Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Do you bargain at retail stores?

I'm reviving this thread because the subject of bargaining came up again. A friend of mine (who has more spending money that I do) is planning to buy an upright or baby grand Yamaha piano from a retail piano store. I asked him if he was going to haggle over the price, and he said he didn't know whether he could at that kind of store.

To me it seemed a lot like a furniture store, so I'd assume you can bargain as I've done in furniture stores, but I realize I don't know anything specific about the piano business.

Does anyone know how much they typically mark pianos up at retail piano stores? It would be nice to know if my friend has much leeway to get the price down.
 
Doctor Q said:
Does anyone know how much they typically mark pianos up at retail piano stores? It would be nice to know if my friend has much leeway to get the price down.
Click to expand...
Not sure about the markup on a piano, but I know it is very high on wind instruments. For instance a saxophone that costs $6000 at the store would be $4500 if bought through my old teacher who was a representative of the company. I am sure that bargaining could work on the piano, although knowing someone at the store would be a good start.

That said I play vintage instruments (but not just for the ability to easily bargain, hehe).
 
I bargain when I don't have enough or feel like being an ass. (its quite fun)
I did bargain down the price of my G5 though not incredible, got some nice extras.
 
My dad is a very good businessman.

He negotiated $700 off my car that had the asking price of 7,000, which was actually a pretty good price for it. I would say thats pretty good.

He does bargain at furniture stores, car dealerships, and places such as that. Not jewelry stores though.
 
I haggled in a market in Turkey once, I found it really fun:) Only for clothes, but it was still a good experience.
 
Most stores, do not bargain. Car dealers, may, sometimes. But, they have marked the cars up enough, that they can make you think your getting a bargain, when its really at their selling price.
 
Maybe it's a sign of the times, but I tried bargaining in 3 different jewelry stores this past weekend, and none of them would budge. Sadly, I KNOW there is some markup on diamonds and other precious metals. Especially at a mall chain store!
 
I only haggle when it's considered the acceptable norm. ie cars, houses, furnitures, tourist gift shops;). In any grocery or big chain retail (Wal-mart, Target, Sears) it's strictly no-haggle. Mom and pop shops, it depends on the mood of the merchant.:D

I hate dealing with hagglers as well. Several times, I've been called up to deal with a habitual haggler because the sales folks had had enough. ("Not my Department! I work in Accounting, not Sales!":mad: But my protest falls on deaf ears.:( Promoted from bean counter to Manager in under 5 seconds.:D) The few times I've had to deal with them, I RAISE the price. By my logic, if they are allowed to bargain for a lower price, I should be allowed to bargain for a higher price.:p After a few minutes of back and forth, I usually lose my temper. I then demand them either pay above listed price (the PO'd Manager's Fee) or be banned from the shop.:confused::confused::confused: I never said I was rational when I'm PO'd.

I'm happy to say, I haven't been tapped as "Manager" in over a year.:cool::D:p
 
I've done it in the past, when buying my hi-fi in a Cash Converters store. I was so cheeky, and it worked! It felt so good getting a couple of hundred off the price. I've not done it for years though, my bottle is not what it was :(
 
@Mousse

As far as dealing with hagglers, save the frustration and say the set price, is the set price and leave it with that. If they continue to press it, simply say, "That issue has been settled, is there anything else I may help you with?" If they continue to push it, say have a nice day and walk away. You have talked to them provided a response and done your job. :rolleyes:
 
The only time I haggled was for the rent of my apartnment in NYC. I managed to get $150 off of the monthly rent (in a rent stabilized building so two years on I am still paying less than the asking price) and I got 15% off the broker fee because I told him I would pay cash.

However when I worked in England at both a travel shoppe and a grocery store I had people haggle with me all the time. At the grocery store we used to discount food that would go off that day. If the people were polite about it, I would mark it down to what they wanted but if they hounded me and were quite in my face about it, I wouldn't discount at all. I think being nice and polite can make all the difference to a sales person.
 
I tried bargaining twice this month.

