Do YOU haggle on prices?

kcm.MN

Well-known Member
Location
NW Minnesota
[b:a7d6dd0308][i:a7d6dd0308]Started to post this in another thread, but didn't want to hijack that thread. So, here's my reply:[/i:a7d6dd0308]
[/b:a7d6dd0308]
(quoted from post at 18:10:18 03/18/17) DO you pay full asking price for everything you buy???

I normally don't haggle on prices. When/where I grew up, haggling was left for "south of the border"! If I think someone is asking too much, I simply do not reply to the ad. If someone doesn't put a price in the ad, I don't reply as I've got better things to do with my time than call around asking folks how much they want for such-and-such that they have advertised for sale. Don't waste my time and I won't waste yours.

A decade ago (maybe a bit more) I heard about people who won't even pay retail price for things in a retail store such as Wal-Mart. Really? Yes, I know there is a markup. Yes, I know things go on sale now and then. But seriously, do any of you actually know someone like this?[/i]
 
Always. Never know when it will work and it does most of the time. I have saved thousands doing it. Not to the point to make anyone mad. Lots of retail businesses will reduce the price if you just asked.
 
Then guess my next question has to be, when and where do you try haggling? For example, I never pull into a gas station and ask if I can buy the gas for less than advertised. Likewise, I don't go into a business and ask to pay less than advertised. Is a bit trickier for private sales as it's normally a one-time sell, but still...

This concept has always confounded me.
 
kcm.MN- I think you have been a regular member of YT for quite some.
Once YT changed their IP address listing of users because of "static"
to "dynamic" and eliminated the posting of users IP address....some
"regular" users have re-signed on this site in a new personna but
their syntax is still the same.

HTH
 
I don't haggle on a price but I know what I want to spend, they know what they want to charge. Each side presents their price and sometimes
we make it work.
 
Absolutely: I lived about 5 years in the Far East and earned my bargaining spurs there. There are a lot of retail outlets that don't cotton to bargaining but just about any business is willing to bargain, especially on equipment, cars, hospital bills, even Ebay with make an offer. Most people who sell on C/L have at least an 8-10% bargaining window. I have saved thousands of dollars on cars, tractors, trucks, haying equipment, security gates, cattle, custom work, buildings, etc. People usually expect some negotiating on items they are selling. The only people who won't bargain are those who rarely sell anything, or just have too much emotional attachment to the item. Some people will waste a lot of time and effort in advertising and displaying an item, turning down reasonable offers where a meeting in the middle would have closed the deal.
 
(quoted from post at 21:50:19 03/18/17) I don't haggle on a price but I know what I want to spend, they know what they want to charge. Each side presents their price and sometimes
we make it work.
Now THAT I understand, at least when it comes to purchasing used items.
 
Normally I make a lower offer as most people start out high hoping someone will pay that and not haggle. The only time I don't if it is a good price or says firm.
 
I normally don't haggle, either buying or selling, but when a seller says "Asking $100...." or "$100 OBO...." (or best
offer), seller is telling me he can be talked down on the price. Otherwise it's what I'm willing to pay for what he has to
sell.
 
All the time. I just love flea markets and you can get a little
knocked off or nothing or sometimes a whole lot. Lumber yard if you
buy a quantiy. There are some NAPA stores where I can get fleet
price. You need to know how to feel people out.
 
If the item is in good condition and the price is within my budget, I pay up. I haggle if I want the item, but they're asking more than I want to pay or it has a flaw or feature that makes it less desirable to me. I don't nitpick the item to death, but I will state why I think the item is worth less than they're asking and make a lower offer. For some reason, the question "What's your bottom dollar?" just annoys me, so I never ask it.

I think a lot of hagglers feel like they're getting one over a fellow if they can beat them down just a little more, even if their price is more than fair from the get-go. It's a control game for them. I sell a bit of stuff on CL, and usually price my stuff for these guys. If someone comes here and is willing to pay my price with the extra padding, I usually voluntarily drop the price just before they pay. Nitpickers, lowballers, and people who ask "What's your bottom dollar?" get to pay full price no matter what, or get sent home without the item.
 
