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Thread: Driving a hard bargain

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    7

    Default Driving a hard bargain

    Hi everyone I've been reading for ages, and found a lot of great info, thanks to everyone for your inputs. Finally I thought I'd join in.

    I've heard that you can negotiate prices on most things in New Zealand. Could you say what your best negotiated discount ever has been and how you got it? Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    It was my son got this discount for me, but I watched and learned and applied the techniques afterwards!

    The zip of my suitcase broke, for no external reason, at Heathrow on my way to NZ. The woman at check-in wrapped the bag in sticky tape for me and it made it to Auckland, but obviously, I had to get a new one for the journey home. My son said he'd recently bought in a sale a suitcase with a 15-year guarantee on it (Skyway brand), so it seemed it would be a good plan to spend a bit more to save in the long term, and he took me to the same shop.

    By this time, that brand were not in the sale any more. I turned to look at what was now on special offer, but he said to the shop owner, 'I was really hoping we could get one of these, like I bought here on special last month...'

    'Okay,' said the owner, 'I think we can do that for you. You could buy it for $x,' and that was the price on the next size up in the not-such-high-quality range that was then on special, still a hefty reduction on the full price of the one my son had his eye on.

    I would have said thank you and paid. My son said, 'Mmm. That's something, but it's more than I gave for mine. I've been really pleased with it. I travel a lot for business, so it really goes through its paces. I've been thinking, I'll get another one for my wife, and maybe a matching carry-on for myself.'

    'What would you say to another twenty-five off?' said the owner.

    'I'd say that's very fair,' said my son, and gave me the nod.

    And when he rang up the sale, it turned out the owner had been talking about an extra 25% off, not $25 like I'd thought. This meant that I got the 15-year guaranteed suitcase for 3/8 of the listed full price, which was cheaper than we could find anywhere for it on the internet at the time, too.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Scotland to Wellington
    Posts
    1,454

    Default

    Just goes to show what hefty profit margins there are. They certainly wouldn't have voluntarily chosen to make a loss.

    And you must be careful not to be too cheeky. For example we had our car on sale on trademe for $10,000. Very similar to other models etc and we certainly weren't asking too much in comparison. Along come some English people who had recently arrived and offered us $4300. There's negotiating and there's taking the proverbial. Perhaps they read this forum and heard that most things are negotiable. Needless to say we weren't overwhelmed by their generous offer.
    Last edited by girlwithanewf; 17th March 2014 at 04:14 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    7

    Default

    Thanks JandM and girlwithanewf. I'm not a mean person, but I read so much about high prices in New Zealand, I'm just hoping to make cash stretch a tiny bit further. It's encouraging that the price of the case could drop so much. I wonder if there are high markups on most goods there that can be talked down?

    Maybe the $4300 people have enjoyed success in the past with lowball offers? I've seen a TV show called Wheeler Dealers about buying and selling old cars and it's amazing sometimes that people will accept offers for their cars that are stupidly low. Not as low as that $4300 offer though!!

    I'm all ears for more of people's best negotiated discounts please and how you got them.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    I've said on here before, since seeing haggling in practice in NZ, I've been having a go with it in the UK. There's nothing wrong with asking politely, 'What's your best price?' and it's amazing how many places will give a discount. Another lever that quite often works is, 'I'm buying two (or however many),' or, 'I'm going to be needing something for (whatever job) as well.'

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