Haggling

Former Member · January 2006

This week on the Richard Hammon show, I saw two men haggle with normal electronics stores - Curries, Dixons, etc. to get a 32" LCD HD TV that was worth £1400 or something down to £775. This has made me jealous.

Some questions. How on earth, do you work out the actual value of something, so whether you're getting a good or bad deal? I mean, Ive seen an NC30 (motorbike) which is a tidy little bike for £1400 which looks like a steal, but maybe its a false economy as the bike is about 15 years old now, and for a sports bike that has high performance parts that you'd expect replaced yearly, maybe its worth a lot less. When I bought my current bike the price was £1200 and we got it down to £1150.

I need to learn the art of haggling. Are you a good haggler? Have you haggled in a high street shop in the UK? And if so, how much did you knock off the price?

Whats your best ever haggle?

Teach me.

Former Member · January 2006

My mum is a professional haggler. She got my 1900 car down to 1500, a years warranty on it reduced by £100, my insurance down to £800, etc etc. When buying things like cars she usually talks about it not being what shes looking for, out of her price range, points out minor faults and stuff - like with my car she was walking round it going "oh, just a radio cassette is it" "Hmm the ashtrays dirty, my son doesn't smoke and hates the smell of it", and sometimes namedrops other places that shes seen a better deal [When she might not have done]

In all honesty that hardly describes how she does it but its like an art

Former Member · January 2006

I'm excellent at it. A lot of the time it is the art of convincing somebody that what you will pay is better than anything else they will get.

Former Member · January 2006

I wont haggle in shops and places where the price is set nationally, but I will haggle in markets. I've once got a £30 skirt down to a tenner which I'm very proud of.

Former Member · January 2006

it kinda makes you think how much profit was she gonna make on that skirt if she sold it for £30..surely selling you it at £10 still made her a profit or she wouldn't have sold it.

Former Member · January 2006

my mum is a good haggler

when we were in india recently , we went to a market and my mum found a load of embroidered table cloths she wanted for like 3000 rupees each and managed to get them down to about 500 in the end

although when she does it i feel sooo bad for the people shes doing it too!! theyre poor enough as it is and i always figure we're robbing them when we do it!! thats a stupid thing to think i know, but i cant help it!!! im a rubbish haggler

Former Member · January 2006

Are you allowed to haggle in high street stores? I couldn't imagine anyone in a store with the power to allow anything like that to happen

Former Member · January 2006

Jazza wrote:

Are you allowed to haggle in high street stores? I couldn't imagine anyone in a store with the power to allow anything like that to happen

In clothing stores, supermarkets, etc no.

In big electrical stores yes. You can especially ask for money off if buying several items at once or ask for free extended warantees and that sort of thing.

Former Member · January 2006

Randomgirl wrote:

In clothing stores, supermarkets, etc no.

In big electrical stores yes. You can especially ask for money off if buying several items at once or ask for free extended warantees and that sort of thing.

Or certain Car/Pedal bike shops that overcharge people anyway, and by haggling you're getting the price down to a price which is still ripping you off, but not by as much which shall remain nameles, that starts with a H and ends with an alfords.

Former Member · January 2006

I was buying a jacket in the sales at the start of the month and it had a button missing, typically it was the last one in my size and it was so pretty

So I chanced my arm when I went to pay, said "oh is the button missing" and the chicky is all oh aye so it is. So I said I wouldnt bother then and she said well we can give you another fiver off it. So I ended up getting a £50 jacket for £20, and this was in Dorothy Perkins

If you dont ask, you dont get.

Former Member · January 2006

i do that glittery vodka, if its faulty goods. but wouldnt haggle for anything else in a shop!

Former Member · January 2006

Glittery Vodka wrote:

I was buying a jacket in the sales at the start of the month and it had a button missing, typically it was the last one in my size and it was so pretty

So I chanced my arm when I went to pay, said "oh is the button missing" and the chicky is all oh aye so it is. So I said I wouldnt bother then and she said well we can give you another fiver off it. So I ended up getting a £50 jacket for £20, and this was in Dorothy Perkins

If you dont ask, you dont get.

You pulled the button off didn't you, cheapo

Former Member · January 2006

Doofay wrote:

You pulled the button off didn't you, cheapo

Dont tell everyone, 'sake

Former Member · January 2006

Think I'll have a go at that sometime in the near future

. But if you think of any penny saved as a penny earned, then its increasing your wealth by tonnes!!!

I always just pick things up and pay for them. Even my bike! I just said "errrr, whats your best price?" but i was obviously interested as Id been in a few days before to look at it. Lol

me = amatuer.

Former Member · January 2006

I think my mum is the only woman who can walk into any supermarket and get them to reduce the price of stuff, she's a fucking queen of haggling. Hell she doesnt haggle she tells them a price and gets it ! lol and it's not just supermarkets either its like everything. Everytime i go up to visit her she tells me another story of how she got the price of this or that down to peanuts. She always makes me laugh when she tells me her storys because i think " how the hell do you do it ".

I'd don't really haggle a lot of the time but if somethings faulty then sure i want it reduced. Working in retail you learn secrets so that helps also

I hate people who walk in expecting you to discount something for no particular reason. What makes me laugh as well are people who used to ask for discount because they were paying by cash, i'd say well why should i sell it to you cheaper than that man their paying by card? No one could ever give a valid responce and they wouldnt have gotten it anyway even if they could have answered it.

Former Member · January 2006

EDN1 wrote:

I hate people who walk in expecting you to discount something for no particular reason.

I used to work for the DVLA selling personalised registration numbers and *every* time an Indian caller would ring up, they would blatantly say "Can you give me a discount please". Cheeky gits, what makes them think they have one??

In anycase, the DVLA don't do discounts - for anyone

Teh_Gerbil · January 2006

Haggling is an essential part of life!

Former Member · January 2006

EDN1 wrote:

I hate people who walk in expecting you to discount something for no particular reason. What makes me laugh as well are people who used to ask for discount because they were paying by cash, i'd say well why should i sell it to you cheaper than that man their paying by card? No one could ever give a valid responce and they wouldnt have gotten it anyway even if they could have answered it.

If they pay by cash you can 'pretend' they paid £1 for it, and then only pay the government 17.5p in tax and keep the rest as profit

. I'm pretty sure anyone who works in the trades does it (ok, few exceptions, but there always are), so that can help get a discount in a lot of circumstances.

Former Member · January 2006

Booty Skank wrote:

I used to work for the DVLA selling personalised registration numbers and *every* time an Indian caller would ring up, they would blatantly say "Can you give me a discount please". Cheeky gits, what makes them think they have one??

In anycase, the DVLA don't do discounts - for anyone

Theres no harm in trying

Heres a challenge if anyone wants to take it up - by going places see the biggest discount you can get. You dont have to buy, just see what price you can get it down to from the original. This is a life skill I've ignored up until recently but now realised it can save you thousands!

Haggling

Comments