You can bargain for anything, anywhere. And where many stores won't lower the price, a lot will throw in added stuff--cables, for example, or a break on an extended warranty--if you stand your ground.

The real steal in those stores is to look for open-box items. I got a 52-inch HD television at nearly half price because it had been returned after only one day. The wife of the guy who bought it thought it was too big and made him bring it back. I would have divorced the woman on the spot, myself, but hey. I'll take the bargain.

Pocket Ninja

You can bargain for anything, anywhere.

True, but it's pretty much a waste of time at a gas station.


/Only reason I go in to Best Buy is for the open box stuff.

If you pay cash, you can get as much as five per cent knocked off the price immediately because the store doesn't have to pay credit-card fees on the purchase.

Sometimes my whoore will throw in anal for the same price.

40below: If you pay cash, you can get as much as five per cent knocked off the price immediately because the store doesn't have to pay credit-card fees on the purchase.

Yeah, but use intelligent discretion. Stores a more likely to give discounts on high-priced items then piddly little ten dollar stuff.

Also, look for a manager or at least someone that seems like they have some brains. Any salesman who says "um" every 2 words and has a lost look in their eyes can't help you.

FTFA: The couple, who live in Boston, found the Canon camera they wanted online for $350, then used the Internet price to bargain with Ritz Camera, where the price was $400. Then they used the Ritz Camera offer to get the same price at Microcenter, where they preferred the warranty offer.

I like a bargain as much as anyone, but I'm not into wasting a lot of people's time trying to save $50.

"If you get denied once, go looking for someone else who looks nice"

Hey baby, you look pretty damn nice - let's make a deal.

I am surprised more people didn't know about this. I have been bargaining for years with all sizes of companies. Most people aren't willing to do this, but it takes little effort. When 10 minutes can save me $50, I'm doing pretty well for myself. That's $300 an hour.

jonasborg: That's $300 an hour.

Or $2,628,000 a year. Sounds like someone's gonna have an early retirement.

I recently had one of Best Buy's direct-mail 12% off coupons, and went to buy an LCD TV that was on sale. The cashier told me that the coupon could only be used on regularly-priced items, not sale items. She called for a manager, and he let me use the coupon with no hassle at all.

Wow, people still shop for non-perishables in brick and mortar stores?

/Strictly online consumer since 2001

Since you're going have to research the price on-line to know what to offer - just buy it on-line!

Does that mean I can trade two cows and a chicken for a Wii?

I like to haggle at the grocery store but the self checkout machines are stubborn.

Pocket Ninja: The wife of the guy who bought it thought it was too big

I'd say "That's what she said" and ignore her.

Fluff Girl: FTFA: The couple, who live in Boston, found the Canon camera they wanted online for $350, then used the Internet price to bargain with Ritz Camera, where the price was $400. Then they used the Ritz Camera offer to get the same price at Microcenter, where they preferred the warranty offer.

I like a bargain as much as anyone, but I'm not into wasting a lot of people's time trying to save $50.

$50 is no small amount to a lot of people.

Duh? I walked into bestbuy on Friday, saw a $1,099 samsung 32inch that demanded to be mine. Got the floor model that had been on display for 2 months, plus a dvi-hdmi and 3 year warranty for $750. I just read this article on 32 glorious inches, 20 feet away from my computer. Too bad they didn't cut me a deal on the wireless mouse and keyboard.

What's a store? Is that some sort of new shopping site? Someone give me a link to one, so I can see it for myself.

Chain retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City are really great. They let me get a closeup look at whatever I'm going to buy online later that afternoon.

I recently bought a 42" LCD TV from Harvey Norman (not some dude, large store in aus).

The price on the TV was $2000, but the new model was coming out so it was dropped down to $1000. He showed me his computer and it said that the company had paid $1200 wholesale for the tv...so i assume they were losing money on it unless he was just having me on.

I was pretty happy with that but i got the 5 year warranty for an extra $50, which should have cost $300 and i got him to give me a guaranteed surge protector. I couldn't believe it when i got home and the sticker price on the surge protector was $200...i got it for free

When i got home i started wondering if maybe the salesmen was trying to get fired.

The_OcO: Duh? I walked into bestbuy on Friday, saw a $1,099 samsung 32inch that demanded to be mine. Got the floor model that had been on display for 2 months, plus a dvi-hdmi and 3 year warranty for $750. I just read this article on 32 glorious inches, 20 feet away from my computer. Too bad they didn't cut me a deal on the wireless mouse and keyboard.

