Haggling over prices

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Do you haggle and negotiate when it comes to money? I'm trying to talk a prospective landlord into a cheaper rent, which I suppose is C, but then I remember my uncle trying to talk the checkout girl at Halfords into a discount on a bike, which is probably D.

(If you do haggle, any tips?)

― stet (stet), Monday, 21 November 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

Better to ask for something extra free than for a discount

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 21 November 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)

I hate it when people come into the record store where I work and ask for a discount "for buying a lot" when they're only buying like $40 worth of records.

― Special Agent Dale Koopa (orion), Monday, 21 November 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

What if waiters at restaurants haggled back? Like:

Customer: Can I get a deal on this sandwich?
Waiter: Why don't I charge you the full amount, but only serve it on one slice of bread?

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 21 November 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

I rarely do but I have no problem with customers who do this in my shop. Even if it's 40 dollars I might give'em a small discount. Of course the mark-up is different in a jewellery shop (compared to a record store).

But I'd love to have people TIP me in the shop. :-)

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

Classic when it works, dud when it doesn't.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:03 (twenty years ago)

You're supposed to haggle in Third World countries, but when I was travelling I could rarely be bothered (you'd spend ten minutes arguing over 20p or something!), and always got the impression the salespeople were laughing at me. So dud.

― chap who would dare to tell uninteresting celeb spotting stories (chap), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

In New York if you're paying cash you can almost always haggle down a little bit, especially for electronics. My preferred line is "J & R has this for $x, can you do that?" even if I have no idea what J & R is actually selling it for, and when they give me the whole wistful "I doubt it" look, I just start making ready to leave and they're like OK, OK

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

Oh remember that bit in Monthy Pyton? Where the guy didn't want to haggle? That was hilarious.

I always find it hilarious when a complete stranger asks for HALF the price. Uh yeah, GOODBYE, I don't think so!

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

The only major thing I've ever haggled for was for the price of my truck. Having the internet, and being able to walk into a showroom knowing exactly what is Cost + 15% really helps a lot.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

Have you noticed how often people use word "barter" to mean haggle? I have noticed this. I think it is because "barter" sounds like a noise a chicken makes, and chickens are sold at the kind of markets associated with haggling.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

have you been putting LSD in your tea again, nick?

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

I think it's the kind of thing I'd be more likely to say stoned, but anyway, no. I am drinking tea though. Do you disagree?

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

[thinks hard]

yes.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:30 (twenty years ago)

I think I lack the gene necessary for haggling. i will almost always pay sticker price no matter where I am or what I'm buying. When I bought my car it was the most miserable experience of my life.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

Actually, the last time I negotiated something (my current rent), I offered more than the asking price. It was too cheap!

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm definitely getting better at getting prices down, but I'm crap at resisting a haggle from someone. I sold my last car for 20p, effectively.

― stet (stet), Monday, 21 November 2005 18:59 (twenty years ago)

hahah, actually, HOO, stet, i'm just remembering your awesome piece of haggling when you got your current job. "good at getting prices down." heheh HOO heheh [dies laughing]

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 21 November 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

Yes, that was a real bargain, wasn't it?

That prompted me to learn this shit, actually.

― stet (stet), Monday, 21 November 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

at least you've never handed a hundred quid in cash to ... actually, let's call this one quits.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 21 November 2005 19:16 (twenty years ago)

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Haggling over prices - c/d?