How to Haggle for a Good Bargain | RamseySolutions.com

Haggle. Barter. Negotiate. Cut a deal. There's a lot of sayings out ... for a good bargain, you'll become a negotiating pro in no time! 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HowtoHagglein10EasySteps 1.Alwaystellthetruth. Keepyourcharacterintact,people.Always.Don’tcompromiseyourintegrityforthesakeofanextra10%off.Yourcharacterandintegrityareworthwaymorethanthat. 2.Timeitright. Theendofthedayisagreattimetogetyourhaggleon.Thebusinessisgettingreadytocloseupshopfortheday,therearelesscustomersinthere,andthesellerwouldlovetomakeasale—evenifit’satadiscountedprice. StartbudgetingwithEveryDollartoday! Trytogoasclosetotheendofthemonthasyoucan.Thisiswhenalotofcardealerships,furniturestoresandbasicallyanyoneworkingoncommissionistryingtofilltheirquota.Bottomlinehere?Yourpurchasecanhelpouttheirbottomline.  3.Askforadiscount. Youknowtheoldsaying,“Youneverknowifyoudon’task.”Well,it’strue!Ifyoudon’taskforadiscount,you’llneverknowifthey’llofferyouone.Sospeakup!Don’tleaveanymoneyonthetablehere. 4.Usethepowerofcash. Godblessthepowerofcash.There’sjustsomethingaboutwavingapieceofpaperwithapresident’sfaceonitthatreallygetspeople’sattention.Ifyouwanttolearnhowtohagglelikeapro,alwaysusecash.It’semotionalandit’svisual,souseittoyouradvantage.Ittellstheselleryou’reseriousandthatthiscanbeadonedealinonlyamatterofminutes. 5.Useyourwalk-awaypower. Bereadytowalkawayifyouneedto.Don’tletthesellerthinkyou’reabsolutelyinlovewiththeirproductandthatyoucan’tlivewithoutit...becauseyouprobablywon’tgetadealifyoudothat. Trysayingsomethinglike,“Youknow,Ifeellikeyoucouldgivemeabetterdealhere.”Theworstthingtheycandoissayno.Andiftheydo,well,thenthat’sjusthowthecookiecrumbles.Walkawayandbepatientwaitingforagooddealsomewhereelse. Remember,youneedtobepatientwhenyou’rehuntingforagoodbargain.Neverhaveyourheartsetonanitemyou’renegotiatingover.Ifthathappens,yourchancesofgettingagooddealareprettyslim.Thesellerwillbeabletosniffyououtamileaway.Knowwhentoexercisewalk-awaypower anduseitwhenyouneedto.Ifyoucanshowthatyouhavetheabilitytosayno,thenyouholdtheupperhandinthebargain.Andyouneverknow—theymightcallyoubackandgiveyouadealthereonthespot(orreachouttoyoulater). 6.Knowwhentobequiet. Silenceisgolden,sousethatawkwardsilencetoyouradvantage!Let’ssayyou’retryingtogetagreatdealonacar.Throwoutyouroffertothesalesman.Andwhenhetellsyouallthereasonswhyhecan’tgolowerontheprice,sitthereanddon’tsayanything.Yeah,it’sgoingtogetsuperweird,butitmightjustdothetricktogetMr.CarSalesmantogiveyouadiscount. Don’tberudeormeanhere.Justletthesellerdoallthetalkingforyouandseewhereitgoes.Sometimessilencecanbethekeytogettingthedealyouwant. 7.Say,“That’snotgoodenough.” Whenthesellergivesyouapriceyou’renotthrilledabout,trysaying,“Youknow...that’snotgoodenough.”Boom!Dropthattorpedoandseeifthesellerwilltrytogainyourbusiness. Again,don’tbeajerk,butbedirect. 8.Letthemknowyourbudget. You’dbesurprisedhowwillingpeoplearetohagglewhentheyknowyou’reonabudget.Beupfrontandtellthemstraightout,“Hey,themostI’mabletospendonthisantiquechairis$125,andthat’sthebestIcando.” 