It depends, I despise it. If someone prices something too high I figure they want to haggle. It's time that I can be doing something else, so I usually pass. If it's priced close to what I will give I tell them that the most I will give is xxx, if they don't accept I don't buy it. When selling something I try to price it close to what I think it's worth and maybe come down a little because I know most people want to think they got the better of the seller.
However when it comes to insurance, bank rates, new trucks/cars and hospital bills, I put my spurs and fangs on. These are things that I have to have and will not give or take the going rate.
 
When I moved out here from the city I needed a lot of things as you all well know. Most of it was used and purchased from individuals. That
being the case, it was what he thinks it's worth and what I'm willing to pay for it. I found that haggling was just the way you did it and was fun
especially if you feel like you got a good deal. I'm well North of the border!
 
Reading some of the other comments, I have applied it to retail sales at brick and mortar institutions also, especially if it's an off season, or non-popular item. You'd be surprised at the answer you can get if you just ask the question. Don't ask, don't get. I mean, we aren't cannibals, they aren't going to eat you....may escort you to the door (grin) but that's about it.
 
I some times ask in a store if they knock something off for paying cash instead of a credit card. I bought a dishwasher one time from a small business where we had purchased before. Asked about paying cash and
the older gentleman who once owned the place said it wouldn't be worth it with the arrangement they had with the credit card company. When I got to the counter to pay he ended up taking off $50 anyway.I
usually try to haggle a few bucks off on something from a private sale but if the person doesn't want to do it and I want it bad enough it doesn't matter. If I thought it was way over priced then I wouldn't
have shown up to begin with.
 
Its an art to work a deal.I'll usually just ask the seller if they're interested in offers or taking less if I don't want to pay the asking price for what ever reason.Running down the equipment usually will usually result in the seller getting an attitude and you'll get no where.I looked at a tractor with a loader this past week and I won't pay the asking price, it has a lot of problems and will be a parts machine for me and I told the seller that,he actually asked me to point out the issues to him as he was obviously not very mechanical minded.And he asked what
would I give him for it so I sort of softened the blow and finally gave him him a figure but told him hey you might find someone that will give more etc etc.This leaves him with a better feeling as obviously the tractor wasn't worth nearly as much as he thought,so I told him if he wanted my offer to just give me a call.I'd say I have a 90% chance of him calling me the next 2 weeks.I always try to end things whether I buy the item or not on a good note and its paid off over the years as I have people call me very often wanting to sell equipment and tractors that
other people I've dealt with have given them my name.Sometimes I could maybe beat the seller for a few more dollars but it'd leave hard feelings and wouldn't pay off in the long run,people remember being screwed or taken advantage of a long time.
 
I try to haggle when buying, but
usually fail miserably.

When selling, I make it clear whether I
will entertain offers or I am firm on
price.

I once had a guy get really upset when
I wouldn't take his 1200 offer, when I
had said 2000 firm. Another buyer
showed up the next day with an open
billfold.

My personal motto is buy high, sell
low!
 
I've been known to haggle on prices, especially on big ticket items. My wife won't go with me anymore when I go to buy a new vehicle because she thinks that I get too tough on the sales people. But she likes the deal after I've made it!
 
I once went to the grocery store with a couple that had just got back from the Philippines where they haggle price on everything.
The cashier said the price was XX.
The wife started to haggle the price until her husband reminder her they were now back in the states.
 
When selling I always price things a little higher than I really want. I figure most people do this leaving a little room. I never put a firm price on anything, but I don't care for someone offering half of what I am asking either. That sets the tone right there for not much negotiation then. I won't do that to someone. If it is not worth what they are asking in my opinion, I won't buy it. If there is something I want, and it is firm, if the price is right, I will buy it. If not, I don't even call. If the ad says best offer, I will ask what the person would take for it. I don't like to put a value on someone else's stuff before they put out a price like that. I have asked this and have had people come down considerably and just pay them that price as it seems fair to both.

Usually the best deal for both is when the seller thinks they sold it too cheap, and the buyer feels they paid a little too much. As long as both are happy with the deal then it is fine. And besides, you always have to dicker right?
 
