Free Ebook.


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

« Best of Money Carnival | Main | Why You Need to Shop Around for Car Insurance »

July 27, 2009

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Recently we decided to cancel our subscription to our hometown newspaper because of increase in price. We hoped that they would call us with a better offer for renewing our subscription. Well, they just happened to cold call us and my husband told them we had just cancelled the newspaper because of the price. They offered us a savings of $1.50 per week for three months only. Well, we accepted. In three months time we will decide what we shall do. But, in the meantime, we are saving $1.50 per week on delivery! Maybe not much, but it is something!!

at dinner that other night my 11 yr old daughter would have qualified as an adult (for an all you can eat fish and chips place). It's important for us to be honest, so I outlined to the server that she was 11, but didn't eat as much as we did and she gave us the kids price, saved us $4.. never hurts to ask :)

So if the cashier or whomever you are dealing with asks you if you would like to pay more than the ticketed price, how would you respond? Would that be fair?

If you can ask for a discount, can they ask for a premium?

Imagine if business did that. How would the customers feel?

Or if your employer came up to you on payday and said "Could I pay you a bit less this pay period?." MY guess..you no likey.

I understand "haggling" or negotiating when customary, such as with big ticket items like houses, cars, or furniture, but 99% of the time either accept the price or move on.

Because where is the line. Why stop at a $2 discount. Why not try to get $3, or $4 or the entire thing free?

Bob --

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Are you saying that in most cases we shouldn't ask for a discount? (I think that's what you are saying.) If so, why not? I'm not understanding your reason for it. Are you saying it's not ethical?

One nitpick - you can't really say it's savings of $480/hr unless you could actually stand there for the whole hour and save that amount. It wasn't a recurring savings (such as cancelling a subscription) so your savings were $2 forever.

I have been in sales since 1963. Yes you read right 1963. Let me tell you straight up if you don't ask the simple question----"is that the best price you can offer" you are leaving money on the table. Nothing is etched in stone except the fact that YOU WILL EXPERIENCE DEATH at some point. Ask and then be quiet until you get the answer. You will be surprised.

Savvy --

I know. I just like to have fun with numbers like that. Sometimes it's hard to get my tongue-in-cheek humor across in writing. :-)

This is very true. You don't know until you ask.

A few months ago I purchased an Apple laptop from a national electronics chain. I had missed the sale the week before when the price was a $100 less. Just on a whim I asked the sales clerk if I could get the last week's sales price. It took him just a few minutes to get permission from the manager to honor the sales price from a week ago. One simple question saved me $100.


Around April 1 of each year, Home Depot and Lowe's flood the market with coupons - 10% off, $10 off a $50 purchase, $25 off a $250 purchase, etc.

I can't recall the exact coupons, but Lowe's had a better coupon than Home Depot. The problem is, Home Depot is about a mile from my house, while Lowe's is in another town, about eight miles of busy highway away.

I asked the manager at Home Depot if he would honor Lowe's coupons and he said yes. Saved me some money and a trip all the way across town when I really didn't have the time for it.

"So if the cashier or whomever you are dealing with asks you if you would like to pay more than the ticketed price, how would you respond? Would that be fair?"

Doesn't this happened? At grocery stores and the likes I frequently get asked if I would like to add $10 to my purchase to fund girl scouts, or a food bank, or cancer research or whatever the current cause is. At smaller food places (eg. Coldstone) they have tip jars at the register, and at some locations not tipping will get you a dirty look!

"So if the cashier or whomever you are dealing with asks you if you would like to pay more than the ticketed price, how would you respond? Would that be fair?"

Doesn't this happened? At grocery stores and the likes I frequently get asked if I would like to add $10 to my purchase to fund girl scouts, or a food bank, or cancer research or whatever the current cause is. At smaller food places (eg. Coldstone) they have tip jars at the register, and at some locations not tipping will get you a dirty look!

My father LOVES to do this exact thing. He is constantly telling me how he calls up Verizon Wireless and negotiates a better deal, free car charger, etc. On day, on a whim, he called them up because he had an issue with my mother's new phone they bought from a Verizon storefront the prior week. While on the phone, he discovered that the price you pay via online, telephone and storefront vary significantly (and in his case, as much as $75). He returned the phone to the store, then purchased the exact same phone through telephone salesperson. If it is one thing I've learned from my dad, it pays to ask! The worst thing that they could do is to say, "I'm sorry, that's the best we can do."

"Or if your employer came up to you on payday and said "Could I pay you a bit less this pay period?." MY guess..you no likey"


This is happening all over. My school district just approached all the staff and basically said, we need to cut jobs unless you forego all pay increases for the coming year. We all accepted- but if they had not asked, it would not have happened. So yes, your employer can ask.

Golfsmith often sends email coupons for online purchases. When shopping at the actual store recently, I told the sales person I had received an email coupon, but didn't have it with me. He dug out a discount code from under the counter, and we saved more than $30. It absolutely pays to ask...nicely.

This is a rather specialized one, but...
My wife and I do a lot of motorcycle touring. We went to a state park the other day and the entry fee was $4 per vehicle. We had two motorcycles, and the girl at the gate was going to charge us $8. After a little negotiation, she decided we'd only use up one parking spot, after all, just like a car, and let us both in for the price of one vehicle. We've done this successfully for several years at state parks, reasoning that two two-wheeled vehicles is the same impact as a four-wheeled vehicle.

My best friend got a discount on vintage clothing by proclaiming rather loudly when she was trying it on that it was missing a button!

The comments to this entry are closed.

Start a Blog


Disclaimer


  • Any information shared on Free Money Finance does not constitute financial advice. The Website is intended to provide general information only and does not attempt to give you advice that relates to your specific circumstances. You are advised to discuss your specific requirements with an independent financial adviser. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. All posts are © 2005-2012, Free Money Finance.

Stats