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How to Negotiate a Better Deal

  August 14

This post may contain affiliate links.

negotiate a better dealIf you’ve ever wondered how to negotiate a better deal, today’s guest post from my Aussie friend Richard is just for you! Also, stay tuned at the bottom of the post, because we’re giving away an iPad mini! Oh yeah! 😀

You should never be afraid to start small and negotiate your way to the top. You will only get a good deal when you ask. There are so many situations where great negotiating skills can come into play. Here’s a small sample: purchasing something, loans, contracts, pay raise or work request, wife or partner, kids, sports, issues or problems, etc.

Below are some tips and ideas to help you become a better negotiator and enjoy more favorable outcomes. Being a great negotiator also ensures that you don’t get taken advantage of and are getting a fair or the best deal in any type of circumstance.

Ask for a discount

If you have been buying from a business regularly, ask for a discount when you make your purchases. You will be surprised at how willing most managers are to help their customers as a way to retain them. They may be willing to offer you extra services to make shopping with them more enjoyable. You will not get extras if you don’t ask. They may offer promotional coupons and other goodies for your patronage.  Ask and you shall receive.  That’s the first law of negotiating.

Be Prepared to Walk Away

Customers are very important in any business.  When you are attempting to purchase something and you have asked the seller if they would lower the price, be prepared to walk away if they don’t.  More times than not, the seller is not going to let cash or good credit walk out of the door.  After all, their job is to seal the deal and get you to complete your purchase.  Try this the next time your negotiation efforts stall.  You may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Also, there’s nothing wrong with shopping around and then coming back if things don’t work out.

Refer Others

Many businesses offer incentives for those that refer others.  If you are looking for a better deal, bring a friend that is interesting in purchasing something from the same establishment.  Their purchase may help you to get a discount on the item you are interested in.  Ask the seller if they offer an incentive for a referral.  You may even leave with a little extra cash.

Start Your Bidding Low

In the art of negotiation, it is sometimes important to start low, to reach your actual price point.  If you are haggling over a price, start low.  For example, if you are trying to purchase a vehicle and the owner says, the price is $8000, offer $6500 if your price point is really $7250.  This way, he will feel that he got you to come closer to his price as the negotiations continue.  You will smile as you walk away knowing that you paid the price you were intending to pay and not their price.

Essentially, there is always room to negotiate for a better deal.  You can negotiate when you go to buy your home. Negotiate when you buy clothing and household items. If they say no, at least you will have tried. You will be amazed at how easy it is to get a better deal just because you asked.

Richard is a personal finance blogger who writes Simple Living Australia which helps low income earners better manage their money and stretch each dollar, getting more bang for their buck.

Do you have any negotiating tips to share with us? Which of the above tips has worked for you in the past?

Also, as promised, here are the details for our iPad mini 16GB giveaway. Congrats to Michelle on two years of blogging!

ipad mini giveaway

Open Worldwide.
– If the winner of the iPad Mini prefers cash, then cash value for the iPad will be given instead.
– Paid via PayPal
– All entries in the Rafflecopter are optional

Second place – $150 cash
Third place – $100 cash

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

36 responses to “How to Negotiate a Better Deal

  1. As to negotiating tips, the willingness to walk away has always been a huge thing for me. When I’m willing to walk away, I always seem to get a fantastic deal because someone else is fighting to keep me.

    As to what I’d do with the prize? I’d definitely get more regular with my blogging, as I could finally blog while on transit!

  2. The first tip is so simple, but so important. So many people will just pay the quoted price without asking for a discount. It doesn’t hurt to ask. And walking away definitely works…when I was buying a mattress…we went to the store since it was right there to browse. We didn’t intend to buy yet but when we said that we’ll wait, the salesperson immediately dropped the price.

    1. Isn’t it funny how the most basic things can have the most impact. Sometimes it comes down to a persons background…they may feel that asking for something is impolite.

    1. baby steps…i always ask if $??? is the best price and the seller will generally offer a discount fairly quickly. Or in some cases I’ll ask if they price match or can beat the price of the same product from another store. Having access to the internet on the phone makes things fairly easy.

  3. Being ready to walk away…that’s the toughest for me…

    And the other side of the table typically knows this.

    But when I do make that move, it can definitely pay off.

    1. Sellers have a range of sales tactics ranging from subtle to aggressive. Walking away is one of the strongest tactics for a buyer. At the end of the day, I guess you can look at it as your the one with the power as you have the money that they want.

