Americans love to shop but hate to haggle. In rough times, however, you might want to reconsider your shopping techniques. Lila Delilah speaks to Forbes about a few of her negotiating techniques. Sometimes all it takes is a slight hint:
While shopping for her young daughter, she spotted a beautiful embroidered winter coat which was already marked down by 30% from its $360 price tag. Instead of asking what the sales associate could do for her, she was honest.
“I just told her that it was more than I wanted to spend, and that opened up the negotiation,” she says. “In the old economy everyone assumed everyone could afford everything because they were putting it all on their credit cards. It’s humbling yet liberating to say, ‘This is too much.'” The associate then offered 50% off the original price.
Click here to read Emma Johnson’s full article, The Art of Haggling.