Unless they’re flea market regulars, modern Americans are not great at haggling. It’s why we hate car shopping so much. Most of us want our prices posted on the wall or on a little sticker, and that’s all. But simple haggling can save a lot of money, and it can be relatively painless. You just have to say seven words. [More]
Saved Money On Electronics By Haggling? Consumer Reports Wants To Talk To You
By July 20, 2011
Surveys done by our corporate cohorts at Consumer Reports have found that around 50% of people who make an attempt at haggling end up getting some kind of a deal, even when shopping online. Now the editors at CR want to hear tales of successful haggling from consumers who’ve been able to bargain down the price at electronics retailers. [More]
Haggle Like A Rockstar
By May 27, 2011
Earlier this week we brought you some tips on haggling from The Brooklyn Flea Market. In typical fashion, Consumerist readers replied with their own great tips on haggling, hard-won info tempered in the flames of many a flea market battle. Here’s the best of your best on how to haggle like a rockstar, Consumerist-reader style: [More]
Know The Jargon To Get A Great Hotel Rate
By January 24, 2011
To get into speakeasies of yore, you had to knock and the door, waiting for the big guy to slide back the eye slot, and say the secret password. Likewise, in order to get into a hotel room at a great price, you gotta know the lingo to sling. [More]
Get Discounts Just By Asking
By November 30, 2010
Everything has two prices. One price is for people who just pay whatever the sticker says. The other is for the ones who have the gumption to ask for a discount. You want the second one. NYT Bucks Blog shows you how to get it: [More]
How To Avoid Letting Car Dealerships Con You
By August 11, 2010
Buying a car is like playing a long, exhausting chess game that in the best-case scenario ends with you sinking deeper into debt as you drive off the lot in buyer’s remorse. In the worst-case scenario, you drive off as the salesmen high-five each other while chuckling about your idiocy. The least you can do is prevent this from happening by peeking into the enemy’s playbook. [More]
It's Never Too Late To Haggle, Even At Target
By August 9, 2010
Kyle just emailed us a recap of his successful haggling adventure at Target this past weekend. If you’re afraid to try haggling at a big chain store, check out his story for an example of how to make it pleasant for all parties involved; the goal is to approach it as a negotiation where everyone wins, not as a zero-sum competition. [More]
5 Things Not To Buy At Face Value
By August 5, 2010
Haggling is commonly accepted in some facets of the market and laughed off in others, but the division between the two can be blurry. Kiplinger rounded up five items which you might not have known you could talk money off the price tag: [More]
Haggle With The Manager Of Lowe's, Get A Great Deal On A Fridge
By July 27, 2010
Rissa writes in to let us know that you can get a great deal by haggling a little bit with the manager of Lowe’s. [More]
Outsource Used Car Haggling To Pros At Carsala
By May 7, 2010
For those without the temperament or time to engage in the scrum that is negotiating with a used car dealer, Carsala will do it for you. The site boasts a team of professional negotiators who will contact an average of twenty dealers and work to get you the best price possible. No more getting befuddled by the Four-Square or “Oh, I’m sorry, I really want to make this work but my manager in the back will only agree to…” The pros at Carsala charge a commission of 20% of the difference between Blue Book value and the final price. And, unlike some other car shopping sites, they don’t take kickbacks. Handy! Or you can just use their free tools to check out how a price you’re quoted compares to others in the area, and whether the car you want really fits your budget. [More]
Shopper Successfully Haggles Macy's Clerk
By April 14, 2010
You never know when an opportunity to haggle might present itself when you’re out shopping, as our reader Marty demonstrates. He was able to get a 10% discount on a blazer at Macy’s just by asking the clerk at the register. [More]
Why Aren't You Haggling Yet?
By February 1, 2010
Michael S. Rosenwald saved $15 on a pair of shoes at Macy’s, $3 on a steak at Giant, $6 on a DVD set at Best Buy, and $100 off his next Verizon bill (plus a 10% discount on future bills) during one week spent haggling. In this Washington Post article, he describes how it felt to switch from the habit of paying full retail to looking at a price tag as a “suggestion,” in the words of one expert he met with. The executives Rosenwald spoke with repeatedly said that bargaining is not standard practice, but that didn’t stop employees and managers from making deals in order to close the sale. [More]
It's Now Illegal To Sell A Ticket In New York For More Than $2 Over Face Value
By June 6, 2009
Quick, go buy scalped tickets while it’s still illegal to sell them for more than $2 over face value. The New York law allowing unlimited markups on scalped tickets expired last week, and Governor David Paterson has yet to sign an extension bill passed by the legislature. TicketsNow and StubHub are, of course, ignoring the law, because they’ve never been big fans of little things like laws or decency.
They Wouldn't Like You When They're Angry — Or Would They?
By May 15, 2009
Maybe the Fonz didn’t know what he was doing, because researchers have found that being the coolest cat in the room doesn’t always do you favors, while a flash of fury might just help tip the balance in your favor.
Do You Haggle?
By April 23, 2009
Asking for a discount. Negotiating for a better price. Haggling. No matter what you call it, the concept is the same: working to get a seller to let you pay a lower price for a good or service than what was initially offered. The Digerati Life encourages shoppers to negotiate on price and offers the following tips (including a story about getting a discount at Home Depot) to make the most of the process:
Now Is A Good Time To Haggle Over A TV
By March 29, 2009
Between weak holiday sales and the pending arrival of new models, this an excellent time to haggle with your local electronics store over the price of a new TV. In a normal year, prices dip before the holidays and again before the Super Bowl. This year, with the recession clamping down on bank accounts, nobody’s buying. With new models arriving soon, retailers just want to clear out their showroom space, meaning you can walk in and save a few hundred dollars on that dream set you’ve always wanted.
As Retailers Suffer, Shoppers Start Haggling
By December 29, 2008
Shoppers are frequently haggling over prices, even at major chain stores, the AP reports. With retail stores suffering, “you’d have to be a moron not to ask for a discount.”
Learn How To Read Body Language
By July 15, 2008
Want to improve your ability to read the other person in a negotiation? Joe Navarro, a former FBI agent turned author who’s making the requisite publicity circuit to promote his book, knows all about body language, and in this multimedia slideshow on WashingtonPost.com he explains some of the most common ones. He notes, “Our feet are probably our most accurate indicators of how we feel about things,” which is funny because I’ve never been able to flip anyone off with my toes.
