*YAWN*. Review on Art Of Bargaining

Bargaining. Yes, it’s an art form, but it’s so disgustingly simple I don’t even know why I’m discussing it. You see, it’s very easy: All you have to know is how to spot a good deal when you see it - also, you must know how to turn a mediocre deal into a good one.

I live in the country. We have five hundred people, fifteen hundred cows, and one intersection in town. The people here, well, they(we?) LOVE to bargain!

We have three flea markets in this and the two surrounding towns that make up our community. On weekdays these chicken-wire and fabricated steel buildings are similar to ghost towns that you read about in horror novels, but on the weekends the places come alive. Dozens of vendors of all ages, backgrounds, and professions open up their doors and try to sell you everything from clothing and lawn mowers to compact discs and used books. It’s a bargainer’s dream come true - because these people hardly ever put price tags on any of their wares.

I don’t know how other people succeed at getting a good deal/bargaining, but these are my methods, and they generally work really well for me.

1. Don’t buy lame sales pitches. If the guy selling incense boats tells you that they were imported directly from(name of fine-sounding country here), smile politely but know in your mind that the vendor is full of horse dung. If you REALLY want the product, you don’t care about its background much anyway, right? Right. So, don’t fall for sales pitches. ’’Oh, you’re a lucky customer - I was just getting ready to pack it in because nobody’s been buying today.’’ If they say this when the flea market is literally packed with people, then you have my express permission to cackle like a loon at this obviously deceptive creature which stands before you.

   
   




2. Shop around. Flea market vendors often have the same merchandise as the guy next to them. So, if you find something that you want, look around and see if you can find another seller that has the same thing. You might only save fifty cents, or - in most cases - you’ll find something that you want even more than the last merchandise that caught your eye.

   
   

Once you’ve set your sights on the lowest-priced item that you can find, be prepared to bargain like it’s your last day on earth!

1. How to do this bargaining thing that DiFranco01’s babbling about.

Let them make the first move so far as prices go. ’’How much do you want for this book?’’ I said last week at a busy flea market. It was a well-used copy of a paperback novel that I had read when I was a child, but had not really been able to find anywhere for a decent price(let’s face it, the damned thing wasn’t worth paying retail price for).

’’Twenty-five cents, ’’ said the vendor that had lost half of his face in World War II(not kidding).

Since I had walked up to him with a willingness to pay up to a dollar for the book, I immediately forked over the quarter and walked away a happy customer - and he made an easy sale, so he was satisfied as well. If you know what it’s worth to you personally BEFORE you approach the vendor, things will work a lot easier for both of you.

However, if he had said something like, ’’Two bucks, ’’ I obviously would not have taken the book. ’’I don’t think I have two dollars to spare, ’’ I would have said in this case - and, considering that I only had a buck fifty in my wallet, it would have been God’s honest truth!

Then a bargaining session would have ensued. Either he would have been willing to come down a bit on the price, and I would have settled on a dollar or seventy-five cents because that’s within my ideal price range.OR he would have been an immovable rock and I would have had to double back and return to the vendor that was only charging fifty cents for the same thing.

If applicable, bring a pitiful-looking younger sibling with you. For some reason, twelve year-old girls with braids in their hair and a ’’Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm’’ mentality makes vendors melt with compassion. Especially if said sibling pretends to have an interest in the item you’re trying to buy.(’’Yeah, kiddo.pretend that you REALLY care about this Steinbeck novel and I’ll give you ice cream later!’’) hehe

Basically, you’re negotiating. There’s nothing to it, to be honest with you. If you’re absolutely sure of what you want, and how much you’re willing to pay for it, then don’t back down. Go in with the attitude that says ’’I’m going to buy this item for MY price, ’’ without adding the snotty attitude to it like some people I know(who shall remain nameless) and you’ll succeed nine times out of ten.

Another bargaining tactic is simply to walk away if the price isn’t right. ’’Thanks, have a nice day, ’’ smile, and exit the store without looking back. Most of the time, the vendor will call you over to ’’discuss it.’’ This means that he or she wants to negotiate, and loves the art of bargaining just as much as you do! So, if the first tactic doesn’t work for you, try this one every now and then. You’ll eventually come up with a method that is absolutely PERFECT for your personality, and you’ll find yourself saving lots of money and having LOADS of fun in the process.