Your Finances: The Art Of Paying Less And Getting More
One trick to making your money go further is to maximise your opportunity for a bargain. In some situations there’s room for you to haggle for a cheaper deal, or a deal that is more beneficial to you in other ways – extra incentives.
We’re going to run through some of the things to be mindful of when trying to haggle for that perfect deal.
When can you haggle?
We’re talking offline here – you might be able to haggle over second-hand purchases on eBay or Gumtree, but the chances are there will be more opportunities in actual stores or showrooms when you have the attentions of an eager salesperson. For example, you’re likely to be able to negotiate over:
- Cars
- Houses
- Mobile phone contracts
High cost items tend to have more room to manoeuvre; but the only way you’ll know if you haggle on an item is to try!
How to haggle
Haggling can be an art form. Some people are amazing at it, but if you’ve never done it before these tips should give you a hand.
- Know what you want – have a point to work towards, but be prepared to compromise. Know what you will settle for, but aim high.
- Preparation is key: what deals are competitors offering? Haggling with ammunition to support discounts is a great idea; some stores will match prices or beat them. Go as far to get your mobile out while you’re haggling to show your salesperson what they’re up against.
- Body language and manners – be open and relaxed, and be polite. Haggling is a two way communication; you don’t want to immediately shut off that line of contact by being rude or unapproachable.
Expectations
Sometimes haggling won’t involve lowering the price by a huge amount but could involve incorporating additional favourable terms into the deal. We don’t claim haggling will help you achieve an amazing deal every time, but being able to lower the price on something by a small amount is a bonus.
For more ways to make your money go further, you may like to read our blog post 12 ways to have more money in 2015.