You may or may not know that everything is negotiable. Those could actually be words to live by as this statement can be true in most parts of our lives. For the sake of this discussion, I am referring to consumer goods. As I eat breakfast in the morning, the TV commercials are nothing but furniture, jewelry, and car commercials...all perfect examples of things that are negotiable. As a matter of fact, with the "sales" they run, you'd think there is no way you could get a better deal. Think again, they can always go deeper. You will see a commercial for "65% off a living room set...and they'll even throw in a 32-in. flat screen!" That sounds like a good deal, but that 65% off figure is 65% of a manufacturer suggested retail price that is highly inflated....just so the retailer can say it's 65% off. No retailer ever sells at MSRP, and no manufacturer expects you to buy at MSRP. Plus, most retail products have more markup than you could ever imagine...200%, 300%, 500% +...there is so much margin packed into furniture, clothing, jewelry...it's nuts.
Negotiating a good deal is a rush...and it's fun, plus, it saves you money. Many of my friends and I almost look at it like it's a competition. Who can get the best deal...on their monthly cable service, that new pair of skis, etc. I have buddies that actually will negotiate the price of drinks at the bar. I try to look at diminishing return and the amount of effort it takes versus what I'm saving. So, you won't see me negotiating with a bartender on the cost of a drink or on the price for my 6-piece McNugget combo meal...but, those bigger ticket items is where I like to drive a hard bargain.
A perfect, random example would be this...I was in need of some new prescription glasses. I was interested in this nice designer pair. Price said $250. I told the manager of the store I like them and asked what his best price was. He quickly responded that the price was $250, and proceeded to rattle off all the reasons why $250 is a value for these glasses (MSRP was $500, ha!). Knowing that I was willing to pay $200 for them, I told him I felt $175 was a good price. He quickly responded again with $250...this guy drove a hard bargain! I said all I could afford was $200. He said that unfortunately, he could not sell them to me at that price. Now what he should have done was introduce me to a similar pair of glasses at the $200 price point (a classic, smart move for a retailer to save margin on the goods they sell), but instead, he was firm. So, I told him I would have to look elsewhere to purchase my glasses and proceeded to walk out. As I did so, he stopped me and said that it was my lucky day and that he would sell them to me for $200. Success!
I wasn't going to budge on what I could afford, and was willing to walk out of the store without buying. The manager likely came to the conclusion that even though he made less money on the sale, it's better than making NO money. Not all retailers operate like this, but when they do, both parties win. The key things to this type of approach are you have to be prepared to walk and not look back and you have to be firm with what you are willing to spend. I don't always walk out of a retailer successful, but when I do walk out empty-handed, I know there's another store around the corner who wants that sale...and I'm happy to give it to them...on my terms.
