A lot of these gestures and positions may strike some readers as obvious, but chances are you subconsciously lapse into them in various situations. If you can somehow master your body language and strike a pose that's splayed out, legs crossed, arms akimbo, with your fingers pressed together in a steeple, you'll probably be able to haggle anything successfully. (Please send us a photo of yourself in this position.)

"What We Say Without Words" [Washington Post]
(Image: Washington Post)

Cash-strapped consumers and businesses are coming up with creative ways to fight higher costs. One practice gaining popularity: the ancient custom of bartering.

That's right, before there was money, there was bartering. And it's back, baby.

The rise of bartering for goods and services means consumers are now trading for such things as wedding services, tombstones, breast augmentation and Botox treatments. The cash-free transactions are often facilitated through the Internet and barter exchanges, which are third-party record keepers that coordinate trades between business owners.

In the past two years, membership in trade-exchange businesses has climbed 10% to 15% annually compared with 5% to 8% annual growth prior to that, says Mr. McDowell. He estimates his members do $3.8 billion to $4.3 billion in trades a year.

Obviously there are potential pitfalls to the process, but you are generally giving up something that costs you very little, such as expertise, for something that would cost a great deal more if you were to buy it outright. So with prudence, this seems like a good and viable option for saving money.

But how widespread and practical is it really? Has anyone reading this used bartering to save money and/or afford something they might not be able to purchase?

Web Barterers' Tricks of the Trade [Wall Street Journal]
— FREE MONEY FINANCE

• Be open and friendly in your discussion with the salesperson, ask for them to "work with you" on the price
• Be discreet, don't broadcast to other shoppers that you're getting a deal
• Escalate to a manager if the salesperson isn't empowered to make a decision
• Do your research so you know the fair price to ask for
• Be creative, ask for free shipping
• Offer to pay cash so they don't have to pay a credit card transaction fee

Michael Roskell, 33, a technology project manager from Jersey City, N.J., said he and a friend from high school periodically visit electronics stores. While Mr. Roskell expresses interest in buying an item, his friend acts as though he is dissatisfied with the price and threatens to leave.

"We play good cop, bad cop," Mr. Roskell said.

In February, he said, the friends got $20 off a pair of $250 speakers at 6th Avenue Electronics in the New York area. Earlier, he and the same friend negotiated to buy two 46-inch high-definition Sony televisions at P. C. Richard & Son, a New York-area electronics chain.

List price: $4,300. Price after negotiation: $3,305.50.

"My parents never did this," Mr. Roskell said. "But once you get it, you realize there's a whole economy built on this."

The strategy can even work when buying pants. At least it did for David Achee of Maplewood, N.J., who said he went to a Polo Ralph Lauren store in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan last month and became interested in a pair of pants on the clearance rack for $75. He told the salesperson that he had seen a similar pair on the Internet for $65, adding that he thought the pair on the rack looked worn (even though he did not really think so). He got the pants for around $50, he said.

Among his other tactics, he said, he sometimes threatens to walk out of a store and go to a competitor, as he did recently to get a price break on a drum set at a music store. But, mainly, he relies on researching prices and coming armed with information — prices he finds on the Internet and in ads from competitors.

"You can negotiate, but you have to do your research," said Mr. Achee, who works for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "When I'm bargaining, I'm bargaining with information."

Of course none is this groundbreaking or new; it's just becoming more accepted and widespread. What are your best haggling tactics? Share in the comments.

At Megastores, Hagglers Find No Price Set in Stone [NYT]
PREVIOUSLY: The Rebirth Of Haggling?
Pick Up Some Haggling Tips At HowToHaggle.com
(Photo: Getty)

In Michigan at least, it is illegal for a rep to base a price reduction on the purchase of an extended warranty. A few years ago, I was buying a returned Tivo from Best Buy, and the SA tried to tell me he'd give me a better price if I bought the plan. I stopped him right there, told him I knew that this was illegal and that he knew it too. Suddenly the lower prices was no longer conditional on the purchase of the extended service plan.

