Tips On Effective Haggling

By Author: Steve Robinson
Total Articles: 468
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Cost conscious travelers can save on more than just cheap travel deals, be they cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages. Depending on the location and individual store, haggling can be a great way to save even more once you reach your destination.

Some experts observe that consumers who haggle are successful (defined by lowering the initial quoted price) 80 percent of the time and not just when traveling overseas.

The following is expert haggling advice that Budget Travel collected from hagglers who make a living haggling:

• Curb your enthusiasm when commenting about something you like. Using adjectives such as “interesting” suggests casual interest while still indicating some detachment. If a vendor knows you must have an item, there will be no bargaining. Make the vendor sell you on what you already know you like.

• Asking to speak to the manager is often a smart way to find an employee who has sufficient authority to bend the rules. Make certain to speak to the boss outside the ears of other customers or employees. You are more likely to negotiate ...
... a bargain during morning or evening hours when it is less busy and near the end of a month when stores often try to meet quotas.

• Start by asking “Can you help me on this?” and never start with “I want to negotiate.” It is smart to adopt a friendly tone from the beginning to make haggling seem more like a conversation than a transaction. By establishing rapport and treating the seller like a friend, asking about his or her day, complimenting the shop, your odds of negotiating a bargain increase

• Remember that silence can be a very powerful haggling tool. There is a haggling rule that goes “He who speaks first loses.” When you reach an impasse in a negotiation do not say anything; instead just listen. The other party in a negotiation will often make a concession just to end an uncomfortable silence.

• Asking a lot of questions can sometimes prove useful. If someone asks you how much you want to pay for an item, you should respond by asking the person how much it is worth.

• Be ready to say “Thanks so much for helping me. I’m sorry that we could not reach an agreement.” Once the seller knows you are ready to walk away, it is amazing how often the price falls.

• Offer to give the seller your phone number. Sometimes sellers will have a change of heart and call prospective buyers later.

• Often flea market sellers who have to pack everything back up at the end of a day and transport and store unsold items are willing to lower prices to move items later in a day.
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