12 Rules for Money-Saving Negotiation Success

The book The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means lists 12 rules for negotiation success as follows:

#1 Nice guys finish first.
#2 Speak to the right person.
#3 Be honest, but don't be shy.
#4 "I can't afford it."
#5 Cheaper by the dozen.
#6 Watch for sales before and after you buy.
#7 Show them the money.
#8 Don't sell yourself short by naming a price.
#9 Be careful about threatening.
#10 "I'd like to cancel my service."
#11 Never on a Monday.
#12 If you're still shy about haggling for a better price...

Here's my take on these:

#1 You can be firm without being a jerk. Store managers and employees love to hold their ground against jerks, so consider what a tirade/rude behavior might be costing you.

#2 Of course. It does no good to talk to someone who can't lower your price.

#3 You MUST speak up for yourself or you'll get nowhere. And of course, be honest. Is your integrity worth saving an extra $20?

#4 These words work especially well in this economy.

#5 I agree with the book where it says to negotiate for the best price, THEN tell them you'd like to buy a few of the item if you got an additional quantity discount.

#6 If there was a sale before you bought, you should certainly be able to ask for that price. And if the sale is right after you bought, go back and ask for the difference. If they won't give it, then return the original item (always keep your receipts) and buy a new one at the sale price.

#7 I ALWAYS ask if there's a cash discount when making big purchases. If there is and it's more than 2%, I pay cash. If there isn't, I pay with my 2% cash back credit card.

#8 This can be a killer. My dad did this when buying his most recent truck. He named a price he thought was very low, and the salesperson accepted it. Whoops! Not low enough...

#9 If you say you'll "take your business elsewhere", be sure to do it in a way that doesn't encourage the store to hold firm on their prices (see #1 again.)

#10 The old stand-by for negotiating with cable providers...

#11 They say that the best deals are made late in the week and particularly on Fridays, before holidays, and before three-day weekends. Anyone else heard of these guidelines?

#12 They suggest taking "baby steps" by asking if the business gives a discount for AARP or AAA memberships (we get the AAA hotel discount all the time.) I'll add to that by listing these six times it's easy to ask for a discount.

Of course you have to trade off time and effort with the amount you save. For instance, taking advantage of #6 above isn't worth the back-and-forth (IMO) to save a few dollars (though it would be for $10 if the store was conveniently located.)

For those of you who would some additional tips on how to ask for a discount, here are some previous posts you mat want to check out:

• How to Ask for and Get a Discount at a Chain Store  
• It Pays to Ask -- You Never Know If/When It Will Work  
• Asking for Discount Nets Guy $40k  

Comments

[Brent]

#1 is a biggie, don't be a jerk because... who wants a jerk to get a good deal?

[Everyday Tips]

Threatening to cancel my Comcast has saved me tons of money over the years. I think it only failed once. I called back in a month though and it worked.

I never try to show my hand when making a big purchase. The worst thing you can do is tell about your great discount on a negotiable item! Gotta get them to go to their 'lowest' and then hit them with the discount. I really made a salesman mad at ABC Warehouse doing this and I did feel kinda bad for a minute...

[Tuan]

I always start #4 and #10 in one sentence when talking to Comcast CSRs.

[Rich A.]

I got a call yesterday from a salesman who works for a postage meter company. He said it was time to renew the lease on the postage meter in our office (originally a 5-year term).

For the last few months, I had been thinking that we didn't need to renew it. The cost to have it is $800/yr. I figured out that 95% of what we mail is envelopes that we can affix a stamp to (especially easy with the sticker stamps of today), and our volume isn't huge.

The salesman first tried to size me up for a new/more expensive meter, but quickly realized we didn't have the volume for that. Then he said he could simply renew us at the rate we've had for the last 5 years.

I started to tell him that I had been thinking about it and wasn't sure I wanted to renew, and he immediately said he could take $200 off the annual price. He cut the price before I could barely raise an objection!

I would imagine I could get him to go lower, but I still don't know if it would be worth it to keep it. We'll see!