Comments on: Negotiation Tips For Beginners – A Real Life Example Of How I Saved $150 With Just A Few Questions

By: Sarah Jean McAuthor

Sarah Jean McAuthor — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:47:45 +0000

In such a tough economic time its great that you are willing to share this post with others. The tips and advice you lend to others here can truly change lives. Good luck to all of you implementing these great tips in these trying times. God bless

By: Isarian

Isarian — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:48:54 +0000

I am soon to begin a new round of orthodontia due to degenerating crossbite problems that have slowly gotten worse over the past several years, and were triggered because I did not wear my retainer properly as a child. At 25 years old, it’s time for round 2! Baker, your advice to try negotiating got me 3% off for paying in cash and another 10% by asking for a discount since I’m working with the same orthodontist from my childhood work. That’s a lot of money when you’re talking about braces – thank you for sharing your advice!

By: Audry

Audry — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 03:09:34 +0000

That is very impressive. I never thought about trying to get my dental bill down, although my husband did so recently.

I”m a real estate investor, and one question I’ve asked that has saved me many thousands of dollars over time is, during final stage negotiations, “is that the best you can do?” If the answer is yes, that’s OK. If the answer is a lower price, even better.

By: Chirag Doshi

Chirag Doshi — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:03:03 +0000

Nice one, I really like it…knonked down by $150 wow!!!!

By: Savvy Young Money

Savvy Young Money — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:00:57 +0000

I used some of these tips for negotiating gym membership yesterday. Came away with a whopping 40% discount! Thanks for posting!

By: Clive Rich

Clive Rich — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:21:46 +0000

Lots of good stuff here. Being able to refer to someone else “behind the curtain ” is a source of referral power – an acknowledged source of bargaining power. Take care though in case someone spots what you are doing. I agree that good negotiators don’t tend to talk too much – the more you say the more you give away! Definitely worth doing some exploring and climate setting at the beginning of the negotiation as you say – this builds good foundations for the haggle later on. As for phrases to avoid, “with respect” normally means “you cretin” and ” I hear what you say” normally means “I havent been listening”. Both those phrases are meant well but often wind up the other side.

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:52:58 +0000

Or, even better, “we’ve found that we can’t do the quality of work that we like to do for less money than we’ve quoted you. ”

And “If you think about it and you want to try going with someone else, we’d be happy to provide you with some contractors you could contact.”

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:42:13 +0000

@ Margeaux

“We’re not over-charging and really, you can’t negotiate with the grocery store so why would someone presume to think they can negotiate with us just because we’re a small business. It’s even more insulting when we go for an estimate and find a closet full of designer shoes but they then want to negotiate paint job? ”

It’s ok for people to negotiate with you. Your counter should be along the lines of “we don’t feel like we can do the quality of work that we do for less money than we’ve quoted you. If money is an issue for you and you’d like to find someone who might do what you want for less then I could suggest x and y.”–and give them names and contact numbers.

Make it clear that you have quality standards and working standards and are perfectly willing to turn down their job if the money isn’t there to pay for it.

8 times out of 10 they will go with you when you do this. The other 2x they weren’t going to go with you, anyways.

By: Margeaux

Margeaux — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 07:37:49 +0000

While I agree with the asking about discount for cash or paying in full up front can be a good thing if done well, most of the time it’s just plain insulting being the recipient of such tactics. I have a day job working for an interior painting company that runs 3 skilled women that doesn’t screw anything up, is fast and clean up after themselves so the customer doesn’t have to. We’re never the lowest bid and we prefer it that way because the customer gets so much extra, considerate stuff. But it really is rather insulting when people try to negotiate price with us. We’re not over-charging and really, you can’t negotiate with the grocery store so why would someone presume to think they can negotiate with us just because we’re a small business. It’s even more insulting when we go for an estimate and find a closet full of designer shoes but they then want to negotiate paint job? Normally I would be backing an article like this but I’d rather not have more people trying to negotiate price with us since it’s already hard to get people to see the value in a good paint job.

By: 100 Lessons You Should Learn from Frugal People

100 Lessons You Should Learn from Frugal People — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:30:37 +0000

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