The Art of Bargaining Revealed

By TravelWiseAug 26, 2012 15:30 PMOther
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The Art of Bargaining Revealed
The Art of Bargaining Revealed

If you’re travelling on a budget or just want to get something cheap, you’ll need to learn the secret of bargaining. It’s a skill that some people naturally have and others take years to acquire. Right here I’ll reveal the biggest secret of bargaining and how to get the best deal every time!

Look Around Before you even start start shopping take in your surroundings. This information is vital to improving your chances of getting a bargain. Whether you’re in a market or on a high street, you should be able to answer these simple questions; is it busy? Are people buying things? Is everyone selling the same products? Which shops aren’t getting customers?

Being aware will change the way you choose to shop and is the first secret of bargaining. If you go to a store with almost no customers for example, I’ll guarantee you’re more likely to grab a bargain than if you choose a more popular competitor.

Who Sets the Price? The next secret of bargaining is once you’ve found a shop you like is enquire about a product that you know the price of. If you’re shopping in tourist markets you can normally assume the price you are being given is 40-70 percent more than what it’s worth. Knowing the price of something before hand helps you figure out how much commission the shopkeeper is trying to make.

Once you’ve found something you want and asked about the price, whatever you do, when they go high don’t go low. When I was learning the secret of bargaining I often made this mistake. Let them set a price they’re comfortable with. You’ll be amazed how often they’ll undercut the price you were originally going to bid.

Only make your first cash offer once you’re sure they wont go any lower by themselves. Remember once you’ve offered a price you think the shopkeeper should accept, don’t be afraid to walk away if they don’t agree. People will often accept your offer as you are walking away. Don’t worry if they don’t shout after you, if it’s something you really want you can always come back later.

No Lower Some stall owners are stubborn and just won’t bargain. Don’t waste your time trying the secrets of bargaining on them, it won’t work. This isn’t a problem, there will be lots of other stores offering the same products, and the owners will notice you didn’t buy anything at their neighbours stall so will be more willing to offer you a better price.

Take your Time One of the real secret of bargaining is being friendly. It really is that simple. Don’t just talk to the person about what you want to buy, but ask them personal questions. Find out if they have children, where they come from, what they like to do in their spare time. Every ten minutes or so while you are talking to them remember to come back to the price, try and push it a little lower and continue your conversation. The logic is simple, you are more likely to do something nice for someone that you like.

It will take time and practice for you to perfect the secret of bargaining, but the results can be amazing. You will save yourself thousands of dollars when shopping in your own backyard to exotic destinations like Rio over your lifetime and be able to reduce the price by as much as 80 or even 90 percent of the original price offered if you really perfect the secret of bargaining.

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