No.
I don’t enjoy it. My job involves lots of negotiation, so I have no problem with conflict, trying to work a better deal, etc., but it really bothers me when the negotiation is with a party that apparently has little to no scruples. For example, I’m in the market for a car. I test drove a 2009 Prius the other day. I didn’t particularly like it, and won’t be buying one, but I instantly got the hard sell with statements like, “If you don’t buy now, we’re going to be completely sold out of the 09s in a really short time!” Yeah, so that news article I read about how sales of hybrids was off by 60% actually means that I need to act right away? Whatever, you liar.
I think the haggling done in third world markets and car dealerships (hard sell, looking at customers as suckers rather than partners) is a disgrace. I have owned two cars in the last 15 years, and I probably would have owned at least one, maybe two more during that period if I didn’t have to deal with car dealers. I see this not as a weakness on my part, or some kind of childish whining, but that the overwhelming number of car dealers have adopted a terrible business model that drives a significant number of potential customers out of the market. So I will be relying more on Internet pricing and shopping for prices when I finally decide to buy.
I negotiated quite a bit for my house when I bought it a few years ago. It was a fine, businesslike experience. I enjoyed it, and think both the seller and me walked away thinking we got the better deal.
I love a good negoze. I don’t really spend all that time worrying about whether I got the very best deal I could get, since I never accept an offer just to seal a deal.
In the example above, and I think a lot of this talk about the “misery” of bargaining, the fatal flaw is the unwillingness to walk away if a bargain doesn’t go your way. Yes, sometimes, the price of the laptop just is not going to come down, but sometimes it will. And there are few people so busy that they really have better things to do than trying to get a deal on a major purchase. It takes time and effort and involves frustration, to be sure, but that’s quite a different thing from being too busy. It also takes a bit of boldness, but he who dares wins.
Another thing thing to keep in mind is the need to unbundle. The laptop for dollars exchange really is a zero-sum game; there may be some wiggle room, but it’s going to be hard to negotiate so long as it is framed that way (and there is a store of other buyers). To unbundle, you could say “What about the laptop and the plasma TV, what discount could you give then” as a poster upthread did. You could point out the advantage of buying in cash, rather than financing. If you’ve had your eye on the item, you could note that the merchandise probably hasn’t been moving as quickly as they like. These are all interests of the seller that your purchase will help fulfill.
Oh, absolutely. And for them too. These people work on commission, so the more of their time you take up, the more they have to get out of you to make it worth their while.
You have to walk in prepared, be decisive, and be willing to cut your losses early in the game if your opponent is clueless.
It’s easy to think that you’ll get the best deal when there are no other customers, but that also has not been my experience. Then they have all day, and no reason to give in if they think you really want the item. When the place is hopping, they want to close the deal, get what they can, and go fleece some of the other sheep wandering by. That’s when I really get the best deals.
All that said, not everyone likes chess, and that’s what it is, an inter-personal chess game.
I think realizing that you are an amateur in a contest with a professional is an extremely important first step. I’ve haggled for a car maybe once every four years. These guys do it multiple times a day for many years. They are much, much better at it than you or I ever will be.
Since I am not a natural haggler this means trying to negotiate within my comfort zone, rather than on their uneven playing field. It is far harder for their tactics to be effective if you are sitting at home getting multiple quotes from the internet, rather than playing the “let me speak to the manager” game in a dealership!
I hate haggling, To copy my post from the other thread –
The last couple of times I shopped for a used cars I visited several dealers with cars that where marked way over fair market price, but they refused to budge an inch on the price so I end up walking away 
I do get a small amount of satisfaction when I drive by a few months later and the car is still on the lot (I like to stop in and show them the car I got for a fair price and ‘notice’ they still have the same one sitting there (I know it’s immature)). Still I can’t figure out what their strategy is, they like to pay interest on a car while it depreciates? They thought I would come back and pay their ridiculous price? They didn’t think I was a serious buyer?
I’ve never haggled over the price of anything (not that I can remember, and if I did, it was a rare moment for me). I don’t like to hassle people over anything if I can avoid it and I just take what’s offered and be satisfied with that.
When I worked in the electronics department of a major office supplies retailer people would come in and try negotiating the prices on computers and other high-dollar electronic gizmoids. When I told them I cannot change the price they’d get persistent and turn into assholes. I once went around with someone for over 15 minutes who would just not take no for an answer. They’d say, “Let me talk to your manager.” Yeah, so he/she can tell you the same thing I just told you. Morons!
In a foreign country when it’s over frescos or tourist trinkets yeah, but over stuff like used cars back home I just want strangle the guy.
A couple of used vehicles ago, my husband made out a few cards with our exact “must have” and “might like” specifications on them. Features, miles, condition, price. And a note. “Do not call us unless you have the specifications I’ve stated here.”
We got a call from a dealer the next day. He had everything we wanted and the deal was done. When we got to the paperwork, they were over our price by the amount of tax. My husband said, "no…I said I was willing to pay $xxx and I’m not interested in paying any more than that.
