Many Americans feel uncomfortable bargaining for whatever reason. I’m going to start introducing some beginner’s bargaining tactics that should make it easy for even the most squeamish to save some money. Do not feel uncomfortable trying to bargain with people; always try to bargain because if you don’t you’re leaving money on the table. Remember, there is no room for awkwardness in garage saling, just get over your issues and start bargaining. Pretty soon it will feel natural.
I'm going to start introducing two sets of rules: the Rules of Garage Saling and the Rules of Bargaining. They're simply lists of techniques and etiquette you should always follow. Tacky? Yes. But I feel it is an easy way to remember the fundamentals. I'll expand the lists as needed.
The first rule I'm going to introduce is actually the Second Rule of Garage Saling: always try to bargain. I don’t care if it’s the best deal you’ve ever seen; obey the Rule: always try to bargain. The First Rule of Garage Saling is a matter of courtesy: never try to outbid someone on an item for which he or she is bargaining.
The first few bargaining techniques — which will be discussed over the next few days — are mild enough for anyone to stomach. Later on I will suggest some chosen situational tactics that may make you feel a little dirty. These first ones, however, can and should always be employed. They’re easy ways to save money.
The first two tactics I have for you are also the First and Second Rules of Bargaining: never make an offer twice in a row and ignore posted or stated prices. For example, say you see a book you want. The posted price is fifty cents, an absurd price for a book. You offer ten cents, a fairer price. (Offering prices are discretionary; in the future I will discuss how to choose where to start your offer. This is actually a pretty advanced topic.) The seller denies your offer. How do you respond? The incorrect response is to make another offer, say, twenty-five cents. This allows the seller to either stick to his initial price of fifty cents or to reach a high compromise, say, forty cents.
The correct response is to either wait for the seller to make a counter-offer or, if he or she does not counter, prompt him or her to counter. This allows you to then counter the seller’s counter. In our hypothetical situation, for example, the seller may counter your initial offer of ten cents with an offer of thirty-five cents. You can then counter with a quarter. If he or she accepts, you save money. If he or she doesn’t, you can either put the book down or pay the thirty-five cents. Either way you’re paying less than the marked price. This technique isn’t guaranteed to work but I would say it has a 75-90% success rate.
Remember you are setting a floor for your price when you make an offer. Unless he or she accepts, the seller will always counter with a higher price and you cannot go back and say “Well how about $5 instead?” after you agreed on the price of $10. This is why never offering twice is so important.
I've heard several people unwilling to bargain against marked prices because they think the prices are set or it's rude to ask for a lower price when prices are marked. A marked price is just what the seller hopes to get for the item. The smart seller marks his or her prices up to counter people bargaining them down; the average seller simply has unrealistic expectations. Always, always ignore marked prices. Any seller who expects to receive his or her initial price is a fool.
I have an extreme example of why you shouldn’t make an offer twice in a row. At one sale I happened upon a Nintendo 64. As I learned later, this isn’t uncommon but it was the first one I ever saw. I inquired as to its price, the seller told me $45, way out of my price range, a fact of which I informed him. ”How about $35?” he asked. No. $30? $25? $20? $10? $5? At $5 I was interested but I knew I had to make an offer. ”How about $2.50?” He immediately accepted. I did almost no bargaining and I got the N64 for less than 6% of his initial price.
Incidentally, I turned around and sold the N64 to a kid in my dorm a few weeks later for $45.
As a recap, here are the rules you must always follow:
- The Rules of Bargaining
- 1) Never make an offer twice in a row; always wait for a counter
- 2) Ignore posted or stated prices; always make an offer and try to bargain
- The Rules of Garage Saling
- 1) Never try to outbid another garage saler, no matter how much you want the item
- 2) Always, always try to bargain; if it gets you nowhere then it’s practice
- 3) There is no room for awkwardness in garage saling; make that offer
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