Haggle and go to the sales!
OK, it’s easier said than done, and it won’t always be greeted positively, but in the current economical climate you will probably be surprised by how many shopkeepers will grit their teeth and come straight back with a price which is lower than the price on the label, although, obviously, not as low as what you have offered (so offer, low!Tee hee!)Say, for example, that the item is priced at £60 ($120.) If you offer a not outrageous £45 ($90), the retailer may well feign outrage, but if he or she has got any sense they’ll suggest, maybe £55 (£110.) You could call it a day at this point, but by now you will have at least found out the retailer is open to the concept of haggling, so I would strongly suggest that you risk being loatheed by a complete stranger, and you suggest £50 ($100.)
The most basic, unwritten rule of haggling is that a happy medium (or slightly disgruntled medium, as far as the retailer in concerned) is found between the original price and the price you have had the guts to suggest, and so this is probably the point at which to say ‘agreed!’ with a big grin on your face.
Now, that doesn’t sound too painful now, does it? And yet you’ve just saved yourself £10 ($20) Imagine how much money you’d save in a year if you did this with everything you buy. Obviously this approach is unlikely to be welcomed in the bigger supermarkets, so there’s all the more reason to boycot such establishments whenever possible! Now, this advice should only be taken up if you are blessed with a modicum of self control. Just as when you go shopping for food you need to be disaplined and know what you need rather than what you want, or what a shop tries to convince you, you want! Don’t whatever you do trust a shop to tell you the truth about the value of something. For example, retailers often get in special (or rather, less special) items to put on the shelves at a supposedly reduced price. So, ideally, you should have been checking out, say, a pair of shoes or a jacket that take your fancy, before the sale just to make sure the price reduction is genuine.
Obviously there’s a good chance that a specific item may not be in the sales, but if you note down enough things you are bound to pick up a genuine bargain sooner or later – rather than a fake, low quality ‘bargain’ that a retailer has tricked you into purchasing. But the bottom line should always be that your Sales Mantra is: do I need this? Timing is everything when it comes to sales. Get your kids school uniform after term has started; buy Christmas gifts in January, and get yourself a new swimming costume in October. And cultivate a classic, timeless taste in clothing – then you’ll never be caught out by the sudden flutuations in fashion, and your clothes can be worn for decades. Finally, remember – there’s no need to shy away from sales because you think that stuff bought in the sale in non returnable. You have exactly the same rights as with any normal purchase.