I will haggle. And when I sell something, I
try to price it right to move it fairly
quickly. You'll always have people that
haggle either way, but I think with a good
price that is less than what everyone else
wants for the same thing , but still good
enough for you, people trying to deal on the
price happens less.
 
What bothers me is when somebody puts something up for sale and says .... "Make me an offer because I don't have a clue what it's worth."
OK, I get that, but if they don't know what it's worth, how can they take an offer and decide whether or not to accept it? For me, seller
has to give an asking price to start, it's not the buyers role to do that in my opinion.
 
I ALWAYS haggle on craigslist prices,
unless the ad states price is firm.
When I sell, I usually price my item
lower then other similar items around,
so I can get a quick sale, and not deal
like I'm cheating someone.

If its some one I know, or a store, I
don't bother, and just pay the price,
or don't buy.
 
At flee markets I just ask what is the least you will take and if I think it is to much will just say it is more than I can do. If they ask if we can split the difference then a lot of times we can come to a sale, a lot of times no.
 
My grandmother, born in England, would haggle on a lot of things, it embarrassed my dad, but I thought it was cool. I will offer a little less, even
if it a ad says firm, the worst that can happen is they say no. When I sell something on cl, I always put Or best off. Really, I want to sell
something, I want to sell it, not screw around with cl for months. I've seen tractors listed on cl for years. I don't have the patience for that.
 
I was at a swap meet/show in Orange MA last year and offered $20 for a protractor head with a 12" rule/blade, the price was $30, thought we might settle on $25. My offer
of $20 was refused as was the $25 when I made that. When I said OK, $30 the answer was no. I said I thought the price was $30? Answer was "it was but now it is $35". I
laughed and walked away. Bought a nice protractor head later in the season for $20 and put it on a rule I had.
 
I haggle all the time.

I once bought a used pickup from a large GM dealer. We got down to arguing over $5.00. I forget what the final price was, but I know it ended in $2.50 'cause we split the $5.00.

It was the most fun I'd had in a long time, although my leg was sore for a week from my wife kicking me.

But, having once been a used car dealer haggling has kind of become a way of life.
 
I hate it when someone asks "What is the least you will take?" I usually reply with; "Here is how it works, I started with a price, now you make an offer, then we go back and forth until we agree on a price." But sometimes if I really want it sold, I give a lower figure.
 
I haggle when I can. I try to always be polite about it. The deal works much easier if everyone feels good about it. It is not hard to tell when you can haggle and when you can not. In retail businesses like supper markets or big box stores there is rarely the ability to haggle. That being said I have haggle at Lowes and Home Depot. Usually involving some thing damaged or on clearance. Some times volume can open the "deal" to haggling. I just need a 100 gallons of propane in a rental that will be vacant until warmer weather. I did not haggle on it at all. Now this summer when I price propane for the fall drying and winter heating, I will haggle on the price.
 
Kinda funny when someone will haggle over stuff in a retail store today and tomorrow go to an auction and bid something UP TO BUY IT.


OK my take on this is you are worth anywhere from minimum wage to whatever you actually make. So your time is worth money. So I can be doing other things besides trying to get a buck or 2 off an item in a retail store. Last job I worked I was paid 22.50 an hour. So if between finding help, then a manager I wait 10 minutes that's 3.75. Another 15 minutes haggling then an extra 5 at the register waiting for an over ride that's 7.50. So on small ticket items that doesn't pan out too well. On larger items often it's something I need to finish a project and I want to get back to finish what I'm doing. Lets say I need a new kitchen faucet. A plumber is going to charge in my area close to 100 an hour. So my time doing the repair myself is worth 100 an hour. Standing in a store for 15 minutes haggling is worth 25 bucks. Well I don't know of many places that are going to knock 25 bucks off a faucet if I haggle so it doesn't pencil out.

When I'm buying big ticket items yes, I haggle.

I know a guy that wants to haggle over everything. Couple of years ago I was doing some backhoe work for him digging in pipe and wiring for a new heated waterer. He needed some more pipe. He ask me to ride with him. I told him that I was still "on the clock" and he said OK. So 20 minutes to town then he wants to haggle. 15 minutes with the hired help and another 10 or so with the owner of the place, then another 20 minutes back to his place. We got back and he was bragging about saving 15 bucks. That is until I pointed out how much extra he was paying me and how much he would have saved if he had just bought enough pipe in the first place.

