Do you negotiate everything?

[pittsflyer]

I learn to do most things myself, I am usually exhausted but I am able to have super nice things normally reserved for those well off because I can build and maintain things for basically raw material prices. Collecting up tools is a little spendy but I can usually buy ALOT of tools for what it would cost me to pay someone for one repair or work task.

Youtube is a huge boon to DIYers who have any measure of competency or grit.

[JonathanLB]

To the exact question, no. But I do sometimes, it depends when it makes sense. I’ve had a few that I was proud of that were wins all around. My fiancé back in the day wanted Invisalign and it was going to be $5,500. We found a place in the nearby suburbs that was $5,000, and even though I understand living downtown it made sense for them to charge more (higher rents), doesn’t hurt to ask. They agreed to price match. So now we’re at $5,000, but her insurance covered $1,500. Ok $3,500. The guy wanted a video done, and that’s my business, so we agreed to trade a basic package and he’d reduce it $1,500, my video price. So $2,000. But he also had a deal where if you pay cash upfront, it’s 10% off, so that was 10% off the original $5,000 - $500 more saved. It cost me $1,500 out of pocket for something originally marketed as $5,500. That’s probably the best I’ve ever done lol.

Otherwise though, I make a habit of buying the best quality and often the most expensive things money can buy. I’m not rich enough to buy cheap things. I learned that lesson early in life when I cheaped out on everything and kept having to replace it all. I spent $1,000 on my office chair and I sit on it 5-8 hours a day, like a bed, so why shouldn’t it provide the best back and neck support possible? It’s 7 years old and still as good as the day I bought it. I’ll keep using that thing for as long as it holds up and I expect that’s at least another 8 years. I used to buy a $99 IKEA chair every year because they’d tear and rip and padding got weak, it wasn’t ever “good” even from Day One. Well, ten years buying those chairs would be $1,000 and I’d have nothing to show for it and a miserable sitting experience every day. Nah, I’d rather buy nice, expensive, quality things and use them for much longer. Frankly, better for the environment too!

[samantha.pat]

It never hurts to make an offer the worst that can happen is a 'No'. My local dealers are at the point where they will just quote me the lowest price they are willing to sell for. The ones that stick by the marked prices get less business, but I guess they make up for it by making more per coin.

And as a vendor (Etsy store), I actually like people to negotiate with me. It let's me know that my items may be a bit pricey.

[terracore]

Originally Posted by jencam

I'm finding negotiating with investors who buy houses is awful. People talk about used car salesmen. They have nothing on these people.

I know a guy, a self-made millionaire, and when he buys a house he writes the offers such that his earnest money is essentially 100% refunded regardless of what happens. Then he makes an offer on two homes he's willing to buy. This usually involves three separate realtors. This forces the sellers into bidding wars against each other and immediately drives them down to whatever lowest offer they are willing to accept. It's less effective in a strong seller's market but in a neutral or buyer's market it gets him the best deal. If one is available he likes to choose a builder's property as one of the houses, because the other seller knows they are competing against somebody selling a brand new home with a warranty, and the builder already knows what their break-even point is and can offer their lowest price without any emotion.

[terracore]

If you have a business license and are listed in Dunn and Bradstreet you can contact a manufacturer or distributor directly and ask to get a unit at wholesale (even if it's for personal use). Usually they have a minimum purchase (either number of units or dollar threshold) but they will usually sell a single unit at wholesale or just slightly higher than wholesale for "evaluation". Once you are "in the system" they typically send out emails for specials like close-outs etc where they sell things for whatever price is a better deal for them compared to paying to dispose of it. In those cases you can get things like (random example) a case of 20 dog food bowls for what it normally would cost to get one. So that gives you the dog food bowl you were needing plus 19 more to sell on eBay. Frequently these companies have negotiated shipping discounts with major carriers so if they charge s/h it's a fraction of what it would cost you.


I don't negotiate with mom and pop stores unless I think it would be a mutual advantage because I know they are struggling. In all other areas I go on advice I received long ago, "The answer is always NO until you ask". I was recently at Ace and I needed four metal trash cans for storing livestock feed but their price was literally double a store that was about 8 miles away. Thinking I'd save myself a round trip I asked them if they would "meet me closer" to what the other place was charging and they said NO. That's fine, I was willing to pay them a little more to save a 16 mile drive but not DOUBLE. Another thing I've learned (as a buyer and a seller) is that if it's a product that sells out frequently, don't expect a discount on a cosmetic blemish. Somebody will come around who needs the product more than they care about a scratch or whatever. It will be the last one to sell, but it will sell at full price. Another thing you can do is just ask the sales associate if they know if the product is going to go on sale in the future. It's good information to have, because they might have other information that is useful like for example if when the current lot sells out they aren't ever going to carry that item again. I've had people tell me that yes, it's going to be on sale 20% off next week, but corporate policy forbids them to sell at that price before sale date. If its an item I think might sell out before I return to buy at sale price, I ask if they can set one aside for me or put on layaway until the sale starts. Frequently they will. One time I was at a pharmacy and needed a blood glucose meter for the wife's cat and so I asked the pharmacist what was the cheapest one they had and he said, cheaper wasn't always better so I explained it was for a cat and he said something like, "This one is $40 but I can give it to you for free" because he had some manufacturers instant rebates behind the counter he could apply.

[terraaus]

I shop a lot online for groceries and household items. I typically take my list and place the items I need in Amazon, Walmart and Target carts. Then I compare the final prices before buying.