Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

[FBPirate95]

Just curious how people feel about negotiating things. Primarily buying and selling items. I had to take a 3 day class in negotiating, and I was surprised to see how the United States, as a whole, does not like to negotiate anything. As far as the world is concerned we are not "negotiators". Its just not built into our culture like other countries. We would rather pay asking price and get a transaction over quickly, than taking the time and dance the dance to negotiate.

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

When it comes to horse trading, I am the world's worst.:redface:

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

It depends on the dollar value. Anything under a certain price and I really don't care to waste much time negotiating. If I think the seller is a little high then I'll make an offer. But if I want the item, and I think he's in the ballpark, I'm buying it regardless. (We're talking CraigsList kind of stuff here, not a $500k home!). On the more expensive items I'm doing plenty of research and negotiating not to necessarily stick it to the other guy, but to get what I consider a fair deal. I don't mind it.

The product/service that we sell is entirely non-negotiable; the contract is what it is - no changes. But when we deal with buyers from certain regions of the world, they LOVE to try and negotiate. They KNOW our contract is non-negotiable, but they still ask for all sorts of concessions. To the more junior folks in our company it really irritates them (plus we're from the Midwest where everyone is supposed to be really nice!), but to the more senior or "worldly" folks they just sort of get a chuckle out of it.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

With the ability to put everything on credit, the old days of dickering on price went out the window.

Some places will work with you on some things. Once I needed a sheet of Oak veneer plywood from Lowes. One of the corners had some damage. At the register I asked if I had to pay full price since the sheet had damage. The clerk called the manager and he knocked off $15 for the damage. You don't know if you don't ask.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

With the ability to put everything on credit, the old days of dickering on price went out the window.

Some places will work with you on some things. Once I needed a sheet of Oak veneer plywood from Lowes. One of the corners had some damage. At the register I asked if I had to pay full price since the sheet had damage. The clerk called the manager and he knocked off $15 for the damage. You don't know if you don't ask.

That is exactly what the class pointed out. Part of our "homework" assignment each night was to go out somewhere and negotiate the price of something that is $5.00 or less at RETAIL stores. If you don't ever ask questions or ask for discounts....you'll never get them. But our culture looks down on you for even asking to get something for less.

We also had a lot of class excercises to prove the point of asking questions, and negotiating different situations. Somethimes we were the buyer....sometimes the seller. It was quite funny to see how uncomfortable some people are at doing this. The sad thing was one of the WORST negotiators was in our own purchasing department. She was a little embarrassed. LOL.

 

[i386]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I do it when it's required, but I don't enjoy it. Buying a car would be a good example.

 

[Thad]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I love to negotiate. Buying or selling.
I look at it like this, the other guy needs to sell a lot worse than I need to buy. And if you have the cash...all the better.
I negotiated Wal-Mart down to $700.00 on a riding mower some years back. Felt really good about that one.
Even if I am selling I like to haggle. I know something is only worth what someone will pay for it, plus the other guy deserves to feel like he got a deal also.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

In real estate you are negotiating all the time. I love it. That's part of the business.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I don't necessarily enjoy negotiating, but I'll do it whenever any of these things are true:
- The item is damaged
- The item has been used (includes display items and open box)
- The item is expensive (>$200)
- The item is jewelry
- I am a regular/long-time customer

Any of these items will get me asking questions and dickerign for a lower price, free shipping or both. I'll even dicker over the price of food if I think it is overpriced.

You can put any price on anything, but everything already has its price. Negotiating finds it.

 

[JB]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I love to haggle at Garage and Moving sales and when making a purchase at a hock shop. I also learned to haggle over everything in the Orient.

The rest of the time and places I either like the price or I leave and seek a better offer without haggling.

 

[dooma_Flatchy]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I don't mind it when I'm trying to sell something and I try to get whatever at the lowest possible price. All they can say is no.

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

Work requires negotiating, that's just part of the job. My wife wants to negotiate some things. Her son wants to negotiate everything. I refuse to negotiate unless absolutely necessary. When I say it, I mean it. When I offer it, I intend it. Life and time are too precious to spend them squabbling back and forth to reach an agreement.

