Haggle while Christmas shopping: 5 tips

Most of us will go to a lot of trouble to get a deal, but we're too embarrassed to ask for one. Here are five simple tricks to help you haggle for the best deal – and how to know when to walk away. 

|
T. Rob Brown/The Joplin Globe/AP/FIle
In this November 2012 file photo, Ann and Lee Haggard, of Carthage, Mo., peruse stoneware during the Midwest Clay Artists Pottery Show & Sale at City Pointe Shopping Center on Madison in Webb City, Mo. Most of us are too embarassed to haggle when shopping, but Zinn argues that shouldn't be the case. It's your money, after all.

Most of us love a deal, especially when we go shopping for the holidays. We sift through weekly circulars, clip coupons, browse daily deal sites, and visit various stores looking for that killer deal.

But instead of just looking for a better deal, why not ask for one? We’ve mentioned it before in posts like "The Simplest Way to Save on Everything." But in case you missed it, here are the basics.

1. Don’t be afraid to ask

According to a recent CouponCabin survey of 2,319 shoppers, 23 percent of respondents said they’re too embarrassed to haggle and 10 percent refuse to haggle because they don’t want to appear cheap.

The key to successful haggling is focusing on the fact that it’s your money. There’s no need to be embarrassed, there’s no need to fear appearing cheap. Prepare yourself by having a firm idea of the item’s price. Then decide what you’re willing to spend, and go for it!

2. Talk to the right person

If you walk into a department store and ask an associate for a better price, they’ll typically say they don’t have the authority to make those decisions. They’re probably right – ask for someone who does. If you can’t find a manager or other store employee with the ability or willingness to negotiate, the store may be too big. Head to a local shop or boutique, where you can often talk directly to the owner. Which brings us to our next tip…

3. Know where to shop

You’ll have a better shot at a deal if you shop at an independent retailer or second-hand store. Small Business Saturday, which American Express introduced in 2010 to encourage shoppers to support their local community businesses, occurs on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. While haggling might be possible on Black Friday, you’ll find more luck negotiating when hitting the local shops on Small Business Saturday – or year-round.

4. Be aware of the best times to negotiate

Haggle on weekdays and afternoons when stores are less crowded and sales associates and managers have more free time. It’s also better to ask for a bargain at the end of the month or shopping season, when shop owners are closing their books or clearing shelves for new merchandise.

5. Don’t be afraid to walk away

Negotiating is a subtle human art that’s been around as long as people have. Like any art, there are different approaches. But there are a few that have proven consistently better than others. For example, appear in love with the product and the person on other side of a negotiation knows you’ll pay full price. Be rude, and people won’t want to talk to you at all, much less negotiate. Act like you’re only kidding, and the merchant will assume you are.

Want the best deal? Act uninterested and be willing to walk away. Be nice, but firm. Look your opponent directly, and tell them with complete confidence what you expect. You might be surprised at the result!

Dori Zinn is a writer for Money Talks News, a consumer/personal finance TV news feature that airs in about 80 cities as well as around the Web. This column first appeared in Money Talks News.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Haggle while Christmas shopping: 5 tips
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2012/1124/Haggle-while-Christmas-shopping-5-tips
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe