Everyone wants the best deal online and retailers crave a sale as much as you want the best deal. So how do you get them to offer a coupon or better deal? Well, select the items you wish to buy and leave them in your shopping cart. Pay not for them immediately. Let them sit there for several days or even two weeks. Those who've done this say that some retailers will send you an email offering to slash the prices a little . . . Anyone tried this?
I have tried this before, but haven't had any particular luck with it, if I'm being honest. I don't know whether other people have had more luck - I would be interested in hearing stories. I have sometimes sent emails to people asking whether they would be willing to match a price from another store, and occasionally they have said that they would, but the majority of the time it seems as though it is a lot of effort for very little reward, really!
I have had these emails before but usually, the only thing that stops me from completing a checkout is finding out that the postage charges are extortionate. So the offer of free shipping might be enough to make me buy the goods once and for all.
I actually have a cart from pricepoint.com waiting right now hoping they offer me a discount on the shipping =) Most online retailers have a comment section when you check out, I ALWAYS ask for a freebie. Simple things like stickers or a t-shirt and most of them will send something if you just ask. My moms husband is a serial haggler, literally every store no matter what he will try to get a discount. I am surprised at the number of times it actually works.
I hadn't tried this as a tactic, but I have had it happen. This actually happens quite a bit on eBay. When an item doesn't sell, eBay suggests a new listing price to the seller, and sometimes it's ridiculously low, compared to the original price. I don't know what it's based on, because the prices are often unreasonably low from the selling aspect, but of course, are fantastic deals, from a buyer's perspective. I've also received lots of emails from Walmart about items I'd had in my cart, as well as Amazon.
It's not in their interest to offer discounts for relatively minor orders. For example, $50. They have thousands of clients, some of them even daily, and offering discounts to a few complaining of them wouldn't boost their sales much. If at least 30% of them issued some sort of "love", then yes, they'd consider it. But just for 5%, I guarantee that won't happen.
I've heard about these methods however I have had no success using them. Some items have been in my cart for weeks and have received no offers / emails. Maybe the retailers have caught onto the trick and have stopped offering these deals.
The best way for me is to mention you found it cheaper somewhere else. For example I just got a new car, and when I was dealing with the vendor he wanted to charge me 900 bucks for the documents and to transfer the car in my name. I had gone somewhere else earlier and they didn't mention anything about the cost to change - so I called there in front of the vendor and started talking to the vendor of the other store. In the other store it would be 200 bucks. After I hung up the vendor asked if I would buy it with him if he gave me that for free. Of course I accepted!
Stating you found it somewhere else cheaper does help if the one vendor does price matching. I have had an offer for a cheaper purchase price if I starte to backout of the sale page often. I always look for free shipping before I start the puchase because shipping is so pricey. If I can get it locally I will to avoid shipping prices.