Rick
 
I haven't read the rest of the replies, so keep in mind I am not in any way attacking anyone with my reply. So here goes. I think it is foolish not to haggle. I think it is expected, and in cases where the seller is offended they are simply being unrealistic and maybe a little immature. I think it takes a lot of the fun out of buying what is essentially junk in most cases. The value of our items we covet are usually 100% in our heads. Most of our collectibles, particularly the ones here, are of no real use in a modern world. They are nostalgic luxuries. That being said, MANY times I have encountered something I could use or wanted, been told a fair price and decided not to haggle. I have also had several situations where I was quoted a price and just flat out told the guy not a nickle more than "X"...and he took it...much to my surprise. :)
 
I will a little with a dealer. I know they build some extra wiggle room in the price. With an individual,no,not much. If the price seems a little odd,like $1250 instead of $1000 or $1500,it looks to me like they plan to dicker some,so I might then.
 
Most times that's true but I went to look at a tractor once and the asking price was $500,I asked the guy how about $400? He said how about $600? I got the message paid him the $500
 
I was at a sears store one night and saw a young Amish couple looking at a new tv.The young man made an offer on the TV and the salesman said "I ain't no dam famer". The Amish couple just laughed and walked away.
 
Only time I don't haggle is on a private sale if the price is advertised as "Firm" I look at the item and decide yeah or Nay as it is. More than once as I walked away from a firm price I have been followed to the truck with a reduced. offer.
Lowes is very open to negotiation. I was looking at a set of Dewalt Cordless tools,and asked about a discount. Manager said "No not on the Dewalt, but I can work with the Porter Cable", so now I own Porter Cable. I have also negotiated on appliances and have gotten the contractors discount on building materials.

My wife is an absolute Pit Bull on cars. We sat in a dealership long after closing one evening,arguing about a couple hundred dollars. When the wife said she would like a cup of coffee cause it looked like it was going to be a long nite,the dealer threw in the towel.
 
I don't mind offers at all , I haggle on equipment all the time but recently had two
balers for sale for one price . Guy asked for pics , info and such . Contact numerous
times . He asks what bottom cash price is . I knock about 15 percent off . He says if my
tax refund doesn't show by end of the month , he'll come and make a payment . WHAT?
Dealing with money you don't even have . Price went back up , told him cash only when n
you have it . Another guy offered me 35 percent of asking price , both idiots were from
facebook posting farm group which I won't do again.
 
Love to negotiate on price on many things... but always do it nicely/respectfully.

It they say they won't accept a lower price, then I decide if willing to pay full price... or I just smile and say, "OK. Thank you.", and walk away.

I/we NEVER haggle with someone who has something listed super high on price (say a tractor realistically valued at $1,500 listed for $2,500... or a dresser realistically valued at $250 listed for $750).

We also do NOT call on adds for items where they do not list the price. Nor will I call about a piece of furniture where the seller does not bother to list the dimensions.
Do not understand why people list stuff without these details... WHY do they want numerous phone calls from people, which would not be needed if they just listed all the info up-front in their ad?
 
I'll tell you what,it's more than I can take when these losers show up and act like they're pawn brokers and you brought it to them. I had a 1020 Deere with a loader for sale. I parked it out by the road and put it on CL. The second day,some fat young puke in sweat pants,driving an old rag of a car showed up. He wouldn't get off his phone so you never knew when he was talking on the phone or to you. Then he'd act mad if you didn't answer him because you didn't know.
Once was about enough,but he stopped back the next day,started picking it apart and offered half of what I was asking. Then he acted all bent out of shape and said "Well you want to sell it don't you?!". That was the end of it. The wife told him to get in the road and don't come back. I put the tractor back in the barn and took the ad down. We're not going to be talked to like that in our own yard.
I'm glad I kept it because a year later,I traded it for a pretty rare Oliver.
 

