Have you ever haggled for a good deal when buying something big or for an expensive service like broadband or mobile phones or even home or car insurance? These days it can be done – prices are not so set in stone as they used to be. As a previous blogger described, people with nerves of steel and a little knowledge can barter almost anyone down for anything but personally, in reality, I think most of us are a bit embarrassed about asking for a discount or an ‘extra’ as part of the cost, but it IS worth it.
I have only ever bartered over the phone but I have done it twice and it worked for me! I have my broadband, phone and TV through one company and it’s a fairly good price but there was a time when my broadband just wasn’t running to the speeds it should so I rang and told them I was cancelling my contract and moving elsewhere and to my surprise they started to negotiate over my costs and the speed. Not one to miss a bargain if I possibly can, I ended up asking them what they would offer to keep me with them. What I was offered was more than I expected and when I finally hung up I had had my broadband speed doubled and extra channels added on to my TV package. Somehow for me I do not get that toe curling embarrassment over the phone that I would face to face.
I did once try my hand at asking for a discount for cash when buying a fridge but not sure I was confident enough as the answer was a ‘no’. So I was wondering.. Do any of our BViewers haggle? (apart from Vial!) Have you managed a discount even without a voucher from BView? Or do you think that bargaining is too hard? I know that personally I am just not brave enough to ask most of the time but I can see from people on TV that it’s the cheeky people who just go for it that manage to get a better deal. Also there is the point – would you haggle more with a small business because you think they would be easier or would you feel that they are working hard to run a business and asking them to cut their profits is perhaps not ethically a good idea? Have you bargained your way to a good deal at a chain store somewhere, and is that easier or harder than face to face with a small business owner?
Tags: bargain, deals, discount, haggling, save money
I tried haggling for a new mobile phone as a cash buyer and managed to get the price knocked down from £120 to £105, plus a new battery thrown in. I was surprised at how easy it was. Guess it must have been a quiet day and the guy wanted a sale!
I am a born haggler, a fan of boot sales, jumble sales, sales of all sorts and a visitor of charity shops. I always ask for a discount. I go up to an unsuspecting boot-sale seller and thrust the item I wish to buy at them and say "what about 50p for that?" whilst at the same time, with the other hand in my pocket, going for a 50p piece, knowing full well I have more money in there, if they say, "nah, £1!!!" It almost always works for me. I feel that if an item is secondhand, it is fair game for haggling/asking for a discount, after all, they are happy to sell it, want to get rid of it, and I want to buy it. The secret, I think, is to appear nonchalant, and make sure that you do not appear to be too keen on the item you wish to purchase. I recently completed one of my best haggles to date when our local furniture shop sold us two single mattresses for our children's beds. I went in to pay for the, and was told they were £120 each. I had that much cash on me, but I had a chat, said I had been a customer with them for years, which was perfectly true, and asked them if they would take anything off for cash. I was delighted to be told that I could have them for £110 each so I promptly handed over the correct amount, left hurriedly and treated myself to a little impromptu shopping spree!!