Do you haggle?

[Martinus]

I never really haggled in the past - it is not part of Polish culture to begin with, and furthermore I am rather introvert in person.

Now that I am finishing decorating my flat, and beginning to run out of budget, I started to haggle, however, and I am surprised how effective it can be - not just in the service industries (e.g. haggling with the construction workers or to-order furniture manufactures) but even in areas where I would have never expected haggling could work before, such as buying home appliances at a store.

So how do you approach haggling? Is it beneath or a part of daily life? 

[Valmy]

Haggling is really only done for big money items, relatively anyway, usually houses and cars and furniture that sort of stuff.  Since you usually only haggle when you have the cash (and are not buying on credit) I generally do not but I hope to someday.

[derspiess]

I sort of got the hang of haggling at a local appliance store & found that they seemed more than happy to work out a deal on most appliances and that the advertised price was never set in stone.  Then a little while later I tried haggling in the electronics department at the same store and they acted like I was insane.

So yeah, I'll haggle where appropriate.  I've come across people who try to haggle everywhere, all the time, for anything.  Seems like a good way to get people to hate you.

[MadImmortalMan]

Yeah most people in our culture would think you're a dick if you try it, outside of certain specific arenas, like used car sales or something. I imagine if it were in, say, Tunisia nobody would blink at all.

[Grey Fox]

Sometimes. I'm not really good at it tho. Always try it if the vendor is an Arab.

[Eddie Teach]

Yeah most people in our culture would think you're a dick if you try it, outside of certain specific arenas, like used car sales or something. I imagine if it were in, say, Tunisia nobody would blink at all.

Used anything sales. There's a bunch of reality shows about people buying and selling shit.

[Syt]

Haggling is for flea markets, private sales and high price objects (real estate, cars etc.).

[Tamas]

I  am not a gypsy, nor an arab.

[dps]

Haggling is for flea markets, private sales and high price objects (real estate, cars etc.).

Yep.

Haggling is really only done for big money items, relatively anyway, usually houses and cars and furniture that sort of stuff.  Since you usually only haggle when you have the cash (and are not buying on credit) I generally do not but I hope to someday.

I'd question that assumption.  When buying big-ticket items like cars, most people will haggle even when buying on credit.  Even if you don't haggle over the actual sale price, you can still haggle over the down payment required (if any) and over the terms under which the credit is extended.

I sort of got the hang of haggling at a local appliance store & found that they seemed more than happy to work out a deal on most appliances and that the advertised price was never set in stone.  Then a little while later I tried haggling in the electronics department at the same store and they acted like I was insane.

Very few places will haggle over the price of electronics--there's very little margin on the stuff to begin with.  Appliances don't typically have a real high markup, but they generally have a good bit more than electronics.  (I'm talking about new merchandise here--used stuff is a different matter.)

[garbon]

Nope, not a hobo.

[CountDeMoney]

Haggling is for flea markets, private sales and high price objects (real estate, cars etc.).

Yup.  The fuck I look like, a goddamned traveling merchant on the Silk Road?  YOU SOLD ME QUEER GIRAFFES

[mongers]

Context is all.

Besides depends if it's a 'fair' price whether I'm buying or the seller. 

[grumbler]

Haggling is really only done for big money items, relatively anyway, usually houses and cars and furniture that sort of stuff.  Since you usually only haggle when you have the cash (and are not buying on credit) I generally do not but I hope to someday.

I'd question that assumption.  When buying big-ticket items like cars, most people will haggle even when buying on credit.  Even if you don't haggle over the actual sale price, you can still haggle over the down payment required (if any) and over the terms under which the credit is extended.

I took that to be a slight mis-statement:  you haggle over the big-ticket items, and can haggle over smaller-budget items if you are paying cash.  Flea markets fall under this principal.

If I am paying significant cash (say, over $100) outside of the flea market environment, I'll often test the waters with a query like "do you offer a cash discount?"  It the other person says "yes," then they are open to haggling.  If "no," then not.

[Valmy]

I took that to be a slight mis-statement:  you haggle over the big-ticket items, and can haggle over smaller-budget items if you are paying cash.  Flea markets fall under this principal.

If I am paying significant cash (say, over $100) outside of the flea market environment, I'll often test the waters with a query like "do you offer a cash discount?"  It the other person says "yes," then they are open to haggling.  If "no," then not.

Yeah that was what I was getting at.

[Razgovory]

What about for services like a plumbing, auto-repair, electrical installation and repair etc?