I was once out for shopping and got a shirt for a certain amount, the design and the colour really made me pay the amount for it. When I got home and showed my younger brother the shirt and told him the amount I got it for, my brother insisted that I could have paid less for the shirt. It dawned on me that I paid higher than I was meant to pay for the shirt: my higher payment meant higher profit for the seller. That particular incident made me begin exploring ways to negotiate better when next I go shopping. Below are two major ways, which I have tried and it worked, you can get better deals on things you will get from the stores next time: i) Ask about Discounts: It is important to always ask the seller about discount packages when you go shopping. If you are a buyer that purchases in bulk, then always inquire about bulk discounts attached to buying the intended products. Even if there is none, you can use your bargaining power to get the prices of such products reduced since you are buying in bulk. However, be careful not to push the seller to a corner where you may likely miss out on other benefits attached to purchasing a particular product. Let it always be a happy end between the seller and you. ii)Relationship Psychology: You see this works like magic especially when you are buying from a store that does not have stock prices for the products. Like a friend can be coerced to sell a product lower than a certain price to you as a result of the friendship that exists between you two, that is the same way you can use this to your advantage when you visit new stores or one you can negotiate and get a better deal. The way it works is to engage the seller in a discussion in a smiling way on any interesting topic or even how the business is going. This way, you can instantly, if done right, become a friend to this particular seller that when it is time to bargain, it won't be as tough as meeting for the first time. I have been using these two and it works perfectly. Anyway, what other ways, do you think to get better deals can be done?
Hmm, that is a good question and you have pretty good techniques. Really, I think you can get better deals by just try to bargain with the salesperson for a bit and see if there are any future offers. Other than that, I would just try to look for some coupons online, maybe you will get lucky.
I like sales, like Macy's One Day Sale. Clothes are one thing that lasts for years, so when you find something that fits on sale why not stock up on it? Stores have set prices where I shop, either you will pay for it as marked or don't buy, it. We have Ross Dept. Stores that has Senior Discount Days on Tues. for people 55 and older. Luckily Macy's has throughout the year "one day sales", lol! If you have a Walmart, you'll find lots of good prices, rollbacks all the time on clothes that saves you so much money.
You've got really nice methods of soothing the seller.From your explanation,I have noticed that the method I use is relationship psychology.However I mix it up a bit with a little convincing,or as people like to call it,lying.If for example the seller is selling me a T-shirt for $2,I will tell him that before coming to his shop I had been offered the same T-shirt for $1 and I still refused.Sellers,especially those who deal exclusively in clothes have a code.They sometimes agree that a particular product will be sold at a specific price by all of them.This is to standardize sales and eliminate room for haggling.By telling this seller that someone else is selling the same shirt at a dollar,he will feel betrayed and opt to sell the shirt at a way lower price because he feels betrayed.At the end of the day I might end up going home with four T-shirts each going for half a dollar each which means that I have spent the $2 to get four shirts instead of one.That's a good deal in my book.
I like the relationship psychology better. No one can hardly refuse the full force of a bright smile (well except of course monsters). Often you find that shop attendents have been standing the whole day and they are sometimes irritable or cranky or just plain tired. A bright smile will make them feel better and flattery can get you anywhere or get you anything (well almost anything).
I would say "the early bird catches the worm" as far as shopping goes sometimes-and I remember looking for some cheap meats very early at the supermarket in the meat aisle of the grocery store one time-and they always had just a few packages of some kind of nice steaks but sold out very fast. Also forget about coupons and look for the bakery markdown aisle at places like Walmart for plenty of cakes and breads as well. For clothes you could check the markdown racks out also for some great savings!
If there is one thing everyone in my country that knows what is money is good at, is the bargaining power. And with the stiff competition around, the odds will always favour the buyer. Well, those are some pretty good ideas you have offered there. One other thing I would suggest, is to always be on the look out for offers, especially when new businesses are opening. We have had occasions where items have been sold at half price.
I totally agree with you on these two strategy in shopping, they definitely works the charm in ensuring you get the best deal out of products procurement. Asking for discount is pretty cool as it is something that I believe that the business establishment already have on its products and services, and if you are aware of it would really be a better way to get good price for goods. And also establishing a kind of psychological relationship with the sellers definitely seem to work an angle on helping you get the best deal out of products buying.
Always make sure to ask if they offer discounts on certain products and whether they have a promotion if you buy a particular product.
When I am buying from stores, I always ask for discounts. Sometimes I buy in bulk. I may buy two shirts even if my intention is buying only one just because I may be entitled to get some discounts. usually, I visit the same shop again and again and tell the seller that I am a regular customer so that I am eligible for discounts, this works sometime.
With online shopping things are a bit easier. I go through cashback sites and this way I can get back some amount of money back. However this does not apply offline stores. Also some of the offline stores cost a lot of money on some products. That's something we have to consider when it comes to buying through online stores. I think if people are to be buying locally that is good for the organic stuff though.
I do make the purchases in cash which I think tends to help the deal along, in addition to asking about discounts try and find the stores and showrooms that have commissioned sales people, if they work on commission they will have more ability to drop the price and if you go in and are an easy customer but haggle like a gypsy you should find yourself in an advantageous position.
What you suggested can be applied to thrift stores or smaller stores, but it can't be done on big stores, because they follow a strict protocol there, and haggling is definitely not allowed. I try to haggle when I can though in smaller stores, and I am mostly successful in getting a discount.
@overcast I haven't heard about cashback sites before, please I would really like to understand how it works and maybe find out if it's possible to get such deal with our online store here in Nigeria. Buying locally is advised when you are looking to get fresh vegetables and fruits, it's best to go direct to the farmers market.