Membership Sideblog
- The Marcus Welby of law, by Lance Heisler | Lampe Law Group
July 31, 2010 | 7:45 pmGrowing up in North Dakota during the 50s and 60s, I was privileged to experience something that's all too rare now - the old-fashioned family doctor. "Doc" delivered babies, set broken bones, treated pneumonia, and helped Grandpa with his newfangled hearing aid. Doc knew the community, the families, and the individuals whose basic medical needs he treated from birth through the end of life. Some of you who grew up in that time, and perhaps in smaller communities, may remember a Doc of your own. . . . → Read More: The Marcus Welby of law, by Lance Heisler | Lampe Law Group
- Kitty Mania at the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
July 28, 2010 | 10:51 pm
Let’s talk about cats, cats and more cats! Why?? Because Prairie’s Edge Humane Society is full of cats and we have many more arriving daily. As of today, there are 44 cats on the adoption floor with more awaiting their surgeries so they are ready for adoption. There are cats in every corner of the shelter who need homes! We are in desperate need of homes for these cats. We cannot emphasize this enough. So we are having a cat sale and we are calling it Kitty Mania ! Kitty Mania is this weekend, beginning Thursday, July . . . → Read More: Kitty Mania at the Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
- On Watermelons and Widgets, by Tom Swift
July 12, 2010 | 11:50 am
The free market does many things well, but we know it does not do everything. Even market fundamentalists concede that the public must build roads, put out fires, police streets, and provide national defense. Most people, at least those to the left of the Tea Party edge of political spectrum, accept that the government must also be involved in education, disaster relief, and health care. That is, certain services must be rendered — necessary services, universal services — whether or not those services are financially profitable. If your house is on fire, you do not have time to . . . → Read More: On Watermelons and Widgets, by Tom Swift
- Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance, by Dan Bergeson
July 12, 2010 | 10:56 am
Okay, so most of the news about the Vintage Band Festival so far has been about the bands. But there’s a number of other events during the weekend. Like the VBF Contra Dance, for instance. The Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance will feature music by The Dodworth Saxhorn Band of Ann Arbor, Michigan and will be led by dance instructor/caller Robin Nelson. Dancing will begin at 8:30 p.m. with a “Grand March” led by 60 costumed members of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Brigade, followed by a variety of period dances including polkas, contra dances, schottisches, reels and waltzes. . . . → Read More: Vintage Band Festival Contra Dance, by Dan Bergeson
- The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome, by Tom Swift
June 27, 2010 | 8:00 am
Even before I read the first word of this article I had a visceral reaction to it. The accompanying photographs — my eyes tend to skip over photographs in magazines — affected me in a manner that is difficult to articulate. I knew, immediately I knew, I was not going to like what I was about to read. In fact, for that reason I put the piece aside. Not now, I thought. Maybe tomorrow, I said to myself. But, then, I couldn’t not read it, either. If you have not done so already, I hope you will read . . . → Read More: The Animal-Cruelty Syndrome, by Tom Swift
- Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Kathy Jasnoch
June 27, 2010 | 7:54 am
June may be Adopt A Cat month here at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society and we have lots of wonderful cats, but we also have PUPPIES! We have a male Newfoundland mix named Chong who is 6 months old, he was a stray so we don’t know a lot about him. He loves to play! We also have three Australian Cattle Dog mixes who are two months old. Marcia, Bobby and Cindy were born at the shelter and spent some time in one of our fabulous foster homes. They are now back at the shelter and ready to find . . . → Read More: Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Kathy Jasnoch
- Relay for Life of Rice County, August 6th, Rice County Fairgrounds. By Sandy Vesledahl
June 23, 2010 | 9:35 pm
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay for Life, teams of people camp out at local parks or fairgrounds and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events. Relay for Life of Rice . . . → Read More: Relay for Life of Rice County, August 6th, Rice County Fairgrounds. By Sandy Vesledahl
- Critter Cam live from Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
June 16, 2010 | 9:04 amNow Showing! Live Kittens playing! You can now watch our adoptable animals at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society (PEHS) live 24/7 on the new Critter Cam installed in conjunction with KYMN Radio. Thanks to the fine folks at KYMN radio we now have a live feed of our adoptable animals showing on our website and KYMN’s website, Tim and Jeff are AWESOME! Currently the Critter Cam is featuring kittens available for adoption. Watch them play, sleep, eat, and everything else they do 24 hours a day 7 days a week! It’s better than anything you can see on TV! . . . → Read More: Critter Cam live from Prairie’s Edge Humane Society, by Sandy Vesledahl
- Save the Northfield Depot: fundraising help needed. By Lynn Vincent
June 11, 2010 | 11:34 am
A BIG Thanks to all of you who came to last Monday’s Volunteer Organization Meeting, and to those who contacted us saying you wanted to help but could not make the meeting. We have pretty full support for Communications and Design and Build sub-committees, and we got a web graphic designer to help with the site. Alice Thomas is facilitating the Communications group, and Steve Edwins is facilitating the Design and Build group. What we are missing and really need are Fund Raising people. We have two grant writiers, but we need folks who are committed to the . . . → Read More: Save the Northfield Depot: fundraising help needed. By Lynn Vincent
- Photo albums: 2010 Prairie’s Edge Humane Society Walk for the Animals, by Bridgette Hallcock Photography
June 11, 2010 | 8:09 am
Thank you to all of those who came to Alexander Park on a beautiful Saturday morning in May to help support Prairie’s Edge Humane Society! I have placed all of the fun photographs on my Bridgette Hallcock Photography Facebook page so that everyone can see how much fun we had! See the two 2010 Walk for the Animals albums here and here. If you would like a print, please contact me, as the proceeds will benefit the animals at PEHS.