It all depends on the item, I have a "soft" haggle (when I really want something and it is not overpriced...like "what do you need to get outa it"), and the "hard" haggle where I don't care if I buy the item or not...I went to buy a tractor from an auctioneer that I know a couple of years ago and talked (haggled) for 4 hours before I got the price where I wanted it. I think I got in and out of my truck 4 times that day! I wouldn't call it wasted time...after all, you can't work 24 hours a day! I rarely haggle when selling...mainly because I am never desperate to sell. I have been known to knock some off the price if the circumstances warrant it, tho. My motto is "never be desperate to sell, and never be desperate to buy" You will always control the deal that way.
 
Dad called it "horse trading" and, from my vantage point, he was good at it! It was "born from" him growing up poor and we certainly didn't have a lot of extra money. Having said that, I hate it. I prefer paying for
what want and can afford and walking away from what I can't.
 
I seldom if ever haggle at a flea market. If I ask the price and don't like it,I start to walk away. If they'll take less,they usually try to stop me and tell me what they'll really take. I don't have to say a word.
 
If I really need it. I don't haggle over the price. Unless it is really high.

What I hate is people bringing things to my shop. Then haggling over the price.I have the cheapest price in a hundred miles. They buy the parts. I
just work to have something to do. Can't work everyday because of health. Then I get the threats that they will take their equipment to a shop in
Bryan. I tell them just go ahead.That will be a 240 mile trip for the trip to drop it off and then to pick it up.So they leave mad and I stay happy.
 
When I had my shop, a steady customer of mine liked to haggle on price. I did the upper end on the 300 V-8 in his '64 Buick
Skylark. The bill came to $832.15. The guy was an engineer for Honeywell and still had 15 cents of the first dollar he ever
made. His wife was worse than he was. She wrote me a check for $800 and told me "that's more than enough." Fine, it was late
and I was ready for supper. They took their car and left. In due course, they had another problem and brought the car in again.
I performed the repair and they came to get their car. The bill this time was a little over $85, they wrote a check for the
amount in full and I handed them the keys. The man went out to his car, started cranking the engine, but nothing happened. He
pumped the gas, tried two or three more times, no start. I was sitting in my office watching him. He walked to the office and
reported the no start. I opened the desk drawer and withdrew the coil wire for his car. I held it up and asked him if he
remembered the $32.15 his wife had beat me out of last time they were in. I told him that for $32.15, I could make his car start
right up. He threw $40 in cash on my desk and walked toward his car. I installed the coil wire, the car started right up, he
drove off and we were both happy. I was the only shop in 200 miles that would even take a car in with a distributor and
carburetor on it. I charged a fair price and provided a competent service as reasonably as I could.
 

Very little on jobs such as body work, transmissions, house siding etc. I don't want the person doing the working thinking the whole time and getting bitter about how little he is making. Tends to make the person less fussy with fit, finish and quality of parts.
 
I generally do not haggle, ask before hand if I cannot afford it or if there is way to cut price.
 
I went and looked at a Deere 4010 two weeks ago that was not as good as the the owner thought. I made him an offer of a lot less than the asking price but told him he might get a better offer but with the work and projects I have now that was all I would give. We talked a while and parted on good terms. Often if it is a real good deal I just pay the asking price. Bought a Deere 276 engine off craigslist for $500. Owner was surprised that I did not offer less but I had a new home for it at over $1500. So why beat him down? Tom
 
I price cheap to start with if lowballers try me I raise price --don't have the time to put up with tire kickers
 
It depends on the item: vehicles and real estate almost always; retail almost never; private sale depends on the condition and price, if an item is in good condition at a reasonable price that I'm already happy with then I don't haggle to reward an honest seller. I hate selling to guys that hem and haw over the price of small items, I feel they have no respect for my time.
 
I bought a new dish washer two weeks ago for half of retail. On sale,scratch and dent,show floor model, and no delivery.
 
Wow! Thanks for the feedback!!

Is nice to see there are a few others here who also don't care for haggling.

One thing that made us really upset was, we had a huge garage sale not long after getting married. At the end of the day but not the last day, a family stopped by as we were shutting things down. We opened back up and they gathered lots of stuff. While I wasn't opposed to offers, these people seemed to "expect" to be able to get everything for at least 1/2 off. They were actually offended when I told them we couldn't go that low.

