Comments on: Haggling in Northfield: the good, the bad, the ugly http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/ The people, issues, and events of Northfield, MN Wed, 23 May 2012 04:03:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jane Moline http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88068 Jane Moline Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:06:51 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88068 <p>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.)</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> 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.

]]> By: Bright Spencer http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88060 Bright Spencer Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:25:57 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88060 <p>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. </p> 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.

]]> By: Bruce W. Morlan http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88046 Bruce W. Morlan Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:20:29 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88046 <p>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).</p> <p>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.</p> 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.

]]> By: Patrick Enders http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88040 Patrick Enders Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:39:25 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88040 <p>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?</p> 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?

]]> By: Tracy Davis http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88039 Tracy Davis Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:56:12 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88039 <p>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. </p> <p>"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.</p> 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.

]]> By: Patrick Enders http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88034 Patrick Enders Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:27:58 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88034 <p>I still have that problem.</p> I still have that problem.

]]> By: john george http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88032 john george Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:51:33 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88032 <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> 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.

]]> By: Robbie Wigley http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88029 Robbie Wigley Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:27:55 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88029 <p>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! ;)</p> 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! ;)

]]> By: Patrick Enders http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88023 Patrick Enders Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:50:28 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88023 <p>I'll leave the haggling to wheelers-and-dealers like you, Griff and Tracy. I hate hate hate HATE it.</p> <p>If the price is acceptable to me, I'll buy it. If not, I won't.</p> <p>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.</p> 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.

]]> By: Tracy Davis http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88021 Tracy Davis Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:29:15 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88021 <p>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! </p> <p>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. </p> <p>I tried asking for a "cash discount" on some labwork at Allina today. They couldn't help me out with that. :-(</p> 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. :-(

]]> By: Jerry Bilek http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/comment-page-1/#comment-88005 Jerry Bilek Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:23:16 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/11639/#comment-88005 <p>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.</p> <p>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?</p> 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?

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