There are 40 inch sony lcds that start at $1 grand too

let me know when this trend reaches Utilities and Gasoline.

blahpers: $50 is no small amount to a lot of people.

Probably shouldn't be spending much money on electronic toys then.

Let's see, get the online price or better, take it home right away, no shipping charges, and if there's a problem no hassle with shipping it back and waiting. Yea, I think buying locally is still a good idea for a lot of items.

h to the 'ojo: The_OcO: Duh? I walked into bestbuy on Friday, saw a $1,099 samsung 32inch that demanded to be mine. Got the floor model that had been on display for 2 months, plus a dvi-hdmi and 3 year warranty for $750. I just read this article on 32 glorious inches, 20 feet away from my computer. Too bad they didn't cut me a deal on the wireless mouse and keyboard.

There are 40 inch sony lcds that start at $1 grand too

Don't tell me these things, I can see about 40 inches of space out of my peripheral vision right now......

Retail stores prices are higher than cost.

As someone who's regularly on the receiving end of haggling attempts (work at Tandy), I'm vaguely getting a kick out of your replies...

Personally, I'm okay with haggling in some circumstances. But there's a marked difference between haggling and flat-out demanding that we can do a deal (or, to quote one infamous customer, "YOU CAN DO CHEEPA"). If you've had a price in mind, are genuinely interested and have been polite and pleasant, I'm more likely to deal with you than if you just flat-out demand a discount just because you're old or you're paying cash.

/"YOU CAN DO CHEEPA" haunts my nightmares

blahpers: Fluff Girl: FTFA: The couple, who live in Boston, found the Canon camera they wanted online for $350, then used the Internet price to bargain with Ritz Camera, where the price was $400. Then they used the Ritz Camera offer to get the same price at Microcenter, where they preferred the warranty offer.

I like a bargain as much as anyone, but I'm not into wasting a lot of people's time trying to save $50.

$50 is no small amount to a lot of people.

Economics. If you spend, say, 4 hours trying to save yourself 50$, it's not worth your time, unless you make 10$/hr or less.

If you spend 10 minutes to save yourself 10 bucks, it's worth your time, since that would work to 60/hr.

Also, if you absolutely have to worry about that 50$, you probably shouldn't be buying the item anyway.

Growing up, my dad's house always had oranges, eggs, almonds, etc. He was a small town doctor in the San Jouquin Valley, California, and would take whatever the migrant workers could give. Not that this is really relevent.

Dad was a cool dude.

Hollie Maea: blahpers: $50 is no small amount to a lot of people.

Probably shouldn't be spending much money on electronic toys then.

You do know that it's not a binary state, right?

$50 can be a lot of money and you can still have enough disposable income to buy gadgets.

Why is barganing such a weird concept to people. Not asking for a lower price is just like getting a free reciept for a arse reaming and not even getting the galdarned common courtesy of a reacharound.

I bet this guy know a bargain when he sees it!

Whytie:
When i got home i started wondering if maybe the salesmen was trying to get fired.

With those prices, quite possibly. If he's making a habit of massive discounting like that then he'll get fired and probably charged with theft to boot. Unless they were REALLY desperate to get rid of the TV (possibly more likely)

Does that mean that I can haggle on the price of a Total Fark membership?

so Best Buy is now a third world bazaar? hmm, ok

Pocket Ninja : You can bargain for anything, anywhere. And where many stores won't lower the price, a lot will throw in added stuff--cables, for example

First, I wanted to say - Good point. Most people think of "The Price" as some holy, involable number that we can't ever dare question - They either pay it, or do without. Good to occasionally remind people that everything, from plasma TVs to houses to milk, only has as much "worth" as what someone will pay for it.



or a break on an extended warranty

...Here, however, I have to mock you pitilessly. A break on an extended warranty?

"You drive a hard bargain, sir... Since I like you - And I mean that - I'll tell ya what I'll do. I'll let you pay half price on a [pure-profit, no-added-value] upgrade to this here TV. Yup, I'll give you the $120 extended warranty for only $60. My manager would have my head [if I don't mean the store quota for shilling these worthless scam warrantys], but I feel generous today."

I wouldn't take the extended warranty if it came free, since they usually have drastically worse terms than the original no-frills manufacturer's warranty. And if something doesn't break in the first 90 days, it will usually last until you would have wanted to replace it anyway.

Larry Mahnken: You do know that it's not a binary state, right?

$50 can be a lot of money and you can still have enough disposable income to buy gadgets.

Well it's buying crap you don't need that gets you to the point where 50 dollars is worth enough to you that you would be willing to be a pain in someone's ass to save it.

i love how the guy says "those pants look worn" even though he didn't think so. it is one thing to negotiate another to brag about lying.

