• How can you start haggling on the high street?
• Get that discount
• Use price comparison sites
• Find voucher codes
• Six tips for effective haggling

How can you start haggling on the high street?

You need a bit of front, a hide like a rhino and the determination (with a smile) to get at least a bit of a discount, or something thrown in for free, in any shop you enter. It’s about asking the question “can I get a discount on this” every time you get to the cash till.

You can save money on anything from clothing to electronics, homeware and sports equipment. There are just a few simple, easy steps involved.

Before you start haggling…

• Pick your product.

First of all, you need to know what you want. Work shirt. Camera. Futon. Even CDs and DVDs can vary greatly in prices. Anything can be bought online these days, but it’s great to also check high street stores to see what you will physically be buying. Some goods have more lee-way on price than others. For example, electronic goods generally have a very small profit margin so it’s hard to get money off, but you can usually get free delivery thrown in if you ask.

• Do your research

If you can find the price online with a specific company, you can use it to print and take it to a high street shop, which will (most of the time) match or even discount the price you give them. Even if you’d rather buy from one online site than another, but their price is higher, give them a call and tell them – chances are they too will match your price.

• Get the specifics

When you’re after something like a couch or camera, you need to do some research and find out exactly what you want, mainly because there’s just so much on offer.

Begin with the product name, or if you know you want a specific brand have a look at their website first, and note down the product number, colour, size, and anything that will define what you want from the other similar products.

• Read reviews

‘Word on the street’ is the easiest way to find out whether the product you’re after is good quality. See what your techie friends have heard, and what online reviews by consumers are saying. Someone will have always played with a gadget, bought that piece of carpet or flounced around in the dress you’re after, and yes, they will always have an opinion about it. Some sites also have ratings systems such as stars out of five or percentages on the quality of specific items.

• Pick your store

Some shops are better than others at giving discounts. Ask your friends, put out questions on Facebook and Twitter to see which ones regularly give discounts if you ask. For example, I find that ‘Office’ is a great shoe shop for giving you 10% off if you ask. Others will just stare at you blankly. It helps to start with the easier ones!

Get that discount

Just ask – will they give you a discount? Sometimes they might offer 5% but don’t accept the first offer. Smile sweetly and ask for 10%. That’s not a huge amount for most shops. They should be able to do that easily. Remember, nothing is etched in stone, and in this credit crunch crises, shops out there would rather make a lower sale than none at all.

There are loads of ways out there to get up to 60% off your purchases when you master the grand art of haggling, find out how to here, but here’s a few other ways to get good discounts.

Price comparison sites

The latest and greatest tools on the internet for shopping around are price comparison sites. They exist solely to connect buyers with sellers, receiving commission from the sellers and enabling the buyers to get the best price available.

Kelkoo has just brought out its mobile version to make price comparison on the high street just a little bit easier. Check out the price in-store and then enter http://m.kelkoo.co.uk/ in your web browser on your mobile to let you compare prices elsewhere.

For surfing at home, check out some of these price comparison sites:

• Shopping.com
• Foundem
• Kelkoo
• Ciao
• MySupermarket
• Pricerunner

Travel:

• Kayak
• Opodo
• Expedia

Vouchers

If you have a voucher for what you’re buying, of course you will instantly get some money off. But it doesn’t have to end there. If they’ll give you money off with the voucher they could give you an extra discount if you ask…just ask!

There are loads of new vouchers that you can simply print off online all the time. We regularly include vouchers in our Freebies and Bag a Bargain articles as well as our voucher round-up articles, although those who sign up for our newsletter get a special page of the latest Freebies out in cyberspace. Also, sign up for our regular ‘bargain alert’ which goes out every other Friday and is packed full of the latest deals and offers.

Six tips for effective haggling

Get shops – from the high street to independents – to give you a better deal:

1. Flattery will get you anywhere.

No, truly. Butter them up and they will melt in your hands. Salespeople are treated badly, so when a nice customer comes along the salesperson will have a more positive outlook and want to help the customer. Developing a good relationship is not difficult. It begins with a smile and being polite.

‘Excuse me please? Hi! I’m looking at this TV/radio/CD player and I was wondering if you could help me?!’

2. Get add-ons for free or cheaper.

Shops can be more willing to give you something extra for a lesser price or even for free if you pay full price for the main item. Buy a computer and you will need a printer; buy a bike and get a helmet; buy a TV and get a DVD recorder. It’s about buying in bulk – that’s why supermarkets have a lot of BOGOF (buy one get one free) offers – giving you a percentage off the second item costs them less than cutting the price of one item.

3. Try a different method of payment.

When you purchase something larger most salespeople assume you will pay by credit, but if you can afford to pay the balance straight away – by cash/cheque/debit – you can use it as a leveraging tool when haggling.

These days it can be just as cheap to use credit, or the companies won’t care because they can afford it, so don’t be discouraged if they won’t bring the price down for cash – try another way.

4. Go on the right day, at the right time.

Shops can be more willing to give you better deals when they are having a slow day or haven’t made many sales. It’s a good idea to go when the shop is quiet before new stock comes in. Sometimes shops get stock in during the week so a Monday may be quiet. Ask the sales assistant when new stock is due and time your visit.

Pick the time of day as well – don’t go in the morning when they’ve just opened. Timing can also mean the life cycle of the product. You have more chance of getting a higher discount when goods are on sale or past their high season by just asking if you can ‘help’ get rid of the sale item.

5. Embrace the power of the person.

Store assistants and managers will have a lot more bargaining power and be ‘in the know’ than new recruits and general staff. If you can, try to talk to those that can help you get a better deal.

6. Play chicken

Show that you’re willing to walk away and try somewhere else, because you don’t believe they’re going to give you the best price, if they don’t care then it’s good to take your business elsewhere.

7. Smile!

Whether they say yes or no, stay pleasant and be friendly, particularly if you would like to come back to that shop later. It’s tough for everyone, particularly shop owners, so be nice and you’re likely to get more in the long-run!

So here’s a recap of how you can pay less for your purchases:

• Use price comparison sites
• Use voucher codes
• Sign up to the newsletter for the latest freebies
• Learn our haggling tips and try them out,

If you want to see Jasmine in action, check out her haggling article at the Guardian website.

Useful sites

• Shopping.com
• Foundem
• Kelkoo
• Ciao
• MySupermarket
• Pricerunner
• Kayak
• Opodo
• Expedia