  4. I always have trouble with walking away 🙁

    If I won, I would hoard the iPad since my husband already has one 😉

  5. These are great tips. I think the hardest, but most important one is being able to walk away. It’s hard not to get attached to something, but walking away will most likely get you the best deal out there.

  6. Great Blog Cat! This especially works in jewelry stores! My Daddy told me never to pay retail there…he’s asks them to “sharpen their pencil” and my boyfriends asks what their “cash price” is as that is usually an automatic discount. Now there are some brands that do not allow discounting to maintain the “integrity” of the name (i.e. Rolex) but for most items in a jewelry store, there’s room for negotiation.

    Being in the real estate industry, negotiation is an integral part and it’s certainly a very interesting “dance” to take part in especially. I think the best negotiations are where both parties walk away feeling they got a fair price, were treated with respect and happy with their sale or purchase.

  7. Here’s another tip: do your research first! Being very knowledgeable about competitors will allow you to leverage that “threat.” A simple example is calling up your cable provider and telling them you are switching to dish if they don’t offer you a better deal (bluffing works as well).

  8. It’s important to negotiate your starting salary in any job. The power you have to negotiate your starting salary is greater than when you actually work for the company.

  9. I would love to win an Ipad Mini but truthfully it would be hard to turn away the cash prize instead with my kids school fees so expensive this year. Love the opportunity to have to make such a hard decision though!

  10. Love the tips. So many people are afraid to ask for a deal or to bargain. My family went to Mexico a few years ago and they had SO much fun Bargaining for their souvenirs at the market they went to.

  11. I’m rubbish at negotiating! I always feel cheeky asking for a discount, yet somewhere in the back of my mind, I know the seller can probably come down on price. Great tips! 🙂

    1. One quick way to learn how to negotiate is a quick trip to Asia where its common practice to negotiate for almost everything – especially in the markets.

  12. I love negotiating, and I’m so happy that you’ve written on the subject. Starting low (or ‘anchoring’) is a really effective strategy. Human beings have an odd tendency to want to “meet in the middle”. Start low (or, high, if you’re selling), and you change where the middle is. And you’ll be surprised with how happy the other party is with the end result with this tactic. You lowballed them, but then they “talked you up” to a higher price…they’ll feel good, often, about their own skills in the negotiation.

  13. These are some great tips. I would also add, make sure that you have a friendly attitude when negotiating. The whole point of negotiating is so that both parties are satisfied with the final outcome and go away happy. If you are aggressive or sulky about it, then that person probably won’t want to deal with you in the future.

    Also, quote a reasonable price when negotiating, particularly in markets. I’ve seen vendors in SEA markets turn away customers who quoted way, way too low at the outset because they were just so insulted. Remember, everyone’s trying to make a living 🙂

  14. No matter where I am if I’m spending money and I know there is room for negotiation I’m in there. I’m not afraid to do all that you discussed because in the end the worst that could happen is that you don’t get what you want.

  15. While it is important to be willing to walk away, I think it’s also important that the person you are negotiating with knows you are serious about the negotiation and are willing to make the purchase that day. In my experience, if they feel that you are just shopping around or haggling for the sake of it you are less likely to be taken seriously. So yes, be willing to walk away, but also be willing to commit if the deal is right.

  16. Great to be co-hosting this giveaway with you! I would say the biggest thing is being willing to walk away. If you aren’t willing to walk away, you have very little leverage in the negotiation.

  17. I’m about to try some of these tips while considering renewing our lease – wish me luck!

    Re: the giveaway, I’ve been wanting a mini for some time to use for school! This way I don’t have to lug a bag full of books around and I can access my class work websites in & out of class.

  18. My boss keeps telling me the same things that even in retail stores that they allow you to negotiate when you speak to a manager which is insane to be but I may have to take these tips and test them out soon.

  19. Great tips, and I agree about low balling to reach the price point – sometimes you can get even less than the price point that way!

  20. These are wonderful tips to follow, Cat. “Be prepared to walk away” – it depends on the stuff being sold. If it’s something I desperately want to have, it’s hard to do that.

  21. I’m always surprised that people aren’t actually willing to walk away. When I negotiate for a car, I absolutely mean it when I say I’ll walk away. Otherwise they’ll take advantage of you.

  22. Pingback: Yakezie Carnival - Labor Day Edition - Frugal Rules
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