This article is an excerpt from Life Without Debt By Brent Riggs. Find out more about it here...
You can make your money go a lot farther if you will learn the art of bargaining. Learn to make offers on anything and everything you can possibly wheel and deal.
You have to get over being embarrassed or thinking that only tightwads bargain with people. America is one of the few countries where bargaining is not simply a way of life.
The worst thing that can happen when you bargain is you will be told “no” or be ridiculed. What’s worse? Paying an extra 30% because you were too scared to bargain or risk being snickered at?
After you get used to bargaining, you’ll actually find that it’s quite a lot of fun. It becomes a challenge to see how much and what kind of deals you can talk people into. However, you have to be prepared to walk away. You have to learn to turn your back and move on if you don’t get your asking price, no matter how badly you want something. You have to wait for another day.
Why? It is easy to sense when a person already has their mind set on buying something. Once you give off that vibe, they’ve got you. You can forget any bargains.
Never pay ticket price for any large item. If you are in a major chain store, ask for a manager. They often have the authority to give on-the-spot discounts, especially on things like appliances, furniture, and other large ticket items.
Learn to wave your cash around, especially if it is a private seller. Usually a private seller is extremely motivated, and the sight of a few $100 bills waving around in front of his nose will make him even more motivated. Make an offer, count out the bills in front of him, and if the offer is not immediately accepted, simply pick up your cash and tell the seller to call you if he changes his mind. You’ll find it humorous how many times you won’t get three steps away from him before he has changed his mind and wants to accept your offer.
TRUE STORY
I first started learning and observing this from my father, Mr. Super Bargaining Shopper of the Universe! We have always laughed at him and made jokes about his ability to make apparently ridiculous offers and then walk away “insulted” when they weren’t accepted.
I can remember countless stories of Dad making offers on cars, then walking away saying, “Call me if you change your mind.” Sometimes it was five minutes, sometimes a month, but often, he would get a call later on telling him, “We really had to do a special deal, but we can meet your price.”
My dad didn’t play games either. If he went back to buy a $20,000 car after they had accepted his offer, he would get up and walk if they so much as tried to tag on a $100 fee above the price. Why? Because sales people don’t think anyone will walk away from saving thousands of dollars if the dealership insists on some “required processing and administrative fees.” That didn’t fly with Dad. He would walk if the price ended up being one dollar over the agreed price.
The result? My Dad is financially secure for the rest of his life and enjoys a nice lifestyle, not because he was CHEAP, but because he was NOT IMPULSIVE. There’s a HUGE difference. He would sometimes do this bargaining game for MONTHS when buying a car. It always paid off.
Learn to bargain. Learn to walk away. Learn to control your IMPULSIVENESS. You do NOT have to have 99% of all the things you THINK you MUST have –RIGHT NOW.
Oh yeah, one last thing. That “deal of the century” you just can’t pass up? Doesn’t exist. There are “deals of the century” every day. With rare exceptions, you will never find a TRUE “once in a life time deal.” That’s just your impulsiveness working on you. Don’t fall for it. If you have your eyes open, you’ll find a “deal of a lifetime” on a regular basis.
