AIBU to think that I can barter in a shop?

[anditwasallyellow]

I went to buy a suitcase yesterday from a small shop I'm fairly sure it's a one off shop not a chain store or large business, just a few metres from the shop there's a market stall selling similiar suitcases but a couple of quid cheaper same brand just different designs etc.

I went to the shop and offered the guy £20 for a £24 suitcase and he looked at me like I was bonkers and said no way, I said that the stall were selling them cheaper and asked what the maximum discount was he could offer. Then I said I wasn't 100% happy as they were all out on display and customer will have obviously been handling them. He gave me £2 off and I thought it was a job well done. I always try to get dicounts if I can.

My mum and boyfriend think I'm mad and hilarious for doing this!

Loads of people haggle in charity shops. I used to get people who got furious and insisted it was no 'charity' because things were 'too expensive'. They felt that part of what was charity about it was that it provided cheap stuff in a poor area. I found that really difficult becaus it was a poor area ... but we were basically trying to make money for something else.

Some charity shops have completely lost the plot and try to sell things for more than they cost new, though. Mind you, I still wouldn't haggle I'd just pull a face and not bother going back if it happened a lot Cancer Research I am looking at you--

That is true, casey, but in this one we were selling very boring basics for 2 and 3 pounds - you might get a M&S dress for 4 not 5. Not exactly exorbitant.

It went bust because the manager got into a row with her boss over whether it was ethical to charge much more than that - she thought not, he disagreed. Prices went up, no one could afford it, it went bust.

It was still awkward explaining to people that a charity shop doesn't mean you don't have fixed prices and doesn't mean you have a moral duty to give stuff away.

Why is it any better to haggle in a "large chain" as opposed to a smaller shop? It's just as likely to affect the shop assistant's wages.

Kiss: I'm Australian too, it's not common here at all. I've only ever seen it in that one shop I worked in, never anywhere else.

Friends of mine run a stall at events around the country.
It is hard, tiring, bone-wearing work, in all weathers.

And it pisses them off no end when someone tries to get a couple of quid off an already low-priced item. And then argues when told 'no'.

So yes, YABU.

Why would it affect a shop assistants wages? They don't give you a discount out of their own pocket you know.
Either they are authorised to discount or they aren't, ask politely and no harm to anyone.

If my haggling would effect anyones wages they would just say no woudn't they. They are hardly likely to say 'yes you can have a tenner off' then tell the assistant they aren't getting paid for an hour and a half. I don't do it in smaller shops as they can't bulk buy like the larger chains do and therefore they tend to pay more for their goods.

I once worked in a supermarket, and someone came to the till and offered me half price for a bag of crisps. I assure you I thought they were mad. I politely told them the actual price and they left in a huff. Very weird.

I've just been with a friend to a second hand furniture warehouse. There were signs all over the place inviting you to make them an offer, so we ended up getting a beautiful black and glass dining table and chairs set for 100 delivered instead of 115 - not a massive discount but it all adds up.
Having said that, I made my friend make the offer as I get pathetically embarrassed. I would NEVER do it in a shop either!

Sandwich in tesco yesterday, 6pm, reduced from 2.40 to 2.25. I asked if it was going to be reduced agsin, seeing as it was late in the day, etc, and then man printed out a 60p sticker.

If it is appropriate i always ask about a discount (ie dirty clothes, last one in stock, etc)

YANBU. I don't think it's rude at all, unless of course you're haggling while holding the shop assistant at gunpoint.

It's quite common in the Asian areas like Southall etc. and I've got some good bargains (I've seen some other poor woman paying loads more for the same fabric I'd just bought, because she didn't haggle). In some shops they just say with a polite smile that their prices are fixed. No harm done.

YANBU - If they don't want the sale they don't have to haggle with you. You aren't forcing them to sell to you for a lower price, but giving them an option that works for you.

After the success of The Apprentice, I'm surprised this isn't more common these days.

I own a furniture shop and get asked all the time for a discount.
I do occasionally give it, but NOT to the ones that tell me but i can get it cheaper from so and so, my usual response to that is then go and buy from them.

OK I'll tell you why I find it embarrassing because I think it makes you look tight. And because the shopkeeper is trying to earn a living. If you don't like the price, go elsewhere

My colleague tried to barter for a briefcase in Salisbury's (remember them), I died with embarrassment.

I made a sign for my nan saying 'please no haggling as refusal often offends' ha. But unfortunately the Muslim women ignored it or couldn't read it. It was those that scared her the most too.

GhostShip, I think this statement says more about you and your nan than the women who haggled.

I haggle a lot - you can usually judge when it's appropriate, and I can't think of the last time I was refused a discount. I usually ask 'what can you do that for?', or what's their best price. I used to work in a service industry dealing with suppliers a lot and it was the norm. Conversely, I had authority to offer discounts to customers at my discretion - a lot of people in services and retail do have this discretion (tills usually have a code system for damage, large purchase discount etc).

I suppose it depends if the assistant has the power to do the price reductions. I hated people trying it with me (in various types of selling roles), because I couldn't reduce the price, but they would usually smirk at me if I said so.

Yes, if people try to make the sales assistant feel small then that's just rude. But haggling itself isn't rude.

I sometimes ask for a discount although I usually do this after I have confirmed that I will be buying the item concerned. It is amazing how often I get a little bit off. I ask in a way to make it clear that I think they are doing me
A favour rather than trying to get one over on them.

I used to work in a jewellers and we always gave 10% discount if and only if customers asked.

As long as you are polite then it is ok to ask.

Antique shops (I use the term loosely) work on a two-tier price system - there is a built-in discount for "the trade", ie other dealers.

So it's always worth asking, eg
"What's the best you can do on this?"
"Is there any 'trade' on this?"

If it's in an arcade, with separate units and a central cashier, you can usually spot the 'discount code' on the price tags.

No immediate or direct impact on wages at the lower end - it's more subtle. If many customers repeatedly haggle then it's not going to affect the top dogs, is it? They'll make sure they are OK and don't absorb any of the financial impact themselves, won't they?

And if there is to be no financial impact on a company (large or small) from haggling then they will just put their prices up in order for people to haggle them back down. What a waste of everyone's time!

I manage a small independent toy shop. Sometimes people ask if we can do them a deal or knock a bit off. We often do- we have different margins on different ranges depending on the discount we get from the suppliers. So if you don't ask you don't get, and we don't mind :)