Money Listens

Even at Megastores, Hagglers Find No Price Is Set in Stone

This article in the New York Times business section caught my eye. I’ve always been uncomfortable bargaining for purchases, even at flea markets or antique fairs where it’s expected. It took years for me to muster up the courage to ask “Is that your best price?” Somehow, it seemed disingenuous on my part. If I could afford it, I paid the asking price, and if I couldn’t, I didn’t buy it. I would never think of going into Best Buy or Home Depot and negotiating a deal. Evidently, I’m not a very smart shopper. The slowdown in the economy has led to buyers having the upper hand.

Priya Raghubir, a marketing professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, said “In the past, when you tried to get yourself a deal and it was an embarrassing thing — the kind of thing you did if you couldn’t afford to pay,” she said. “Now it’s about being a smart shopper.”

A former Best Buy salesman said about one-fourth of the customers in his store tried to bargain. Often, he gave them a better price. He suggested checking the Internet and coming armed with information. If you can show another store with a lower price, the salesman probably has the leeway to match it.

Some shoppers admitted to lying to the salesman. I’m not in favor of being dishonest. Although there is gamesmanship involved, I draw the line at lying. It’s one thing to walk away from a purchase or say the price is more than you want to pay. It’s another to claim the item looks damaged or worn, when you know perfectly well it doesn’t. I want to be a smart shopper and an honest shopper. What about you? Leave a comment below if you have a story to share about bargaining at a Big Box Store.

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 4:00 am and is filed under Spending Less and Less. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.