Sure enough, they lowered the price to meet our figure. I’m tellin’ ya, he’s really good at this haggling thing!
I like to haggle a little for larger purchases. It’s fun. I don’t usually try to go for an amazing deal, but at the very least, I ask for a discount if I buy more than one item - it’s generally easy to get 5 - 10% off, so why not try it?
I hate it AND am no good at it. I’m the kind of person that pays $50.00 fo a 2¢ CD on eBay because I get caught up in the bidding.
It’s like negotiating for salaries I always feel cheated. I feel like they were trying to get me for less and then I resent them not paying me what they would’ve… And well you all get the idea.
I don’t usually haggle. This weekend I was looking at coffee makers for a niece’s graduation present. There were two Krups machines side by side, and I could see the price on one, but not on the other (the bigger model). I asked the salesperson how much it was and she looked up the price. She said it was listed at $99.99, but she’d give it to me for the price of the smaller machine - $69.99. Unfortunately, a college freshman doesn’t have room for a really big coffeemaker.
StG
I’m absolutely no good at negotiating for salary. I generally feel like a fake and that I’m not nearly as smart or skilled as people think, so I’m not good at all at saying I should be getting paid more. I also hate hate hate with the fire of 6.02 * 10[sup]23[/sup] suns interviewing for jobs, so I’m really unlikely to leave a job just to get more money. Anyone who knows me or has seen me interview probably knows this.
I’m with you there. You can’t ask too little, or they’ll think you don’t think much of yourself. You can’t ask too much, or you’ll be out of their price range. And if you get the job, you automatically assume you should have gone higher.
I’ve heard different strategies for handling this (“If I get far enough in the interview process, I’m sure we can negotiate something we both think is fair”), but I’ve never given any of them a try. I usually say something like, “I made $XX at my previous job, and I wouldn’t consider a position that wasn’t a move up.”
As it is, I took a $4,000/year cut.
I won’t deliberately haggle for everything, but I will haggle much more than most people. And when there’s haggling being done, I come out on top at least 90% of the time. Because if I can’t get the deal I want, I’ll walk away, and the other guy needs my money more than I need whatever he’s selling. He knows that, so eventually he capitulates.
I grew up in an era where it was unheard of , the price was on the sticker and you went to a competitor to see if a lower price could be had.
Cars were different, both private and car lots, but for everything else, a funny look was all you got.
Now its sorta different, between the interenet which encompasses sites like Ebay and email, which private sales can be arranged by individuals, shipping with fixed rates, haggling is now a tool in the shoppers box.
Still haggling is painful for me because more often that not, people are unaware of the worth of an item. I use cellphones as an example, more precisely GSM cellphones. Most of the phones are easily searchable for their qualitys ,both good and bad, and if you start out on a contract with an entry level phone because you just want something simple and none of the fancy stuff, now you want the fancy stuff.
What to do with your old phone, which may be only a year old from purchase time. You list it on craigslist or any of the other bargain vendor sites and what should you price it at. Well the list price on that phone is say $750 dollars, so great thats what you put the price as, does not matter if you got it for a contract price of $99 dollars, its what the buyer will purchase that phone for.
Now thats cool if its a Blackberry or iPhone right now, all thats left is the condition of the phone , was it debranded, water damaged or simply upgraded to a newer phone.
Martha on the other hand, has upgraded her phone ,in this case a samsung x426/7 and has gotten a newer moto or sammy and wants to sell her old sammy and she lists it at $500 bucks, cause that what the cell provider listed it for, 4 years after it was obsolete in sale terms and has not at that time updated the website and taken the phone down.
In real terms , that sammy is worth what the market will bear or about ten bucks. You can get more , but that would depend on what the buyer wants and means keeping the phone listed longer, but at a certain time you think these people would drop their prices , nooooooooooooo.
So I can see why people would hesitate go looking for a haggle , in some cases its simply not worth it.
Declan
Coming from a Chinese background (though born and raised in the US) I am a bit ashamed at my lack of haggle-fu. When I spent 3 weeks in China/Taiwan I got good at it pretty quickly though (or at least, they let me think I did), because you quickly get the sense that anyone who pays asking price in a haggling culture might as well walk around with money leaking out of his pockets and a sign saying “I HAV MORE $$$ THN I NIID, PLS HLP URSELFS”. And if you frequent the same shopping area repeatedly as opposed to just passing through, that is a BAD THING.
Always be willing to at least act like you couldn’t care less if you bought the item today, tomorrow or ever. And if it’s a necessity you obviously need (like an umbrella or poncho in a rainstorm), haggle at least for a bulk discount ($5? I’ll give you $10 for 3), even if you only need one, because then if he agrees you can reconsider (“wait, my mom and dad already has one, I only need one after all… How about $4?”)
Burt! This bloke won’t haggle.
Hate it. That’s part of what I like about my job. The price of a policy is what it is and there is no haggling. If you want it great, if not then have a nice day.
I love haggling and think I’m quite good at it.