Suddenly Frugal Blog

Today I’m spending the day with a reporter for a national news outlet (can’t reveal it quite yet) who will be shadowing me as I hit the stores to haggle. My goal? To get the best deal possible on cabinets, countertops, appliances and furniture for our kitchen renovation.

I’m used to haggling in my freelance writing business, but that usually involves asking for more money when I get an assignment. Usually, a quick “Is that the best you can do?” results in my fee going up–so I have to wonder if the same “Is that the best you can do?” technique will work in a retail environment?

Before we hit the stores, I figured I’d better study up on the best ways to haggle. Here are some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned. I plan to road test these today:

• Do your homework first. One of the items I’m hoping to score a deal on today is a new stainless steel refrigerator. My husband and I have been shopping for one for the past few weeks, and I now know more about cubic foot interiors of fridges and ice dispensers than I ever thought possible. I’m also very familiar with brands and prices. Just last week we saw a Kenmore Elite refrigerator at Sears that was the best deal we’ve seen all year. During my trip out today, I’m going to see if any of the stores I visit (not Sears) can beat that deal. If they can, then it looks like mama is gonna be buying a new fridge today.
• Damaged goods can equal discounted goods. I know that whenever I’m in a retail store and I find a stained or torn article of clothing that I was interested in buying, I don’t just toss it to the side. Instead, I look to see if there’s an identical piece of clothing on the rack, and if there isn’t, I used the damaged item to my advantage. I’ll bring my potential purchase to the register, point out the flaw and add, “This is the last one of this shirt/sweater/pair of pants on the rack.” Then I’ll ask, “What can you do for me?” Usually, I can get a few bucks knocked off the price–great if I know that I can clean or repair the article of clothing at home. I’m thinking that if I find any dinged or scratched appliances on my trip out today, I’ll try the same technique.
• Haggling is a lot like shopping at an auction. If you’ve ever bid on an eBay item, then you’ve probably given yourself a price limit. You’ve done some research and know the “real” cost of the item you’re bidding on. When the price surpasses what you’re comfortable spending, you need to stop bidding. Haggling works the same way. You should know ahead of time how much you’re willing to spend, and when you can’t haggle your way down to anywhere near that price, you need to walk away.
• Your feet are your most valuable negotiating tool. So you couldn’t haggle to the price you wanted and you’ve decided to walk away. Then do it. Quite literally. Sometimes the act of physically walking away from a salesperson may have him or her calling after you to work out a deal. It works all the time at car dealerships and yard sales. Why not give it a try when haggling for appliances or electronics?
• Be reasonable about what you try to haggle for. Asking a salesperson at a big-box store to give you a break on a brand-new, out-of-the-box flat-screen TV won’t get you very far. But asking that same salesperson what kind of price he can give you for a floor model of a flat screen might just snag you a deal. My plan today is to ask about floor models for all of the kitchen cabinets, countertops, dining room tables and appliances I’m interested in purchasing. A little birdie told me recently that about twice a year, the Lowe’s and Home Depots of the world dismantle their kitchen display centers so they can bring in new inventory. I wonder if I could negotiate a good deal if I “offer” to take those cabinets and countertops that they used in the display off the store’s hands. Sure, I’d have to rent a truck (about $75 a day) to get the stuff home, but I’m betting that the money I’d save on the floor models would be way more than the money I would spend on a truck.
• At some point state how much you can afford to pay and then stick to that figure. This may seem like the worst thing to do–maybe you could have gotten the item for much cheaper, you know? But if you already know how much you can spend and you’ve done your homework on what things cost, then sharing your budget can’t hurt. Either the salesperson is going to work with you and your budget, or he’s going to tell you to have a nice day. Stating our budget upfront helped my husband and me when we were negotiating with the contractor doing our renovation. Multiple times we stated very clearly the amount we could afford to spend on the project. We knew the contractor wanted our business, and we knew he was willing to work within our budget. So while we were shocked to see the low price he gave us on his bid, we were also pleasantly surprised to learn that our tactic actually worked.

What about you? Do you have any haggling secrets–or haggling success stories–to share?