9.Bewareofthe“goodguy/badguy”technique. Okay,thisisn’tsomethingyoucando.Instead,it’sasellingtacticyouneedtobewareof.You’llknowthey’replayingthegameifyouseesomethinglikethis:Thesellertellsyou,“Hey,I’dlovetogiveyoualowerprice,Ireallywould.I’monyoursidehere.Butmymanager...shejustwon’tgoforit.”Andthentheymightevendisappearforawhiletopretendliketheyaretalkingtotheirmanager,butinreality,they’renot. Instead,they’reprobablysittinginthebackroomwiththeirfeetproppedup,sippingacupofcoffee,andjustkillingtime.Thenthey’llcomebackoutandtellyousomethinglike,“Yeah,mymanagerjustisn’tbudgingonthatprice.Buthere’swhatI’lldoforyou...”Andthenhe’llofferyouadealthatisn’tevenadealatall.Solookoutforthistacticthenexttimeyou’retryingtohaggle. 10.Masterthe“ifItakeaway”technique. Ifyouknowthesellerisfirmontheirprice,tryshakingthingsup.Saysomethinglike,“Well,ifyouthrowinthatwashingmachinetoo,thenwe’llhaveadeal.”Oddsare,thesellerisn’tgoingtoaddthisnewitemtothedeal.Sowhenhesays“nope,”thenyoufirebackbysaying,“Allright,ifyoucan’tthrowinthewashingmachine,thenyou’llneedtothrowsomethingelsein...oryouhavetocomedownontheprice.” Seewhatjusthappenedthere?Youusedsomethingasleveragethatwasn’teveninthedealtobeginwith!That’saprettyslickmovethere,buddy.Trythisnexttimeyou’rehagglingforagoodbargainandseeifitmovestheneedle. HowtoHaggleWhenBuyingaCar 1.Knowyourbudget. Youcan’tgoa-hagglingwhenyoudon’tknowyourbudgettobeginwith.Sositdownandworkoutallthenumbersbeforeyoueversetfootonthatcarlot.Getupcloseandpersonalwiththatnumber.Knowitlikethebackofyourhand.Getattachedtoit. Onceyouactuallysetfootonthatcarlot,thesalespersonisgoingtodoeverythingintheirpowertogetyoutoforgetthatnumberyouwalkedinwith.Ifyoucanonlyspend$7,000onacar,that’sit.Sticktoyourguns! 2.Doyourresearch. Soyou’vegotyoureyessetona2013HondaCivic.DoyourresearchonsiteslikeKelleyBlueBooktoknowthevalueofthevehicleonthefrontend.Thiswillhelpyoutoknowifthecaronthelotiswayoverpricedorrightontarget. Ifyoufindavehicleyou’reinterestedin,getthevehicleidentificationnumber(VIN)fromtheseller.ThenyoucandosomediggingonsiteslikeCarfax.comorVehicleHistory.comtolearnmoreaboutthatspecificcar.Knowledgeisgoingtogiveyoumajorhagglingpower. Nowthatyou’vefiguredoutyourbudgetanddoneyourresearch,goaheadandusethose10hagglingtipsyoujustlearnedwhennegotiatingacarprice. “Wesaveduparound$10,000topaycashforacar.Welowballedandmadeanofferof$7,500incash.Thesalespersonwas‘onourside’butsaidhecouldn’ttakethatoffertothemanager.Afteracouplemorego-rounds,wemadeafinalofferof$9,800.Hesaidno,andwewalkedaway.Butwegotatextthenextmorningfromthesalespersonofferingus$9,100pluslicensingandfees.Totalcost:$10,101.BOOM.”—Bethany HowtoHaggleOnline Buyingonlinehasreallyrevvedupovertheyears.NotonlydowehaveAmazonPrime(praise!),nowwehaveperson-to-personpurchasingonappslikeVarageSale,OfferUp,Poshmark,CraigslistandevenFacebookMarketplace. 1.Makeanoffer. Whenpeoplearejusttryingtogetridofsomething(especiallyonline),theymightbemorelikelytoletyouhaveitforlessthanaskingprice.IssomeoneonFacebookMarketplaceasking$15forthatHimalayansaltlamp?Tellthemyou’llgivethem$12andseewhattheydo.Theymightcounter,andthenyoucanacceptorcounteragain. 