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Neo-haggling is being hailed as the latest trend in shopping.It is the art/passion of looking and asking for a discount on everything you buy. I didn't know it but I am a leaning-neo-haggler. While I don't haggle for everything I buy, I absolutely haggle on many items.
The Sunday Chicago Tribune had a front page story about Neo-Hagglers.
Their ranks are growing. Half of consumers surveyed in April by
BIGresearch reported they have started haggling over auto repairs and
appliance and electronics purchases. More recently, nearly 60 percent
of Britons surveyed said they are now more likely to try to negotiate
discounts than they were a few months ago.
On the surface it would be easy to say that neo-haggling is an outgrowth of a tough economy. But neo-hagglers have been practicing their craft for over 10 years on internent sites like eBay and Priceline.
For haggling- adverse Americans, eBay and Priceline provide the perfect environment to hone haggling skills--they offer anonymity. When you bargain with a computer you can be a lot bolder than when you try to do it face-to-face with a human being.
There is a thrill to putting in a low bid and having that bid accepted.Whether I need to rent a car, reserve a hotel room or buy a designer handbag, I go to web sites that give me the opportunity to do some bargaining. I'm rarely disappointed. I have rented SUV's for $25, stayed in a four-star hotel for $86 and purchased a brand new designer handbag for 50% of the retail price. And yes, it was authentic.
It was only after neo-haggling online for several years that I got the confidence to try it in person. My opportunity came when I needed a hotel room in Wilmington, Delaware and I didn't have reservations. It was 11:00 at night. I was tired and none of the hotels in my price range had vacancies. I finally went to an upscale hotel and asked how much a room would cost.
They quoted something in the $260 range.
I didn't want to spend that much for eight hours of sleep and said to the clerk, smiling, " I was hoping to spend about $120.00 for the night."
He went back to his manager and came back with a different price. We chatted some more and in the end I agreed to pay $135 for the room.
The thing that is so wonderful about neo-haggling that it cheers you up so much. It makes you feel smart and it makes you feel financially responsible. It is a very rare feeling for me to feel financially responsible.
The Non-Consumer Advocate offers up some lines to open up the haggling dance.She knows what she is talking about, she has haggled and won at Target.
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Lines which I find work well without being offensive to the seller are:
“Is this a firm price?” or “Are your prices firm?” or “Are you able to lower the price on this?”
This puts the seller in the position of either offering a lower price, asking you what you’d like to pay, or saying that yes, the prices are firm. My experience has been that most vendors are perfectly willing to haggle.
To get a sense of how ready Americans are to neo-haggle,clarkhoward.com is reporting that Macy's was forced to release a statement that they do not haggle.
Calgirlfiance decided to haggle over the cost of repairing her husband's watch.
We ask the serviceman how much it costs to replace the strap and get the battery replaced. The battery was $21.70 and the installation of the band was $15, so the total was going to be about $37.
Both my husband and I were hesitating, so I asked the watch serviceman if he could do it for $30 total. He first said that he didn't set the prices, then I frowned. He then said that he would go and check. While the serviceman was gone C told me that he didn't like bargaining for services that he would rather pay the extra $7 since he thinks people don't do as good of a job with a service when you don't pay as much. I completely disagreed since I thought it was pretty clear cut what he was going to do. Well the serviceman came back and told us that he could do it for $30!
It probably took an extra 2 minutes to save $7.
At the same time Americans are embracing the art of neo-haggling, they are also beginning to rediscover the lay-away.
