Negotiating a deal.

[alanfromderby]

Just wondered how people have faired with negotiating a reduction in price - or gettiing extras thrown in. I am looking at buying two laptops in a few weeks time, and obviously want to get the best possible deal.

[Shanks]

I quite often have luck with this if you don't demand it. If you don't ask you certainly won't get But take the gentle approach and explain that you would be happy to give them the business but somewhere else is offering a slightly better deal. Don't demand a price match unless they offer it but just suggest that a few disks/paper/printer whatever you want at the time would 'help' secure the deal that day. Tell them so and so have said they will provide 'x' because you are buying two at the same time etc.

 

It's always worth a shot and if you're happy with the item at the advertised price what can you posibly lose?

 

Cheers, Shanks

 

ps. push for a third lappy and we'll split the difference :D

[Guest Zooman]

I'm a king of bartering. I just love it. I find it helps is you don't care if you buy it A)today B)from that shop.

 

I got this 3 weeks ago for £850 including wall mount and cover:D kids love it (I do not watch telly personally).

Currys - Shop for Flat Panel TV - Matsui 42P900 Exclusive 42'' Plasma TV

 

Get 30% of servicing for wives car until out of warranty then 50% off as when I brought it I argued they had 2 bites of my pie.

 

To be a true master you have to know when bills are due and targets (if applicable) periods are ending. Also I often find instead of going for money go for freebies. PC world and Dell (telephone) always always do deals just go though to business division (both have bad stuff said about them but then again show me one that does not). Pick a low spec laptop then ask for RAM, HD upgrade, XP pro etc (plus dell free delivery) get written quotes from both (fax for dell).

[blueskies]

I never pay full price for PC's or parts. The method I tend to use is to go into the shop with 80% of the cost of the thing I'm trying to buy in cash (important). I then tend to go into the shop late afternoon, preferably on a monday-wednesday (business tends to be quieter). Ask for what you want, and let them give the spiel about all the features while nodding and saying it's exactly what you want (boosts their ego a bit). Tell him/her that iit is exactly what you want but you had thought it would be a bit cheaper than that and your not sure if you have quite enough on you. Take your money out of your pocket and start counting it saying You wish you had brought your plastic with you. Ask if he/she can give you discount for cash. If he won't take that then say "I might have a bit more in the car, how much would you accept?"

 

This tends to work better with independant retailers as even the managers in PC world have very little bartering power.

 

Works excellently on Tottenham Court Road in London because of the intense competition.

 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[big blue one]

it is actually unlawful for a shop to offer a better deal for cas. in fact the store would rather you took credit.

 

on the line of getting a discount. yes it is possible. wouldnt expect any more than 5% but on the currys/pc world till system, there is one thing to look out for.

 

 

when the salesperson scans in the item , watch the till screen for the 'customer offers' button to light up blue. this means there is a deal to be had, so make sure they press that button to see what goodies are in store for you!

[blueskies]

I believe it is lawful for them to give discounts for whatever reason they choose. They must not add a surcharge for using another method of payment without advertising the fact they do. It depends heavily on their method of handling credit card transactions as they must advise all customers of how much they pay the CC company by way of handling charge. Hence the sign posted in all major retailers.

"A credit card handling fee applies on all credit card transactions of X.X% The amount paid remains the same regardless of method of payment" or words to that effect.

Whether it is lawful or not, independant retailers offer the discount.

I personally very rarely use mainstream suppliers of equipment due to the very limited powers of staff to alter the prices. Whatever you can buy in PCWorld is normally available at the same price or cheaper from independant retailers if you ask the right questions.

 

The PC I'm typing this on cost me £600 to build 2 years ago. The list price for all the components in PCWorld (as I used them for price comparison at the time) was £900 and only 2 websites managed to beat the price.

[Rich44]

It's not unlawful to discount for cash, besides if it was they can discount anyway and lie about the reason, what they are not allowed to do is add a surcharge without informing you (as posted above) as for anything else its entirely up to the retailer how they carry on on their business.

 

Bartering for PC bits works well where there is intense competition like above but our local PC shops wont barter at all thats the price take it or leave it.

 

Personally I wouldnt buy a laptop from PC World even with a discount as their after sales service is terrible.

 

How much are you looking to spend? Asus laptops are excellent value and come with a 2 year warranty direct with Asus so if you have a problem you deal straight with them and they are excellent too.

 

They are the biggest suppliers of laptops to be resold as they offer the best margins, so if they offer the best margins you get the best prices and the best scope for a discount.

 

For example the best you can do from Acer for example is 5% tops but with an Asus one you can get a decent 10-25% markup on it so theres scope for great prices or a good haggle.

 

http://www.microdirect.com do some good deals on the Asus lappies

[StudentInDebt]

"A credit card handling fee applies on all credit card transactions of X.X% The amount paid remains the same regardless of method of payment" or words to that effect.

 

I think this is more of a VAT dodge as the company that the x.x% goes to is always "retailers finanance company ltd", under EU regs banking charges are VAT exempt so the retailer parent company only pays 97.5% VAT to the government. I thought this practice had been stopped but maybe not.

[alanfromderby]

I am looking for two laptops, duo-centrino preferably - need to be able to get onto WIFI in europe. Mainly used for accessing internet, could do with Windows XP pro and MS Office including Publisher, and have a budget of around £1500.

[Guest Zooman]

Allan are you still looking

[alanfromderby]

Yes....and by the end of next week I will have the money too!!!!

[Thailand]

I took the PC world performance tut in exchange for a small discount of £27.97, having read the notion somewhere on here. I was always going to cancel it the next week, and after finding out he'd lied through his skin about payment dates - I didn't feel so bad about it:D

[falcon185]

I'm a king of bartering. I just love it. I find it helps is you don't care if you buy it A)today B)from that shop.