I figure when someone puts a price on something like a car. I ask for their best offer and that's it. I either take it or leave it and walk away. They usually call me later and offer a better price. I ask what has changed since I asked for their best offer. Their response should be "you didn't take it", but they usually claim the manager has extended a special discount or some non-sense like it. I'm not really interested in the car any more.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I do not like to but if there is something I want and I feel the price is too high I will try to negotiate. If the seller or salesperson will not negotiate then I walk away. When I bought our last vehicle (Pontiac Grand Prix) it was 6 months old and had been returned by a company that had it on lease for one of their managers and went out of business. I had got fed up with all the area dealers adding all kinds of money to the price when it got down to it. I took the car for a test drive and told the salesman that when I returned I would either say no thak you if I did not like the car or ask him for a price to drive it away. One shot deal and no negotiating. We test drove and liked the car, asked for the price and bought it at less than equivalent vehicles that we had looked at all day. That was 3 years ago. When the dealer actually wrote the deal up it worked out about $300 less than his original amount. Very happy with the deal and the car. I will be returning to the same place for our next car when we need one and giving them the same options.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I typically hate it.

My negotiation skill involves asking the price and walking away. I then price out similar items on the net and, if I feel the first price is fair, I'll pay it. Otherwise I'll buy off the net. Don't mind paying a bit more for personal service but around 20-25% is my limit. Of course that depends on the item as well.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

A tip my dad passed on to me and my brother when buying a vehicle. Since most dealers have cars rustproofed, tell them you was interested but don't like the rustproofing that they do. Usually the salesman says that all of them have been treated and it gets added in to the price. Then walk off the lot. More than likely they will not charge for the rustproofing if it makes a sale. This has worked for my dad and brother. I don't buy new, but will use the technique if I ever do

I have a friend that is an expert on haggling. It aggravates the beans out of me of all the deals he gets. One was a 84 cuddy with a 175 Merc outboard that had not one flaw on the prop or the drive. It made me sick when he got it for $400

The boat that I have now I haggled down from $8K down to 4K over a 3 year period. Sometimes patience pays off..................SS

 

[Nobody]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I'll make an attempt at negotiating the case of used or damaged goods or really poor service, sometimes it works so it never hurts to try.

The town I grew up in has a large population of first generation immigrants from a former Soviet republic who negotiate anything and everything, I once saw a guy talk a convenience store manager into an employee discount on a pack of smokes and then watched him drive off in a new BMW760 so I guess it was working well for him.

 

[i386]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

The boat that I have now I haggled down from $8K down to 4K over a 3 year period. Sometimes patience pays off..................SS

No, that's called depreciation.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

No, that's called depreciation.

Yes, but time is one of the biggest levers for both the buyer and seller in a negotiation.

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

By the way, did you go to a Karass (sp?) negotiating class? I did that many, many moons ago when I was first starting out in commodity sales (no longer in commodities; still in sales). It was a good class. I still see their course offered in airline magazines. I can only imagine what they pay for those 2-3 page spreads.

I recall two things from their course:

1) when you figure out what your "hourly rate" is for successful negotiating you quickly realize you're making the kind of money a good attorney or doctor makes (of course, you'd probably go broke "saving" all that money if you had to buy that much to equal in savings w/the good doc is making per year); but the point wasn't lost on me. If you could save $500 on a car in one hour of negotiating, it was worth your time and effort to at least ask.

2) usually the first person to start the negotiations "wins"; not necessarily the first person to offer a PRICE...but the first person to start the negotiation process. It's sort of a game of follow the leader. The leader sets the pace, and the follower...loses a little leverage. I've since been in other negotiating sessions and this almost always plays out in role-playing.

I guess I used to enjoy negotiating more. But at my almost-40 age I've come to realize that you generally get what you pay for. I try to buy quality stuff and pay a fair price for it so the other guy feels ok about the deal. This is particularly true if I need to ever see the seller again (like my local hardware store, or lawn mower shop).

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Negotiating - Like it or Hate it?

I don't necessarily enjoy negotiating, but I'll do it whenever any of these things are true:
- The item is damaged
- The item has been used (includes display items and open box)
- The item is expensive (>$200)
- The item is jewelry
- I am a regular/long-time customer

Any of these items will get me asking questions and dickerign for a lower price, free shipping or both. I'll even dicker over the price of food if I think it is overpriced.

You can put any price on anything, but everything already has its price. Negotiating finds it.

you nailed it on the head right there. Thats what I do and if I get a customer who asks, we always find a better price. I would rather see the merchandise sell then watch it sit on the shelf. Ill take A hamburger for dinner over no dinner at all.