All these years later and we actually still have a few of those items. Do I wish I had taken the lowball offer? Nope, not a bit! What we had was in better than average condition and everything was clearly marked - at least until they removed the tags. The two kids even went around throwing sticks at our dogs. ...I think a lot of it boils down to respect and being polite. As the old saying goes, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
 
I for the most part I only haggle on new vehicles. I do as much research as I can when I buy and go prepared. If I don't get the deal I want or very close to it I walk away.
 
(quoted from post at 09:24:04 03/19/17) What bothers me is when somebody puts something up for sale and says .... "Make me an offer because I don't have a clue what it's worth."
OK, I get that, but if they don't know what it's worth, how can they take an offer and decide whether or not to accept it? For me, seller
has to give an asking price to start, it's not the buyers role to do that in my opinion.

My saying is I can't buy and sell both.
 
I've enjoyed reading the responses to this topic. Lots of pros and cons to haggling
I personally hate haggling especially when selling something. I usually will come down a little, very little, once. A lot of it depends on the attitude of the person looking at the item. I try to research what something is worth before and price it a little lower so there isn't much room. I'm apt to go up in price if someone tries to low ball me. What I hate worse are the lookers that want you to finance the purchase. I try to be nice and tell them that I'm not a bank and thank them for stopping and looking. What I want to say is "your wasting my time, please leave"
 
On a private sale I usually ask. Politely. Doesn't hurt.
I did exactly that today, seller said he'd split the difference
and meet me half way. I bought it and we're both happy.

When I'm selling, I will usually work a little if asked politely.
What burns me is the people who come to look and pick out
every little flaw expecting each one to lower the price.
There's no need to bash the seller's item. Take it or leave it.
 
Yes, those folks make me furious!

When we sold our former home to move here, the guy that bought the place kept trying to get us to come down more on price, even though we had come down a LOT already! This was right after 9/11 so we thought the market went soft. Sadly there was another problem, but that's a different story. Anyway, we had a newer 2-car garage. It wasn't as tall as he wanted, so he kept trying to lower the overall sales price according to what he'd have to pay to tear down the old "newer" garage and build a newer one. We just couldn't come down anymore as we were already at a huge loss.

Checked just the other day on Google Earth - the same garage is still there. Funny how that works.
 
(quoted from post at 19:06:52 03/19/17) I opened the desk drawer and withdrew the coil wire for his car. I held it up and asked him if he
remembered the $32.15 his wife had beat me out of last time they were in. I told him that for $32.15, I could make his car start
right up. He threw $40 in cash on my desk and walked toward his car. I installed the coil wire, the car started right up, he
drove off and we were both happy. I was the only shop in 200 miles that would even take a car in with a distributor and
carburetor on it. I charged a fair price and provided a competent service as reasonably as I could.

You run your business as you see fit, but it appears to me that you hijacked his distributor wire for what they owed from a previous job. Seems a little shady to me. You appeared to have agreed to the $800 for the first repair without any question. My way would be to not let them take the car the first time until they paid the $32. But that's me.
 
Always get a chuckle out of people who get "upset" by someone trying to haggle. It's not personal.

Raising the price when someone tries to lowball you is haggling, too. Saying NO when someone tries to offer you a lower price is haggling, too.

If someone trying to haggle throws you into fits of uncontrollable rage, don't sell anything. You'll live longer and the hagglers of the world will appreciate you for it.
 
I do unless I'm up against a pro, then I just fizzle out. And I'm not a low-baller unless the initial price is outrageous. Guess I've gotten my share of good deals over the years from good people, so I think it all kindof works out in the end ... even if I pay little more for something now and then. In other words, I'd be a complete failure as a business man!
 
It's one thing to go back and forth on pricing, but it's another thing altogether to be insulting.

As for determining the prices of commodities, I don't think the average person is familiar with that process.

I've got no problem with people trying to get a little better deal. But like everything else, I believe there's a time and a place (figuratively speaking), as well as a form of etiquette. It's not cool to show up at someone's home and offer them 10¢ on the dollar for what they have, even if it IS junk. Negotiations should be handled with tact and not be insulting.
 

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