The first was for some closet doors for our study. The saleslady played the "how much do you want to pay" game and I was prepared by knowing their asking price. I named our price, which was 20% lower than their asking price. The saleslady said she would have to call the manager, and did so, then agreed to our price. I wonder if they really need permission before making the deal or it's part of their game, like car dealers. In any case, they were the only company in the area with the type of closet doors we wanted so we would have paid more.

The second was at a chain furniture store. They wouldn't budge. No dealing, no upcoming sales, no discounts for repeat customers. Either they called my bluff or they really have nonnegotiable prices.
 
You will only be successful at bargaining if you are willing to walk away from the sale. A good salesperson is reading you as much as you are reading them and they are usually pretty good at figuring who will really leave and who will give in to the purchase. The other key which has already been mentioned here is do your research first so you can be an educated buyer. This will help you make your case as you ask for lower and lower prices.

If you know who Dave Ramsey is then you know his key phrase when it comes to bargaining is to tell the salesperson when they make an offer "that's not good enough" and to hold your ground. I think bargaining can be fun, but for many it is an uncomfortable process as it does simulate conflict in a way. Good thread Doctor Q. :)
 
Like a lot of things in life it boils down to confidence and exposure. My mother will bargain anywhere, for anything. I even took her last year with me when ordering a new car, and I'm 29 now, because I know my own limits and they're just beneath the surface with this sort of thing. And, as expected she did what I couldn't have possibly done. I was in that showroom to get something I'd been eyeing up for over a year, on the website configuring options several times a week. They could have charged me extra and I'd still have went for it. Like many of you said above, it's hard to bargain if you're not prepared to walk away.

I think Brits in general are very sheepish about bargaining in public. Only when I was living in London was I exposed to it regularly.
 
rdowns said:
Poor advice and a poor salesmen in my opinion. When I sold computer at retail (anyone remember ComputerLand?), a guy walked in in ripped shorts, baggy T-shirt and sandals. I was new and the other reps all had something to do in the office or back room. I approached the guy, spent a half hour with him and sold him an Apple //gs for his kids. He came back a week later dressed the same. Had a lot of questions that I didn't have answers to. I spent about an hour with him and we worked through the problems.

I get a call 2 weeks later from him. Asks me if we have a corporate sales program. Turns out he worked for Chemical Bank (big NY bank later acquired by Chase). They bought millions of dollars of PCs and related products from me over the years.
Click to expand...

Wow! I hope you were on some great commission plan at the time!
 
It may be a cultural thing, but I've noticed that at retail shops owned by Asians and people of Indian descent they seem to initiate bargaining in my area. It seems as if they enjoy it or something. I think some cultures are more open to haggling and bargaining.

I was in a knife shop a couple of months ago and the salesman kept asking how much I was willing to spend and offering all sorts of deals and discounts, two for one offers, etc. Another Asian store that I shop at does the same thing. Most shops I go to don't do that. Price is as marked.

Target and Wallmart, not so much unless it's an open/damaged/incomplete item, then it's time to haggle.
 
Zombie Acorn said:
You don't bargain for things that don't have high markup in the US. US competition is usually enough to keep prices low.
Click to expand...

Hmm...That makes sense. When I compared the price of the knife I bought on the internet it turns out I paid a tad below standard retail price. They did have hight markups. The haggling was still fun though.
 
Heh, I bargain quite often! Especially on Craigslist. Bought some cheap computers/cars and parts that way. Bargaining in regular retail stores (with few exceptions) is rather silly though since their prices are non-negotiable and they will usually just say no.
 
My ex-stepmom is one of the best hagglers I've ever seen. She will do it in places that I'd never expect it to work in, like major chain department stores(Macys, Nordstrom) and big electronics stores like Best Buy. Yet she always seems to get them to come off their prices a substantial amount. When I was a teen, it always embarrassed me to go shopping with her because of this. But, at the same time, she'd always get amazing deals. I remember one time right before college that she took me shopping for running shoes at Finish Line. I had picked out a pair of $105 dollar New Balances, and then she started her typical drill with the salesman. I walked off in embarrassment when she said "I'll give you $175 for two pair of them". Shockingly the guy did it, and I got 2 pair of the same shoe. From that point on, I tried taking her shopping with me as much as I could. I don't have the nerve to ask for discounts in the places she does.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back