2.Speakupaboutthecondition. Ifyou’rebuyingauseditem,payattentiontothewearandtearofit.Iftherearescuffmarksonthoseshoes,catclawmarksonthearmofthecouch,orsomeworn-outkneesonthosebluejeans—pointitout.Tellthem,“I’llgiveyouthisamountbecauseoftheflawsoftheitem.”Seeifthey’llbite. Youcandefinitelyputour10solidtipsforhagglingforagoodbargaintouseheretoo,butyou’llprobablyfindthatsomejustwon’tworkthesameonlineastheydoinperson.It’sprettydifficulttousethesilenttreatmentwhenyou’retypingatakeyboard,youknow?Justgowiththeflowandseewhattipsworkforyou. Andwithanythingonline,remembertotreadcarefully,beonthelookoutforanythingthatseemsshady,andnevergiveoutanypersonalinformationifitmakesyouuncomfortable. HowtoHaggleWithaTrade Here’sahagglingsecretyoumightnotknowabout:Youcantrade.Yep,that’sright.Youdon’talwayshavetobuytheitemyou’rehagglingforwithmoney.Sometimesthesellerwillacceptatradeinstead. Now,thesellerprobablywon’twanttotradeyouacarforyourprizedBeanieBabycollection—we’retalkingabouttradingthingsofvaluehere,notjustsentimentalvalue. Youcantradesomethingyouownorbarteryourservicesinexchangeforagoodbargain.Babysitting,runningerrands,andmowingalawnaregreatoptions.Tradingservicesisaloteasierwhenyoubuyfromyournext-doorneighborattheirgaragesalethanfromtheguyatthecarlot,butyougetthepicture. WhatKindofThingsCanISaveMoneyOnbyHaggling? Greatquestion.It’snotjustitemsonCraigslistorcounteroffersonbuyinganewhome.Youcanhaggleforatonofdifferentthings.Everything’sforsale,right?Theneverythinghastheopportunityforabargain! Herearesomethingsyoucantryyourhandathagglingfor: Clothing Furniture Perishablefood Cars Shipping Electronics Cable Gymmemberships Accommodations(HotelorAirbnb) Carrentals Cellularcoverage Internet Insurance HowtoFindtheDeals Nowthatyouknowhowtohaggletherightway,areyoureadytogiveitashot?Great!Butsometimesit’shardtofindaplacetoputitintopractice.Thefinalkeytoagettingabargainistoknowwheretofinddeals.Herearesomeofthemostcommonplacesyoumighthavesomeluck: Garagesales Public/onlineauctions eBay Thriftstores FacebookMarketplace Craigslist VarageSale OfferUp Poshmark Repolots Fleamarkets Foreclosures Pawnshops Classifiedads Consignmentshops Conventions Estatesales HowtoBudgetforaGoodDeal Whenyou’rehagglingforagoodbargain,alwaysremembertoaskyourself,CanIactuallyusethis?DoIreallyneedthis? Evenifit’sinyourbudget,ifit’ssomethingyoudon’tneedorcan’tuse,it’snotagooddeal.That’showwell-meaningpeopleenduponHoarders.Danger,WillRobinson!Onlybuywhatyouneedandcanuse—itdoesn’tmatterhow“can’tpassitup”itlooks.Spoileralert:Youcanpassitup.Andyou’lllive.Wepromise.  Formoregreatbargainingtips, startafreetrialofRamsey+.Lesson5 revealsthecrazypowerandinfluencethatmarketinghasonoureverydaybuyingdecisions,plusthesecretsofnegotiatingawin-windeal.Now,gogetyourhaggleon! Abouttheauthor RamseySolutions RamseySolutionshasbeencommittedtohelpingpeopleregaincontroloftheirmoney,buildwealth,growtheirleadershipskills,andenhancetheirlivesthroughpersonaldevelopmentsince1992.Millionsofpeoplehaveusedourfinancialadvicethrough22books(including12nationalbestsellers)publishedbyRamseyPress,aswellastwosyndicatedradioshowsand10podcasts,whichhaveover17millionweeklylisteners.LearnMore. MoreArticlesFromRamseySolutions GetaFREECustomizedPlanforYourMoney! LearnMore GetaFREECustomizedPlanforYourMoney!  Answerafewquestions,andwe'llcreateaplantailoredjustforyou.Itonlytakesthreeminutes! TaketheAssessment GetaFREECustomizedPlanforYourMoney!  Answerafewquestions,andwe'llcreateaplantailoredjustforyou.Itonlytakesthreeminutes! TaketheFreeAssessment Everwonderwhereallyourmoneygoes? BudgetWithEveryDollar StartBudgetingforFree Goodbye,moneystress.Hello,EveryDollar.Setupyouraccountandbuildyourfirstbudgettoday.(Andit’sfree,whodoesn’tlovethat?) 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