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Haggling in Northfield: the good, the bad, the ugly
By Griff Wigley, on July 6, 2009, 7:47 am
Last week’s Strib had an article on retail haggling titled Pay Dirt: It never hurts to ask.
 The next time you’re out shopping and want to pay less for an item, go ahead and ask. There’s a fair chance you’ll get lucky.
As the economy has gone downhill, it’s no surprise that consumers are asking for discounts on everything from appliances to credit-card fees. But what’s interesting: A recent survey found that it usually works.
Which Northfield area retailers are willing to haggle? What’s been your experience – good, bad, ugly – as a shopper? As a retailer?
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but I’d have a hard time during the sabbatical not paying attention to see if that was actually the case. I think the more places in Northfield...
interesting article Griff. A lot of this is the walmart mentality of everything cheaper all the time. what’s in it for me. People often haggle with me. some people are down right rude and just looking for a deal. Others just want a fair price. guess who wins? I take the Saturn route and try to offer my customers the best deal I can while not giving away the store.
the best approach is one that is mutually beneficial handled in a civil manor. building a relationship with the store and employees will get you further. After all, if you like the place, you want them to succeed, right?
I think there should be a bit more bargaining in American society…it can be one of life’s small pleasures. However, there’s an art to doing it well, without being offensive. I’ve had the best luck in doing it with people who either come from or have lived in other cultures… I’ve had great luck with cab drivers!
I have mixed feelings about doing it in Northfield, though. (Jerry, have I ever tried it on you? I don’t remember.) Our indie retailers can use all the support they can get, although I’m not averse to asking for a sale price a day or two after a sale ends, or something like that.
I tried asking for a “cash discount” on some labwork at Allina today. They couldn’t help me out with that.
I’ll leave the haggling to wheelers-and-dealers like you, Griff and Tracy. I hate hate hate HATE it.
If the price is acceptable to me, I’ll buy it. If not, I won’t.
If I suspect that the price is inflated in order to anticipate haggling, I try to stay as far away as possible. This may be why I’ve never bought a car from anyone except a family member.
Griff… a wheeler-dealer? He is all talk… I used to have to take things back for him when they didn’t work… he wouldn’t do it!
I still have that problem.
What people really want to be assured of is that they are getting a value. A value is when a person finds a product that will meet his/her needs and expectations at a price they can afford. I work for a company that does not haggle at all. We will match a price from a competitor if a person brings us a firm quote on the same item being purchased under the same terms (new as compared to a display model). I have worked for companies in the past who padded the price of items to allow room for bargaining, as Patrick refered to. No one walked away with a good feeling from this. The salesperson felt that if he would have stood his ground, he would have been able to get a higher price. The customer felt that if he would have exerted a little more pressure, he could have gotten a lower price. Just a bad deal all around.
Some industries work differently than a retail store. I just made a trip out to Massachussetts and rented a vehicle. There is one on-line travel site that you can put in a bid for a particular type of vehicle. I put in a bid for a vehicle to be able to pick it up at our destination airport for the same price I could get it from an off-site agency. I was able to get it, and it saved me a couple hundred dollars plus cab fare and time to and from the airport. This is like bargaining, I guess, but it is impersonal, and there was an open invitation to do it. It seemed a little different than walking into Jerry’s book store and trying to twist him out of a couple dollars on a book.
You’re all proving my point that this unwillingness to negotiate is a peculiarly American thing. Even the term “haggling” has negative connotations, as if one party in the transaction is trying to cheat another out of a fair price.
“Fixed price” is a policy statement, not a determinant of absolute value. Different products and different industries have different pricing structures, different goals, and different profit margins. I see no harm in making an inquiry.
Tracy,
You’d need a couple of non-Americans weighing in before you point would begin to be proved. But still, why would it actually be better to haggle?
Prices set by a retailer are based on market and costs. If the market won’t pay more than costs, the retailer fails. Selling an item that costs $10 for the item plus $5 for the haggling time means that the ending price has to be higher than $15 (we’ll ignore fixed overhead etc.). Far better to just set the price low to begin with (ala Walmart).
I’m like Patrick, I prefer to know that the business model is more like Jerry’s (fair price) than like a car dealer’s (“Let’s deal Deal DEAL!!!!”). On the other hand, I love making counter-offers in that last bastion of haggling, the flea market. Luckily, we have both here.
I tried haggling on one item and had several articles in my hand to buy with no haggle. I got such a bad “NO, absolutely not!” that I put everything down on the counter and walked away. I was very gentle about it all at the time, but I don’t go there and never will again.
Competitors are happy about that, however.
As a former retailer I hated the hagglers. Hagglers assume you are giving everybody else a discount but not them–they are always dissatisfied. They go and brag to everybody that they got a better price–making everybody else come in and claim that they knew someone who got a better deal–so they felt that we were always cheating somebody–either them or their neighbor who wasn’t as good at haggling.(And hagglers exaggerated-they may have just been in on a good sale, but they make it out to be their skill in negotiation instead of the great sale price.)
In our store (a contract store, similar to a franchise) we had signed a contract agreeing to sell at the price set by the national group–so we would be in violation of our contract if we sold something for a lower price.
Also, consumer protection laws are in place that require you to be truthful in advertising. If you are advertising 20% off but give all your friends 25% off (and they all happen to be white while another customer is un-white), you can get in trouble for discriminatory practices and false advertising.
Haggling should be confined to flea markets and other “re-use” type retailers–not regular stores–and then you better know your stuff–to offer ridiculously low prices for items is insulting.
Haggling is not the same as asking for a discount if the merchandise is damaged–if is the last dress in my size but has a damaged seam that I would need to repair, say. Or for volume discounts.