Amazing how some folks will go in and waste a salespersons time knowing they will buy online. Being a commission sales associate myself, to me you are stealing money from me. Everyone claims they want knowledgeable, professional service when they go into a store and yet they are unwilling to pay for it.

I also love the bargain shopper in the article who saved money on a $250 pair of sneakers. um yeah that is a heck of deal. moron

I'm in your electronics store, stealingz ur bargainz.

Hollie Maea: Probably shouldn't be spending much money on electronic toys then.

Perhaps, but I'd be willing to do some work to save $50 if it meant I could free up that $50 to buy a new game or some DVDs or something.

If I was going to spend all that money anyway, I might as well try to get the most out of it.

pla: And if something doesn't break in the first 90 days, it will usually last until you would have wanted to replace it anyway.

Prove it. There can be all sorts of undetected faults in things that mean you can't actually predict when it's gonna break. Would you say "if it doesn't break in the first 12 months it'll never break until it's ancient" about your car? Of course not - so why do people think other stuff you buy is any different?

Having said that, not all extended warranties are good. It pays to try and read up on the terms and conditions of said warranty before you get one.

Burt! This bloke won't haggle!

/Won't 'aggle?

Large national retailers are were quietly allowing customers to bargain on everything from clothes to electronics. "A lot of people don't realize you can walk into Best Buy and ask them for a lower price."

FTFY

You know why I don't like the haggling culture?
Because to make more money, the stores raise the initial prices so that when they give you a "discount" you end up paying them what they wanted.

I usedto do this to people in the art gallery I worked for all the time.
We were one of those stupid places that didn't have prices on things so that the sales people could get a hook in you just for having to go look up the price.
I'd tack on $200 to a $1000 item just so that when the person either started haggling or claimed it was too expensive and began to walk away I could give them a considerable discount without ever even touching my own commission results.

The result of this trend is that you will soon HAVE to haggle just to get a reasonable price for things. You'll be paying the same price, but ALSO spending 30 minutes getting the 20% "haggle markup" taken back off to get back to the price that it would have been if there were just fixed prices on things.

Farking morons and their "I got a deal!" culture.

lol my dad was able to get an extra Canon camera battery and a charger for free from best buy after price matching compUSA (who's now gone) prices

ElLoco: Chain retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City are really great. They let me get a closeup look at whatever I'm going to buy online later that afternoon.

True that my loco amigo. I went to Best Buy to get a final look at my new TV, the Samsung LNT4071F. Salespeople attacked me, but I thwarted their silly attempts to sucker me in. I saved $300 off the price buying on Amazon, and I didn't have to pay 7% sales tax, so there's another $140 I saved. Also, I did not have someone trying to assault me with overpriced cables and useless extended warranties. I click and pay, and I love it.

Fark retail. Online is the way to go.

Pocket Ninja

You are so right about the open box items. I got a 62 inch Mitisubishi Diamond big screen for $1600.00. The cheapest I could find it on the internet was $2400.00 at the time. Fantastic picture.

Waldo Pepper:
I also love the bargain shopper in the article who saved money on a $250 pair of sneakers. um yeah that is a heck of deal. moron

FTFA: "the friends got $20 off a pair of $250 speakers" Lol

Fluff Girl : I like a bargain as much as anyone, but I'm not into wasting a lot of people's time trying to save $50.

A lot of places will give you a discount for that exact reason - If you waste a couple of man-hours negotiating with a handful of sales staff, usually including a manager - The store has effectively lost the same $50 in profit going to wages instead.

However, you frequently don't need to bother with harassing a lot of people or looking it up online first (though for anything big, you should ALWAYS check online first, to set a base price of what counts as "a deal" or not, even if you don't plan on bargaining)... Many stores actually have policies on bargaining; simply asking a manager for a bit off, no games involved, can frequently get you 5-10% without him even hesitating.

Of course, this also depends on store conditions... In a very crowded store at holiday season, they have no motivation to give you an "easy" discount, while wasting their time hurts them ever so much more and can really pay off. OTOH, if the store looks like a graveyard, they probably would really like to make a sale so will give you a quick 10% off, while they have time to waste so lengthy negotiation will just annoy them.

Aevum: You know why I don't like the haggling culture?
Because to make more money, the stores raise the initial prices so that when they give you a "discount" you end up paying them what they wanted.

How is this different from what they have always done, charge crazy high prices, often for items which were "hot" like two years ago (verified by internet prices), and then call it a "price slashing sale" which puts it only 10%-20% over what internet vendors charge.