices, and look for comparable models. Once you hit the shop you’ll be haggling in, you’ll have the upper hand since you will already know all about the product you want and can bargain accordingly.

You Must Appear Just Slightly Interested
When you find the product you want, whether it’s a gently used sofa or new high efficiency washer/dryer combos, don’t look too interested in it! When you’re approached by a sales person, let them fill you in on the details (which you will already know from having done your research before). Give them a chance to practice their sales pitch on you, so they feel like they’re working for your sale – even if you’re already dead set on getting what you came in for.

Request Freebies
Sometimes haggling isn’t about lowering the price, but getting value out of the sales deal you’re negotiating. If you’re unsuccessful at reducing the cost of what you want, ask for them to throw in something else with your purchase. It never hurts to ask for freebies!

Don’t Mind What Others Think of You!
The most important thing to keep in mind when you do attempt to haggle is to forget your inhibitions. You will likely never see the sales clerk again once your transaction is over, and it really doesn’t matter what the other shoppers think of you since you’ll never see them again either. That doesn’t give you leave to act like you’re entitled to a discount. You can haggle successfully without being rude or insensitive to others.

Try these tips next time you stop by a garage sale for practice. Then you can move on to negotiating lower prices for everything else, whether it’s moving supplies or new furnishings. Good luck!

What else works for you when you haggle? Share your success stories with us on Facebook and Twitter!

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Tags: economical, house, real estate

This entry was posted on Friday, March 25th, 2011 at 11:26 am and is filed under Learning Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.