 

I got this 3 weeks ago for £850 including wall mount and cover:D kids love it (I do not watch telly personally).

Currys - Shop for Flat Panel TV - Matsui 42P900 Exclusive 42'' Plasma TV

 

Hi Ashley,

think you got done there my old mate, the link you provided for the plasma TV says its £498 ;-)

 

Bazza

[Raindancer]

some nice tips there peps!

 

I usually know how much an item costs before i venture into store. If i am looking for a discount, i will take cash with me. One pocket will have the amount i want to buy the item for. And the other pocket will have loose fiver's.

 

I try to visit the store at quite times (More time to chat to the staff) and also late in the day, when they are more likely to be tired and home time is around the corner. always keep it freindly and non threatning in anyway. Ask how there day was, and just general chit hat.

 

Then tell them how much you like the item, and that you only have X amount of cash (while counting it out) Usually, this works for me. If they want to haggle you can say your not to sure if you have any other cash on you and riffle through your pockets and pull out 1 or 2 fivers. 9 times out of 10. This works for me,

 

Dont be afraid to haggle.

[blacksheep1979]

Stores are also far more likely to throw in extra goods than knock money of the price - especially own branded goods which have a very large mark up on.

[Templehead]

I'm a king of bartering. I just love it. I find it helps is you don't care if you buy it A)today B)from that shop.

 

I got this 3 weeks ago for £850 including wall mount and cover:D kids love it (I do not watch telly personally).

Currys - Shop for Flat Panel TV - Matsui 42P900 Exclusive 42'' Plasma TV

 

Get 30% of servicing for wives car until out of warranty then 50% off as when I brought it I argued they had 2 bites of my pie.

 

To be a true master you have to know when bills are due and targets (if applicable) periods are ending. Also I often find instead of going for money go for freebies. PC world and Dell (telephone) always always do deals just go though to business division (both have bad stuff said about them but then again show me one that does not). Pick a low spec laptop then ask for RAM, HD upgrade, XP pro etc (plus dell free delivery) get written quotes from both (fax for dell).

 

 

 

its £297 mate

[alanfromderby]

its £297 mate

 

Of course the item in question was bought more than 7 months ago, so one would expect it now to be at a clearance price.

[funkyparott]

A great way to get a discount in PC WORLD is to take out the 'extended warrenty' with your item. Take the most comprehensive warrenty and watch the sales assistant's eyes light up.

 

Of course, you taking this is on the provision of PC World throwing in extra freebies - which they will be a lot more inclined to do.

 

Next day phone up and cancel the warrenty as per your rights (check the small print first).

 

I have used this technique a few times

 

FP

[big blue one]

A great way to get a discount in PC WORLD is to take out the 'extended warrenty' with your item. Take the most comprehensive warrenty and watch the sales assistant's eyes light up.

 

Of course, you taking this is on the provision of PC World throwing in extra freebies - which they will be a lot more inclined to do.

 

Next day phone up and cancel the warrenty as per your rights (check the small print first).

 

I have used this technique a few times

 

FP

 

 

sorry to bust ya buuble mate but that plan is flawed for two reasons.

 

1. pc world/currys no longer pay commision, so it makes no odds to them weather you have a guarantee or not. so u are unlikely to get a deal

 

2. pc world/currys till systems have the option to select "service agreement offer" as a discount reason, so if he selects this you need to read ya rights, as all free gifts/offers must be returned when refunding any associated deals.

[Thailand]

I am surprised PC World have stopped this. I was a retail manager for 6 years and it was always the incentives/commission that kept my then staff on thier feet. I don't doubt what you say BBO but surely this move has affected thier profit margins?

[big blue one]

it has been that way in pc world for over a year, and currys went that way in oct. hence me not working for them any more. staff morale, and service quality has plummeted, all the big eraners have left!!

 

a certain guy at our store on sales went from earning 35k a year to 13k!!! u just can't do that to ya staff and expect them to stay. he now works at dfs, back on his 35k+ i presume.

[Thailand]

2. pc world/currys till systems have the option to select "service agreement offer" as a discount reason, so if he selects this you need to read ya rights, as all free gifts/offers must be returned when refunding any associated deals.

 

I personally do not think any bubbles have been busted. I took the warranty and the discount of choice was 'Manager discretion'. No mention of it being returned has been recieved.

[big blue one]

2. pc world/currys till systems have the option to select "service agreement offer" as a discount reason, so if he selects this you need to read ya rights, as all free gifts/offers must be returned when refunding any associated deals.

 

 

if, he selects this.

[Thailand]

I'm not getting into a shouting match. Ok, lesson learned - if the CS happens to select this potential discount method than we should all expect to return our discount. I cannot recall why bringing this up was relevant to any post, but I now know at least... thanks.

[CustomerAdvisor]

Hi, I'm new here but I happened to notice this posting. I work for PC World and deal with a lot of customers trying to get discounts. They expect that PC World are making a fortune on computers and somehow consider it their right as a customer to some kind of freebie to close the deal.

 

The truth is that the margins on hardware are low - try and find some of the specs they have on laptops lower priced elsewhere!

 

The method above, regarding the "extended warranty" does work, and it is relied on by many a customer advisor to meet targets on PC Performance (which is 60% for base units and laptops).

 

There is no such option as "service agreement offer" as a reason for a discount; this comes off the price of the base unit/laptop usually.

 

We are not supposed to give discounts other than for advertised promotions that are not present on our system under Customer Offers, for the price promise, and by using Manager Discretion for PC Performance.

 

No customer has to give back the extras... this is the idea! We know damn well that half of the customers will want to cancel the service, but we need our figures to balance out.

 

In other words, if you want a discount, do as we say and you'll get one. You've heard of cashback haven't you?