Some observations on haggling.

[gijoecam]

snip...
HIM: OKAY! $20.
ME: Hell, yeah, I'll take it.

He haggled himself down! I was trying to walk away. However, I am SOOOO glad I did not pay $60 bucks for that thing. It was worth about $20 or even less because it practically fell apart after a few wears.

I LOVE it when bikinis fall apart! I call it the 'Cold Shower' haggle m......uummm, errr, I mean I lOVE it when you get a good deal on a bikini without even haggling! I call that the cold shoulder-haggle method.

[DesignFox]

Creative business model...

My dad has had his own automotive repair business for years. When he worked in a certain area of our state (known for its HORRIBLY cheap inhabitants) he found all sorts of interesting ways to deal with the hagglers. One thing he would do is raise all his listed prices so the hagglers would think they were getting a deal, when really he'd end up charging them a few bucks more than if they just accepted his regular prices to begin with (he tried having regular prices listed when he first had the shop there, but people insisted on haggling and being generally annoying, hence the change).

He also had a problem selling used tires. People would haggle or refuse to purchase them and just pull the tires he was throwing out (because they were totally unusable) out of the dumpster and try to get him to mount them on the car. So- he would put a minor hole that was easy to repair in each tire and throw them all in the dumpster. The SC's would bring them in "Oh I got this tire...". He would then mount the tires for them, "notice" the hole in the tire and ask if they wanted it repaired..etc.

Or- if they pulled an unusable tire from the dumpster- he would mount the tire, then "notice" a hole in the sidewall (which is irreparable and is why it would be thrown out in the first place) and charge them an additional fee to unmount the tire...then he'd just wait about a week and put the same tire back out in the dumpster- rinse, repeat. He made more money off of tires he couldn't sell, or planting used tires in the dumpster than he ever made when he tried to just sell them.

I think it's a shame that he had to be creative to make his business work. And it's funny because his SC's always thought they were getting the best deal, when really if they had just sucked it up instead of being annoying, they could have *actually* saved some money.

Having dealt with the same customer set myself, I find it hilariously funny.

[Gurndigarn]

I think it's a shame that he had to be creative to make his business work. And it's funny because his SC's always thought they were getting the best deal, when really if they had just sucked it up instead of being annoying, they could have *actually* saved some money.

Having dealt with the same customer set myself, I find it hilariously funny.

There's a sucker born every minute, right?

I was working in an arcade where we had this thing that was kind of like a mini skee-ball. It came with a piece of plexi that wrapped around the front to keep people from just dropping balls in the best spots. Well, one day the plexi broke. And while we were waiting to figure out the best way to get a replacement, we adjusted the payout so that the biggest number of tickets you could win was equal to the previous average number you could win. We'ld tell people to roll the balls normally, but not worry when our backs were turned and they cheated.

The cash box doubled its take, and the plexi never quite went back on.

[Banrion]

When my brother worked at Firestone, they would have "Tire Trashing" parties. Once a month or so, they would pull all the unsellable tires out of the trailers, and proceed to do all sorts of creative things to them before throwing them in the dumpster. Saws alls were frequently involved.

[Ringtail Z28]

Most people got the hint when we told them that prices were set and couldn't be changed by the employee (not quite true actually). The best (or worst) one I dealt with was an elderly man who apparently thinks he's very persuasive. He came up to me with two large Rubbermaid containers, "Are these the ones that are on sale for five dollars each?" they weren't right brand or the right size containers,
"Nope, the ones that are on sale are the Sterilite (or whatever) brand."
"Can I get these for the sale price of the others?"
"No, I'm afraid I can't change the prices on those."
"Tell you what. How about you let me have these two for five dollars?"
"No way, I couldn't change the prices even if I tried." Five bucks for two containers that cost forty each? Yeah right.
"At K-Mart they'll give me this deal." the whole time he saying all this he has the stupidest grin on his face.
"That's good."
"So you'll do it?"
"Nah, you just said they'll do it at K-Mart."
"You're gonna lose a sale."
"I'm sure we'll get by." He walks out, stopping and turning around every now and then to see if I'll change my mind I guess. Obviously I didn't.

The reason I remembered this guy was because the next day he called the store and asked to speak to me. I was working as a cart attendant that day rather than on the sales floor, so it seemed really odd when I got called in to deal with a phone call concerning plastics. "Hi Ringtail, remember me!" I didn't recognize the voice at the time, after all how many customers do you deal with in a day when you work on the sales floor at Target,
"Who's this?" I was a little upset, I get that way when total strangers use my name in that way,
"I was there yesterday about the two containers."
"Uh huh, I remember."
"Have reconsidered on my offer?"
"No, you said K-Mart will do it. Bye." ,and then I hung up on him, I probably wasn't supposed to that, but he was annoying. Come to think of it, he may have one of the reasons I started changing my name badge with a label-maker

[DesignFox]

Wow. that was ballsey! Can't believe he called you the next day...

[CrazedClerk]

I get haggling for discounts, but then there's the "can you sweeten the deal" folks:

"If buy this system can you toss in a game?"
"If I buy this game can I get a memory card cheaper?"
"If I buy 6 games can I get some kind of deal?"
"If buy this system can I get an extra controller?"

No, no, no and No. Now I understand why people try this as in pawn shops and other independently owned businesses the employees DO have some flexibility on pricing.

The stupid thing is that no one seems to figure out that video game systems, despite their sometimes large price tags are NOT money makers for stores. In the same way car dealers don't make much money from new car sales (they make it on used sales and service/repair). If we're barely covering cost on this item as it is, do you really think I'm going to lower the price?