Most hagglers are able to score reduced prices, according to a study to be published in November’s Consumer Reports. Here’s one of their tips for shaving off the dollars:
Deal with the decision maker. If a salesperson isn’t empowered enough to give you a discount, find out who is. At chain stores, that’s typically a manager or supervisor. If your medical plan doesn’t cover the entire cost of a procedure, talk to the doctor, not the office manager.
Survey respondants reported success not just with cars and houses, but also cellphone plans, doctor’s bills, and electronics at big-box retail stores. Are you a haggler? What are your stategies for success?
More Than 90 Percent of Hagglers Scored Better Prices [Broadcast Newsroom via Consumer World Blog]
More From Consumerist
-
Laptop Owner Stuck In Dell Hell While Waiting For Refund
-
Carnival On Reimbursing U.S. For $4.2M In Rescues: Saving Ships Is Just “Maritime Tradition”
-
Americans Increasingly Reach For Smartphones In Emergencies
-
Survey: Consumer Confidence At Highest Level In Four Years
-
Here’s An Even More Confusing Michaels Clearance Sign
@12monkeys: Huh? You realize the markup is extraordinary, right? It all depends on how desperate they are to get the cars off the lot. Haggling a Honda Civic in Southern California won’t get you anywhere. Haggle the same Civic in Fairbanks and I imagine you’d have em by the balls.
Always use the DEALER price as the baseline to negotiate from. NOT the sticker. On a less than popular economy car, picking up 800-1k at the end of the month will almost always please the dealer (in my exp). If you can, have several models in mind from the same dealership. They may be willing to really negotiate on some, while others are near sticker. Get the out the door price before you agree to anything. Different counties have different fees and taxes, so just because one dealership deals more than another doesn’t mean they’ll have the lowest after everything.
And most important of all, be ready to walk. For real.
@freshyill: That’s the only reason why I’ve made purchases from Circuit City.
Commission = haggling room. I got them to price match Best Buy AND throw in some peripheral goodies (monster cables) when I picked up a surround sound system, a few years ago.