Haggling Is Back In Fashion

September 4th, 2009

What, me haggle over the price? Are you kidding?

I’m strolling through the Old City of Jerusalem, looking at the shops crammed full of goods. A shirt hanging high on a ladder catches my eye and I stop to look at it. Instantly an assistant is at my side, “you like this one?” he grabs a long pole and takes down the shirt. It’s nice and it will fit me. “How much?” I ask. “Normal price is $70 but you are a tourist, right?” I nod. “For you, $60 only.” I shake my head and walk on. He shouts after me. “The actual price, including discounts is $50.” “Still too much.” “I see it’s one of today’s specials; that makes it, $40.” I turn away. “Sir! My best price is $35.” I pay for the shirt and walk on. Both seller and buyer are satisfied with the price.

The popular game of haggling

This is the haggling game, popular in the Middle and Far East and rapidly spreading to other corners of the globe. Haggling is an art – one has to know how far to push and when to stop. A good haggler is always prepared to walk away empty-handed. The dedicated haggler works on the principle that if ‘you don’t ask you won’t get’ and in these recessionary times many shopkeepers are prepared to meet the shopper halfway.

It’s the same everywhere

The guy who says he wouldn’t be caught dead haggling over the price of a pair of pants will haggle like a demon over the price of a house he is interested in. So why not haggle over the pants? Look what happens with used cars – haggling is no longer the operative word for those negotiations.

Lots of people are doing it

I keep hearing haggling stories in the office: A co-worker called his TV provider and said he was paying too much. He didn’t threaten to cancel, but did mentioned the size of his neighbor’s bill and the name of his company. In a few minutes, they cut his bill by $25 a month. There was no haggling, just a discussion. Not bad for a few minutes work!

Learn to be a haggler

You must remember that you are not forcing merchants to negotiate or to lower their prices. They don’t have to drop the price if they don’t want to. Keep the negotiation pleasant and smile and talk nicely without raising your voice. This will work better than tough talk.

The merchants are haggling in their own way

I passed a clothing store and saw an interesting tee-shirt. I priced it, $70. Too much I decided. Then I saw a sign that said, “second item: $10”. I bought 2 for $80. They were great. I went back the next day. There was a 50% sale on. I took tee 2 shirts and now they were marked $100 each, meaning that I would pay $100 for the 2! Who’s haggling now?

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 10:38 am and is filed under Personal / Internet. 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.

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