Here's the relevant Michigan statute:

MICHIGAN CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Act 331 of 1976, Section 445.903

Sec. 3. (1) Unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive methods, acts, or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce are unlawful and are defined as follows:
...
(w) Representing that a consumer will receive a rebate, discount, or other benefit as an inducement for entering into a transaction, if the benefit is contingent on an event to occur subsequent to the consummation of the transaction.

Here are some sample tips:

• The one way you can really succeed in the world of haggling is to research prices beforehand. Go from store to store and compare prices, go online; check out auctions and whole seller prices - know what you are dealing with. This information is extremely essential as it does give you a firm backing.


• Before you start to haggle, set a price for yourself - if this price is exceeded in the haggle battle, simply say 'thank-you' and walk away. Most of the times the vendor will come after you and agree on your price.


• Keep your cool at all times. The second you become angry, you are no longer haggling but are arguing.


• Point out any imperfections in the product - it will get you a lower price.


• When the vendor quotes a high price, look at him in astonishment. For the most part he may feel that he has scared you and will back down on the price.

howtohaggle.com

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.

More Than 90 Percent of Hagglers Scored Better Prices [Broadcast Newsroom via Consumer World Blog]

He decided it was worth at least asking if the store would reimburse him the fee. "I asked the manager if she would give me $2 off my total. She did more than that, rounding the price down to $10 from about $12.60."

As Tim points out, "It never hurts to ask for a discount if you were inconvenienced during a transaction. You usually want to talk to the manager... [and] remember that this person is doing you a favor, so be polite."

(Photo: Getty)

Alan Vallillo, a property manager, dropped the price of his three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath condo in Trumbull, Conn., by $20,000 to $549,000 last weekend. The lower price will make it easier for a buyer with a down payment of roughly 25 percent to qualify for a conforming loan, says Mr. Vallillo's broker, David D'Ausilio of Re/Max Heritage in Westport, Conn.

In addition, Mr. Vallillo, who plans to move into a new home in late September, is offering to buy down the interest rate on the buyer's mortgage loan by two percentage points in the first year and one percentage point in year two. He says he hopes the interest rate buy-down will "spur (someone) to drop the price on their home so they can buy mine."

Jason Godfroy, a teacher, recently set a $465,000 asking price for his four-bedroom colonial in Adamstown, Md., on the advice of his agent, John MacArthur. "To get people in, (they) had to be able to get a conforming loan" and not a jumbo mortgage, Mr. Godfroy says. With 10 percent down, "that puts you at $418,500."

Jane Powers, a broker with Ewing & Clark Inc. in Seattle, says that one of her clients recently offered $1.7 million for a waterfront home listed at $1.995 million - and also asked the seller to provide financing. The buyer, who is self-employed, said that he was likely to need a loan that didn't require him to document his income, which is getting tougher to find. "He was using it as leverage to try and get better terms," Ms. Powers says. "It didn't work."

Borrowers with good credit are paying higher rates [WSJ]
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

• Know what the competitors charge. Print out competing packages to have at the ready. Also make sure to compare apples to apples. For example, basic cable is significantly cheaper than digital cable.

• Be friendly. If you bitch about your "outrageous" bill, you are not going make any friends. These are real people on the other end of line, and they will treat you well if you do the same for them.

• Be honest. If you tell RCN that Comcast is giving out internet access, cable, VOIP, and bikini waxes for $20/month, RCN will hang up on your scheming ass.

More at Chicagoist. Pass the Old Style.—MEGHANN MARCO

Keep the Bastards Honest [Chicagoist](Thanks, dubbsy!)
(Photo: magnetbox)

Check out the blog's story about their friend Teresa. She got into a dispute with a nursery when they sold the four four-foot trees she picked out and paid for to another customer. The owner wouldn't give her the original trees, so Teresa says she'll let the nursery sell her trees to someone else... if they sell her four six-foot trees at the four-foot price.

The nursery agreed. They got a happy customer, kept both sales, and Teresa saved $460.

Give this excellent bargaining ploy a whirl sometime. — BEN POPKEN

Save Money When a Store Messes Up by Asking for Something Bigger/Better at the Same Price [Free Money Finance]