Do you bargain when you buy?

I bargain all the time now. But politely, mind!
In the last month I've bought a new washing machine, 4 pairs of shoes , & an outdoor griller. In all cases, after deciding that I might be interested in the item/s, I've asked: And what's your best price on that? Without fail, the sales person then goes off to check & comes back with a lower price. No big deal at all. In fact, it seems to be almost expected these days. Sometimes (politely again) you can even get a lower price. No problem.

I'm not sure when this method of purchasing goods became the norm. But it certainly has become widely accepted where I live. Just part of the purchasing process.
Is this the case were you live?

I generally don't bargain over things like groceries and clothing , but if I'm out for anything costly, you can bet I'll push the seller as low as he can go.

Guitars and computers come to mind as the most you can save.

Large music stores generally give you a great discount on musical items due to the large number of people that never even think about the possibility of a lower price. You get a discount, everyone else gets ripped off.

Technology companies like Dell, on the other hand, actually give their sales reps a list of the maximum percentage that they are allowed to discount an item (generally from 15 to 30 percent off). The trick with Dell is to talk about buying two or three items (remember that they're working on commission), get a discount on the one you really want, and, when it comes down to the sale, say that you've decided to get the other items later. And it never hurts to make small-talk with the rep -- they have to sit at a phone all day, I'm sure they could do with some actual conversation.

That's interesting, Individual. (I wish I knew which country you're referring to.)

It's interesting the number of folk who'd never think to ask for a discount .... Like my friend, A. I helped her buy a DVD player/recorder this afternoon. She says the idea is embarrassing to her.

Yes, I think it is often the commission thing. Obviously no one is going to sell you something that totally wipes out their commission, are they?

(Oh, & the famous shoe purchase episode involved 3 pairs of rather expensive ones! At one time! Therefore I thought it was reasonable to ask!)

I don't want to give the idea that I rush around buying stuff madly all the time. I honestly don't. In fact, most of the time I live pretty frugally. Really! I just don't know what came over me with those 3 pairs of shoes! I put it down to a sort of post traumatic stress disorder! (the holidays had just begun & I was wrecked!)

Haha, I like your little addendum there. Don't worry, I didn't get the impression that you did that kind of thing all the time. Even if you did, I don't see anything wrong with it (unless you don't have the means to pay for it, of course).

The stores I was referring to are in the USA. Because most people here don't have a problem paying for expensive items, those of us that are smart enough not to do so can get some really great deals.

I actually have a friend that stalks around the purse stores at the mall waiting for good deals. She can generally get $600 purses for as low as $6, if she waits long enough (and with the help of a little "reshuffling" of the merchandise to ensure that nobody else buys it first).

So, can I assume that most folk just pay the going price then?

At a lot of the chain stores the idea would almost seem absurd. (As far as high ticket items go, TVs electronics, etc) But at the smaller stores you can almost always get a better price. I deliver appliances and have seen the same item go out with a fluctuation of over $2500 in it's price from one customer to the next.

Wow, there must be a hefty profit margin, sublime, if such huge discounts are pssible!

On some items definitely, but on the other hand the appliances I install are at the very high end so paying $10,000 to $20.000 for a range is not all that uncommon.

The nice thing is that I can buy things at 5% below our "A" price which I suspect is still nowhere near cost. I have noticed that the more expensive the item is the more the mark up is. Electronics and furniture especially.

Hmmm, am I the only one who sometimes feels like paying a seller more than they ask for?

Littlek, are you saying you feel like you are ripping them off?

Sometimes - I'm thinking about super-cheap yard sale items or even ebay items at times. Otherwise, I just pay the sticker price. The only time I managed a haggle was when I bought my car. And, that was unintentional. I have been on the other side - a seller for a rug/pottery importer. I let myself get talked down in price at times there.

I am the other way, whenever I have to buy something and I don't know someone in the business I feel or even know I am getting ripped off.

Hmmm.... I know I've felt ripped off before, but can't recall what the circumstances were.

Hmmmm, I'll keep that in mind, sublime! Not that I'm likely to buy too many "A" type items! :wink:

The "A" reference was that the price on the floor is the "C" price, most people can talk their way down to the "B" price and the "A" price is for large volume customers. This goes for almost everything we sell.

I get the meaning though, I only have one "A" type item myself from the store. The best coffeemaker I had ever seen and I got that $1500 cheaper than list price. Yep a coffeemaker. :wink:

It depends on the who profits, k. I'm certainly not about to rip off some nice little old lady at her garage sale. But with some of the big outlets, selling say, electronic goods (probably produced in Korea by really poorly paid workers), I have absolutely no qualms about bargaining for a better price. Because I know that the item has probably been heavily marked up all along the line (advertising, middlemen, etc, etc) before I even consider buying it. Now, if the poorly paid workers in Korea, or Indonesia, or China, etc, were losing out by me receiving a discount I'd certainly refrain.

I just assumed that the big chain stores were set in their prices. Like the grunt worker on the merchandise floor and cash register wouldn't have the ability to change a price even if they wanted to.

I'm no expert on this, but it seems that some stores have an unofficial discounting policy, k. Probably not the super big ones, but others certainly do.